Mixing and all that in the MPC

[InsideOutBeats]

Alright you lovely ILLienz, was gonna trudge through the forums but long story short anyone here know of a decent course or master class in understanding and studying the full range of mixing?

Got a whole list of effects on MPC live : delay/reverb, dynamics, EQ/Filter, Harmonic, Modulation, Vocal and Vintage and then all their sub folders. I’m sure all those in DAW’s also have similar effects but I’m trying to learn small parts at a time from YouTube and would rather just go all out and learn the whole damn thing if I can.

I have put a beat together today with Nas - Life’s a bitch acapella but the beginning before drums there is this some sort of muddy shit in the vocals (might have to upload it for feedback so you know what I mean) I tweaking this shit and that shit makes it worse so I’m like fuck, stop this bullshit and ask the ILLienz, they knows their shit.

 

[Fade]

Alright you lovely ILLienz, was gonna trudge through the forums but long story short anyone here know of a decent course or master class in understanding and studying the full range of mixing?

Got a whole list of effects on MPC live : delay/reverb, dynamics, EQ/Filter, Harmonic, Modulation, Vocal and Vintage and then all their sub folders. I’m sure all those in DAW’s also have similar effects but I’m trying to learn small parts at a time from YouTube and would rather just go all out and learn the whole damn thing if I can.

I have put a beat together today with Nas - Life’s a bitch acapella but the beginning before drums there is this some sort of muddy shit in the vocals (might have to upload it for feedback so you know what I mean) I tweaking this shit and that shit makes it worse so I’m like fuck, stop this bullshit and ask the ILLienz, they knows their shit.

So you want to learn to mix JUST in the MPC? What DAW do you have?

I'd suggest starting with the basics. Since most people have trouble mixing, I find it's best to avoid the advanced stuff because it can take a while to wrap your head around it. It's a constant learning process anyway.

 

[InsideOutBeats]

So you want to learn to mix JUST in the MPC? What DAW do you have?

I'd suggest starting with the basics. Since most people have trouble mixing, I find it's best to avoid the advanced stuff because it can take a while to wrap your head around it. It's a constant learning process anyway.

Yeah I have been watching some basics within the Mpc on YT will have to just keep learning bit by bit. Don’t use a DAW currently although am looking to get speakers soon as mentioned previously I get the sound right (for me) in headphones but then all changes once converted to mp3

 

[Fade]

The MPC software is pretty good but I haven't done a full mix with it. Same when I had Maschine - I would dump the files into my DAW where there's so much more flexibility.

 

[OGBama]

I’m @Fade strictly doing rough mixes via MPC Beats & MPC 2 software when I reach that point.

 

[InsideOutBeats]

The MPC software is pretty good but I haven't done a full mix with it. Same when I had Maschine - I would dump the files into my DAW where there's so much more flexibility.

Well I might get around to trying out a DAW at some point, have seen others use the Mpc software with decent studio monitors. Will keep learning but yeah it’s vast the whole range of tweaking you can do with mixing. I used to think it was just getting the levels right for each instrument but so much more going on now side-chaining, filtering frequency highs, mids, lows
Guess I’ll just keep soaking up others knowledge

 

[Tarboosh Record]

Yeah, Mixing and mastering has always been a bit daunting for me. I tend to get the levels sounding right in my MPC and bounce it out just to showcase my beats (and just use pre-sets on my shitty DAW afterwards), but when its being used professionaly it needs to be done right so its good to reach out for others for help if you can, or pay someone to do it.
I heard on the MPC Live its relatively easy to bounce out stems right? Its harder and more laborious on the older machines (another reason my lazy ass rarely does it)

 

[thedreampolice]

"headphones but then all changes once converted to mp3"

Ok first off you should NEVER mix in headphones. They are simply not accurate enough to do a proper mix on. and mp3 is actually a terrible format. The ONLY benefit mp3 files have are file size. They are a format that LOSES audio quality intentionally to make the file smaller. Until you have speakers I would only do basic "mixes" with your MPC. Now to your original question, if there is mud in the vocals I would probably just use an EQ to get it out. But it sounds like you may need to do some work to get your fundamental knowledge up. Nothing wrong with that, we all start somewhere. Mixing is an art in itself, something you can spend a lifetime mastering. My buddy Joe runs home studio corner and it would be a great place to start. https://www.youtube.com/c/HomeStudioCorner

 

[Tarboosh Record]

This thread made me go back and compare my 'straight out the MPC mix' to a more professional mixdown on the same beat.

I made this beat 4 or so years ago-


and finally in 2020 got mixed and mastered for this song-


Obvsly its not really fair to judge the mixdown from a youtube vid, but my original is way more chunkier imo but defo the latter is more 'clean' and balanced...

 

[thedreampolice]

This thread made me go back and compare my 'straight out the MPC mix' to a more professional mixdown on the same beat.

I made this beat 4 or so years ago-


and finally in 2020 got mixed and mastered for this song-


Obvsly its not really fair to judge the mixdown from a youtube vid, but my original is way more chunkier imo but defo the latter is more 'clean' and balanced...

In your original I can literally hear the mp3 algorithm degrading the sound quality. Listen to that high hat that comes it, you can hear how grainy it is especially in the high end on your mix. The second mix is another world better. This is a great discussion with examples!

 

[InsideOutBeats]

@Tarboosh Record, yeah easy on Mpc live to bounce stems out, i should begin using a DAW for final mix but I’m gonna wait and see if my whole production sound improves once I use speakers. Got two KRK ROKIT 5 monitors just need power supply plugs and I’m up an running.

@thedreampolice as said above I’ve got I’m nearly set up now with some KRK ROKIT monitors. Yeah I know the mp3 format is crap quality but for uploading here it’s the only file type that fits the 8mb file size.
Appreciate the link to ya buddy, will check it out.