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3. Advanced
   I know everything :v) - what next?
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   The key thing you want to remember when you're at this stage is that
everything must be professionally done, whether it's sampling, tracking, use
of effects, absolutely everything must be at top quality.

   Vocals
  ~~~~~~~~
   Chances are that some time or other you are going to want to incorporate
some sort of vocals into your music. This can be very hard, and there are two
important things to remember: the vocalist, and the words. Both should be
of equal importance in your mind. A good vocalist singing crap words sounds
unprofessional, the same goes for a crap vocalist singing great words. Few
people can sing well, and even fewer can write respectable songs.
   Your best chance of getting good vocals is to find someone who is willing
to write some lyrics for you (who is able to write lyrics!), and then hire a
studio and a vocalist for a couple of hours. The main reason for hiring a
studio is that it'll probably have VERY expensive and VERY nice microphones.
They'll know all about using them and they'll also have the best environment
to record in. Remember that you'll probably want to take a recording of your
tune with you so the vocalist will have something to sing to! You can then
sample the vocals and incorporate them into your tune. Obviously you'll have
to check that the studio has a sampler that can save onto disks that you can
use. The actual sample format isn't too important as there are plenty of
converters around.
   An alternative method would be to find out if the studio has a CD-
Recorder, you could then record the vocals direct to CD and rip them off at
your leisure. The same goes if you have a DAT machine, you could record to
DAT in the studio and then sample the vocals when you want.

   Effects
  ~~~~~~~~~
   Going commercial
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   Releasing commercially when you use a tracker is nigh on impossible, due
to the lack of respect trackers have from 'proper' musicians. Although there
are a lucky few who have done it. Names that spring to mind are Bjorn Lynne
(Dr. Awesome), Dex + Jonesey, Eric Giesen (Sidewinder), Vivid, Ganja Man,
Holy Ghost, Oona, Assign.
   The main problem with getting your music released is the output format.
Here's a short table to determine whether or not you'll have this problem.

     Soundcard quality       DAT machine     CD-Writer       Problem?
     -----------------       -----------     ---------       --------
     Good, with digital        Yes             Yes             No
          output
     Good, with digital        Yes             No              No
          output
     Good, with digital        No              Yes             No
          output
     Good, with digital        No              No              Yes
          output
     Bad, no digital           Yes             Yes             No
          output
     Bad, no digital           Yes             No              Yes
          output
     Bad, no digital           No              Yes             No
          output
     Bad, no digital           No              No              Yes
          output

   Basically, as long as you have a CD-Writer or a good quality digital
output and DAT machine, you won't have a problem getting a good quality
recording. Which means you'll be able to produce good quality demos without
the need to hire a professional studio (!) or mastering company.

   Something else to consider when you're going professional is the quality
of your samples. The number of times I've heard a tune good enough to be
released that has been spoiled by bad samples is ridiculous. Drums are
generally the culprits, especially those with high frequencies in them.
Don't settle for anything less than CD-Quality, unless you want a "lo-fi"
sound.

   Sampling
  ~~~~~~~~~~

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