Apollo Brown Makes A Beat From Scratch [VIDEO]
September 1, 2010
Apollo Brown gives fans an intimate look at what goes on in the box when he lays down his highly sought-after beats. He takes the audience through a step-by-step lesson on how he puts together a beat starting with the sampling and building all the way up to a polished beat. He starts off with a soulful throwback hook for a sample and blends with a basic but raw drum beats that blend fluidly into another hit for the always-busy producer.
Download The Reset Instrumentals for free here:
http://mellomusicgroup.bandcamp.com/album/the-reset-instrumentals
Lee Majors Talks Ricky Rozay’s “Free Mason”
August 10, 2010
BTS: Rick Ross – Free Mason feat. Jay-Z & John Legend from Duy Nguyen on Vimeo.
In this very brief clip Lee Majors of “The Inkredibles” gives a little background info on
how he got into producing and talks about the beat that turned out to be Ross’s
“Free Mason”.
Bun B & DJ Premier, “Let ‘Em Know” [VIDEO]
July 30, 2010
Promo video for Bun B’s “Let Em Know” produced by DJ Premier. Trill O.G. is in stores August 3rd. (props to 2dopeboyz)
VIDEO: Show Plays Beats in the Studio w/ Preemo
June 29, 2010
DITC’s Show (B-I-Z) plays some instrumentals from his upcoming LP, Risk Taker, while DJ Premier busts down some dinner. The dude went and flipped The Halo video game background music into a beat. Crazy.
SHOWBIZ PLAYING BEATZ! W/ DJ PREMIER from A/V PRENEURS on Vimeo.
Ask The Pro #3 “Phase O”
April 13, 2010
Even the best producers need help and with the constant changes and updates to music production software and hardware the most dedicated novice can become frustrated. In Nodfactor.com’s continued dedication to developing and showcasing the best production talent we have resurrected ASK THE PRO Question and Answer series previously published in Scratch magazine. One of the original contributing engineers, Ariel Borujow, will be answering your technical questions with speed and accuracy. So send them over to INFO@NODFACTOR.COM with the subject “Ask The Pro” and keep checking back to Nodfactor.com for Ariel’s answers. You can also follow Ariel on Twitter @arielborujow and hit him with questions there as well!
Send your mixing and mastering questions to info@Nodfactor.com with the subject line “Ask The Pro”
Ask The Pro #2 “Muddy Waters”
March 8, 2010
Even the best producers need help and with the constant changes and updates to music production software and hardware the most dedicated novice can become frustrated. In Nodfactor.com’s continued dedication to developing and showcasing the best production talent we have resurrected ASK THE PRO Question and Answer series previously published in Scratch magazine. One of the original contributing engineers, Ariel Borujow, will be answering your technical questions with speed and accuracy. So send them over to INFO@NODFACTOR.COM with the subject “Ask The Pro” and keep checking back to Nodfactor.com for Ariel’s answers.
How the heck do I put sub bass in a track without getting that “muddy” sound?
There are some variables that help determine how the sub will get mixed. The one being most important is the sounds that you choose in the production phase of the song. I can’t stress this enough. It all starts off with the right sounds and arrangement. Plenty of times i get songs that have so much going on in the low frequency range that I suggest to the producer to cut certain things out depending on the working relationship we have. For instance if there are 2 types of 808 then a bass that covers the same frequency range, it would be really hard to distinguish what is going on in the low end. Other times if the kick drum occupies the same frequencies as the sub I would then use a high pass filter on the kick and get rid of the sub frequencies (maybe 60 Hz and below). Also the right amount of compression helps tame the low end tremendously. I don’t usually use too much compression on my mixes but even if I add anywhere from 2:1-4:1 ratio, medium to slow attack and slow release it helps control the peaks without over compressing therefore the low end “breathes” more.
How can I tell if my vocals/mix is “in phase?
I have to assume that what you are talking about is background vocals because that is the one thing that people have trouble with when it comes to phasing. The easiest way to check this is to reference your mix in mono. What you will hear once you do that is your vocals will cancel out which mean you will not hear them. Sometimes this happens because you might be over using an imaging plug in such as the S1. The wider you go on the imaging with the plug in, you will notice this more. When i mix, and i use the imager what i do is listen in mono as frequently as possible. Mixes as a whole occupy and 3 dimensional field of hearing. Be very concious about your panning and keeping things within that dimension. As long as you keep all this into consideration, you should have no problem with phasing. Its takes time to learn but the more practice and mixes you accomplish, the more apparent all this becomes.
Sampling A Drum Kit W/Korg microSAMPLER
February 3, 2010
Producers Edge Magazine gets in the guts of the Korg MicroSAMPLER
Using The Pattern Sequencer
Using Effects and Resampling
In The Lab With Vohn Beatz
January 11, 2010
Inside the studio with 12 yr old producer VohnBeatz as he takes you thru making a beat. edited by: S1 SKP 2010
Mike Swoop In the Lab
January 1, 2010
Mike Swoop’s debut album, “New Love” drops February 2nd. Featuring appearances by Big Quarters (Lake City Browns), Toki Wright (Rhymesayers), and Diametrix. The record will be available IN STORES & ONLINE.
He’ll also be hosting Last of the Record Buyers Jan 21 2010 – Minneapolis, MN.
VIDEO: Just Blaze Reminisces About Baseline Studios
December 27, 2009
For the premiere episode of LTD Presents Conversations, the homey Hawaii Mike sat down with Just Blaze to discuss the history and closing of the legendary Baseline Recording studios. (spotted@nahright)
LTD Presents Conversations: Just Blaze (Episode #1) from LTD Magazine on Vimeo.
