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For HHG/Ask Dr No questions, comments, and queries email me at: askdrno@gmail.com

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CLINIC RECORDING SERVICE - Professional Mixing, and Mastering clinicrecording@gmail.com for the details

Q. I have an album and I wanted you to take a listen to some of the tracks.

I appreciate what you've done on HHG. I've always had a hard time mastering and mixing my vocals because I use a standard microphone, the computer standard. What I do to take out the Hi's is put a clear piece of tape over it and it usual does the trick. It records at a low-mid frequency and it doesn't sound bad if I were to take the time to actually figure out equalization. I guess I'm just e-mailing you to say thanks an hopefully we can connect at one point or time about something… right now my efforts give thanks an blessings to you and yours.

1 LOVE

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Q. Hey yo wat up doc I was just over at hip hop game and I read your article. I was wondering if you have any tips on improving the quality on a USB mic I got a Samson c01u and it's ok but not the greatest. Are there any tips that you could spill on me I would highly appreciate it thanks.

A. The songs are distorted. The first thing you need to do is keep your recording levels out of the red. You need to do this at every stage.

As far as the mic my first comment/suggestion is as I've said before “don't use USB mics”. The ones I've heard sound like crap and are not made for real quality recording. Now I admit I haven't heard every one of them and they may sound better by now (HINT to the Manufacturers out there). However I still think a mic should be analog and run through an analog pre and an analog compressor. If done right your vocals will be clean and punchy and sound like you're used to vocals on records sounding. It's not necessarily natural sounding, not a perfect digital representation of your voice - and you don't want it to be either. You want it to sound bigger and better than your natural voice.

With that said if you still want to use a USB mic you can try what the person above does - put a piece of tissue (not tape) over it to dull it some. We used to put tissue over the tweeter in the NS-10's because they were too bright. O… you were probably too young to be in the studio then…. J

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Remember…. F!!! the salesman, they don't care about you or your problems (projects) they only care about their jobs and commissions. They'll tell you anything for a sale. They'll lie and tell you to buy any new crap they have in stock. As a salesman they are a failure if they let you leave the store without buying something.

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Q. What up Doc? We spoke a while back and I took your advice. We went and got a PreSonus Blue pre amp. I got two songs if you could check out for me and let me know if they are ready for mastering. The first one Fresher was done without using the preamp mainly that whole album I finished was done without it. The second song Right Here was done with the PreSonus I think that one is ready. Fresher I think is good but, I need a professional ear on it. I had sent these songs to two other engineers but they BSSSIN on getting the work done so your input would be greatly appreciated. Also, what is you fee on the mastering tip???

A. I don't think it's a good idea to tell me that you asked 2 other engineers first. That's like you wanted my advice then you didn't until those others crapped on you. That's disrespectful….

Y'all gonna respect mine, or there goes the Tech 9, move from the gate Now!!!

Q. Thousand Pardons Doc! I just emailed them to have them master the songs. You told me to get another set of ears to master. No disrespect to your craft though. Could you diagnose them to make sure I'm on the right path as far as the mixing goes so I can be sure we on point. If you think they're good, what is your fee for mastering? I would rather have them professionally done but, I don't know if I my pockets deep enough for an industry engineer.

A. I'll listen and get back to you shortly. My service is not geared only toward industry people. It's geared toward people like you that pay for their dreams out of their own pockets and need professional, industry level services. AskDrNo before you assume you can't afford it. I'm not joking when I say that I write AskDrNo and answer many, many emails for the people. I'm giving to help - or just because I like the attention.

Fresher -

I would:

1. Lower the HH

2. Add a little high end to the kick

3. Use a smaller reverb on the vocals

4. Do some doubles and/or ad libs to help build the energy in some sections of the song, or raise the ones that are there already it's hard to tell

Right Here -

I would:

1. Soften (lower) the kick, it's a little over powering

2. Try to bring out the "I'm right here" sample by playing with the eq. More top end in the hooks and a little less in the verse so it doesn't clash with the lead but can still be heard

Most of the above comments are my personal preferences. I couldn't say that your mixes are wrong. Overall the mixes sound good and could be mastered as is.

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Remember - with most studio monitors if the bass is rumbling there's probably too much. People adjust their playback systems by turning up the bass or adding subs to get that Boom. If you have it in your mix already, there will be too much after they boost it again. Or to put it another way - Your songs need to sound compatible with all the other songs in someone's rotation. If they have to turn down the bass every time your song comes on or they'll blowout their system, there's a problem.

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I wanted to talk (vent) about what I call the 'Copy Cat, Biter, Get Off Another Nigga Nutz Syndrone' (CCBGOANN). Now this can cover a lot of things from fashion to a particular Swag (like saying Swag….) but I'm talking about a particular type of CCBGOANN, the way everyone wants to use the T-Pain and the Chop N Screw effects on their songs, a la Lil Wayne (and others). Fa real man almost every Hip Hop song I've done recently somebody wants to hear it. Now I know my perspective might be a little different then the average persons just because I listen to so much music. I listen to so many different songs from so many different artists plus the radio. It gets crazy when something is repeated over, and over, and over, and over, and over. You might think it's you and T-Pain, or you and Wayne doing it but its really you and everyone else who's doing it. You probably just don't get to hear their music so you don't know that they are also using it. But by the time your music hits the market with everyone else's there's a flood of it. It's to the point that people don't even want to hear it any other way. They want to sound just like Wayne (GOBLIN…) Wayne is at the top of the game and setting trends. But damn don't people realize yet that you can't follow a trend in music because by the time you hear it and record a song using it, and get it out, the trend is over. The trend setters are off to set a new trend for you to follow. For real man if one more person asks for it I'll bust. I like to be creative and (here's the important part…) ORIGINAL. Wow… What a word… “ORIGINAL” I can accept, respect, and admire something that someone else does without wanting to do the same thing.

I did a session last night and the CEO/Producer wanted to have the chorus processed so I went into my bag of tricks and came up with some real unique shit. Everyone loved it, the artists and his peeps, everyone except of course the CEO/Producer because he was stuck on the idea of sounding just like Wayne so he couldn't hear it any other way. So now instead of having something new, unique, different and possibly trend setting we wound up with another song that sounds just like everything else that's out there.

Peep Game - Traditionally in the music business the majors are know to be copy cats. They don't break new sounds. Independents, not really being able to compete with the majors marketing power had to try to do the types of music that the majors were not doing to attract listeners with something new different. As one of these new and alternative sounds caught on the majors would all run out and try to find an artist with this new sound. The sound would then become mainstream and the cycle would start all over again. These days, when an independent can actually get their product to the masses, so many are trying to sound like someone else instead of creating something new and exciting, and craving out a good niche where you can get rich because you're the only one doing what you're doing. And yes if this happened we would have a lot of people doing a lot of different types of music so if we wanted to dance and party we'd look for something from 'Dance to This Records' and if we want to chill and reflect on world events we'd listen to something from 'Chill and Reflect Records' and if we wanted to get shawty in the mood something from 'Get Shawty in the Mood Records'.

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Q. Wassup Dr No , I wanna copyright my music and I wanna know if I have samples on my beats can i still copyright the songs or do i have to have permission from the sampled artists before I copyright the songs?

A. You can copyright them. You are copyrighting your version or better said - your song which happens to contain samples. But it also contains things you added. This doesn't mean that you own any rights on the original samples. They'll still need to be cleared when you reach that level of exposure.

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A lot of producers ask about ways to get their work heard and I usually tell them that they have to keep grindin. Well now I have a situation that may allow you to show your work.

I'm going to be putting out an album. I don't make beats, MC, or sing so I'll need other's to supply all the elements. A great way to highlight the work of some of my clients and friends.

Secondly, I'm going to be putting together a group. The details of the group have to remain private for the moment, except that it's a female Hip Hop group.

Both projects will be distributed and promoted nationally and internationally so that's a lot of exposure for your work.

Anyone, and everyone interested (producers, lady MC's) contact me at clinicrecording@gmail.com.

I just mentioned it briefly now because I need to hurry and get this column done but I'll talk more about it all next time.

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Check some of the back columns for more info.

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PEACE

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CLINIC RECORDING SERVICE - Professional Mixing and Mastering

Have your song mixed and mastered by 'Dr No' - Affordability. You can send your session files and audio files over the internet. Hit me at clinicrecording@gmail.com for the details.

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