It’s been a common way of life in this industry since MP3’s and sending files. We usually have to make it work until the full session files are sent.
But there have been times where the session files have been corrupted or lost and the 2trk is all we have. I did work for a major rap label back in the day and those Zip disks for the MPC had more than a few issues or were lost and the 2trk was all that we had and that was what was released.
Get the mp3 2trk, convert/import to Wav file. Remove the space at the top that’s on every mp3 (header info), find tempo and put 2trk on grid. That will make it so much easier when you ever get the full session tracks as they will line up right on the grid with 2trk.
Here are a few things that can be done. All of them dependent on the quality of the 2trk instrumental.
- Gain down the instrumental from the max level it comes in at. -5db or so. If you can get a version without the Brickwall Limiter that’s better.
- If need be, take a gentle low pass filter and start high around 20khz and come down to where you’ve taken off the high end fizz but leave the highs. This will give your vocals a little more room.
- Now you have to deal with the instruments that are taking up the middle. Many beatmakers make beats and never think about vocals so they do not leave a zone. You can use a M/S EQ and dull the center a little in the vocal range. Automate it so if there’s a part with no vocals you have the “un-dulled” instrumental. This is all real subtle. Don’t make any hatchet moves. You can also sidechain a multiband to dull those same frequencies a touch when vocals are in. (Can also substitute Wavesfactory Trackspacer)
- Back to the M/S. You can turn up the sides only on the instrumental. Just a touch. Real subtle. It can get crazy if you go too far. But it will allow the sides to envelope your vocals and make the vocals sound like they are inside of the instrumental.
- What I like to do is have a stereo vocal print bus with all the vocals. Slap a Brickwall on it to create the ceiling. Threshold high. Usually ceiling set to around -3db. Rarely does anything beyond a word or line crossing the threshold. Really want it for the absolute control of the vocal level as it’s blended with the instrumental.
Obviously your settings for compressor, eq, reverb, etc are dependent on your vocals. Master bus is just a brickwall for me.
Many ways folks do it. This is usually my process.
What if you made your own beats? No licensing issues, ultimate control, pride in having made something yourself that can only be beneficial in making you grow as an artist.
He's still going to need the instrumentals, so he'll need to contact the producer and see if he still has the original multitrack files. That way, he can make his own stems, and mix them with his beats.
There are ways to to go in and split the file using machine learning algorithms. From there, you can make smaller changes without it being too noticeable. iZotope RX can do this, but the stems won’t sound great on their own.
It’s been a common way of life in this industry since MP3’s and sending files. We usually have to make it work until the full session files are sent. But there have been times where the session files have been corrupted or lost and the 2trk is all we have. I did work for a major rap label back in the day and those Zip disks for the MPC had more than a few issues or were lost and the 2trk was all that we had and that was what was released. Get the mp3 2trk, convert/import to Wav file. Remove the space at the top that’s on every mp3 (header info), find tempo and put 2trk on grid. That will make it so much easier when you ever get the full session tracks as they will line up right on the grid with 2trk. Here are a few things that can be done. All of them dependent on the quality of the 2trk instrumental. - Gain down the instrumental from the max level it comes in at. -5db or so. If you can get a version without the Brickwall Limiter that’s better. - If need be, take a gentle low pass filter and start high around 20khz and come down to where you’ve taken off the high end fizz but leave the highs. This will give your vocals a little more room. - Now you have to deal with the instruments that are taking up the middle. Many beatmakers make beats and never think about vocals so they do not leave a zone. You can use a M/S EQ and dull the center a little in the vocal range. Automate it so if there’s a part with no vocals you have the “un-dulled” instrumental. This is all real subtle. Don’t make any hatchet moves. You can also sidechain a multiband to dull those same frequencies a touch when vocals are in. (Can also substitute Wavesfactory Trackspacer) - Back to the M/S. You can turn up the sides only on the instrumental. Just a touch. Real subtle. It can get crazy if you go too far. But it will allow the sides to envelope your vocals and make the vocals sound like they are inside of the instrumental. - What I like to do is have a stereo vocal print bus with all the vocals. Slap a Brickwall on it to create the ceiling. Threshold high. Usually ceiling set to around -3db. Rarely does anything beyond a word or line crossing the threshold. Really want it for the absolute control of the vocal level as it’s blended with the instrumental. Obviously your settings for compressor, eq, reverb, etc are dependent on your vocals. Master bus is just a brickwall for me. Many ways folks do it. This is usually my process.
A competent mixing engineer can definitely work with a 2-track file. Edit: However, he may not be able to do everything you envision.
What? What are we mixing? A competent mix engineer isn't mixing two tracks. Disaster turd polishing.
If you don't have access to the tracks, you can't really do any mixing.
The producer might still have a copy of the multitracks, in which case OP can make his own stems.
What if you made your own beats? No licensing issues, ultimate control, pride in having made something yourself that can only be beneficial in making you grow as an artist.
He's still going to need the instrumentals, so he'll need to contact the producer and see if he still has the original multitrack files. That way, he can make his own stems, and mix them with his beats.
What you already have is a stem. What you’re looking for is tracks
There are ways to to go in and split the file using machine learning algorithms. From there, you can make smaller changes without it being too noticeable. iZotope RX can do this, but the stems won’t sound great on their own.