Sampling in electronic music involves two main types: using another person’s idea (e.g. using a harpist’s melody for your deep techno song, or sampling electronic music that isn’t yours) and using prefabricated samples for making your song.
As time goes on, I read and hear about more and more debates regarding sampling in electronic music. I refer to electronic music because in other spheres, such as trap or hip hop, the debate is non-existent. We all know it’s a matter of culture derived from how producers have approached their art.
You might ask yourself, “are there more benefits from making all my sounds by myself? Will I get more recognition that way?”
It’s hard to answer this question, but I’ll try to debunk the source of that question to help clarify a few things.
Firstly, the world of electronic music really started in the late 80’s with a DIY mentality. Back then, electronic music was not really well-known, and producers had a hard time getting support from traditional media and distributors; they had to do everything themselves. The same thing goes for their equipment. Equipment was extremely expensive and not easy to find, so many artists would work with whatever they could get their hands on. Then came a huge rise in popularity in the electronic music world, and by the 90s, it had its own culture. DIY was the established way to do things; everyone was contributing in one way or another. Making everything yourself – a form of being independent – had been rooted in the culture of electronic music. One of the big differences between that era and now is that back then, many producers were obsessed with making the most original music possible. Going out to an event was all about hearing new songs you’d never heard before that would make you dance; you were also aware you might never hear those songs again.
Secondly, with growing access to technology, it became essential to showcase your skills as a one-man-band. I’m not sure if if this was an ego thing, or more of a way of overcoming this tour-de-force, but while it can be impressive, it can also be counter-productive. There was no electronic music school out there until around 2005, where some appeared online. Prior to that, people that wanted to make electronic music had to be learning everything themselves.
Thirdly, as access to technology increased, as did the possibility to get pretty much anything you want via the internet, a certain snobbery amongst producers developed. Some people are able to do certain things a certain way, and will pass on a very clear message that if you don’t do things in their way, you’re doing it wrong. I think this approach – which I see a lot – has put many people in a defensive mode as well as made them less likely to share their work.
That said, sampling has always created polemics. You often hear a pop artist sampling others then getting into lawsuits as a result. In the underground scene, there are similar stories (such as Raresh sampling Thomas Brinkmann without understanding what consequences would ensue). There were multiple occasions where people would sample a part of a record that was released 10-15 years ago and make a song out of it. It would piss people off, mostly because it goes against two concepts:
- The person who sampled failed to be original and took the work of someone’s hard work to pass it off as their own.
- It’s a “violation” of the culture norms of music making, which have been in place for decades.
Is there a way to use sampling “correctly”?
Well, yes, there is a way. Sampling is not frowned upon in hip hop and, it’s also okay elsewhere too. However, there are rules to respect. When I launched my sub-label Climat in 2012, I wanted to use it to find artists that were talented, had beautiful content, and that once put into a groovy context, would make something new and refreshing. I was looking for music on obscure sites then tried to make music with it. Whatever samples I would keep, I would take the time to contact the artist, explain the concept and ask for their permission. Honestly, this is the least you can do and you should absolutely do it. Imagine if someone were to sample your work; I think you’d want to know. Plus, who knows, it can be the beginning of future collaborations.
How can I make use of samples from someone else’s work?
Contact the original artist, ask them if there are conditions associated with using their work, and then promote them too when you release something.
Is using samples a bad thing?
Many people feel ashamed to use samples. They think if they’re going to have an 808 kick, they need to buy a drum machine to make it. There is also a shame one feels when using presets which don’t feel original. Indeed, they aren’t, but you’re missing the point if that’s the only thing you consider.
When I make music and hit the studio, I want to be productive. I use samples to make a structure, a groove, to complement my idea, so that things come together faster. I’m not using samples as my final form. If I need a breakbeat, I don’t want to lose time trying to program the best beat possible. I’ll take a pre-made loop so I have a target of what I imagine it to be in my mind. As I work on the track, I’ll chop the loop, rearrange it, and swap the sounds out with something I’ll design myself.
Your main enemy in music making is your own mind getting distracted with things it thinks are important.
When you make a new song, you need to have a core idea. However, you can take inspiration from many things including samples. Gather them all in your project, analyze them, sample, process, and create. Don’t leave things so unchanged that could easily recognize a sample as being unoriginal. See your project as if you were a painter gathering images from magazines to use as guidelines.
Honestly, samples are the best way to get out of your routine. I’ve never understood people who were super stubborn about making everything themselves, just to end up sounding like every other song out there anyways. if you venture in genres that aren’t yours, you’ll get new ideas for sure.
Tip: I find that using layering multiple samples is a great way to make new sounds. For example, you can make your tiny clap sound fat if you combine it with a tom.
Your best companions in processing samples are just a few plugins away. With all the technology available, it’s silly not to use them:
Fabfilter Pro-Q3: Amazing GUI and pristine sound. This is a must to fix your samples into another, original way.
Mangledverb : This is a reverb for intense sound design. It can really bring alive some parts of your samples.
Discord 4 by Audio Damage: For subtle to extreme changes.
Shaperbox: The ultimate tool to recycle any sound into altered material.
Crystalizer: Great for granular synthesis and shaping sound.
SEE ALSO : Setting up your mix bus
Design Thinking for Music Production
/in Blog/by pheekIf you work in a field concerned with visual design, you probably have been reading a lot about Design Thinking. In this post, I will describe how I use design thinking for music. If you haven’t heard about design thinking before, here’s a definition:
“Design Thinking is a design methodology that provides a solution-based approach to solving problems.”
Design thinking for music is relatively simple and I’d like to show you how you can apply its concepts to music to get the same benefits as visual designers. This is complementary post relating to my previous post about the importance of having a mind oriented on building a system; they go hand-in-hand.
Empathy/Attention
I was have been working with a student in a private sound design class. When the student comes for multiple sessions, we get to a point where we do critical listening; this is probably the most difficult part of sound design. I don’t mean in terms of how-to, but more with regards to technically listening to music you love to break down the “magic” you love about it. If you know exactly how a piece of music is made, it’s sometimes difficult to appreciate it again. It’s the curse of knowing how things are made, such as movies, music, food, etc. It’s good if you want to know how to make it yourself, but it also can make you jaded.
Anyhow, to get back to my story, we were listening to some experimental music and I was asking these questions to my student:
Quickly focus on the overall view of the song and try to seize what is static vs what is not. What is grabbing your attention at first and why?
Focus on a sound that you like. What do you observe in its shape? Is the pitch changing? Is the length of sound changing? Are the frequencies being altered?
Basically, you need to empathize with the sound and examine how it behaves, and determine what makes it attractive to you. The more you connect to the sound and learn how it moves on these axes, then you’ll be able to create a concept to replicate it. I usually try to name the sound in my own terms and see if I can hear it in multiple other songs. For a long time, even now, I’d be very attracted to sounds that felt “wet”, watery and bubbly. It was difficult for me to give a technical term so I’d refer to them as bubbles. I love them for how they make a song alive.D
Define the sound
Being able to describe exactly what is going on is where a lot of people get stuck. The idea here is partly to understand the axes of the sound and which one are used, how. Those axes are:
Time: Is the sound short or long?
Pitch: Is the sound high pitched or low?
Frequency: Is the sound using certain frequencies in general?
Amplitude: Is the sound low or high volume?
Position Left/Right: Where is the sound in the space?
Position far, close: Is the sound right in front of me or far ahead?
Modulation: Is the sound changing on any of those axes over time?
It might be overwhelming, but analyzing sounds this way can really help create a concept, or an idealization.
Ideate and Prototype
At this point, your sound should be defined as best you can. We then take all of the axes of the sound, one-by-one, to see how certain effects can make a difference.
Time: Think envelope. When, for instance you’re using a synth, the envelope determines if the sound is short or long, depending how you set the Attack/Decay/Sustain/Release. If the sound constantly changes length, it means the envelope is being modulated.
Pitch: This one should be pretty straightforward, pitch is simply tonal frequency shifting. If your sound changes pitch quickly or slowly, it’s likely an LFO or an envelope altering the pitch.
Frequency: By overall frequency I mean more EQ or filter related, not pitch. If the sound is muffled, there might be a filter applied. If the sound feels rich, it could be a shelving EQ applied in the mids. Playing with an EQ can dramatically alter a sound in many ways. It’s important.
Amplitude: This is controlled with the utility, more specifically gain. You can change the amplitude this way. I would recommend that when you do sound design, that you use your DAW’s utility plugins to control gain. It becomes much easier to see and understand when you re-open a project.
Position – Left/Right: Again, using a utility plugin adjust the panning, left and right.
Position – Close or Front: This position is a bit more difficult to understand and achieve. Basically, this is EQ related, but also has to do with filters. By applying an high-pass filter to a sound, the more you filter out the low end, the more you’re pushing away the sound from you. You can also lower the gain to make things feel farther away, or use a reverb to add a bit of dimensional movement.
In this prototyping phase, I usually gather together the tools I need to make a sound, and will also gather the appropriate modulators (Envelope, LFO). This approach is very modular-oriented. People who own a modular synth often proceed this way. You think of the sound, what will alter it, and determine the sources of modulation.
In your prototype development, you’ll be creating a chain of effects as a macro in Ableton. Those effects will be modulating, changing, and altering the sounds that will pass through them. This takes time to nail down correctly, but the fun part is about passing a whole range of sounds through your macro, be it generic synth sounds, percussion, or random field recordings. You might discover that your original concept might be doing something completely different than what comes out in your prototype, but the end result might be even more interesting.
Stay open to the outcome of your sound even if it’s different than the original sound you were trying to imitate. Record everything. Save your macro and start using it in old unfinished songs to recycle some of your old work.
SEE ALSO : Music experiments: creating your own inspiration
Finding a record label: is it worth it anymore?
/in Blog/by pheekOver the last 6 months, in talking with many people I work with and based on my own personal experience, I’m starting to notice that many of us (us, being musicians) feel that we haven’t “made it” if we haven’t signed something to a label. 20 years ago this may have been accurate, but nowadays, this idea seems totally debatable. Finding a record label to work with isn’t what it used to be.
How can signing with a label benefit you? A label can:
Yes, I know, these are pretty important benefits. However, if you’re constantly chasing after labels to get signed, it is not worth it. If your music has been turned down by multiple labels, maybe your song is not “ripe” enough to be out. Maybe it sounds outdated or too different from market trends. Perhaps it needs a better mix. If you keep pushing it, maybe it will sell eventually but perhaps the numbers will be so low that it makes releasing it questionable. I’ve released with little labels before and some songs sold for less than 20 copies. In these cases, I feel like I should have just given the track to friends instead.
The same goes for my own label. With some releases I’m blown away by how amazing they sound, and how innovative and beautiful they are, but despite the time spent on promotion and networking (or even using a PR company), these releases sold 20 copies as well. Why? Well, it’s mostly because the market is already saturated with music and people’s attention is constantly in demand. Gems get lost. I like to compare music to people who paint. It’s not because one paints a great canvas that means it will automatically sell.
We have a promotion list of about 200 people – including media and DJs – and even from this list in which we give them the music for free and push out multiple reminders, we barely get 15 downloads (sometimes 25 when there’s a spike of interest). That’s less than what we’ll sell. Sales will decline too if a release got promoted intensely, which is strange. It’s a pretty discouraging thing to try to promote music and not get any reactions at all. It’s a common thing that many, many musicians do, almost daily, and to see only a few reactions to their work can make them feel that perhaps their music has something wrong with it. But there isn’t anything wrong with it, it’s just not targeted properly
Ok, so if finding a record label isn’t the way to go, then what is?
Reduce your promotion efforts and target people that might be interested in the music directly instead. If you have to push so hard to get people’s attention and you’re putting yourself in a “begging” position, why not just keep your work for the people who actually might want it? I don’t think it’s healthy for anyone to fight to be seen or heard. In the long run, it makes people jaded and resentful.
What about giving the release away for free on Soundcloud? Many people do this and I think it might do more good than harm, if you don’t do it too often. If you start putting your quality tracks out there, some people will add them to their playlists. TIP: use tags to make sure your music gets noticed and check out my post on how to get feedback. Soundcloud now has a way for DJs to use tracks on the site for DJing.
Put your release on Youtube and make a little video. I did a survey not long ago and I was impressed by how so many people use YouTube to listen to music. You could also use services to get on Spotify and you can easily put your music on Bandcamp.
The main thing you want to do is to be everywhere. No reactions? It doesn’t matter, keep doing it. Keep some gems secret for when a label will come to you to sign you, if you feel like that might happen. Don’t insist on getting traction. Focus on those who care.
Social endorsement is the best promotion tool you can get. When people like what you do, they do the promotion for you. I’ll use Villalobos as an example here. He makes so much music compared to what he simply releases. He has a strong John Cage influence, but I’m not sure if he knows it. Basically, Cage suggested spending a lot of time in the studio and to always try new things, to have “barely controllable chaos” and to record it all. Ricardo has over 5,000 songs and plays some in clubs when he feels like it. Many tracks leak to friends and are relayed online among fans. But those fans really care about the music and cherish it.
Perhaps its time to keep the music we love to ourselves? By this I mean keeping it for the people who reach out, who want to listen. I’m personally fed up of trying to “get attention” or convince people that music I make is worth listening to. This is what I’m doing now. I’m giving some tracks to people I know who ask for them or who I know care. I feel very excited that 20 people really listen to my music compared with trying to reach to the whole world. Maybe making music hard to find again and keeping it mysterious is the way to go.
But then again, that’s just me.
SEE ALSO : Becoming a professional musician
Avoid setting music goals and work on your system instead
/in Blog/by pheekEarly each year, I hear about people setting music goals. We tend to see the action of setting goals as something that keeps us driving towards a precise destination. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. I’ve done goal-setting for years, but I realize now that years where I was the most efficient in making things happen were the ones where no goals were set.
Let me compare my idea to the “get to the gym and get in shape” new year’s goal that people most typically set. In that case, the process is simple, linear, and tasks oriented: you get to the gym, follow instructions, keep track and try to maintain the willpower to go on a regular basis. Most will agree that the most difficult part is to keep up the motivation to go and holding yourself responsible for going.
Is this goal easy? Depends on the person; for some it is, others it’s not. Can we agree that it will work if you develop a method to achieve it? This could mean that you always go to the gym at the same time, that you make sure the gym is not too far, that you can create a routine around it…etc. This is a system and once you have one that is effective, then hardest part of going to the gym is already taken care of (well, almost).
For the music producer, some goals I often hear about:
In setting goals, the “how-to” is often forgotten, and people end up failing.
My take on this is to work on building an effective system that works for you: make your art efficient, fun and a platform to express yourself adequately. Focusing on that will provide you with the tools to eventually make things happen. But honestly, it’s hard to make them happen if you don’t feel in charge of what you do.
But what is a system?
It’s measurable actions you put into place to make sure something comes out of this system efficiently, 100% of the time. It’s a way to make your life or tasks easier.
Where do you start with putting a system together?
I start with understanding what I can control and what I can’t. This sounds like an obvious one, but you’d be surprised by the number of people I work with who rage against things they can’t control, as if it would change anything in the end. For instance, you can’t control a label signing you but you can control the number of interactions with artists you can make in a week. This might sound a bit crazy, but I like to say that I can’t control precisely when a song is totally done, but I can control the number of hours I put in it. Other examples:
I try to be aware of what I love to do and what tools can help support that. These days many people talk and mock Marie Kondo and her “does it spark joy?” question but she is absolutely right that when it doesn’t, perhaps it’s not for you. Same goes with music. In which phase of making music do you lose track of time, your appetite and hunger? For some, its when they program beats, for others it’s in arrangements and for some, mixing. Becoming a specialist at what you love doing, is a huge investment in your system because as you become more solid, other skills will also develop.
I spend a lot of time optimizing my preparation routine. This is the most overlooked phase of production and pretty much everyone skips it. I would encourage you to find the conditions that make your session the best it can be. Perhaps you need a certain condition to be met? In my case, I can get a very killer workflow if I have all the sessions prepared in front of me, but to prepare them annoys me. My solution was to spend periods of time where all I do is to prepare multiple sessions so that when its time to work on arrangements, I just open one and its all ready for me to attack and deliver the project.
Finding your system is far more useful than setting a goal. It’s a work in progress and it gets just better with time. Part of me sees the craftsmanship in this as perfecting your method over time. Some of my system that I use now has been built over the last 3 years, and I spend loads of time reading about how to learn more and improve it.
SEE ALSO : Finding a record label: is it worth it anymore?
Reverb tips and tricks
/in Blog/by pheekIn this post, I’ll cover a variety of reverb tips and tricks. If you’ve been following this blog or know me, you’ll know that reverb is one of my favorite effects and that I use it a lot. Quite a lot. As an early lover of dub techno – where reverb plays an important role – I’ve always also used it to create spaces in the mix.
The main uses for reverb are to:
But also, if used wrongly, reverb can causes issues including:
There are different ways to use reverb effectively so you get the most of it. Let’s discuss the different parameters of reverb, what they mean, and how to set them.
Reverb type
I will not get in details on how reverb works, how they were created, or those technical points but will focus on how I use them personally. The first thing to point out is the type of reverb to use. Each type of reverb uses a model of a specific kind of environment.
Now some parameters most reverb units come with include:
Now, on how to use all of those paramaters, here are my personal notes:
Reverb unit suggestions:
RP-Verb 2 for its organic feel.
Mturboreverb for the internal self-modulation you can do plus the crazy possibilities it can bring you.
Tverb for the percussion.
Adaptiverb for the ultimate sound design options. Use this with a plugin and never miss material for new pads.
SEE ALSO : Avoid setting music goals and work on your system instead
Tips for getting your music heard
/in Blog/by pheekAfter the reactions to my compilation of tips for music production, I’ve been asked to provide some advice on getting your music heard, and potentially getting it signed to a label. When you make music, one of the first things you crave is for the whole world to hear your work, to connect with others through your creation and also implicitly as a need for validation. Many times people feel the urge to share their music (eh, I do too!), especially if the session was good. But if you sit on your work and wait, you’ll understand that this desire can be addressed differently.
Let’s approach your desire to get traction for your work by handling two things: your need for validation, and understanding how listeners pick their music. You need to understand both to be able to have a strategy going forward.
Firstly, let’s cover the validation aspect of your work.
Let it age
My first rule when I’m 90% done with a song, is to let it age for a few weeks. This is extremely important to make sure you haven’t fallen in what I call, a disconnected bubble of love with your song. When you fall in love with one of your songs, you have no distance or second perspective of it. You have some sort of unconditional love for your own work, meaning that your analytic self has been turned off and may not be able to spot technical flaws or irrelevant aspects of the song itself. Letting a song age for a few weeks will really disconnect you from that bubble and provide you with enough distance to approach it analytically. Ideally, you want to wait until a point where you forgot about the particular song in question.
My tip is to bounce the track and put it in a folder that has a date on it. I will also give myself a reminder on my phone to listen to in the future. I also will listen to it in a different context of my studio—a car ride could be excellent—or if possible, listening to it in presence of someone else can really help. You’ll want to observe that person’s reaction, not his or her feedback. You have no idea how listening to something in presence of a friend can really make you see things differently.
Consider validation from your circle of trusted friends
Do you have a circle of connections yet? This took me quite a while to establish, but once I had one, it was a great alternative for validation as opposed to posting my music publicly online (and avoid shaming myself!). Basically, your circle should be a mixture of friends, DJs, producers, “fans”, and music lovers. You don’t need the best DJs out there, just people who play often because they have the ear for what they love, what works, what and what doesn’t; they will tell you if your track fits with what’s going on. The producers will give you feedback on technical details while fans/music lovers will simply let you know if they love it or not. Fans and music lovers are probably the least useful in terms of critical feedback, but they’re actually very importan to test the “love at first listen” aspect of your work. My circle has about five people and one of my main criteria in deciding who should be in my circle was to find reliable people who can be honest, but who are also very responsive. I can’t be sending music to people who won’t respond if they don’t like it or just disappear.
I usually start sending my music to the circle once I’ve listened to it again after some time off and feel that the song has aged well. But sometimes what’s interesting is that music you end up doubting can be really appreciated from people who listen to it for the first time. This could mean your track is a keeper.
Unveiling your music publicly
One of the the most desired results producers seek for their music is to be heard, and get a lot of listens and likes online. Sadly there’s so much stuff happening in music-making that you can get lost in that desire. “But no one seems to care or will listen to my song!”, I often read/hear.
The real question is, “why would they?”
I know it seems harsh to be so blunt, but this is an important point that if you can answer, then you’ll get precise feedback regarding what you do wrong. Most of the time, what’s wrong is to build up your expectations, thinking that because you have a song that is great and maybe sounds like popular songs out there, that people should be all over it. Sadly, no, this is not the case. Maybe people are hearing your work as a cheap copy? Maybe they’re craving something else entirely?
Secondly, it’s important to be aware of how people are selecting their music. Listeners usually face different challenges in browsing for new music or for anything new in general. They usually want a bit of the “same old, same old”, as well new ideas. Generally, in looking for new music:
1- They’re looking for an emotional connection. If you need some pep for cleaning, or supporting music for coding, for example, chances are they’ll most probably dig into something they’ve already saved.
2- They’ll follow people they trust. We all have one friend who can make good recommendations. These people invest a considerable amount of time getting out of their usual routine to find new music, will read blogs and magazines to hear about trends, and will check out recommendations on Spotify (or an equivalent service). These are the people you want to reach first with your own music.
So, how do you reach out exactly?
The answer is simple: by being present.
As I’ve explained before, here are some important tips that will make a huge difference in poking through the noise.
1- Pick the moment when you’ll post your music. There are moments where people might be more suitable to discover music. Usually people do that on their downtime, meaning that releasing it in the end of the afternoon could be a good spot otherwise, in the evening.
2- Share a snippet to start with. Don’t share it all, especially if you want it to get signed. Labels hate music that has been spoiled.
3- Add pleasant looking artwork. Many people overlook this, but having artwork can influence people to click and listen.
4- Be extremely active on Soundcloud by leaving comments on similar music. Each time you leave a comment, people see you being active and if you’re pretty busy, they might want to check your profile. Don’t be a beggar asking for attention, be active and generous in your feedback. Your followers will see that and appreciate plus new artists might want to have you as a follower.
5- Always observe the golden rule: never ask anyone to leave feedback.
6- Observe people that often leave comments on music you like, then contact them in private. You can befriend anyone who often re-posts music or leaves comments. They’re the ones who are followed and will make your song look like it got listened to.
7- Anytime you contact someone, be personal in your message and simply invite the person to have a listen, but never ask for anything in return. Contacting people by private message is a great way to get traction. But be polite, courteous, and make sure it doesn’t look like you used a template. Don’t ask anything as people already know the drill.
8- Try to have some of your circle listen and have feedback. Hopefully your friends like it and will support it.
9- Promote other people’s music. Again, this is important. Why would people support you if you don’t support anyone it in the first place?
10- Use tags. Don’t be afraid to use them, because they’re important for anyone looking for music.
SEE ALSO : Reverb tips and tricks
Production tips to wrap the year
/in Blog/by pheekThis year is almost over and I wanted to thank everyone I worked with for trusting my services to give their music an added edge. I think it’s the first year I can feel that I’m finally surfing the waves that took a while to get together, but now things are flowing.
This goes for our Facebook group as well. Many people shared with me that the blog with the group has helped them get more music done. That’s the goal: to make you overcome any obstacles you might face in production. The more agile you become, the easier it will be to express yourself through music.
One of the most discussed topics has been the creative process. If you’ve browsed my site, you probably know I do mentoring and consultation. Discussing how to approach making music has been fascinating people, mostly because it’s not really explained anywhere. Most of tutorials you can find online explain techniques you can use, but it’s rare and hard to explain more broadly how to make a song, how to handle all the sessions you make to finish a song, and how not to lose your sanity between them.
I thought I’d make you a reference list of the topics I wrote about this year so you can come back to it if you’re feeling lost:
If you made it until the end, you found an Easter Egg and can download a Max patch I used in my live sets called “Sparta” below. It will bring modulation to your sounds!
[download id=”36345″]
SEE ALSO : Tips for getting your music heard
Setting up your mix bus
/in Blog/by pheekIn this post I’ll offer some tips on setting up a mix bus for use in your projects; but first we should clarify what a mix bus actually does. I often see confusion about the definition of a mix bus (not to be confused with the amazing DAW Mixbus by Harrison) and how a mix bus works. If you’ve been trained in audio engineering, you’re likely to be familiar with the term. I’ve seen some memes where engineers are mocking people that aren’t using a mix bus, but in reality I can tell you that some of the best mixes I’ve heard were made by people that were still learning. So let’s clarify a few things and hopefully some of these tricks will be helpful.
What is a mix bus?
Let’s keep it simple, it’s the last channel you’ll use on your DAW where all channels/groups/sends/AUX will point. In Ableton Live, many people will use the Master channel as their mix bus; it’s where all your elements mix in the end.
Is there another way to use the master channel?
Yes, there is. While you don’t absolutely need to do it that way, it’s good to know how. it might enhance your workflow as you’ll use the master channel simply for deciding at what output you want to bounce your music (ex. -6dB).
The how-to.
One thing I’ve discovered while following mixing classes with other mentors is they use a channel they’ll call the mix bus and will route their signal to that channel in the end. That one will then go to the master.
All channels -> Mix bus -> Master
One of the advantages you will benefit from is better control of your workflow, easy A/B comparisons with other tracks, and to see how your final mix is really turning out. So if you put your effects on the master, move them to your mixbus and leave the master empty. However, I like to use a utility plugin there for sometimes adjusting the gain, for instance.,
Some people will want to do mastering directly in their project and will put mastering plugins on the master channel, but I really insist that you should not do that. Treat mastering as a different process that should be done on its own and by someone other than yourself (assuming you want the best possible result).
Now, apart from the technical routing, let’s discuss how to optimize your use of the mix/master channel.
Some plugins I always use on my mix bus:
Reference by Master the mix: Perfect to see if I’m on the right path by easily compare it with a reference.
FabFilter Pro-Q 3: The newest version is absolutely amazing! It offers dynamic corrections which is perfect for subtle touches and control.
Voxengo Marquis compressor: for smooth gluing.
SEE ALSO : Production tips to wrap the year
Is sampling wrong?
/in Blog, Production, Sound Design/by pheekSampling in electronic music involves two main types: using another person’s idea (e.g. using a harpist’s melody for your deep techno song, or sampling electronic music that isn’t yours) and using prefabricated samples for making your song.
As time goes on, I read and hear about more and more debates regarding sampling in electronic music. I refer to electronic music because in other spheres, such as trap or hip hop, the debate is non-existent. We all know it’s a matter of culture derived from how producers have approached their art.
You might ask yourself, “are there more benefits from making all my sounds by myself? Will I get more recognition that way?”
It’s hard to answer this question, but I’ll try to debunk the source of that question to help clarify a few things.
Firstly, the world of electronic music really started in the late 80’s with a DIY mentality. Back then, electronic music was not really well-known, and producers had a hard time getting support from traditional media and distributors; they had to do everything themselves. The same thing goes for their equipment. Equipment was extremely expensive and not easy to find, so many artists would work with whatever they could get their hands on. Then came a huge rise in popularity in the electronic music world, and by the 90s, it had its own culture. DIY was the established way to do things; everyone was contributing in one way or another. Making everything yourself – a form of being independent – had been rooted in the culture of electronic music. One of the big differences between that era and now is that back then, many producers were obsessed with making the most original music possible. Going out to an event was all about hearing new songs you’d never heard before that would make you dance; you were also aware you might never hear those songs again.
Secondly, with growing access to technology, it became essential to showcase your skills as a one-man-band. I’m not sure if if this was an ego thing, or more of a way of overcoming this tour-de-force, but while it can be impressive, it can also be counter-productive. There was no electronic music school out there until around 2005, where some appeared online. Prior to that, people that wanted to make electronic music had to be learning everything themselves.
Thirdly, as access to technology increased, as did the possibility to get pretty much anything you want via the internet, a certain snobbery amongst producers developed. Some people are able to do certain things a certain way, and will pass on a very clear message that if you don’t do things in their way, you’re doing it wrong. I think this approach – which I see a lot – has put many people in a defensive mode as well as made them less likely to share their work.
That said, sampling has always created polemics. You often hear a pop artist sampling others then getting into lawsuits as a result. In the underground scene, there are similar stories (such as Raresh sampling Thomas Brinkmann without understanding what consequences would ensue). There were multiple occasions where people would sample a part of a record that was released 10-15 years ago and make a song out of it. It would piss people off, mostly because it goes against two concepts:
Is there a way to use sampling “correctly”?
Well, yes, there is a way. Sampling is not frowned upon in hip hop and, it’s also okay elsewhere too. However, there are rules to respect. When I launched my sub-label Climat in 2012, I wanted to use it to find artists that were talented, had beautiful content, and that once put into a groovy context, would make something new and refreshing. I was looking for music on obscure sites then tried to make music with it. Whatever samples I would keep, I would take the time to contact the artist, explain the concept and ask for their permission. Honestly, this is the least you can do and you should absolutely do it. Imagine if someone were to sample your work; I think you’d want to know. Plus, who knows, it can be the beginning of future collaborations.
How can I make use of samples from someone else’s work?
Contact the original artist, ask them if there are conditions associated with using their work, and then promote them too when you release something.
Is using samples a bad thing?
Many people feel ashamed to use samples. They think if they’re going to have an 808 kick, they need to buy a drum machine to make it. There is also a shame one feels when using presets which don’t feel original. Indeed, they aren’t, but you’re missing the point if that’s the only thing you consider.
When I make music and hit the studio, I want to be productive. I use samples to make a structure, a groove, to complement my idea, so that things come together faster. I’m not using samples as my final form. If I need a breakbeat, I don’t want to lose time trying to program the best beat possible. I’ll take a pre-made loop so I have a target of what I imagine it to be in my mind. As I work on the track, I’ll chop the loop, rearrange it, and swap the sounds out with something I’ll design myself.
When you make a new song, you need to have a core idea. However, you can take inspiration from many things including samples. Gather them all in your project, analyze them, sample, process, and create. Don’t leave things so unchanged that could easily recognize a sample as being unoriginal. See your project as if you were a painter gathering images from magazines to use as guidelines.
Honestly, samples are the best way to get out of your routine. I’ve never understood people who were super stubborn about making everything themselves, just to end up sounding like every other song out there anyways. if you venture in genres that aren’t yours, you’ll get new ideas for sure.
Tip: I find that using layering multiple samples is a great way to make new sounds. For example, you can make your tiny clap sound fat if you combine it with a tom.
Your best companions in processing samples are just a few plugins away. With all the technology available, it’s silly not to use them:
Fabfilter Pro-Q3: Amazing GUI and pristine sound. This is a must to fix your samples into another, original way.
Mangledverb : This is a reverb for intense sound design. It can really bring alive some parts of your samples.
Discord 4 by Audio Damage: For subtle to extreme changes.
Shaperbox: The ultimate tool to recycle any sound into altered material.
Crystalizer: Great for granular synthesis and shaping sound.
SEE ALSO : Setting up your mix bus
Getting feedback on your music
/in Blog/by pheekThis is a more a personal, editorial blog post about music feedback which I’ve been wanting to write for a while now. All year – mainly through our community we are building on Facebook – people have been posting their tracks to receive feedback and validation about their work. It can be intimidating to share something in the group and to have people comment on it. I can relate, as I don’t really share music publicly unless it’s been signed, or if I feel I have something strong to share. Soon I’ll share some details with you about group coaching, which I’ve been testing over the last month and will help people to receive more feedback. That said, one of the things that strikes me most is that many people feel a bit lost when seeking feedback or validation about their music.
In art, the need for validation is huge, and given the state of music nowadays, we have very few places to receive valuable feedback. People try and try to make music and can get lost in it, sometimes losing sight of their main motivation that drew them to making music in the first place.
If someone asked me, “where do you get feedback?”, I wouldn’t really have an easy answer. But in general, I can describe where many people find constructive feedback about their music.
From established artists
PRO: Other artists are probably the most reliable source for good feedback. If the artist finds the time to listen and you like what he/she does, then the returned feedback is pretty solid. The great thing is that if an artist likes it, then your music could end up in a DJ set, podcast or his collection. Other artists usually have nothing to gain from you except a possible friendship if they like you and your music, so the chances that they’re true to their word are good.
CON: Getting an artist’s full attention. Giving too much credibility to an artist can distract you from your initial path.
Difficulty level: Hard. Artists are often in demand, contacted by random people who try to charm them to ask something in return
Online magazines
PRO: If you make a podcast and an online magazine or blog would like to publish it, it can indeed be great validation that you’re on the right path. If you get reviews for an EP/LP, it also exposes you to many people who visit the site which brings attention, with hopefully some good words.
CON: Some of the bigger magazine give reviews if you bought advertisement with them. Often I see people who write reviews who aren’t musicians themselves, and get blown away by very simplistic music, while brushing off music that might be more complex. Sadly, I feel many writers have lost the credibility they once had as a result of their interest in money.
Difficulty level: Extremely difficult, and potentially biased. If you buy advertisement to a site, they usually will give you attention. Some people even buy “space” on a site to make sure they get reviews.
Touring/Gigs
PRO: Touring is certainly the most validating experience if you play at the right places, in the right time slots, and see first-hand how people react to your music. It can be a very important insight into how to build your music in order to have better reactions on the dance floor. If you can play locally, you can also network with people which can help create a stronger following.
CON: The downfall is how much you have to put to make this happen, and how the work conditions when you tour can be harmful both mentally and physically. Getting local gigs is a bit less stressful and way less complicated.
Difficulty level: Medium or hard, depending of your networking skills.
Labels
PRO: For many, this seems to be the ultimate validation. Being signed by a label could mean that you’re officially part of the crew, that you. To see your name among artists you respect certainly brings some excitement and validation to your music.
CON: Is being part of the crew enough to validate your music? What if you made it there but your release is commercially a flop? Is releasing the validation or was the answer from the market the real response? These are all difficult questions.
Difficulty level: Very high. Many artists contact labels, and being noticed among the noise is difficult. Picking the right people is a complex process. Sometimes an artist fits on a label, but the technique doesn’t, or the direction of the proposed songs is not right. One of the most confusing thing is when a label decides to follow trends, which are ephemeral, or to release an artist because he/she is considered hot at the moment. That can compromise the credibility of the label and blur the validity that you initially got.
There were talks this year where people were saying that online vinyl shops giving multiple P&D to multiple, unknown artists, are slowly confusing and overflowing the market with music of debatable quality. Many people chase labels that sell because they know if they can get in the charts, they’ll get attention and bookings, certainly a good thing. But it doesn’t necessarily validate what you do. An amazing release in the hands of a label who doesn’t take the time to promote will not sell as well as it should.
But let’s face it, there are other ways to get validation about your music that are totally easy and might be just as productive as any of the classic ways:
I hope this helps!
SEE ALSO : Is sampling wrong?
Tips to add movement and life to your songs
/in Mixing, Production, Sound Design, Tips/by pheekOne of the most popular topics in music production is with regards to making music feel “alive” by creating movement in music. While I already covered this topic in a past article, I’ll focus today on tools you can use and some techniques you can also apply to create movement.
First, let’s classify movement into categories:
One of the thing that makes modular synths very popular is the possibility of controlling and modulating many parameters the way you want, but the other aspect that makes it exciting is the analog aspect. You’ve probably seen and heard multiple debates about the analog vs digital thing and perhaps, what’s funny is, many feel they know what this is about but yet, can’t really figure it out.
Take, for example, something we all know well: a clock that shows time.
An analog clock is one with needles that are moved by an internal mechanism, making them move smoothly in harmony while time goes by. There’s a very, very preciseness to it where you can see the tiny moment between seconds.
The digital or numeric clock jumps from second to second, minute to minute, with the numbers increasing: there are no smooth, slowly incrementing needle that moves between numbers; they just jump.
Sound is pretty much the same in a way. Once it’s digitized, the computer analyzes the information using sample and bit rates for precision. The flow isn’t the same, but you need a really precise system and ear to spot the difference. Some people do but it’s very rare. This is why, in theory, there’s a difference between digital files and vinyl records.
One eye opener for me was that when I was shopping for modulars at the local store, I was talking with the store’s specialist who was passionate about sound. “The one thing I don’t like about samples is, the sound is frozen and dead”, he said. With modular synths, because there’s often an analog component, the sound, on a microscopic level, is never the same twice.
This is why using samples and playing with digital tools on your DAW, needs a bit of magic to bring it all to life.
Modulation
By modulation, we’re referring to tools that move parameters for you, based on how you have configured them. The two main modulators you can use are:
There are multiple aspects of a sound you can modulate. While there are numerous tools out there to help you with that, it’s good to know that there are a few things you can do within your DAW. The main things you can modulate are:
Some effects that are modulating tools you already know are chorus, flanger, autopan, phaser, and reverb. They all play with the panning and also depth. Adding more than 2-3 instances in a song can cause issues so this is why it’s good to approach each channels individually.
My suggestion: Have one LFO and one envelope on every channel and map them to something: EQ, filter, panning, gain, etc.
Some amazing modulators that offer really good all in one options that you might really enjoy (as I do for quick fix on a boring stem):
QuatroMod
LFO Tool by XFER Records
ShaperBox by Cableguys – My go to to really bring sound to life.
Movement by Output – This one is stellar and really can make things feel messy if pushed too far but the potential is bonkers. You instantly turn anything into a living texture that is never boring.
AUtomation
Automation is what you draw in your DAW that allows you to make a quick-moving or long-evolving effect. You might already know this but you’d be surprised to know that it is too often, under used. How can you know this though?
I have my own set of rules and here are some:
While working with automation, one thing I love is to use Max for live patches that create variations, record them as automation and then edit them. It’s like having an assistant. There are great options to chose from but my favorites would be:
Chaos
By “chaos” I mean using random generators. They would fit under the umbrella of modulators but I like to put them in their own world. There are multiple uses of generators. You can take any LFO and switch them to a signal that is random to make sure there’s always a variable that changes. This is particularly useful with amplitude, filtering. It really adds life. You can also use the random module in the MIDI tools to add some life. Same with the use of humanizer on a midi channel. Both will make sure the notes are changing a little, all the time.
Saturation
If we think of the earlier example of how analog gear is constantly moving, using a saturator is a good way to bend perception. We previously discussed saturators in an earlier post but we didn’t talk of a super useful tool named Channel strip which often has an analog feel included. It remains transparent but it does something to the signal that is moving it away from a sterile digital feel.
My favorite channel strips would be:
The Virtual Mix rack by Slate Digital. Raw power.
McDSP Analog channel
Slam Pro
SEE ALSO : Getting feedback on your music
Saturation Tips and Hacks
/in Blog, Production, Sound Design/by pheekAfter presenting some of my favorite EQs and compressors, it would be silly not to also talk about audio saturation which is complementary tool. There’s not a single project I’ve done in the last 10 years where I haven’t used saturation in one way or another; same with mastering. I often compare it to putting some words in bold in a text, where that effect will do the same thing in a mix: making parts stand out in a way the brain can’t totally understand at first.
What is saturation exactly?
Saturation is essentially a form of soft distortion that gives certain texture to sounds. The simplest way to explain it is to think of how analog processing changes sound; it brings a certain noise it, sometimes very subtly or not. You may use it give warmth or character to the signal being processed, which gives a more aggressive crunch if you exaggerate it. Types of saturation that are most common:
There are multiple situations where you could benefit from saturation in your mixing or sound design in order to alter the character of your sounds.
Pads & synths.
There’s nothing more exciting than rich tones, melodies, and very warm pads. More than often, I see people recording soft synths with no processing whatsoever; they’re really missing out on giving depth to the backbone of their songs. You can for instance simply pass them through a preamp, but my tool of choice for these is absolutely tape emulation (a personal favorite of mine in case you didn’t already know).
How: Start by pushing the saturation to a very high point and make sure it’s more than noticeable. Then adjust the wet/dry to a very low level where you can hear the incoming signal feeling almost clean but have the saturation be mixed in there. I usually find the sweet spot by going “oh, here I can totally notice the saturation” and then lower it by a few notches.
Tool: I’d suggest the Tape from Softubes or RC-20 Retro Color. Both are fantastic to shape your sound with shimmering textures.
One thing I really love is to use multiband saturation to get the most out of your melodies. This way, you can address the lower mids in a way while you bring out harmonics in the higher part of the sound. This can be done with tools such as Ozone 8, Neutron 2, and Melda’s PolySaturator.
Bass
Who doesn’t like a dirty, funky bassline? Low end with grit will always bring some excitement to a mix – especially in a club – this is something we’ve heard so many times in hip hop for instance. A very clean sine bass typically from an 808 has a certain warmth, but if you pass it through tape or tubes, it will give a lot of oomph. If you want to try it, I suggest you even try two instances of saturation to see where that goes. It depends of how much you want it distorted. The wet/dry will have to be applied to taste here. The producers of dubstep brought the game here to a new level.
How: Just experiment. Try to go overboard. Really.
Tool: SoundToys’ Little Radiator does marvel on basses as well as its cousin the Decapitator. For something more subtle but still robust, try the Steven Slate Virtual Preamp Collection.
Percussion
Saturation on percussion will automatically bring an old school feel from breaks that were really popular in the 90’s. The take on that, with Hip Hop (again), was to export the audio to VHS tapes or even tape cassette. The result is pretty badass. Experimenting outside of software is really fun, and I would encourage you to give it a try. One thing I like from doing this is to saturate only the tail and not the transients so that you beef up the overall signal.
How: Duplicate the channel you want to saturate and put saturation on the second one. Using MAX’s envelope follower, map it to the wet/dry of the saturator/exciter. Set the envelope to be flipped so that when a transient is detected, it will duck the knob making sure transient isn’t affected. Melda’s Polysaturator provides that option internally.
Tip: Add reverb and put the saturation after to get really fluffy crispiness.
Tools: Reels by AudioThing, Satin by U-He and Polysaturator once more.
Vocals
There’s nothing more beautiful than vocals that are lush and full. Treating vocals alone is an art in which I could get lost. I don’t want to get into that too much, but I’d like to invite you a bit of everything to see which one suits you best. Some prefer the tubes but other swear by the tapes. This is where Ozone can be a game changer, especially that you can do multi band processing as well as M/S.
Tip: Apply anything and everything from what’s explained above but start by doubling your vocals which will already do great things.
SEE ALSO : Tips to add movement and life to your songs
The EQ and compression combo (Pt. 3)
/in Mastering, Mixing, Production, Sound Design, Tips/by pheekAfter going into details with regards to EQ and compression, in this post I’ll cover some practical tips on how they work well together. I’ll try to also clarify why many engineers will tell you that all you need is these two tools to accomplish most of the work in mixing and mastering.
Here are a couple terms and ideas that have to do with this topic:
To start with, I’d point out that in mastering or mixing, one of the most common chain would look like this:
[Corrective EQ] – [Compression] – [Color EQ]
There’s precise logic behind this. Basically, you want to take the rogue frequencies out first, compress and readjust the good ones with the compression, and finally adjust the tone or highlight details with a coloring EQ. My personal preference for better results would be that whenever I cut, I do it with a pretty narrow Q (resonance) on the EQ. A great starting point is to start with 2 or 3 and then adjust. Don’t hesitate to use visual reference of the FFT that is often included in the EQ’s display, especially if this technique is new to you. Then, I’d cut about 3dB at first, up to 5. You see how this changes your sound by bypassing the EQ and comparing.
When it then comes to compression, there are a few different things you could do here. For instance, if you go with an aggressive setup, then you’ll beef up what you have “open” by cutting away the bad frequencies. I’d suggest starting with a more exaggerated approach to see what will pop as annoying. It might not be possible to hear what’s wrong if you don’t push the sound to its limit.
Once you see and hear issues more clearly, you can cut again, then you roll the compression into parallel mode to have some of the incoming dry signal mixed with the compression.
If you haven’t explored the side-chain frequencies, this is an option where you can decide that your compressor won’t apply anything starting at the target (ex, anything under 100hz). With this, you might want to filter only a part of your song with the EQ and then compress to accentuate the part you want to put to front.
The last process in the chain is the color EQ. You can take any EQ you like but ideally, I’d go for either an analog emulation or a shelving EQ. Those will provide a nice enhancement to complement what the compressor has been doing. For coloring, you can explore. One way to approach it is to completely exaggerate one band to see how it sounds, and then roll down. This is not only very interesting for sound design, but also for mixing more subtly annoying details. It can help build body for a sound that feels week too.
Examples of where to start – EQ and Compression
A pad that that lacks body and roundness. In this case, it’s most likely that a resonance is poking through too loudly and that good frequencies are hidden behind it. You could start by checking if there is one peak on the spectrum and with your corrective EQ, with a not so wide Q (ex. 1.5 to 3), try to bring that peak down pretty severely with a cut of 5-6dB. Get the threshold of your compressor to meet the highest peak and then adjust the output to be the same as the input. With the shelving EQ, bring the mids up but 2-3dB.
A kick that lacks bottom. This might be related to the mids of the kick that are too loud. You could lower them by 4-5dB, then compress with a ratio of 8:1. The shelving EQ should then bring the lows under 100hz up by 4db. If that doesn’t do, cheat by using the corrective EQ to notch up a bell curve at 50hz.
Percussion that are harsh. This is usually because one frequency is resonating around 4 to 8khz. It’s hard to say but try to cut by 8dB and scan around to see if there’s at any point, something more comfortable. Bypass to double check and then adjust your cut so that you can make the resonance almost there. Compress with a fast attack to control the transient and glue them. The shelving EQ could be used to lift the highs.
EQ suggestion: The TDR SlickEQ GE will do a great job for correcting.
Compression: The new SphereComp is super lovely and affordable. I tested it in sound design and it does really nice gluing.
Shelving EQ: I tried the demo of EVE-AT1 and I think you’d like it just like I did. The price is incredibly good for what it offers!
SEE ALSO : Saturation Tips and Hacks
Tips for compression: The Multi-band compressor (Pt. 2)
/in Mastering, Mixing, Production, Sound Design/by pheekContinuing with more compression tips, I’d like to discuss of my all time favorite tool for anything and everything: the multi-band compressor. For many, this beast is a bit of a difficult tool to tame, but I’d like to break it down for you so you can include it in any of your routine and needs. In order to continue, I hope you’ve first read the first post about compression, and also the two posts about how to use EQs.
Compression guidelines
Common Use-Cases for Compression
Controlling harshness. Using a compressor, you can set the attack to be fast and the release to also be pretty fast. This makes the whole action of the compressor fast, controlling any aggressive sounds and taming them. If the attack is too fast however, it can distort, so you need to juggle with the settings to find your sweet spot.
To add punch. This is the opposite of harshness. You’ll want the attack to be slow and the release to be fast. The compressor won’t jump on the transient immediately but will instead create some snappiness. The ratio should be around 5:1 or even higher to achieve this effect in most situations.
To add thickness. Using your compressor in parallel mode, you can set it to about 50% wet/dry, then compress with a medium attack and a medium-fast release. I’d make sure the ratio is as high as possible too. If your compressor doesn’t have a parallel option, then you can use the compressor in a AUX/Send bus.
To glue together a mix. Very similar to thickness and punch, you’ll want to add this to multiple channels and busses at once. Again, parallel compression, slow attack, high ratio. That should do it. Experiment with exaggerated effects and then tone it down.
To sum it up, a fast attack makes the compressor react quickly, which means it is there to control something. A slow attack is to enhance the beginning of the sound. The ratio is how much of that effect you want in action, and the release is for how long.
Multiband action
The multi-band compressor works exactly as the use-cases explained above, but with a multi-band compressor, we can set a range of frequencies to be affected. Therefore, you can set thickness in the mids, control the high-mids for harshness, and enhance the high’s transients with a single compressor, but with different settings for each section.
The multi-band compressor has an additional feature: the use of crossovers that set points for where each section starts and ends. A crossover is simply a frequency you set. For instance, Ableton’s 3-band multi band will have 2 of crossover frequencies. You set the lower crossover which will set where the low end ends in the mids (ex. 200hz) and the other crossover will be where the mids end and the highs start (ex. 6khz).
My perspective on multi-band compressors is that I use them like a shelving EQ where I control each section’s aesthetics in a different way. You can then shape the tone of a sound or mix, or extract minute details. Ideal for finishing touches, multi-band compression can also be used to bring forward parts of your sounds in the most effective way.
Now, here are some situations where the effects of multi-band compression can be useful:
When it comes to my favorite multi-band compressors, here are some of them:
Neutron 2 (Izotope)
General tool for mixing that makes pretty much the best all around assistant to deal with numerous problems. Transient shaper, exciters, gate, compressors and all of them are in multi-band mode. You can’t get better than that.
Drawmer 1973 (Softubes)
The Drawmer compressor is amazing for creating ambient so imagine if you can set it in multi band mode, then you get awe dropping moments.
Fabfilter Pro-MB (Fabfilter)
Elegant, precise and transparent would be the best way to describe this one. Really useful for the finishing touch of your mixdown.
SEE ALSO : The EQ and compression combo (Pt. 3)
Tips and recommendations for compression (Pt. 1)
/in Blog, Mixing, Production, Tips/by pheekAfter two important posts on EQs, it’s time to start discussing how to use compression, as these two work so well hand-in-hand, and I’ll offer my own recommendations on some of the best compression VST plugins. Your own selection of VSTs should always start with a few of these two categories:
For EQs:
For compression, there are also several choices and it’s easy to get lost, so one of the things I find important to start with is to explain the different families of compressors (more suitable to relate them to as models).
FET
This type of compressor is one of the most popular out there. It’s known for its aggression and for its use of adding tons of punch to sounds, mixes, with a lot of attitude. The FET compressor, which means Field Effect Transistor, appeared later in the history of compressors, when they switched the tubes for to a model that helped make sounds warmer and richer; it became an instant favorite in studios. The 1176 is one compressor that became one of the most popular models in studios.
Use: Amazing punch on percussion and add life on textures, pads.
Recommended plugins:
FET Compressor (Softube)
FETpressor (PSP)
Black Limiting 76 (IkMultimedia)
Opto
This type is pretty much the opposite of the FET (although there are people who will argue about this). The Opto model is smooth and super warm. Not idea for percussion but I do use it in parallel (see techniques below), which can give beef to a kick, for instance. The way this model works is very interesting. It’s basically a lamp that reacts to the incoming sound and will light up depending of the incoming signal. I’m not the best at explaining this, but that pretty much sums it up, and this makes the Opto compressor not the most aggressive, as it offers smoothness.
Use: Ideal for pads, synths, textures and I would recommend you experiment it with percussion, but in parallel mode.
Notable suggestions for VST:
Bx_Opto (Brainworx)
Opto compressor (IKMultimedia)
Renaissance Compressor by Waves also offers an Opto mode.
VariMu
VariMu is like the prince of compressors because it has finesse and elegance. Manley popularized the VariMu with their famous version of it. It is a cousin of the Opto in the way it works, and is also very smooth. Often used in mastering, it works like a charm to handle punch problems or to keep coherence in a mix that needs general glue to it. It’s not the best to create punch and this is why, but when used in pair with another compressor, it can really create beautiful results.
Use: On your mix or on a group. It will glue it all together in the most luscious way.
Suggestions of plugins:
The Manley Compressor from UAD
MJUC by Klanghelm
DynaMU by IKMultimedia
VCA
This type of compressor is also very popular just like the FET. I’d say that most generic compressors are often based on that model. Since it’s based on voltage control, this compressor is a surgical type of tool. It is really effective to produce snappiness to percussion but it can also be used to control harsh transients.
Use: Smack those kicks with it and control the transients of hats with another setting.
My favorites:
TDR Kotelnikov
U-He Presswerk
API 2500 (There are a few imitations from UAD and Waves, so check it out)
Techniques
You may have the best plugins but if you don’t know how to use them, you’ll miss the full potential of these amazing tools. I’d say that if you don’t, please know that a large number of producers out there, even experienced ones, struggle to fully understand them. So while you will find so many tutorials out there, I’d like to explain you my simple vision.
But first, let me explain what compression does. It takes the incoming sound and monitors the loudest peak and checks if it is louder than a certain point: the threshold. If that’s the case, it will push down the signal above the threshold, down. I like to picture it as when you sit in a bath, where the water rise as you sit in it. The way a compressor “pushes down” the audio will be controlled by the attack (how fast it reacts), release (for how long) and ratio (how much).
I’d like to compare a compressor to an oven and the incoming music as the dough. The compressor doesn’t work like, let’s say a reverb where if you put it on a sound, you’ll automatically hear what’s being altered. How compressor VSTs work are really, to me, like a oven. You need to bring in the sound, cook it, then push it out.
So, use these parameters when dealing with compression:
So yeah, it sounds weird on paper, but compression is about lowering the volume to make things louder.
Regarding my analogy with the bread, you need to make sure it bakes (gets compressed) before pushing it out.
Now, the techniques you can use compression for:
That’s it for the basics of compression! I’ll discuss the art of sound design using compression and EQs next.
SEE ALSO : Tips for compression: The Multi-band compressor (Pt. 2)
The best EQ plugins and various EQ’ing tips (Pt. II)
/in Blog, Mixing, Products/by pheekIn my previous post regarding the best EQ plugins, I covered some of my favorite EQs and some of their uses. After receiving many compliments about that post, I’ve decided to continue with a part two. In the following post, I’ll share a few tricks with you that you can easily do yourself when facing certain mixing situations, and I’ll also briefly outline compression.
Filters
In case you didn’t already know, EQs are filters; really complex mathematics which each developer has coded in more or less slightly different formulas. This explains why some EQs are really expensive: because of the time invested in perfecting the curves. Many people don’t realize it, but EQs do sound different from one another and you can tell once you have a high quality sound system.
“Most people don’t have a high quality system, so what’s the point…”, you say.
Well, if you use high quality tools, in the end, your regular sounds will be “upgraded” in quality too, which will eventually make a difference where ever you play them.
The number one tip for a better mix is to use filters; this alone can make dramatic improvements.
For instance, your kicks might sound muddy if you don’t remove the garbage frequencies that are below the fundamental note of it. If this sounds complicated, let me explain it in the most simple terms:
Now that tip was for kicks alone, but you should apply this idea to basically everything in your mix. However, besides the kick, I wouldn’t use a slope of 24db/octave on anything else unless there are big issues. It’s up to you to experiment but if you want to test something interesting, try 18 or 12 for cutting other sounds and you’ll see that this leaves less of a digital feel, giving your sounds clarity and warmth.
I’d also cut the highs where they’re not needed, but not too much either.
Percussion, melodies, and high pitched sounds such as hi-hats would benefit from a 6db/octave, high cut filter; this smooths things in a lovely way.
Some of my favorite filters for this kind of use are:
EVE-AT1 from Kuassa
SliceEQ by Kilohertz
PSP MasterQ2: Smooth!
Sharp cuts
Surgical, sharp and static cuts are very useful for a ringing resonance. Many people ask how to spot it these and how to know if it’s really something to cut or if the it’s something to do with the acoustic of the room. There’s no real way to know but to often cross validate with reference tracks.
So often, I get clients sending me a project in Ableton and I see really odd cuts. Is that bad?
Yes and no.
First off, if you use Ableton’s native EQ, switch it immediately to oversampling mode for better quality.
Second, cutting might change something in your environment but you’ll also permanently cut frequencies that might not be needed to change, which could also potentially induce phasing issues (i.e. during the entire length of the song).
*Note – do not use too many EQs in one chain because that will definitely cause phasing!
So, how do you spot one rogue frequency?
Sometimes I just use a spectrum meter to get hints if I can’t pinpoint where it is. Try to always use a spectrum meter on your master to have an overall indication of your mix. If you see some sounds that start to poke above 0dB, this *might* be a problem; not always, but it could. What you want to look for is one thin spike coming up out loud about +3-6dB. This might really be an issue.
My instinct would be to try to lower the volume of the sound itself if that’s possible. Sometimes it’s not and that’s when you use an EQ.
TIP: Avoid sharp cuts in the low end. That can cause issues such as phasing, muddiness. If you really have to, make sure to use a mono-utility after.
I revealed some of my favorite EQ plugins in the first post in this series, but I’ll add some more:
Cambridge EQ by Universal Audio: Works amazing on synths and melodies.
AE600 by McDSP.
Voxengo CurveEQ: Solid on percussive content.
Valley cuts, boosts, and shelving
Many readings on the subject of EQ’ing only will recommend that if you need to boost, go moderate and try to have a very low Q to have an open curve. However, there are really no rules on what you should or shouldn’t do. Explore, fail, and be audacious, because sometimes great things come out of it.
My only red flag would be on those really complicated, several points EQ curves you can do in Fabfilter ProQ2. This sometimes induce weird resonances when you’ll bounce, which is no good for mastering unless you are OK with annoying people’s ears.
Also, think differently. If you’re going to use 3-5 points that are all boosting, then why not start by turning up the gain on your EQ’s output and cut down whatever you don’t want.
But if you boost, I like to have a Q below 1. It gives really interesting results!
Experiment like this. At first it will appear subtle but with practice, great results will come.
My favorites of the moment:
Sie-Q by SoundToys for really doing beautiful shelving.
MEqualizer by MeldaProduction.
SEE ALSO :
Tips and recommendations for compression (Pt. 1)
Tips on how to pick your EQs and use them (Pt. I)
/in Mixing, Sound Design, Tips/by pheekPeople often ask me about my opinions on what the best audio plugins are, and there are no doubts that investing in quality EQs and compressors is one of the most important things you can do for both sound design or mixing. You can do pretty amazing things just with EQ and compression, but of course you need to understand your tools to make the best of them. In this post I propose some exercises and tips, as well as covering the main tools I have gathered through the last years and my thoughts on the best EQ plugins.
Types of Equalizers
There are many types of EQs and I believe some are more important than others. It took me a while to understand how to fully use them all and how to select the right one for specific situations. This subject is actually so vast and complex, I could make a series of multiple posts and I wouldn’t get through it. I’ll try to avoid being too technical and will explain them in simple terms so anyone can understand.
The way I approach EQs are based on different actions:
TIP: The human ear will hear a noticeable difference if you cut 3-4dB minimum. If you cut 6dB, it will be quite obvious.
The main types of EQ plugin categories are:
TIP: If you love the sound of analog, you might want to dig in Universal Audio’s suite that does emulation of classic pieces of gear. The fidelity of replication is absolutely mind boggling!
Now let’s make some associations regarding which EQ does what:
My favorite EQ plugins
Here are my thoughts on the best EQ plugins that are precious tools to have in your arsenal. I’ve also included low budget EQs alternatives that are similar.
1. Fabfilter ProQ2 (Surgical, Valley cuts, Corrective, Tonal)
Budget Alternative: TDR Nova GE by Tokyo Dawn
2. Electra by Kush Audio (Shelving EQ, analog replica)
Not so known by the masses but this EQ is an absolute wonder to have on hand. I use it in every single mixes I do and the results are always amazing. A bit of a learning curve to understand as the GUI is a bit weird but even if you’re not sure of what you’re doing, it shapes the sound in a way that makes it pop out and warms it too.
Budget Alternative: RetroQ by PSP
3. BX_Hybrid V2 by Brainworx (Corrective, shelving)
I don’t think there’s any plugin that can do what this can do in terms of results. Not as versatile as the ProQ2 but where this one stands out is for how buttery it cuts in the sound, smoothing things out. When I have people studying mixing with me, I would always require them to buy this one as the very first EQ to have and use.
Budget Alternative: Voxengo Prime EQ
4. Passive EQ by Native Instruments (Shelving, correction, color)
5. F6 Floating band dynamic EQ by Waves.
I’m not a big fan of Waves as well as their aggressive tactics for selling but this plugin is a really useful one to have. As described above, with a dynamic EQ, you can tame some frequencies that are randomly happening. The problem with a static EQ is, you’ll be cutting permanently a frequency so if what you’re trying to cut isn’t always there, you might cut something that doesn’t need adjustment. This is why you can have more control with a dynamic EQ. This one is also really easy to use if you’re familiar with the concept and the fact that you can use it in MS makes it really versatile. Not as easy and fancy looking as Fabfilter’s but it does more, in other ways. Wait for the price to fall but you might get it fro either 29$ to 49$ if you’re patient enough.
In the next post, I will go more in detail with my favorite plugins and will also explain certain ways, in details, for how to get the most of them.
SEE ALSO :
The best EQ plugins and various EQ’ing tips (Pt. II)
The “sous-chef” experience
/in Blog/by pheekI’ve been reading a lot about music arranging lately, mostly to see how the big players in the music industry approach it. It’s not that I love how things are made in that scene, but more because I want to see what I can take in and transpose to what I do. There are major differences to what the underground music producer will do in an arrangement.
(Photo by frankie cordoba on Unsplash)
The average release on Beatport is a one-man band, but more than often not if equipped properly, will still get some attention. The main difference is the song’s longevity. Most underground songs won’t have a long life, and might not get many plays and if it sounds like a lot of music out there (eg. it’s a tendency that people will imitate the top 10 to be part of it), chances are that in 1-2 years, it will be forgotten.
Where I think we can learn from the majors is about team work. The main issue with this is, most semi-pro musicians or aspiring ones have to put some life priorities first. We started a community project with my Facebook group that is called Cosmic Relay, where we would work as a team to make songs. We did a first EP that made it to the top 3 on Beatport (Minimal) without trying to copy anyone. The potential is there indeed, but on the second batch of songs, we struggled to rally everyone to make things move with a good flow.
I’ve been experimenting a second approach, which is inspired by how restaurants work. I’d be the “chef” and I’d be working with one or multiple “sous-chefs.” One of my strengths, available as a service through my Track Finalization product, is to make arrangements and finish music. Finding the elements to start often takes me ages to create, mostly because I work primary with randomly generated music (ex. from little jams, tool/demo exploration or simply using randomization on plugins). While this generates a lot of original content, it also requires me to go through a lot of recording to find the little gems in there.
Working with a “sous-chef” is most probably the best thing for my workflow. I send them on a quest to gather material based on my suggestions and then I’ll compose with what I have. Facing some limitations bring a flow of high creativity in me. I usually find ways to find how to use the elements to create a timeline and then something that gets me excited. Usually the direction of the project is decided by the people I work with. We agree on a reference and decide where to go with it.
I’m not sure if you have watched Chef’s Table on Netflix, but for me it’s been a source of inspiration. I see parallels between the chefs starting a restaurant and musicians opening their studio.
So back to our project: if we continue to take inspiration from the majors, asking for help for the parts where you feel either slow or less solid, is a great way to complement another artist. Collaborations are the best way to do things you could never do alone, every time, for the best.
“Yeah but I want to learn how to do everything by myself!” I hear you say. Then be ready to be a jack of all trade, which is a master of nothing. That’s not a bad thing, but then you might never shine at what you’re supposed to be great at, simply because you’re spreading your precious time on different tasks that others could do better. The thing is, you’ll get better at everything if you also work with other people who are better than you at what they do.
I’m a good example of that. It took me a long time to get better at mixing and I’m still learning. Same for sound design. But talking with other people was more fruitful than spending time on Youtube. Using and buying quality samples have also been incredibly useful in the process. As well as getting quality tutorials.
For best collaboration tools, here’s my favorites:
SEE ALSO : Tips on how to pick your EQs and use them (Pt. I)