Create
multitrack recording of instrumental Reggae
track: check. Add effects and make a set up:
check. Finalize it with a sound check:
check! In principle we're ready to make our
first Dub. At least, we're ready for an
introduction into what this is all about:
making Dub with computers.
Dub is both
a technique and a form of art. You can learn
the techniques but without the art-istic
approach it won't be much. On the other
hand, creativity can so much be enhanced
with just a little bit of technical
knowledge. So, before we'll start to look in
some actual techniques we really need to
consider our actual artistic feelings and
desires when it comes to Dub.
There are
many, many different ways to start a Dub.
We'll take a look at some of them later on
in this tutorial. There's the thing, are you
making a Dub of a track that is also to be
released as a vocal, are you making a Dub
for a single release or as part of a Dub
album? All need a different approach. What
is it you're trying to communicate with your
mix? What are you trying to say with that
one particular effect you're using? These
questions should be answered in your final
Dub.
Where there
are so many different forms, styles and
techniques in Dub, one thing that all good
Dub has in common is the fact that the Dubs
are remixes of full musical tracks, with or
without vocals. Dub is the Art of taking
away, and when there is nothing to take
away, things become a bit weird. Dub is the
art of transforming a musical track by the
use of effects and changing of settings on
mixing board and devices. You'll need a
musical track to transform, even when you're
never intending to release the original
track you made the Dub from.
Before I
make a Dub, I open the instrumental track in
my DAW and save it under a different name. I
usually give my riddims a number, like
201401master.rns which I then save as
201401mix01.rns just to help myself keeping
track of what I do.
The actual
Dub is made in exactly the same way as it
would be done in a real studio, with a
couple of extra features that were unable in
the times when Dub came into existence. It
means, that while the track is running
you'll change sliders, knobs and everything
else you can possibly change and record
these changes. This is called automation and
every serious DAW should have this
possibility. Some programs require you to
arm tracks for automation, others will
automatically record movements on the mixing
boards and devices.
The last
thing I do before I start recording my mix
is to make an initial setting. Usually this
means I mute every channel except for the
drum, bass and effects (channels 11-14).
When I don't do a thing, the drum and bass
will just play. Only when I unmute another
channel and/or mute channels 1/2
(drums/bass), you'll hear something
else.
I do this
because one very
important general rule is that the drum and
the bass should be dominant, there should be
many parts where it's just the drum and the
bass (plus perhaps an echo), and there
should be let's say at least three little
parts in your mix where drum, bass, or both
will drop out. You could call them
"breaks", in a way. That was a tip
I got very early on, a tip I gladly pass on.
Now, let's
take a little version excursion: a first mix
wherein some of the mentioned principles are
being put into action. Let's just play a
little bit with the track by muting and
unmuting channels while channels 3-5 have a
little Dub delay (aux 1).
Take a look
at the following video and also watch some
basic use of the slider in channel 11, that
basically functions as the echo volume:
At a
certain moment, I increase the volume of the
Aux 1 (Echo) out at the horns channel. This
increases the gain of the echo, which gives
a totally different vibe. However, the basic
thing to watch in the video is the
(un)muting of the channels. I configured Reason
to (un)mute channel 1 when I press
"1" on my keyboard, same with
channels 2,3,4,5. I just pressed these
buttons and used the mouse to do the other
movements you can see.
Everything
on the video was done in one take. For the
purpose of demonstrating some basic
(un)muting, that's perfectly okay. But for
mixing a Dub, you actually need to put
certain things in a loop and do much more
moving of sliders and things. When you just
use a mouse, in a real studio situation this
would mean you're only using one finger and
that's not really leading you anywhere when
you're just having one take. That's why you
need to overdub your automation in several
takes.
You can put
the whole track in a loop and start from the
top to the very last drop several times, you
can select let's say the first 32 measures
of the tune and loop them, only to continue
with the next 32 bars when you're done.
There are many ways to do so, and your
personal preference will crystallize the
more you work and the more complex
everything becomes.
For now,
lets stick a little bit with the (un)muting
of the channels. In my own production
method, I usually make my set up so that
when the volume sliders of the channels are
at max volume, they're at the preferred
level. The reason for that is that even
though I use the mute button a lot, there
are also parts where I prefer the slider.
Pressing the mute button at a skank just
after you hear the actual chord gives a
special effect, it's done in the video as
well. Using the volume sliders can give
other special effects. Since I do not want
to bother about maintaining the right level
all the time, I simply slide them from max
to zero or from zero to max.
When to (un)mute
channels is more than anything else a matter
of feeling. Playing with the progressions of
tones in for example the horns give special
effects. For example, when the horns three 16th notes
and you cut the horns just before the third
tone is played, a long echo of the
unfinished start gives that special effect.
EXAMPLE0042.MP3
Listen to a
lot of Dub. Listen close where the
instruments are cut off and you will
discover all kinds of strategic (un)muting
like the ones I just described. It is really
a matter of feeling where and when you
(un)mute, but it is the most important thing
for a Dub engineer to master. Most Dub
effects are in fact some form of emphasis of
an (un)mute, so when you master that, you
can continue to use the effects to de facto
emphasize what you are doing. Just play a
little bit with the riddim like I did in the
video, it will increase your skills like a
football player increases his skills by
training.
Yes, to
master (un)muting is a must for dubbing.
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