Prodigy Producing

[Ekko]

Ahh, at least I got it made.
Okay, I just start off talking a bit, everybody's welcome to interfere.

There are some things I noticed that *might* make the typical Prodigy sound. You all know what I'm talking about, and if not, your subconsciousness must have got it then.
There is a typical way of doing the final touch to a track in Prodigyworld, it's hard to define what, but every album has that certain sound. Sure, all the album sounds different to each other, but within that record everyting is tight.

One thing that is very common on the FOTL are the high 3khz levels. There are even people who don't like Prodigy just because of the aggressive medium range frequencies (well, most of them are engineers).
Then again, ususally songs in the electronic-area are cutted
very harshly at about 35-45hz. Everything that reaches deeper near bottom end steals dynamic and headroom, buuuut... Not so with Prodge! Obviously not trying to produce the phattest dancefloor-killers, the low end in Prodge-tracks finishes at sometimes 20hz (Diesel Power, if I remember right), which massively reduces the overall 'energy'. Very strange if you ask me, cause they now need to reduce dynamic to get a higher overall level again. And you all know, if you write music yourself, that music that gets published (by a record company) never ever is 'pure'.
The material is always re-engineered and mastered.
You would shit yourself, if you would hear Prodigy-music unmastered, it would maybe even sound awful.
Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, that because of the highered overall level and the aggressive medium-range frequencies every track is unique, bassy and very very urrrr...
straight. Small, you know.
Take a good Jazz record for example, if you heard Prodigy all your life long, you'll fall of your chair because of the high dynamic. You will hear stereo-effects you never even thought of.
No kidding, Prodigy is very mainstreamy when it's about producing. It kicks, alright, but it's very boring to hear all day, because of the missing tricks and secrets in the songs.

I'm sure most Prodge-listeners won't mind, but I would like a more 'deeper' record very well.

Anyway, I'll try to go short till here, there are more things which make the sound unique.
As some of you might know, Liam is using this old SE-70, which distortions the signal when the reverb is overloaded.
Well, if you know that gear, you will notice that in fact EVERY distortion is made with this, at least on FOTL and MFTJG.
He must have loads of them.

As it should be done: Every Bassdrum is mono and centered but not every snaredrum is mono (well, centered never as well), you can hear that on Climbatize. Okay, it might be an open hihat-sound from a synth lying over it, I'm not sure, since I got the same hihat here on my Virus.

Well, I must go to work now, maybe I'll write more about it (if there's still someone awake out there...) cause there's more about Liams & Neills trixx.

Seeya,
Ekko

[kenzie]

OK Help me

I do sum producing stuff
i'd like ta know:

What Drum machine does Liam use to get his famous beetz???
Ok obviosly lotsa different ones but don't u know what is most popular or have a listing of modules used for every track or sumthin like that

or

what would be a good drum machine that sorta kapturez liam's sound

[kenzie]

////oh Yes

keep writing this shit its really interesting!!!!

[Ekko]

What Drum machine does Liam use to get his famous beetz???
Ok obviosly lotsa different ones but don't u know what is most popular or have a listing of modules used for every track :P or sumthin like that

what would be a good drum machine that sorta kapturez liam's sound

On the FOTL he mostly used the Emu SP-1200 which is one of the most known Hip Hop-drummachines.
It also is the drummachine with the phattest pump if you ask me. Ever.
For example, take the Bassdrums of
SMBU, Diesel P., Funky S., Mindfields, Climbatize, Fuel My Fire.

I'm not sure about Breathe, but all the other ones are not coming from the SP-1200 (-or maybe they aren't compressed/EQued that much).
But those first mentioned bear the typical soundstamp of the
SP-1200 within. You can load in various BD's, they'll all come out like that, by any means.
I don't know how much and good the snares and other parts of the kit are effected by that typical sound, but afaic the BD is the main-reason for that (very expensive) machine.

Typically for Liams drumsound are other habits as well, he often underlines a BD with a short bass-sound.
This is so brilliantly mixed later, that you hardly hear they are not of one and the same origin. (SMBU is a perfect example.)

Another more obvious trick is to route most of the percussion-instruments (HH's, HO's, HC's, just everything that goes fast with the rhytmical pattern) through a vast distortion-unit (this would mostly be an overvalued Se 70).
Snares as well, but not too often. SMBU for example again, is a hellhole of distortion-fx. Nearly everything that's above the tracks bass-border (about 300hz) is distorted here.
Sometimes I really wonder why it still sounds good and clear.
Well, THAT's mastering, guys! You need years of experience to reach this point of mixing. I really hope Neill is mixing the new album as well.

Anyway, you asked for further drummachines, there was an interview with Liam in the Korg-magazine (check out the news on nekosite), where he stated that he used the
Korg Electribe R a lot.
I checked it out some time ago and it's nice gear, but if you have money and nothing else to do than loving and doing music, then immediately get the fuck out of here and buy yourself that SP-1200. Otherwise take the ER-1.
Like me.
Poor lads, aren't we?

If you still want to know more shit, go on and ask, but for today I'm out, I'm hungry. And I just got lust to extensively use my gear.

Seeya,
Ekko

[kenzie]

Sweeet - Thanx

[Stuff]

Ekko wrote: Well, THAT's mastering, guys! You need years of experience to reach this point of mixing. I really hope Neill is mixing the new album as well.  


Do you think that Neil McLellan is mixing the new album?  We can all hope! He only worked with Liam on Jilted, didn't he? (the time of our lives   )  I really hope that the new album contains more ''electronic music'' than FOTL and that the former N'joi producer works with Liam again.

[Ekko]

Mhm, wasn't he involved in the Experience-thing as well?
Thought he got credited in the lyrics somewhere.

No, unfortunately he isn't producing (well, I guess he never really 'produced', as Liam is a producer himself. And a very talented one. He might just have helped him finding some sounds and did some left-hand-work).

Ollie J. is doing Neills job this time and they record at the Rollover Studios, where Ollie's father is the owner of.
This guy is highly credited for his fast career.

But, if you ask me, I wasn't very astonished of the BGAT mixing. The drums sounded a bit weak.
Question of taste, of course, but I like my beats punchy and crunchy... ;-)

Cheers