How long had you owned your monitors .......

[Kaz1983]

... before you made your 1st track?

I say this because not all of us learn from day 1 on monitors -well none of us did, you get what I mean.......... see if I had continued using my crap logitech's & sub that weren't that too bad I would have finished at least a few tracks by now, the thing is I got myself some monitors on Mother's Day and remember being over the moon with them -I remember cranking some Andy C and staring deep into the woofer's like they were Katy Perry's eyes...... good times...

Fast forward to September, I've haven't completed a track but spend lots of time using my new monitors... the thing that has got me is I'm a perfectionist and in my situation that's not a good thing, I have attempted or should I say maybe 5 tracks and wind up chopping and changing stuff till it ends up me deciding to hone my skills by focusing on a particular element -the drums, bassline, FX's, sub bass etc etc and it ends up being me learning from my 'mistakes' and then starting another set of drums, bassline for a new project ........ that said what I have been focusing lately is my drums and layer drum breaks, I feel I'm getting some good results even if it doesn't translate into any real solid end results, I'm learning heaps as I go along... (:

My problem is bring it all together, it's not happening no matter how hard I try -it usually ends up being: start of new project, focus on getting one element as good as I can get then 'learn' [what I'm doing right, what I doing wrong] needs to be done to improve said element ....... then once I got that element sorted, start a new project and start playing around with the pads 1st, get that going start a fresh and focus on the intro and FX's ........

Here is my 1st track I made back last summer (I started producing last November)

http://soundcloud.com/navy-blue/gangster-mp3

Levels are all over the place, 2nd bass is harsh and is generally muddy... but the feel is there I reckon.... now when ever I hear anything coming out my monitors I say to myself; 'this needs to be shorted; 'there is way too harsh -usually when doing my snares' 'the levels need adjusting'

I decided to listen my old (crap) track above and write down what needs fixing. (yes I know it's DNB)

http://soundcloud.com/navy-blue/gangster-mp3

-the vocals are too loud and distorted too much, they need to be eq'd properly.
-bass in the intro is too distorted and needs proper eq'ing.
-ALOT of other things.

I suppose that's the point I'm trying to make, should be worried about that stuff (apart from the basics of course) right now even though I can hear that it needs to be done? Or give myself dead lines (I've heard it can help people tend to go round, round in cirlces) spend 1 day on the arragement and decide weather it is worth mixing down some extent?

Or just keep doing what I'm doing and it will all fall into place?

EDIT: I suppose what I'm doing is my mixdown along the way ..... attempting at least..

[paravrais]

OK. Your new to producing so your tunes aren't gonna sound like the stuff you got on your ipod straight away are they? There is a VERY steep learning curve with this and it's gonna be at least 2 years (from when you first opened a DAW) to when you start to get happy with the stuff you are making (unless you like to settle for second rate).

There is a great deal of very useful information on these boards that will help you along the way. Check out the mixing and mastering thread aka THE MONEYSHOT THREAD because that will help more than I can express with words.

Please don't make another thread like this though, if you want feedback and constructive criticism on your tunes then post them in the feedback threads at the top of this page. If you want help with a specific aspect of production then post a thread about it with a detailed description of what it is you want help with but *don't* post an example of your tunes in that thread cos people will get pissy. There are certain rules here that keep the forum tidy and everything fair for everyone, if you make threads like this that are unspecific and thinly veiled attempts to get feedback on your early tunes then you wont get a friendly response I'm afraid!

In answer to what I think you were trying to ask :s yes you need to worry about all aspects of your production at this stage, but not *too* much. If you spend too long on a single tune then you will only end up ruining it in the end and you will learn more from moving onto the next tune and implementing your new ideas from the start. As for which elements of a track you should address first, nobody can tell you that, everyone works differently so you will have to figure that out for yourself.

[WAR TORN]

I got my first set of monitors when I signed my first tune, the label wanted it but needed a better mix down, so I splashed the cash and bought Mackies, so from first opening a sequencer to buying them, I reckon about 2 years...


A point based on the rest of your post though -

Just enjoy producing man, remember why you started and don't feel you must stick to a rulebook or set guide, make a tune, finish the tune and move onto the next tune, as you produce more and more you will start to develop skills that become second nature, but stressing about them now over a few tracks is just going to stunt your development.

Honestly, if you start something, then feel you don't like an element, or something would be suited elsewhere, save it, then move on, let your ideas push your goal, dont let your goal push your ideas.

[FSTZ]

Event 20/20's

I have had them since 1997

13 years, still work great

[deadly_habit]

5 or 6 years, before that a pair of aiwa desktop speakers that i had a decent reference off of due to owning em so long

[Sharmaji]

work on more than 1 tune at a time; don't try to fit all of your ideas into a single song.

allow yourself to the space to write less-than-awesome stuff. sucking can be good.

and forget about the link between gear (in this case, yr monitors) and not being able to finish a song. There's a great story about the only mic left @ studio1; the ribbon mic they liked for bass broke, and they had to finish a session RIGHT then. engineer goes in, replaces the ribbon w/ tinfoil, and low-and behold-- the crappy repair job only caught the super-lows... hence the super-warm bass sounds on studio 1 records.

so basically: just keep working.

[gonzodj]

i don't own monitors

[abZ]

Even knowing your monitors for a time, it is a good idea to reference it on other speakers, headphones, in the car, wheverever. Just to get more than one perspective. I had the one pair since like 02 and I have new pair like 6 months ago. I started using them right away to make tunes. I am not going to not make music just because my reference is new to me. This can be the funnest time you have with the new gear. It really doesnt matter that much until you get to mixdown stage anyway.

[DZA]

Had my minitors for 9 months made my first track about a year and ahalf ago

[legend4ry]

about a month after I got them, I have had them for 2 years now... I only really use my monitors for referencing, I know that sounds awful but my ears are more accustomed to my headphones, so I mix down on my headphones then turn on the monitors and then make any fine tweaks, switch back to headphones, if it still sounds good then take it to my hifi downstairs, then the portable CD player with shite speakers on it, then if it all sounds good after that, then I know I have done a decent mix.

[wormcode]

I was already making tunes on a hifi and headphone setup for years, and before that regular shelf speakers. When I finally bought monitors I was in the middle of a bunch of tunes which I stopped working on and started new ones. I finished some stuff the first couple of days, but it wasn't really until after a couple of months that I really got used to them. I would put most of that down to learning how they sounded in my room since it was untreated and sounded extremely different. There was an entire new stereo field I never heard before due to how they were placed in relation to my old setup of huge hifi speakers. I'd say quality went up instantly because not only being able to hear the mix better, but hearing things in samples and synths that I couldn't hear before. That really led to inspiration.

[amphibian]

Regardless of having monitors or not (I don't - yet!), I think one of the most important things you can do is NOT be a perfectionist - because nothing you ever do will be perfect.

When I started producing some 3-4 months ago - I spent probably 4-5 weeks faffing around, getting frustrated because I just wasn't getting the sounds I wanted. I'm still not really that happy with the sounds, but I find that if I push on and simply finish a track, I learn more from the experience. Also, with each subsequent track I am literally plotting my progress through music production - and I can go back as little as 2-3 weeks ago to a previous track and think "wow, I've improved so much in so little time".

The important thing (imo) is to simply push on. Don't keep starting from scratch because something you're doing now sounds better - else you'll never, ever, complete a track.

[djake]

i dont own monitors and ive been making tunes for 4+ years now, got a nice pair of headphones and a few hi fi's for checking mixdowns on in the house.

[larspro]

work on more than 1 tune at a time; don't try to fit all of your ideas into a single song.

[Phigure]

Event 20/20's

I have had them since 1997

13 years, still work great

YES!

First person I've ever seen who also owns a pair. I got mine 4 years ago when I bought a Digitech effects board for my guitar... the board is normally around $300 and the monitors (brand new) came with it... paid $250 + shipping. BEST. DEAL. EVER. I love them to death