yeah, didnt think so.

anybody who actually gives half a fuck about the subject got anything to say?

assuming this isnt meant to be sketchez-like sarcasm,

the short answers are:  probably, yes, and yes. 

more in depth…  longtime producers can virtually always benefit from outside advice, because for one, they probably havent learned everything yet, and for another, there are constantly new technologies and techniques being developed.  for a third, in these days of social media, you can actually get knowledgeable advice from places like, well, here.  add to that, the business model for underground artists is evolving, too [ie, cd pressings are no longer a necessity, or at least they wont be for long].  all of those things mean more oppurtunity than ever for musicians to develop their sound without having to pay someone else, or go to college or some shit. 

quick mixing tips: 

dont do your mixing sessions at high volume levels, its fatiguing on the ears.  you may not notice it, but it is.  you end up making changes to your mix that will have to be undone later, when you hear it with fresh ears.  keep it around the level of a loud conversation for most of the session, but ramp it up once in a while to make sure the changes you make wont stop it from sounding clear when its bumpin.

another tip, when building up the tracks, dont max out the levels on them, leave lots of space for headroom and future adjustments.  i usually try to keep the peaks at no higher than around -5 db or so.  the pros recommend slightly lower levels.

one more, and this ones kinda tough, acoustics.  its really hard to get a good mix in an acousticly unbalanced room, and its really, really hard to acousticly balance a room without spending a ton of time and money on it.  thats a deep subject right there.  for the budget musician, the best thing to do is try to get a good mix done, then take that mix and listen to it in other settings, like your home system, your homies home system, and especially, your car.  i say especially, because from an acoustical point of view, cars are much closer to neutral than most rooms in your home are.  the sound waves tend to pass through to the outside, and what reflections you do get will be attenuated a bit by the upholstery and the oddball shape of the car interior. 

as can be seen in the fruity loops thread, mastering can be done from the inhome studio.  it wont necessarily be the greatest, but you wont have to pay the greatest prices, either.  given a working knowledge of the process, and some basic mastering tools, you should be able to come up with some reasonable masters without investing a dime, or farming it out to someone else.  and believe me, when an outsider is doing your post, they often arent as concerned with getting the best possible sound, theyre concerned with doing enough to make you think you got your moneys worth, and mostly that is simple tricks you couldve done on your own. 

sketchez said:

for beats I use reason along with hardware pieces I run thru Cubase. then vocals get recorded in pro tools. but I actually like Cubase better, it's just not the industry standard tho

dont matter as much, these days. 

unless your katy perry or some shit, the industry standard is quickly becoming, 'will people listen to it?'

i said it elsewhere, but, for we unknown scrub type musicians, near-pro quality is not gonna have all that much of a disadvantage, when compared to full-on pro quality. 

im not particularly familiar with cubase.  its basicly a super midi editor with support for audio phrases, right? 

so, i got one.

for any of you out there that scratch...

my question is, do you have to be born with it, or what?  i could never really get it down, i would have to sit there cuttin for half an hour trying to get a good take so i could sample the little bit of scratching that sounded like i wanted it.  for certain i couldnt do it live. 

im not very good at playing most instruments [i consider turntables to be an instrument], except for keyboards.  the whole 'rub your stomach and pat your head' thing fucks me up when scratching.  seems to be one of the harder instruments to play, harder than a theramin. 

i give it up to ninjas that can cut on the fly.  i see shaggy or clay doing it, im impressed as hell, and they are far from being the best there is.

fortunately, there are digital solutions, but its usually tough to get a natural sound from them.

still doesnt get a very natural sound, though.  might as well go with sample manipulation. 

for my part. 

sketchez...

i really hate to spell it out like this, but, even though were all amatuers, this topic is meant to have at least a modicum of professionalism. 

if you cant contribute anything worthwhile, then dont bother.  if youre gonna fuck around, im gonna clean it up. 

i dont want to be like that, but right now, it looks to me like you know fuckall about this shit.  like i said earlier, show your chops.  barring that, leave us in peace. 

apologies, but you aint earning respect, just wasting space.