Things You'll Need:
- A passion for Hip Hop music.
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Step 1
Balance the mix out. Are all frequencies being represented in your mix? Did you leave room for the vocals? Good mixes have a beat within a beat that is audible when the different tracks are played together. There are notes within notes and this gives your mix an emotion. If you have represented the frequency range, added some ambience or whatever type of effects you are looking for, and found the right sounds to go together, then you will definitely have an emotion that your Hip Hop music portrays.
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Step 2
Don’t forget your signature sounds. It is never too late to add that extra edge, however make sure you remember that tracks that are too noisy will not be easily accepted. Most mainstream producers, especially award winning producers, use their own signature sounds. True musicians go by how the music feels, so create the right sounds that feel right for the Hip Hop beat you are making.
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Step 3
Don’t worry about the overall volume when mixing the beat. There are some mainstream producers who claim that they only mix music at low volumes. Then during the final mixdown everything is brought to industry acceptable audio levels. If the bass bottoms out at all or if there is distortion in the beat then it will be distorted forever and could not be used on a serious music project, so most Hip Hop music producers use compression and limiting as a final stage.
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Step 4
Just focus on the mix, not mastering the beat.. A mastering engineer is necessary when you are releasing a studio album for a medium sized to major label. Then this is done after the vocals are laid down in the mix as a final step to a recording. A mastering engineer does not only raise the overall volume of a mix if needed. They will also quiet tracks that are making too much noise or creating disruptions in the flow of the mix. A common thing to do is to mix the track to a -3db output to allow the mastering engineer free reign to tweak away.
