Hi Jeff,

Yeah I always keep copies of the posts I make on here that are worth anything. I have my own forum as well where I share quite a bit of info, so some of them come in handy there.

Yeah you have me figured out in full man....I'm a totally "by experience guy" and to be honest Jeff, I'm a theoretical dope in everything I do. I kinda like that though because in a sense, I think it forms a different way of teaching. I mean don't get me wrong, I know quite a bit of technical information but I think all too often, some of the technicalities can lose someone wanting to learn. There are others that are book worms that just love to learn all there is to know about something. I've always had a problem with that. Like, as much as I love recording and all that goes with it, there are certain books that others brag about that I just kinda found...well...kinda boring and monotone in a sense. For example, I've worked with Bob Katz and have talked to him both on the phone and via email. Great guy, smart guy, a definite guru in my world....but sometimes, he loses me. On some things, I don't agree with his methods due to trying what he's told me vs. things that *I* have done in my experience that I like better and feel make more of a difference.

I'm also one of those guys that has to be able to feel and hear a major difference in something to totally buy into it....and some stuff in this field, really appears to be hype to me that I just stay away from and I'd never even think of talking about it or teaching it to someone. I guess in my experience I have met way more people that had short attention spans. This definitely affects how you have to go about teaching when you're in contact with individuals like that. I think we need the same thing in schools because some of the stuff that gets taught isn't stuff that can be used in the real world for all people. So in turn, those that may not be interested will definitely fall behind and have a shorter attention span. I like to teach things from the heart with a bit of theory involved while giving the individual something challenging for them as well as something fun to keep incentive so they can show their friends and family and get a little cheer out of them. I do it with my recording students as well as my guitar students and it's really been working out well. I guess my mentality on the whole thing is...there has to be a little theory involved to grasp anything, but over-doing it can definitely lose someone. So I go in moderation and try to keep the super techy stuff out of the way. If the person decides to go deeper into it, they always have that option at their disposal. :)

Ah man, don't you worry...if I'm in the same country as you, and you don't mind me showing up, I'll get to you. I'd never expect you to leave your work and find me. LOL! If this thing happens, I'll definitely let you know so maybe you can see what your schedule is like and we can go from there. :) Thanks Jeff.

Great to see Danny that you are backing up your posts. I am sorry I forgot that you do have another forum somewhere and it is very kind of you to put the energy into that for the benefit of others.

Well if you do make it to Australia and you are prepared to come all the way to Melbourne you can certainly stay here with me. It might be good to contact some of our other Melbourne forum members too and perhaps we might all get together.

I will put you to work. I do have a Start copy here and some preamps and plugins and things so I am confident we can whip up a great library track. I can write it and get all the rhythm section down first before you get here.

But if you do get as far as Adelaide and you cannot make it to Melbourne and you are there at the right time, I can also still make the trip over to see you as well. Don't mind doing that.

I have been busy lately learning Fruity Loops FL Studio 10 so I can teach someone this program. It is quite cool actually. Not for everyone I am sure but interesting none the less.

Back to high end in the mix. I am mixing some hiphop right now and have got a very warm fat sound on all the instruments in the mix. What is interesting about this mix is that all the sounds are very warm and smooth except two. The hats and a solo synth that takes a solo in the middle and the end of the track. Even the hats still have the top end rolled off to a certain extent and they still sound crsip. It is a classic example of how a warm mix can open your ears and then you can really start hearing highs. Even with just two instruments with a nice crisp top end what is good about it is that the mix does not sound dull at all in fact the opposite. A great example of how only very few elements need to be crisp and many others don't.

When only one or two elements are crisp then the mix tends to pulsate the crispness rhythm wise. The top end is more intersting to listen to because of the rhythm associated with just that crisp instrument. When everything is crisp in a mix then the rhythm of all the top end becomes smeared because there are way too many things adding to the top end rhythm.

Also having most things warm with only a few things being crisp is nothing like a mix that is everything crisp and you are toning it down top end wise to try and bring it back to normal. (say in mastering) Even though you can bring the top end of a bright mix back to normality you are still hearing many elements that are crisp as opposed to only a few.

Hi Philip Yes the problem with a lot of hip hop is that the beat can be a stereo file that you do not necessarily have a lot of control over. When artists construct the beat themselves they often do not mix it well and over master it in order to make it loud. But some artists are getting the beats complete from somewhere else and that makes it even harder.

But with this particular client I am fortunate enough to be able to get the beat split right down into its component parts. He does give it to me as a mix but also as separate tracks. It is then that you can control the amount of high end that is present with each component of the beat.

If you are not happy with how a beat sounds then try and ask them for the individual tracks. They might be able to give it to you. A lot of guys like using Reason to make the beat and then you can export those components easily.