Read this first before you purchase an instrumental.


Tack: Shopping around and buying beats off the internet is big business nowadays for producers and emcees looking to showcase their skills. What’s your take on instrumental tracks that are mixed down and ready for vocals?

Tucker: This falls into the realm of how well the track was produced, what equipment the producer uses, and how experienced the producer is in the studio. If the intention is add vocals over a finished mix, I might have to use some pseudo mastering tricks to get the instrumental track as balanced as possible. The perception of the balance of the instruments change when vocals are added.

Tack: Well…this is why headz are reading this article…so bless us with a little knowledge.

Tucker: My primary software is Logic Pro which I’ve been using for over 10 years, so I have a few tricks up my sleeve to bring out sounds without raising the volume of the whole track. We are getting into "mastering techniques" here, so to speak. For example, I will use multi-band compressors to divide up the frequency range, but I’m not compressing anything. Multi-band compressors on Logic have 2, 3, and 4 bands…meaning:

  • Highs and lows
  • Highs, mids and lows
  • Highs, high mids, low mids, and lows
My experience with issues of balance is between the vocals and snare. If the snare is interfering with the vocals a judgment needs to be made, then fine tune. I have to find the middle ground and get to a happy medium. Get to the sweet spot.

Tack: What about the lower ends? How do you approach that?

Tucker: The kick is one note and the bass line is always moving around. You can boost or cut to certain frequencies to raise or lower the kick drum with out affecting the bass line. It all depends.

Tack:What if the kick drum is snappy or the kick drum is a big 808?

Tucker: If the bass line is living in the 808 area, it’s difficult to reach in and turn certain notes up or down. If the kick drum is snappy and the bass line is like subsonic, that’s easier to work with. I’m trying to achieve balance. I’ll know in one listen what I can do to push it up or down. In the end, what I’m doing is subtle, I can only adjust to 2 or 3 dB or the whole beat will sound out of whack.

Tack: So the next 50 cent or Eminem hands you over a beat purchased over the internet. Now what?

Tucker: I’ll just import the beat, play it back and not do a thing with it so the artist feels comfortable. In many cases, artists have never had the opportunity to hear the full fidelity of their music until that moment. And it can be shocking in different ways. Good and Bad.(Tucker laughs)
The headphones are then set up so the artist has complete control of the mix they’re listening to and their voice. They can turn either one up or down. (one knob for the microphone and one knob for the beat) No one hears it like that except for the artist. The Furman multi-channel mixing system is my best trick and people love that option.

Tack: What factors come into play at this stage?

Tucker: The session moves faster when the mix is solid and the emcee is prepared. The engineer and the vocalist can move on. Most emcees I’ve worked with can record all their takes for one song in less than an hour and that’s pretty efficient. If you present me with a messed up mix, then more time is focused on fixing the track.

Tack: Right, ‘cause most emcees want to just get down to it.

Tucker: Yea, and once the vocals are recorded, we can move on to the mixing…however, since the beat is already mixed, we’re dealing with vocals. Working with one prepared emcee with minimal average vocal requirements is straight forward, the more vocal tracks, guest appearances and post production, the longer it takes.
guerilla hustle records session photo
Tack: And then the all important final stage.

Tucker: Remember, when you master a track you enhance the final mix which involves equalization, compression, and limiting…you can change the whole perception of the balance when you make everything louder. It can make the bass sound smaller. The quality of the beat will affect everything down stream. Basically, once the vocals are laid I can begin the process of overall balance and get more familiar with the whole picture.

Tack: So what’s your advice then when it comes to emcees buying beats to record vocals over?

Tucker: Whether you're buying them, someone is creating them for you or you are creating them yourself, strive to find beats that are clean and well balanced to begin with. We can always make them raw sounding and loud later, if that's what the client wants.