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Rap and Hip Hop music is full of chopping and sampling. Many Hip Hop producers - like Chuck D, J Dilla, and DJ Premier just to name a few - construct mixes by slicing out one-shot samples from existing third-party loops and songs, extracting brief sections of audio, and re-combining them into a remixed collage of sound. Audio editing software like Read more

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To mix a song correctly, and to build your audio mixing skills, there is nothing more important than a quality monitoring system. At Hit Talk, we’ve stressed this important truth over and over. Yet with today’s technology, we’re not just talking about aural monitoring. Coupling with visual monitoring can only improve your mixes. An ideal professional monitoring Read more

How much difference does one 8th note make? How much difference does one instrument make? In fact, they can make a huge difference! A big part of becoming a songwriter or becoming a music producer is learning how very small changes to an original idea can transform it dramatically. In our previous hook composition tip, we showed Read more

Subwoofers are a respectable medium of creativity. Urbanites might respectfully disagree, but we maintain that the subwoofer is a unique creative medium for the most inventive of Hip Hop production. If you appreciate sound design, this tip article is for you. Let’s give you an idea of what we’re talking about. The introduction to “Bring me to Life” by Read more

Classic, timeless Hip Hop music is built on a solid foundation of soulful, yet addictive rhythm. So far, at Hit Talk, we’ve addressed many melodic production concepts, taking rhythm and basic beat-making skills as given. Still, many readers have asked for specifics in creating compelling rhythms and beat-making. In this tip article, we get busy revealing the Read more

You can never have too much RAM, CPU Power, or too optimized a system. A basic computer-based studio will handle a basic DAW sequencer, like Cubase or Sonar; it will run the basic bundled plugins, plus some basic VST instruments, and 10 or 15 channels of audio. A powerful system will handle taxing convolution reverbs, multiple Read more

Out of the hundreds of reader questions we have answered during Hit Talk’s first year, perhaps none is more persistent than how to attain a hotter, better-mastered mix. It’s a persistent question because attaining a bold, big sound requires inspired production wizardry and skill at every single stage of the music-making process - from recording Read more