Mix creation & Sample Test CD

Creating The Backing Track

From my last seminar on Production Master with Dj Fever I was able to gain a better understanding of producing a remix and how to arrange a backing track using samples taken from other tracks. With the knowledge gained I set out to obtain a sampler and was able to borrow a Roland SP-404, displayed below.

Not having much knowledge of this hardware I was still able to work out the basics  through the manual. I began editing and recording samples and was able to obtain the ideal drum set samples from http://www.free-loops.com/ I first had to work out the tempo of the track but as it was a sort of hard rock genre and I was transforming it to a Hip Hop/RnB genre my calculations of the tempo was more approximate than accurate this lead to the vocals having to be adjusted to fit the beat. This was not much of an issue though as using Logic 9 flex time feature I was able to adjust the vocals as needed. The other instruments used in the track was a combination of midi loops some of which I made and others from the Logic loops library. Using a guide track to assist with the arrangements of the track, I was able to compile a backing track much in the styles of my selected producer which I believe is a fairly good backing track for my remix.

The Sample Test Mix

After making the necessary adjustment ie: cutting, editing and rearranging the vocals, I was able to make a rough mix of the completed track and burnt it onto CD at 16bit, 44.1kHz. During the mix I was a bit concerned with my levels on the bass and with some parts of the vocals arrangements and that's why I burnt it to CD to have a listen through a different playback system.

I have listened to the track in my car and as i suspected the levels on the bass was to high so it ended up drowning out the mids and tops. A possible solution to that I think, would be to remove or significantly reduce the compression on the Kick as the sample used was already treated and compressed so I think its a bit over compressed why the level are so high. As for the bass, this was done through midi and some slight adjustments on the EQ and compression should sort this problem I believe. Much analysis could not be made on the mids and high as the bass drowned out the quality of their sounds.

I will now go back and make the necessary adjustments and then see what the results will be when burnt to CD again and listened to in the car.