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TV Music


Mark Morgon-Shaw

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Some folks were asking about music for TV,  here are some of my tracks and which shows they are in.  All made in Cakewalk , I seem to be one of the few in a sea of mostly Logic Pro users but I refuse to use Apple gear on principle ( crazy pricing , non upgradable/repairable etc ) but I can make just as good music as they do in my beloved Cakewalk  :) 

 

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Impressive.  When I listen to these it strikes me how much improvement I need in mixing and mastering (but then I already knew that).

I have a cheap pair of Panasonic headphones that I am listening on right now.  I have never been able to get any of my songs to sound worth a damn on these headphones,  They are like my own personal torture device.  But what strikes me is how crystal clear everything is in your songs.  Bass and kick have punch and the high ends sparkle.  I feel like if I can get my songs to sound like this on these headphones I will be in good shape.

That plus the writing and production is top notch.  Thanks for sharing.

Jeff

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31 minutes ago, jwnicholson78 said:

That plus the writing and production is top notch.  Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Jeff, it's a big long learning curve for sure.  Part of comes from doing it a lot , I can guarantee that if you wrote & mixed 100 tracks in a year, the 100th would be quite a bit better than the 1st.

You don't need a big fancy studio to get good results but I honestly think if the room you mix in is not properly measured and acoustically treated you will likely find that once the mixes leave it, they won't translate well.

Most of those tracks were made on the setup in the pic although I've since had bigger screens, and larger controller keyboard but you can see some of the acoustic treatment and I also use Sonarworks Reference as well. So it's about as flat as it can be for what is basically a garage studio.

I've adopted more a "topdown" mixing approach over the years which means you do most the heavy lifting on the Master Bus or Group Buses and essentially to less on a per track level. 

A lot of mix issues I hear are down to arrangement - things clashing with each other and fighting for space in the mix. One thing that helped me learn to avoid that was the little mixcube, I spend a lot of the time working in mono which really highlights when parts are in the way of each other as well as being a great tool for balance.

 I see some gorgeous looking studios on the Cakewalk Facebook Groups that make me drool , but often when I listen to the music folks make in them they don't sound as good as they look. So it's definitely about the guy in the seat as much as the rest of it.

f1004320751_Studio2014.jpg.01900c888406f14149f41fe2729f94e2.jpg

Edited by Mark MoreThan-Shaw
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Awesome look into your setup and your mixes are wonderfuly clear. I'd see them as very commercially viable. Your use of reverb and the decay of its wash is a clinic unto itself!

Great advice about room treatment. Is the white wall behind your screens treated at all?

cheers,

-Tom

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6 hours ago, PhonoBrainer said:

Awesome look into your setup and your mixes are wonderfuly clear. I'd see them as very commercially viable. Your use of reverb and the decay of its wash is a clinic unto itself!

Thanks Tom

Obviously it depends on the type of track but I generally don't use reverb a bunch, and more often than not it's actually  delay. I do like the Valhalla reverbs though and I use Echoboy for delay.  The main trick with either of those is to use them as an FX send but to EQ the reverb return to keep all the mud and mush out of the mix - so the reverb bus may end up looking something like this.

image.thumb.png.22f66d49110e48408d6a777fd69183a2.png  

6 hours ago, PhonoBrainer said:

Great advice about room treatment. Is the white wall behind your screens treated at all?

Well spotted , it's not actually a wall in fact. When I took the measurements there was still some bass overhang ( visible with a free program called Room EQ Wizard ) and this was visible on the waterfall plot.

I'd been posting my results on a Gearslutz forum for acoustic treatment and someone suggested a " limp mass barrier " .  So I looked into them and I just didn't have the budget but I did see mention of a "ghetto " solution of hanging a up a rug. 

I happened to have a large one as we'd just moved house and it didn't really fit anywhere so it was just lying around so I hung it the suggested distance a couple of feet  from the back wall which involved pulling my desk further into the room. I measured it again and there was a noticeable improvement , the guys on Gearslutz all seemed to approve and ten years later it's still there ! 

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Really cool stuff - as others have said great mixes

Really good advice re the room you mix in - i spent a lot of time on my mixing room - getting rid of a very nasty bass null point IIRC!!

I only have mid price monitors (KRK VXT8's) but I am used to them now.

I know some people do mix on headphones and do so very well, I would never like to have to mix on Headphones - I could never get used to that!!!

Cheers

Nigel

 

 

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On 7/17/2022 at 1:23 AM, Mark MoreThan-Shaw said:

One thing that helped me learn to avoid that was the little mixcube, I spend a lot of the time working in mono which really highlights when parts are in the way of each other as well as being a great tool for balance.

Another single MixCube user here, and your tracks sound really great on it!

True mono with only one speaker/driver reveals even the tiniest flaws in the (most) important midrange.

Your mixes translate perfectly, very well done!

Thanks for sharing!
 

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9 hours ago, Keith Wilby said:

Awesome sound, I wish I could get my stuff sounding that good. Is that an EKO acoustic in the pic?

Indeed ! The Eko was rescued from a skip believe it or not in the early 90's by my Sister,  she never played it and so I adopted it and learned to play.  I've owned other guitars over the years but for some reason I just prefer playing the Eko, it's easy to play and sounds good.  I bet yours is in much better nick , mine is bumped,  battered and covered in dints and nicks through being taken to different places. But I wouldn't have it any other way, it's a been a trusty companion and I kinda like that it has many battle scars !

Your room reminds me of the studio at my friends house, it looks like a modern build. He lived in a 3 story house with the spare bedroom on the 3rd floor  - I couldn't mix in it - when I used to go there I'd sit in his mix seat and all I would hear was the reflections.  I think those types of rooms take even more work to sound good than my garage.

 

   

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On 7/18/2022 at 11:54 AM, Bajan Blue said:

I know some people do mix on headphones and do so very well, I would never like to have to mix on Headphones - I could never get used to that!!!

On 7/19/2022 at 11:18 AM, Mark MoreThan-Shaw said:

Me neither ! Although for some they have no choice. 

I share my music space (I hesitate to even call it a studio) with the main TV in the house, a Peleton and the play area for 10 and 12 year old boys. 

Headphones are the only option.

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13 hours ago, Mark MoreThan-Shaw said:

 I bet yours is in much better nick , mine is bumped,  battered and covered in dints and nicks through being taken to different places.

 

   

Mine has quite a few battle scars. I've had it since about 1979 and I've used it a lot, but then I made a recording using my son's Epiphone electro-acoustic and it sounds so much better, so I've retired the EKO from recording, I just busk in the kitchen with it 🤣

As for the room, it used to double as my office when I was working from home owing to COVID, but now I've retired it's a dedicated (very small) studio. I test my mixes with my cheapo Samson studio monitors, my rather expensive Beyerdynamic cans, and my even more expensive home theatre in the living room. That's as good as it gets for me and I'm fairly happy with that since this is my hobby and not a profession 🙂

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