Mixing/mastering hip hop tracks for the road

Tragabigzanda · Post by **Tragabigzanda** » Mon Apr 18, 2011 7:37 am

Hey all, would love to hear any thoughts on this; would be great if Joel could chime in, as I'm sure he's gone through it a number of times...

We've mixed a hip hop record, it's already been mastered and released, and now the artist is figuring out his tour and live setup. We weren't sure what that was gonna look like back when we were mixing, so we just saved the recall on the SSL, and can pull it up whenever. But he's hoping to rattle the floors in the club, you know? So should we be thinking about an alternate mix/master? For example, we made it a point to get those 808 tones to reproduce on computer speakers for the record, but now it's obviously not an issue.

Would love to hear what has/has not been successful in the past.

Waltz Mastering · Post by **Waltz Mastering** » Mon Apr 18, 2011 11:15 am

Tragibigzanda wrote:We've mixed a hip hop record, it's already been mastered and released, and now the artist is figuring out his tour and live setup. We weren't sure what that was gonna look like back when we were mixing, so we just saved the recall on the SSL, and can pull it up whenever. But he's hoping to rattle the floors in the club, you know? So should we be thinking about an alternate mix/master? For example, we made it a point to get those 808 tones to reproduce on computer speakers for the record, but now it's obviously not an issue.

Would love to hear what has/has not been successful in the past.

Shooting for or getting something to translate on "computer speakers" is really a moving target...

The concept that works best for me is to get the mix and master to translate on a full range set of speakers in a room you trust.

If it's done that way it should trickle down to translate on just about anything from clubs to earbuds.

Tragabigzanda · Post by **Tragabigzanda** » Mon Apr 18, 2011 11:21 am

Yea, I'm hoping that we can just recall the mixes and pass them through the same mastering setup. It's the first project where I've had to consider backing tracks being used in a venue at a later time.

As for the "moving target" of computer speakers, I agree with your assessment. It just so happens that for one song (the lead single), there was no bass guitar/synth, but rather a 3-toned 808 melody; we had to feel secure that if people wanted to hear it online, they would still hear those three distinct tones, rather than just the click of the 808 attack.

MoreSpaceEcho · Post by **MoreSpaceEcho** » Mon Apr 18, 2011 6:42 pm

i've no idea how loud the record was mastered, but i think dynamic tracks would likely translate a lot better live than heavily limited stuff would.

joel hamilton · Post by **joel hamilton** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 4:13 pm

The limited tracks actually sound incredible on a big system. Think about how the stuff sounds between bands at a large show: HUGE.
If you arent sweating the hell out of the mains at a club, the perceived volume can really pummel the crowd.
I would do anything really different on the mix end of things, besides maybe pumping up a bit of oomph on the 2mix with a parallel distortion something something.... which can make the plastic horns that the hats are gonna come screeching out of really work... thats subjective... but really: just let it fly and it should be great if the mix is great.

Who is it? PM me if you dont want to say it "in public"....

Tragabigzanda · Post by **Tragabigzanda** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 4:30 pm

Thanks for weighing in, everyone. So far, it sounds like we shouldn't have to do much, if anything.

Joel, happy to share: the artist is Max Burgundy. This record is up for listening here: http://maxburgundy1.bandcamp.com/

Message Board

Mixing/mastering hip hop tracks for the road

Mixing/mastering hip hop tracks for the road

Re: Mixing/mastering hip hop tracks for the road

Who is online