Absolute gold! I will be spending a lot of time on this channel. Excellent description and shared knowledge. Just used the AIR Tube Drive for the first time and that subtle sound is great, really good ways to train the ears to small changes. Thanks man. I've purchased the Air Flavour Pro and love it however as you mentioned, its better to use on individual tracks, I've slapped it on the master a few times without the desired results 🤣. Thanks again, these vids are dope!
Man this has become one of my favorite channels. You offer so many great tips and techniques to help us make our MPC sound as great as it can possibly sound with nothing more than the MPC itself. Salute 🫡
@@TheCratesMotel I've Always Been Told That I Have An Ear For Music, But I Never Saw Myself As A Beat Maker Until I Saw The MPC LIVE 2 Promotion's, So It's Been Almost 3 Years Of Not Just Learning, But Listening For That Tone That Sparks Something Inside Your Brain... SO HECK NAWL, I Never Intended For It To Be A Bad Shout. It Made The Exercise Of The Tutorial Fun For Me... It Took Me Back To That Cosby Show Moments. 👍🏽👍🏽When Cosby Was A Wholesome Show In A Wholesome Era.
Conan, it was so much fun to watch the master at work! This video showcases a lot of information from your previous videos put to use! Nice busy track as an example and refreshing that it’s jazz. I started going back to mix in standalone because of your tutorials. I’m using my ears and my notes from your videos as a guide while mixing. Kudos for being in the room with Mr. Magic, Grover Washington Jr. I grew up on his music, because of my dad. Thanks for giving us a glimpse “over your shoulder” as you described your process. I’m so looking forward to the next video. I’m interested in examples of subgroups. If you’ve covered their, please provide a link.
Yes mate, your experience and guidance is translating very well. Been digging into a few of your vids over the last 2 days and implemented some of your para-eq-ing and good Lordy has it improved my overall sound throughout. Really really really really happy mate so thankyou very much for taking the time to share your wisdom ✌🏼
This was super useful for those new(ish) to the MPC ... half the battle is knowing what each plug does is half the battle! So the suggestions here are great, even for a veteran engineer like myself. Thanks Conan!
Yes indeed, this is similar to how I do it, I then sample the mixdown in mpc using resample and may put a little gain on the resulting file if its not hitting 0db, great vid bro
Thanks Conan for this mastering class. Your channel has helped me to understand dynamics when using then MPC and sound in general. I recently posted some tracks on my own channel and I noticed that I tend to mix the hi-hats louder, especially as I use samples a lot. I definitely need to dial down the frequencies more. Hopefully in future, it would great for you to do a livestream when you can have time. Peace
Once again I come away from your video with knowledge and enthusiasm to practice what I’ve learned. You’ve cleared up several things that I was thinking about asking about. Thank you Mr. Conan! 👊😎
This is super useful! I was actually gifted an MPC Live 1, and I'm using it in an unusual way. I have external grooveboxes, the 4 roland compacts, a volca, and a modular setup, and I'm just looking to have a bit more control of that whole rig when jamming. So I'm using the Live along with an 8 channel USB audio interface to do multichannel mixing, audio and MIDI routing, and some effects. So I'm really starting to learn all this mixing/mastering stuff, but from the standpoint of getting a decent, cohesive sound for improvisational live jam stuff. So I can have a lot of the benefits of a DAW without actually having to have a PC at my jam station (a total creativity killer for me). So this kind of high level summary stuff is really useful. Thanks!
I've been looking for this for a while and that's why I subscribed to the channel! For a single song, his "master bus philosophy" is excellent. I intend to put together a live set that has around 7 or 8 songs. I started putting together the first 3 songs and have been carrying out transitions, effects and mix tests, using track mute and next sequence to perform. I'm using 3 submixes to assign effects like XYFX, Filter Gate, Flex Beat, Delay, Half Speed, TouchFX, etc. I will map these effects to a MIDI controller. This will route the programs through submixes 1, 2 and 3 before reaching the master bus. I'll also use Returns to create some subtle room reverb. In my set, each song corresponds to a sequence. In general, for each song then, I use, for example: Track 01: some percussion loops and one-shots within the same program. Track 02: drum program with non-destructive slices. Track 03: Hype plugin. Track 04: Bassline plugin... etc This model should be repeated in the other songs in the set. Mastering all of this will be very difficult (not to say impossible). At first I've been using pink noise to level out the sounds. Do you have any additional suggestions for a balanced mix between songs? What can I use on the master bus in this case? Maybe this will be the topic for a next video =D Thank you and congratulations on the content.
Hey dude, thank you for watching. That is a bit of a hard question to answer categorically without hearing the source. There is not really a one size fits all answer and I try to tell my students to not do anything by default. However, that said, for general duties on the master bus I would normally go for light bus compression (I use Air Comp for that. Slow attack around 30ms and fast release, as fast as possible, ratio at 2:1 with maybe 1 to 2 db GR maximum). Then some broad EQ to maybe boost around 60hz shelf and 12khz shelf and maybe a tickle at 5khz for clairty), then some colour, for example the vintage effects like the MPC60 (I use that alot to add colour and low end) and then finally a limiter. You don't want to be hitting teh limiter too hard but you can get some extra gain from it. That will work in most cases.
Dope and in-depth tutorial! If possible, unless you have already done on a video on this, can you show how you would mix an audio/vocal track on the MP? Believe it or not, I don’t see a lot of tutorials on using to the MP to cut vocals, mix them, etc. Keep bringing the knowledge bro 💪🏽
Yup I like to keep it simple and straight up dude haha. You can reach out at conan@thecratesmotel.com if you are interested in any mastering or mixing services. Thanks for watching man.
That is a great question. I love the Air Strip but I do not have the control I require, or the character I desire, from the Air Strip. With separate compression and EQ I can choose exactly what style of compression and EQ I use. The Master Bus tends to be more about broad, subtle moves to get an overall sound to the mix. Of course, there is no reason why I couldn't use the Air Strip on the master bus, there is no right or wrong. I just prefer the separate inserts for bus work. Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment.
Ive been using the Tube Drive on my master bus for a while and love it. To me it also helps glue things together. I usually run it at very low drive and saturation levels.
I didn't find much information on processing 'drumless sample loops'.Could You maybe touch on that subject or just give an advice how to make it sound so warm and enhancds the vroove in loop...reference could be the alchemist type recent beats or Juga-naut-Smoke filled room track.I appriciate!
Hey buddy. There’s no right or wrong to be honest and it entirely depends on the situation. Just bear in mind that whatever you do before compression, then has to go through the compressor. Saturation tends to be a character plugin, as in it adds something. If you compress it, you’ll be taking something away again. But of course that’s cool if it’s your intended goal. The reason I compress on the master bus first is to get control of the signal. Once I have it under control I can subtly add character, hence saturation afterwards. But there are cases occasionally where I might add saturation first I guess.
@@TheCratesMotel I have one more question...if I used this fx chain on the master bus, could I still put this into ozone, or would you advise against that?
@@sundalo916 Yes of course you can, but it would probably be best to not limit it too much in the MPC if you intend to limit in Ozone. But there are no rules. I use two limiters on masters all the time.
Do you first mix the individual drums for a good balance of volume, then the other tracks relative to the drums, and then start your top down mixing process?
Thanks for watching dude. I get a rough balance overall first. So basically get the volume right for every track in context. I don’t do any processing on any channel except maybe some hi pass filters on channels that don’t need any low end. It’s mix specific though. I never do anything by default. Every mix is different.
Hey buddy, it's more to do with attenuating the sub frequencies that are not needed. You are not really cutting the bass, but it is ok to cut off sub frequencies, especially when cutting to vinyl. Sometimes when I master for vinyl I cut off as high as 40hz. Too much low end information can make a needle jump out of the groove. However, there are some tracks where I have left all sub frequencies in the master. It entirely depends on the project. There is no right or wrong or default. Thank you for watching.
There are definitely numerous software plugins designed specifically for this purpose but in the MPC the only thing you can do really is EQ out high frequencies. That would help a little.
Hey buddy, I try and get the signal as hot as I can without peaking because that is just what I am used to doing since the 80s, but to be honest, once you sample into the MPC it converts it to 32bit Floating Point and this handles any low noise floor very well, so recording in at -20 is going to be fine, but you might want to normalize it. Normalizing will just help in gain staging later on when you are arranging or mixing.
Absolute gold! I will be spending a lot of time on this channel. Excellent description and shared knowledge. Just used the AIR Tube Drive for the first time and that subtle sound is great, really good ways to train the ears to small changes. Thanks man. I've purchased the Air Flavour Pro and love it however as you mentioned, its better to use on individual tracks, I've slapped it on the master a few times without the desired results 🤣. Thanks again, these vids are dope!
Thanks for watching dude, I appreciate the support. I am glad there is some stuff there to help you on your MPC journey.
"mpc3000" preset
Man this has become one of my favorite channels. You offer so many great tips and techniques to help us make our MPC sound as great as it can possibly sound with nothing more than the MPC itself. Salute 🫡
Ah thanks man and thank you for watching. I’m happy to help.
This is the best mpc channel out right now...
Thank you dude 🙏🏼
Facts. Nobody else really shows us how to get the most out of the MPC. Conan has the sauce. 💯
That Track Reminds Me Of The Bill Cosby Theme... Jazzy Cool.
Damn it does! One of my all time favorite shows!
That’s not a bad shout. Two of the musicians on the album I sampled worked with Grover Washington Jnr who did some of the music for Cosby.
@@TheCratesMotel I've Always Been Told That I Have An Ear For Music, But I Never Saw Myself As A Beat Maker Until I Saw The MPC LIVE 2 Promotion's, So It's Been Almost 3 Years Of Not Just Learning, But Listening For That Tone That Sparks Something Inside Your Brain... SO HECK NAWL, I Never Intended For It To Be A Bad Shout. It Made The Exercise Of The Tutorial Fun For Me... It Took Me Back To That Cosby Show Moments. 👍🏽👍🏽When Cosby Was A Wholesome Show In A Wholesome Era.
Conan, it was so much fun to watch the master at work! This video showcases a lot of information from your previous videos put to use! Nice busy track as an example and refreshing that it’s jazz. I started going back to mix in standalone because of your tutorials. I’m using my ears and my notes from your videos as a guide while mixing. Kudos for being in the room with Mr. Magic, Grover Washington Jr. I grew up on his music, because of my dad. Thanks for giving us a glimpse “over your shoulder” as you described your process. I’m so looking forward to the next video. I’m interested in examples of subgroups. If you’ve covered their, please provide a link.
@@famosguider205 Thanks for your kind words dude and thank you for watching. I plan on doing a video in the future with Sub, returns, etc
Yes mate, your experience and guidance is translating very well. Been digging into a few of your vids over the last 2 days and implemented some of your para-eq-ing and good Lordy has it improved my overall sound throughout. Really really really really happy mate so thankyou very much for taking the time to share your wisdom ✌🏼
You’re welcome dude. Thank you for taking the time to comment and thank you for watching.
This is a MUST WATCH! So many great mixing tips all broken down real simple.
Thanks dude. I’m really happy to be of help.
Дякую вам,я після великої паузи мабуть років 10 вирішив зайнятися музикою для душі,ви дуже все гарно пояснюєте і це чудово!
Будь ласка. Thank you for watching.
This was super useful for those new(ish) to the MPC ... half the battle is knowing what each plug does is half the battle! So the suggestions here are great, even for a veteran engineer like myself. Thanks Conan!
You’re welcome man. Yup we never stop learning. My mentor used to say “Just when you think you know everything, you don’t”. Thanks for watching.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge! Your videos have been a huge help!!
You're welcome dude, thank you for watching.
Yes indeed, this is similar to how I do it, I then sample the mixdown in mpc using resample and may put a little gain on the resulting file if its not hitting 0db, great vid bro
Yes resample is a great way of doing it. Thanks for watching brother 🙏🏼
Thanks Conan for this mastering class. Your channel has helped me to understand dynamics when using then MPC and sound in general. I recently posted some tracks on my own channel and I noticed that I tend to mix the hi-hats louder, especially as I use samples a lot. I definitely need to dial down the frequencies more. Hopefully in future, it would great for you to do a livestream when you can have time. Peace
That’s great, I’m glad to be of help. I am definitely considering doing some live streams when I’ve upped my subs and reach a little more.
Once again I come away from your video with knowledge and enthusiasm to practice what I’ve learned. You’ve cleared up several things that I was thinking about asking about. Thank you Mr. Conan! 👊😎
An absolute pleasure dude. Thank you for watching.
@@TheCratesMotel Best mpc vids by far. Love from Ireland! 👊😎
@@riddim7774 Thank you 🙏🏼
This is super useful! I was actually gifted an MPC Live 1, and I'm using it in an unusual way. I have external grooveboxes, the 4 roland compacts, a volca, and a modular setup, and I'm just looking to have a bit more control of that whole rig when jamming. So I'm using the Live along with an 8 channel USB audio interface to do multichannel mixing, audio and MIDI routing, and some effects. So I'm really starting to learn all this mixing/mastering stuff, but from the standpoint of getting a decent, cohesive sound for improvisational live jam stuff. So I can have a lot of the benefits of a DAW without actually having to have a PC at my jam station (a total creativity killer for me). So this kind of high level summary stuff is really useful. Thanks!
That sounds awesome dude, a great set up. I am glad there was something here for you. Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment.
I was gifted a brand new never been opened straight from the guitar center MPC one+ yesterday from my older brother 😊
I've been looking for this for a while and that's why I subscribed to the channel!
For a single song, his "master bus philosophy" is excellent.
I intend to put together a live set that has around 7 or 8 songs. I started putting together the first 3 songs and have been carrying out transitions, effects and mix tests, using track mute and next sequence to perform.
I'm using 3 submixes to assign effects like XYFX, Filter Gate, Flex Beat, Delay, Half Speed, TouchFX, etc. I will map these effects to a MIDI controller. This will route the programs through submixes 1, 2 and 3 before reaching the master bus. I'll also use Returns to create some subtle room reverb.
In my set, each song corresponds to a sequence. In general, for each song then, I use, for example:
Track 01: some percussion loops and one-shots within the same program.
Track 02: drum program with non-destructive slices.
Track 03: Hype plugin.
Track 04: Bassline plugin... etc
This model should be repeated in the other songs in the set.
Mastering all of this will be very difficult (not to say impossible). At first I've been using pink noise to level out the sounds. Do you have any additional suggestions for a balanced mix between songs? What can I use on the master bus in this case?
Maybe this will be the topic for a next video =D Thank you and congratulations on the content.
Hey dude, thank you for watching. That is a bit of a hard question to answer categorically without hearing the source. There is not really a one size fits all answer and I try to tell my students to not do anything by default. However, that said, for general duties on the master bus I would normally go for light bus compression (I use Air Comp for that. Slow attack around 30ms and fast release, as fast as possible, ratio at 2:1 with maybe 1 to 2 db GR maximum). Then some broad EQ to maybe boost around 60hz shelf and 12khz shelf and maybe a tickle at 5khz for clairty), then some colour, for example the vintage effects like the MPC60 (I use that alot to add colour and low end) and then finally a limiter. You don't want to be hitting teh limiter too hard but you can get some extra gain from it. That will work in most cases.
This sounds so good while EQing live...Respect and true appriciation for sharing it with others🗽
You're welcome dude, thank you for watching and taking the time to comment.
Your videos have helped me alot. Love that you use the same MPC as me. The One is the truth!
Hey, thank you for watching. Yeh the One is an amazing little machine, I love it.
Conan, you're a star mate. Nothing but respect for sharing your knowledge. I'd be interested to hear your take on the Air Soft Clipper
Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment. I’m hoping to get around to trying out the Air Soft Clipper soon.
SO helpful man, thank you!
You’re very welcome dude. Thank you for watching.
Such a great video. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge on these topics.
Thanks for watching dude and for taking the time to comment.
Thankyou so much, been hoping for your expertise on a master bus chain. 😇
Thanks for watching dude
This is deep man. I love it thank you. Proper knowledge.
Thanks man and thank you for watching.
Great topic! My chain also uses TubeDrive, super low levels or it becomes troublesome. Super cool advice.
Cheers P
Btw Groover Washington Jr...what a pool of countless sounds to chop from..and even drumless grooves i love to loop n play around
Yeh man, Grover is a cat!!
Very helpful!
Thanks for watching dude
Loved this! Thanks a lot. Could take away a lot for and will approach my next bet definitely a bit different
You’re welcome dude, and thank you for watching.
Dope and in-depth tutorial! If possible, unless you have already done on a video on this, can you show how you would mix an audio/vocal track on the MP? Believe it or not, I don’t see a lot of tutorials on using to the MP to cut vocals, mix them, etc. Keep bringing the knowledge bro 💪🏽
Thanks for watching dude. Here you go ua-cam.com/video/clDUF1IBASw/v-deo.html
Yes I agree 💯
I like your style, simple, confident, thorough. I’d love to work with you for mastering my tracks, cheers.
Yup I like to keep it simple and straight up dude haha. You can reach out at conan@thecratesmotel.com if you are interested in any mastering or mixing services. Thanks for watching man.
Than you for useful interesting video! Respect! 💥💯
You’re welcome dude. Thank you for watching.
Awesome video. Fire track.
Thanks man and thank you for watching.
good channel bro these dives r useful
Thanks for watching dude
Yo dat beat lo🔑🔥🔥🔥
Thank you brother 🙏🏼
Thank you for this. I do have a curiosity, why are you not using the Air Channel Strip effect to control EQ and compression from the same insert?
That is a great question. I love the Air Strip but I do not have the control I require, or the character I desire, from the Air Strip. With separate compression and EQ I can choose exactly what style of compression and EQ I use. The Master Bus tends to be more about broad, subtle moves to get an overall sound to the mix. Of course, there is no reason why I couldn't use the Air Strip on the master bus, there is no right or wrong. I just prefer the separate inserts for bus work. Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment.
Thanks for your content :) Gave you a follow.
Thank you for watching dude
brilliant. thanks!
Thank you for watching dude
Amazing! U have a new sub!!💯
Thank you brother
Ive been using the Tube Drive on my master bus for a while and love it. To me it also helps glue things together. I usually run it at very low drive and saturation levels.
Exactly. That’s the art. Subtlety. Saturation is a great gluing tool if used sparingly. Thank you for watching.
I didn't find much information on processing 'drumless sample loops'.Could You maybe touch on that subject or just give an advice how to make it sound so warm and enhancds the vroove in loop...reference could be the alchemist type recent beats or Juga-naut-Smoke filled room track.I appriciate!
Good shout dude, noted.
@@TheCratesMotel i truly appriciate all you do on this channel...Thank You is not said enough...
Quality thanks 🙏
Thanks for watching
Thank you!!! What's your though on saturation before vs after compression. Obviously you used it after comp in this instance on the master bus
Hey buddy. There’s no right or wrong to be honest and it entirely depends on the situation. Just bear in mind that whatever you do before compression, then has to go through the compressor. Saturation tends to be a character plugin, as in it adds something. If you compress it, you’ll be taking something away again. But of course that’s cool if it’s your intended goal. The reason I compress on the master bus first is to get control of the signal. Once I have it under control I can subtly add character, hence saturation afterwards. But there are cases occasionally where I might add saturation first I guess.
love your tips. any idea on how to mix and get the levels balanced on say a 5 song ep, completley done in standalone?
Thanks for watching dude. I spoke to you in the forums right?
@@TheCratesMotel yes, that's me lol. thanks again for the tips
@@TheCratesMotel I have one more question...if I used this fx chain on the master bus, could I still put this into ozone, or would you advise against that?
@@sundalo916 Yes of course you can, but it would probably be best to not limit it too much in the MPC if you intend to limit in Ozone. But there are no rules. I use two limiters on masters all the time.
Do you first mix the individual drums for a good balance of volume, then the other tracks relative to the drums, and then start your top down mixing process?
Thanks for watching dude. I get a rough balance overall first. So basically get the volume right for every track in context. I don’t do any processing on any channel except maybe some hi pass filters on channels that don’t need any low end. It’s mix specific though. I never do anything by default. Every mix is different.
Hey , i have question. why on the eq do you cut the bass on the master? Do professional songs have less bass? Thanks alot
Hey buddy, it's more to do with attenuating the sub frequencies that are not needed. You are not really cutting the bass, but it is ok to cut off sub frequencies, especially when cutting to vinyl. Sometimes when I master for vinyl I cut off as high as 40hz. Too much low end information can make a needle jump out of the groove. However, there are some tracks where I have left all sub frequencies in the master. It entirely depends on the project. There is no right or wrong or default. Thank you for watching.
Thanks
Anyone know if there is a effect that can minimize the hissing on samples?
There are definitely numerous software plugins designed specifically for this purpose but in the MPC the only thing you can do really is EQ out high frequencies. That would help a little.
Hey how loud do you record your samples into the mpc I usually record around -20 to -9 db but I feel as I should be recording around 0
Hey buddy, I try and get the signal as hot as I can without peaking because that is just what I am used to doing since the 80s, but to be honest, once you sample into the MPC it converts it to 32bit Floating Point and this handles any low noise floor very well, so recording in at -20 is going to be fine, but you might want to normalize it. Normalizing will just help in gain staging later on when you are arranging or mixing.
superb, thank you!
You’re welcome dude and thank you for watching