Production Tips

DJ Shadow Explains Ditching His MPC + James Brown Collection

dj_shadow.jpg

Many debates have taken place over who the king of drum programming is.  Solid arguments will always be put forth for J Dilla, but depending on how you classify music and what genres you include, DJ Shadow is another name that’s sure to arise as a contender.  Lucky for us DJ Shadow has returned to his reader Q&A to directly address questions or misconceptions that may plague fans of his work. 

Check it out as he talks samples, collecting James Brown artifacts, and reasons for ditching the Akai MPC 60 and MPC 3000 as his main production tools.

Read more

Jay Z + Notorious B.I.G. Engineers Offer NYC Mixing Workshop

legacy_509_studios1.jpg

Here’s your chance to get platinum quality techniques and advice from mixing engineers Ryan West (Just Blaze, Jay Z, T.I.) and Bassy Bob offer (Notorious B.I.G., Christina Aguilera) as they offer The Elements of Mixing Volume 2.

The hands on workshop will focus on Hip-Hop (and other urban music) production while addressing such topics as the professional mixers’ work flow, balancing to panning, effects, and compression to handle multiple bass signals.  

"Using Buss Compression to make mix more exciting, bang harder. Working with NEVE and SSL style compressors. And more…"

Read more

Producing Club-Ready Tracks – Free Online Seminar

remix_banner.jpg

Remix and M-Audio have teamed up to offer an on-demand seminar entitled Producing Club-Ready Tracks.  A quick registration is required, but still not a bad way to pick up some very useful tips that are sure to help distinguish your sound from the competition.  Did I mention this was free?

"This presentation will examine the focus/energy of the mix (mixing around the kick), EQing, editing, sidechaning, panning, levels, etc. for all of the typical elements rhythm, instrument and vocal parts of club tracks."

Read more

Mike Gao’s Enhanced Beatbox To MIDI

I never get tired of Mike Gao and his unusual production techniques.  This time he gives an enhanced demo of his beatbox to MIDI technique using headphones and Ableton Live 7.  He’s now added the ability to change MIDI notes on the fly during a performance as he lays down drums, synths, and filter.

Just Blaze RockMeTV Roundtable Segment

RockMeTV, Lenny S,  Maya The B, and Big Lite bring producer Just Blaze onto the show for an interview including topics such as his first track placement with Ma$e, shopping beats in the early days, and the importance of having relationships.  There’s a lot covered in the three segments, so get comfortable before viewing. [via … Read more

Don Cannon, Danja, J.U.S.T.I.C.E League, DJ Toomp Production Roundtable

Talk about a meeting of minds… heavyweight producers Don Cannon, Nate "Danja" Hills, Tricky, J.R. Rotem, DJ Toomp, J.U.S.T.I.C.E League, and Grind Music come together to discuss topics including lackluster A&R’s, getting signed from MySpace, decreasing label budgets, fee collecting tactics, influence of technology, and long distance production. As you can imagine, some very interesting … Read more

Overdub Production Comic Books By M-Audio

M-Audio has launched a series of comic books/pamphlets based on production and studio concepts.  I’m not quite sure if there’s a hidden purpose behind presenting this as a comic, but you can pick up some valuable tips about monitors, room acoustics, and speaker placement in the premier issue.  You should be alright as long as … Read more

Mike Gao BeatBox To MIDI Demo

Producer Mike Gao gives a demonstration of how to send MIDI signals triggered by an audio source.  In this case, he’s beatboxing through a pair of headphones, but you can imagine some of the possible applications for live performances.  Also, it might be worth mentioning that Gao’s instrumental work is pretty crazy.  Be sure to … Read more

Make Your Digital Synth Samples Sound Analog

Doug Eisengrein hits us off with  some nice tips on how to make your software synths and sounds have a warmer, more analog sound to them.  Basically, the whole gist of the situation is that you needs some analog gear!  He goes on to recommend some budget circuit based gear for laptop producers and even … Read more