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Tools like MIXROOM and BASSROOM are great for shaping your sound. For instance, you'll probably remove more highs and less lows from the kick-and vice versa for the hi-hat. You'll still remove both highs and lows from most tracks, but in varying amounts. Instead, try using a separate EQ on each track to fine-tune the amount of highs and lows for each track. One method is to use a basic EQ to roll-off the highs and lows from the mix bus, but this can sometimes make your track sound weak or dull. Thankfully, you can recreate this effect fairly easily in your DAW. Additionally, old-school recording mediums like vinyl and cassettes tend to roll-off the high-end from recordings-especially as they get older. After all, most low fidelity audio equipment (like the SP-1200) feature a low sampling rate with a limited frequency response. One of the keys to a lo-fi sound is a lack of high and low end. If you're not quite sure what the problem is, check out the Trinity Display for detailed information on the exact EQ balance, stereo width and compression changes you need to make. Listen closely and take note of any key differences and make a plan for what you need to change about your track to get it to sound more like the references. Insert REFERENCE on your mix bus, drag a few of your favorite tracks into the Wave Transport and toggle between your mix and the references to make sure you're on the right track. REFERENCE is the perfect tool for quickly comparing tracks. That's why it's important to listen to a few reference mixes before you get started. Just like any sub genre, there's no one-size-fits-all approach to mixing a lo-fi hip hop track. Once you've got a basic track going, check out these mixing and production tips to help you dial in a proper lo-fi vibe. There are no rules when making music, but most lo-fi hip hop tracks feature the following elements:Ī groovy, filtered bassline to add movementĪdditionally, since lo-fi hip hop tracks typically do not feature vocals, many producers like to include samples or clips from other forms of media to keep the listener entertained.
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Additionally, the lack of high-end frequencies gave tracks a dark, vintage feel. In addition to its " crunchy digitized drums, choppy segmented samples, and murky filtered basslines," as described by the Village Voice, the E-mu SP-1200 sampler had a limited 26.04 kHz sampling rate, which gave all of its recordings a gritty, distorted sound. Much like the legendary Roland TR-808 was integral to the development of hip hop in the early 80s, the E-mu SP-1200 sampler played an important role in defining the sound of lo-fi hip hop. Lo-fi hip hop has a few key characteristics that set it apart from other similar genres. Now that we've covered the basics, let's talk about some tips for making lo-fi hip hop beats. They combined dusty, down-tempo drum loops from vintage soul and R&B records with soft, mellow jazz samples and an anime inspired aesthetic-a style that was popularized by commercial bumpers on Toonami and Adult Swim. In the 1990s and early 2000s, artists like J Dilla and Nujabes began experimenting with a new sound that laid the groundwork for lo-fi hip hop. Over the next few decades, it would be used to describe an array of artists in a variety of different genres. The term "lo-fi" was coined in 1986 by William Berger, a DJ for WFMU-New Jersey's longest running freeform radio station. However, as more and more labels began pumping out hyper-polished, crystal-clear recordings, a counterculture of lo-fi artists began popping up, taking pride in their rough and gritty recordings. Things like tube mics, tape machines and analog audio equipment all impart their own unique sonic signature on the sound-full of imperfections.Īs recording technology continued to advance throughout the 70s and 80s, there was an industry-wide push for more "high fidelity" recordings. Only top-of-the-line recording equipment is able to capture audio without coloring the sound. Each piece of equipment you use to record a sound imparts its own unique sounds and imperfections on the recording.
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In this blog, we'll break down the basics and show you how to make lo-fi hip hop tracks like a pro, along with a few of our favorite tips for getting your tracks to hit the right vibe.īefore we get started, let's talk about what lo-fi hip hop actually is. While it may sound simple upon first listen, lo-fi hip hop can actually be surprisingly complex to create. Over the last 5-10 years, lo-fi hip hop has exploded in popularity with channels like Lo-Fi Girl (formerly Chilled Cow) earning more than 931 million streams.
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