Upping the quality

Composing most of my music using a pair of Shure SHR440 head phones has left me wanting more. While I love the head phones and think they're a steal at around $80-90, they have their short comings. Mainly, it's the low end.

They have killer mids and highs but try to give justice to my 808's though and you're left feeling like Dostoevsky in the face of a Tzar - sentenced to death. This means I have to turn to my Panasonic ear buds and cheap Altec Lansing speakers for a cross reference. Even then, it's difficult to ensure the warmth and punchy-ness that's associated with bass.

This juggling act between two sets of head phones and speakers is annoying and isn't the best way to ensure sound quality. Enter the KRK Rokits. I found a set of them on clearance from Guitar Center and what a difference they've made. A set of monitors, like the Rokits, are a necessary things for every home studio to get at some point. The sound quality they provide allow your production to move up to the next level. This is especially true for my low end production. A test run on the hardest hitting dubstep and hip-hop tracks I have in my library did not leave me disappointed.

The underlying principle for production here is sound depth and quality. The higher the sound quality, the more detail you can put into each track. The depth of sound that monitors provide allow a degree of fine tuning that you just can't get with headphones or cheap speakers. This translates int0 better over all production quality. Again, it's the great little things the make great producers.

Mixtape Review


"Blue Chips" - Action Bronson, Produced by Party Supplies

Featuring: Roc Marciano, Meyhem Lauren, & Kool A.D.

Download for free HERE

Who?

Action "Bronsileno" is a chef turned rapper from Queens.  He is legit.  He has a dvd that sells for about $13.  He has drawn comparisons to Ghostface Killah, which he apparently resents, yet ironically makes more obvious by sampling Ghost on "Tapas."

My Impression

Bronson flexes his lyricism from beginning to end, peppering in plenty of impressive culinary wordplay while also making endless references to hookers and his "manhood."  The latter could be construed as a negative (I don't particularly care for it) yet Bronson's skills on the mic and solid production by Party Supplies overcome that issue and make this project a solid listen all the way through.  Roc Marciano drops a strong guest verse on the refined "Pouches of Tuna," while Kool A.D. from Das Racist also stops by and goofs around for a minute and a half or so on the laid back "Arts & Leisure."

Highlights:

"9-24-11" - Best beat on the whole tape and Bronson kills it.  There is also a bonus for you producers out there as towards the end of the song there are some drums just begging to be sampled.  "Tan Leather," "Double Breasted," "5 Minute Beats 1 take Raps," & "Blue Chips" are my other favorites.  Dope beats, dope rhymes.

Should I download this?

Yes.  It's free, you idiot!  Bronson also sells music for money.  You should probly buy it.

Freq Map

Thanks to Future Music and Dubspot for providing this simple frequency map. Obviously, each person is going to have their own preferences when it comes to all aspect of production. However, a general template or preset to fall back on works well in sparking and perpetuating creativity. A generalist approach, like creating your own default presets for everything from snare reverb to mixing and matching freqs like we have above, really comes in handy when you find yourself brooding over minute details and spending hours on something that's just making you frustrated. Rather than getting caught up in the small details of whether your chorus should mix at 31 or 32%, you can keep the creative flow going. Assign a general preset now, something that's familiar, you know has worked before and sounds good enough, and then coming back and fine it later. The only catch is you have to come back and tweak it to perfection. While there is nothing wrong with presets, what separates good producers from great ones is the attention to the smallest details. That means putting time in for the little things.