Uncle Fanu promised to get back to the breaks in September, and he's not one to eat his words, so here we go!
This is a very unknown break, but hey now you know it!
"Paa Break" by Didier's Sound Spectrum.
Great for DNB and this'd work well in hip hop (hey been there done that <-link)<...
2024-09-01 08:48:36 +0000 UTC View Post
It took me a while to learn this one, because there was a period (ca. 2000-2010) when I was almost exclusively working with hardware samplers that weren’t that precise in terms of seeing the sample start point. So I was often layering drums but felt baffled as to why I was losing power.
These days layering drums is easier as I pay attention to this one.
Also when layering dr...
Topic #1 I nag to clients about, hands down. Poor mono.
Hell, even a lot of great producers don't check their mono, and then it's my job nag about it. I know, I know, I've been complaining about this a lot, but even some of the songs I get for feedback via Patreon still suffer from this.
Won't lie, I just got a fairly big league song as a reference for a mix where the brightness and...
2024-08-25 09:36:02 +0000 UTC View Post
A lot of people do this one, especially some house producers.
Learn to hear when it's too much...in some chunky, organic styles this isn't really needed. Nothing like hearing some jungle for example where transients are way overcooked :-/
To some this may be very obvious, but you'd be surprised to how many it's not. Some tools are just overused these days, just like clippers, highpa...
2024-08-23 08:38:37 +0000 UTC View Post
Some of the somewhat most challenging premasters or initial mixes I always get from producers that are not doing any referencing. I still find it really important.
How do you know how your song does against other similar songs if you never try to find out?
This video shows you how I do it, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone!
2024-08-18 08:45:38 +0000 UTC View Post
Some people are lazy (I'm lazy too, with some things, like cooking).
They'd like to paint (mix) by numbers and adjust their mixer levels for elements based on what someone is telling them. This may not work out.
Here's my best explanation, with audio, why it may not be "the bomb".
Reason 6 will be one of the best mix self-help tips I can give you, and I do mean it.
2024-08-14 12:50:10 +0000 UTC View Post
Analyzing DAW projects every now and then (instead of just hearing a .wav file), I'd say this can be fairly common especially with less experienced producers. Less is often more.
Reason 5 (next episode, soon) will address a topic that I'm asked about very often and which I'm trying to steer producer away from. Just wait! Will get busy checking some mixer levels 🎚👌🏻
Also, I'...
2024-08-11 15:17:47 +0000 UTC View Post
Mix nugget 3/9 here!
Should be obvious, but hearing a lot of music out there today (also hearing some of the premasters and stems I get), this one is not obvious.
So trying to raise some awareness around this one.
Instead of slapping a tool there…consider a more manual approach.
Mix nugget 4/9 dropping soon, folks!
Reason 2/9 why your mix is lacking power! You probably don't have to do this one.
2024-08-04 11:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post
In August, I'm dropping 9 video tips/thoughts on why some mixes lack power. All this I deal with daily in my audio work. Here's video 1/9. I may do even more, as the list got pretty long, but tried to keep it easy to digest.
(at least) 9 videos will drop before August is over.
2024-08-01 12:15:00 +0000 UTC View Post
I already this one as UAD Native and their Spark version, and I happened to see I have a license for this on my Loopcloud account. I'm not 100% sure how long it'll stay – I remember seeing the offer say Aug 4 is the last day for the offer they throw it in for.
So, let's say, if Aug 3 it's still valid, let's do a giveaway then (this Sat).
You only have to h...
2024-07-31 11:38:51 +0000 UTC View Post
I recently got the dope Amigo Sampler, and got a song going with it. Wanted to give you a little look into how the Amigo Sampler works...it sounds dope!
The break I happened to use was very fitting for a new Breakbeat Of The Month episode.
I'm getting busy with an explosive one! "Soul Drums" by Bernard Purdie.
Man, Purdie is tight and funky, and he got soooo many more breaks, I prob gotta cover some more in a later BBOTM episode.
This one has not been used that much in any genre, probably because 1) it does take some work and 2) it has a very very particular, aggressive, explosive tone.
I'm mentioning...
2024-07-14 10:15:49 +0000 UTC View Post
I recently posted an IG clip about the loudest stem master I've done for a client this year. It raised many comments and I got many DMs from some of you asking me to cover that project.
So that's what I'm doing. I'm also taking a look at a recent Subfocus song.
In this context, I'm discussing the p...
2024-07-11 07:52:29 +0000 UTC View Post
I've been getting Qs about gain staging again, so let's have a refresher to keep our dynamics decent. After all, gain staging in a modern DAW is fairly simple and there's only a few rules to follow.
Old video (good lord I've lost weight since thanks to a complete 180 life change) above to show it all, but main points are below.
🎚️IN A NUTSHELL 🎚️ ...
2024-07-08 09:53:09 +0000 UTC View Post
You asked, and I’ll answer. I recently asked you to ask me questions and I’d do a video reply.
Part 1 is now on Youtube (see timecodes at the end of description there).
I got waaaaay more questions I can handle in one sitting, but here’s part 1.
Trying to keep these all bite-sized enough to be digestible.
Want to see more? Leave a comment. Or leave a further questi...
2024-07-07 10:31:57 +0000 UTC View Post
Phew, just kicked off a 2-week vacation (time off of my main grind, i.e., mixing and mastering music).
I thought, maybe a "ask me anything" type of thing could work: you could send some questions (add them to this post) and I'd do a public video (or two if there's lots of Qs) where I'd reply to some of them (might be more convenient than typing real long).
A...
2024-07-01 11:29:28 +0000 UTC View Post
Well it's definitely been a bass month, hasn't it! And that's what we'll finish June with, too: bass.
As an engineer, it’s my job to make sure that many things are well in place.
One of those is sub bass. I’ve been dealing with sub bass music for 30+ years and can claim expertise there as an engineer and a producer. If the lows aren't hitting in bass music, it ain't worki...
2024-06-29 11:54:16 +0000 UTC View Post
Mixing/mastering is largely a customer service job.
Do your best early on to find out what it is the client wants.
Ask for reference songs (it’s ok to ask for files, because referencing against multiple stream sources can be a pain).
Feel free to say it if you think the refs aren’t fitting (to an extent that’s your job; you’ll grow into it).
<... 2024-06-18 10:30:47 +0000 UTC View Post
It's time to talk about side signal mindfulness.
In my daily work, I hear a lot of audio where everything has been made really wide. It is effortless to make things wide today, but making sure the side signal isn't too much is another matter.
In this video, I'm going through some of my main thinking and plugins I use for cleaning up the side signal, starting with transients, the...
2024-06-16 11:44:25 +0000 UTC View Post
Phew, I have created a new Collection (aka a playlist): MIXING COLLECTION (link)
Mixing is the topic I've been covering the most here in the past four years, and there's now nearly 50 posts about it. Some are videos.
Kicks, basses, mixing elements, etc.
Hope you like it!
PS: Rem...
2024-06-11 09:20:54 +0000 UTC View Post
In this 15-min video tutorial, I will show you how I correct the bass of a song I’m stem mastering.
I’m also showing why its bass is lacking and how to fix it.
📝 BTW I have tackled this earlier in text format HERE <...
2024-06-09 09:46:40 +0000 UTC View PostThere, you find the samples you can download if you are subscribed to any tier but the lowest one. You will find kicks, snares, basses, and song stems ...
2024-06-07 11:16:21 +0000 UTC View PostLinear drumming means a style of drumming where only one drumsound can play at a time.
Prob the most famous electronic music track doing linear drumming? "Flim" by Aphex Twin (link).
A famous funk drum loop with linear drumming: 2024-06-04 12:46:30 +0000 UTC View Post
Title says it all 💥
If you are new to music production and are not very familiar with making 808s, or want a recipe that's quick, you could do worse than check out this quick recipe from yours truly!
BTW, should you want mixing/mastering or professional feedback for your music, hit me up!
-Janne
2024-06-04 11:12:59 +0000 UTC View PostI wanted to brush up on using Vital (you can grab the free synth HERE) and wanted to share the session with you...let's do some neuro/reese type bass stuff!
BTW if this is too deep, let me know (IIRC, someone once requested some simple basses, so let me know if you'd want the basics like snappy 808 etc)
It's drums processing time!
Ever since Chopping Science episode 2 I've meaning to get back to processing the Soul Pride break a bit further and touch it a bit just because it's so great.
So here, I'm finally layering some hits to go with the good old Soul Pride break (one of my faves...
2024-05-26 13:49:26 +0000 UTC View Post
I was having a great day on the balcony until…well you just have to watch it and see.
The first 25 seconds may be among the worst cinematography you’ve seen. Or maybe it’s the best?
Then again you just have to watch it and see.
Trying to get to grips will efficient drums chopping on Bitwig (there’s a few different options; will try to figure them all o...
2024-05-13 13:37:47 +0000 UTC View Post
So I (with some help) have discovered a whole new break, which, I am pretty sure, hasn't really been used by the breakbeat community much.
What's the song and who helped me? Where did I use it before? Well, watch the video and find out! Grab the break as well as Ableton and Bitwig projects before.
Hope you enjoy!
(My audio is a bit off sync here and there; after a whole of...
2024-05-12 11:22:52 +0000 UTC View Post
My Ableton Live Basics video course (three parts) is finally FREE and available to ya'll – because I’m nice like that ;-)
The Basics course (link!) has three videos and is 4.5 hours in total, so there's a lot to watch and learn
⚠️Paying members, don’t worry,...
2024-05-06 13:32:02 +0000 UTC View Post