LETTER OF THE MONTH
Jun 1, 2007 12:00 PM
THE MORE YOU KNOW
It's articles like “Up in the Club” from the April 2007 Remix that keep me reading the magazine from cover to cover month after month, year after year. I've been a casual bedroom producer for seven years, and a DJ for just as long. I'm a cheapo when it comes to buying hardware or plug-ins, so I make the best of what I've got. There's no better way of doing that than understanding what pros do in the studio to make a mix balance perfectly when it comes out of any speakers — from iPod headphones and car stereos to full-blown club or festival sound systems.
Knowing how to make each element sit in the mix can turn a song from a muddy mess to a dancefloor-stomping masterpiece. Believe me, I've tried my own muddy messes on the dancefloor and watched them flop. I've also cleaned up songs using simple advice I learned from Remix and have been amazed by the transformation.
Maybe if you're already chin-deep in music production, you don't need Remix to tell you how to separate the kick drum from the bass line to make your new song rock hard on the dancefloor. But if you're like the rest of us — in music for the fun of it — and you haven't dropped thousands of dollars on an audio engineering school, read Remix every month and apply what you learn. Soon you'll understand the simple techniques that separate the pros from the average joes. Your music will sound better. You'll get better reactions when you play your music for crowds. And who knows — when a label hears your demo, and they realize your tracks need almost no work to be released, you may even get signed.
Roy Furr
Springfield, Ore.
For sending in this month's winning letter, Roy Furr wins his own Frontier Design Group TranzPort (MSRP $249) wireless DAW control. If you send in the most inspired correspondence next month — or simply the letter we like best — you'll win the Frontier Design Group TranzPort. All you have to do is send an e-mail to remixeditorial@remixmag.com. Please include your full mailing address.
LOVE FOR THE LATE D
I just wanted to thank you for the kind article on Disco D (“Editor's Note,” March 2007). D was a part of my company and a part of my life. I had him staying in my room 20 out of 24 hours of the day for the last few weeks before we sent him home to his parents. He was a mentor to my younger producer, Benny Blanco, and remains a part of our daily discussions.
Thanks for helping the world remember him in the right manner.
James Johnson
Brooklyn, N.Y.
NO B.S.!
I just wanted to say that your magazine has had a huge impact on my life recently. I have subscribed for about two to three years, and I used to get it at newsstands across the country. The music reviews, the gear reviews (to some degree), party and conference information, have all enhanced my life greatly — no bullshit! I have gone from spinning once or twice a week in San Diego to being a booked DJ with Wednesdays and Saturdays locked for weeks (and in one case, months), spinning drum 'n' bass, downtempo/IDM and hip-hop. Mad love to y'all. Thank you for your quality, cutting-edge magazine. Without you, my dream would have been a lot more difficult to realize. Viva vinyl! And fuck CDs! Word is born.
Andrew Morton
Via e-mail
THE PASSION OF THE MUSIC
Let me just start out by saying that I found your magazine through an extensive Web search that I have been doing to find something to lead me in the right direction. I've always carried with me a deep passion for music. Just recently, within the past several months, I've decided that music production — remixing and anything else involved with music — is a dream that I'd like to pursue. I'm currently serving our great county in Iraq. I have about five more months here, and when I'm not working, I'm thinking of ways I can follow this dream. I will be honest and say that I don't have the slightest idea of where to start or what I need. I went ahead and subscribed to your magazine, but I also thought it would be a good idea to ask an expert on the subject. So if there is any kind of advice you have to help guide me in the right direction, I'd be extremely thankful for it.
Jill Cardona
Balad Air Base, Baghdad, Iraq
Assuming that your space and budget are limited, you should get a laptop, some software, a MIDI/audio interface (try the Novation X-Station x25 or M-Audio Ozone), some good headphones (Sony MDR-7506 or Audio-Technica ATH-PRO5 MS are great) and a decent mic (Shure SM58 and SM57 are industry standards), in that order. A Mac will include GarageBand, so you can record audio and use its software synthesizers and effects. You may want to supplement it with a DAW (digital audio workstation) program such as Apple Logic Express, Mackie Tracktion 3 or Ableton Live 6. A PC laptop won't include music software, so look at cross-platform apps like Propellerhead Reason, Tracktion or Live, or PC-only powerhouses such as Image Line FL Studio or Cakewalk Sonar 6. — Markkus Rovito
ROTATIONS ROCKS!
I have been subscribing to Remix for about a year now. I can truly say there is no wasted space in this magazine. Each issue inspires and fuels my creativity as I read about the different methods and tools that established artists and producers are using to make some great sounds. I'm an aspiring producer who constantly studies music of all genres. For this reason, the CD reviews always come as a breath of fresh air because they provide a wealth of quality underground music that I may not have discovered otherwise. I use the term “underground” because that term refers to being below the surface (the surface being the vast majority of music in mainstream media). I'm always shocked at the fact that I can leave the country for more than a month, come back and hear the same exact stuff on the radio that I was hearing before I left. So every time Remix arrives in my mailbox, I jump right to the CD reviews. It is here that I discovered artists such as The Shins, Funkstörung and Lifesavas. I have also found Air, Dave Clarke, DJ Mooner and the Good, the Bad and the Queen — all of these wonderful artists whom I may not have been exposed to if I had relied solely on mainstream media; the “surface.” I was able to go online and listen to their music and ultimately become a fan and supporter. I guess my overall point is, if you want to find treasure, you are going to have to dig. Remix makes the digging process that much easier.
Giancarlo Ghedini
Dix Hills, N.Y.
Acceptable Use Policy blog comments powered by Disqus
| Want to use this article? Click here for options! |  |
