Five years ago, in 2016, a company called Cloudbounce got in touch with me and wanted me to write a mixing guide. I was given one week for it. Well, that's of course a bit mad, as how much can you say about mixing in one week? Not a lot. Once you start writing, you're already running out of time. So your first task is to narrow the scope, pick relevant topics, and get to work with them till the...
2021-11-07 08:39:25 +0000 UTC View Post
Came up with a thought today: why not let my patrons know about some hot breaks to sample – I'm always trying to promote a healthy breaks culture where producers'd use breaks not heard a lot before.
So here's 10 dope ones off the top of my head.
Some of these links take you to the digital release, but some I wasn't able to find or maybe didn't put enough time on it. But you should be ab...
Alright, I'll try and make this post as short and snappy as possible.
Fact #1:
A lot of producers don't care about how their sounds play back in mono OR they don't know how to check/fix/address it.
Producers should ...
2021-10-24 11:50:56 +0000 UTC View Post
Showing you four ways to control the dynamics of your audio signal. In this video, a drumloop is used to demonstrate how it can be tamed, made tighter, and also made more aggressive.
See video for timecode links!
2021-10-15 11:46:06 +0000 UTC View Post
A full walkthrough of Fanu: “Black Label” (Metalheadz) up now:
This is 100% Patreon exclusive and not available anywhere else.
Please don't share the link, as I have no means of password-protecting it.
Do tell ppl about this though by ...
So I spent ALL last weekend setting up my new iMac, which sports the new M1 CPU. Man, 48+ hours to set *everything* up from zero…plugins, installations, passwords, all other software…felt like working thru the weekend.
I got the machine in hopes of getting more juice for exports especially.
I posted about it on socials and I’m not sure I’ve ever got as many msgs about one th...
2021-09-27 18:22:42 +0000 UTC View Post
I'm giving out the Ableton masterclass videos I've done and which have been selling through my webshop (a few hundred of these have gone around the world and the feedback has been great).
There's a Basics one and Advanced.
Conditions:
• If you're in Producer Tier 1, I can link you to one of them.
• If you're in Producer Tier 2
2021-09-20 14:27:25 +0000 UTC
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I got a few messages asking for the samples that I extracted in the last video.
I also found a new cool hip hop head running a Patreon page and he seems to do the same thing (sharing his diggings).
I prob won't make this a very common thing, but hey, here we go, why not!
Just keep in mind, these are not royalty-free material; this is copyrighted stuff.
But here you go…hope y...
Time for a new video!
Let’s take some records, sample them, isolate their elements with RipX, and make a beat out of those with Ableton Live.
Been testing that new RipX plugin, and loving it! So wanted to demo it here.
See bottom of YT text for timecodes for sections of video.
2021-09-19 15:02:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Ableton Live allows for a pretty nice way to create a "DJ-style" mix of music.
This way you can create a nice blend of songs that has all the music beatmatched!
Alright my dear Patrons!
"Truth And Lies" D&B EP is out, and I’m giving you its stems.
All stems are full-length – just a direct bounce out of the songs.
No master limiting, so they're not mega loud, but all dynamics is there.
Feel free to have fun with tons of samples, breaks, bass…do your best, or your worst!
• 2021-09-10 10:04:39 +0000 UTC
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A quick tip how to add lo-fi texture to your drums!
I was trying to find the quickest way to get this worn-out vinyl highs sound, and I think I've found it!
2021-08-29 11:35:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Especially if you're not familar with Operator or FM synthesis, here's a quick-ish tip of the day for creating a classic bass sound from scratch. BTW this technique works with any FM synth, not just Ableton.
In FM synthesis, you usually have one main oscillator, and its pitch is modulated by that of other oscillators, which can create a multitude of different timbres.
Adding a littl...
2021-08-10 14:46:22 +0000 UTC View Post
While there is a lot of technical info out there, there’s much less info on the philosophy of making songs. Ironic or not, finishings songs seems to be a hurdle for many while a lot of the tech that goes into it is available for all.
Sp, I wanted to have a session discussing song structures, my philosophy on getting enough material for a song, progression etc.
It'...
2021-08-07 12:56:21 +0000 UTC View Post
Hola amigos! Hope you've been good.
I took this week as a holiday week as I haven't been able to do much of that this year, as it's been intense with work...feels good to recharge a bit a few times a year, and don't we all need it!
On my holiday, I've been testing Bitwig Studio.
Without further ado, here's a list of pros and cons of it – I'm kind of looking at this from the ang...
Alright fam! The new EP on Slug Wife is out.
To put it very briefly: I'm letting my patrons DOWNLOAD the stems of the songs.
(to honor the fact that it's...
(You hear me address a person on the video, as this was originally made for a person)
📼 VIDEO here📼📼📼📼
Recently I've got quite a few questions as to what I take into account when making a mixtape loud or when "mastering" it. I u...
(the pic is actually of the plugin that the plug I'll write about emulates)
In my mixing work, I'm always very picky about getting the low-mids right.
I want to achieve that certain fullness for drumsounds, an "analog" tone, a cure for "digitalitis".
I've used Massey Tape Head a lot over the years, but it hasn't been officially available in any format other than Pro...
Hi ya'll!
(pic is from the web; I used to have a real cool pic of me micing the xylophone in this pack but boo it's gone!)
Hope everybody's summer has been real nice so far.
Lemme tell you it's been hot here, and long days in the lab mean I'm sweating like a…well I dunno what sweats more than a human when it's 30C outside and when that can truly be felt indoors.
Let’s create a proper DNB-worthy bassline using Serum.
I’m also adding some spice with Erosion of Ableton Live.
You can get both the preset and the rack with Erosion:
• Serum preset
• 2021-07-05 12:22:45 +0000 UTC
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If you've ever wondered how you can strum an instrument with Ableton Live, here's how.
I won't waste your time with my lifestory – I'll get straight to the point!
Enjoy the 1-minute quickie 😅
It was probably some 10-15 years ago that a friend told me that you could download good-quality cymbal samples from the website of Zildjian. I've used them every now and then.
You can't download them anymore, but you can of course record the audio previews.
E.g., to browse some ride sounds, click Products
2021-06-26 14:09:53 +0000 UTC
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If your summer isn't hot enough, lemme show you how to create some hot tones with Ableton Wavetable: let's do a classic Reese bass that's good for D&B and let's get roasted!
You can grab the preset here!
In mixing, I do this often in breakdowns (i.e., the section before the drop, often without beats).
I often do this when mixing music that actually has to have an impactful drop (e.g., tech house, DNB, etc).
In more chilled styles, where there is no drop, this is not necessary.
• Widen the song (I do this on the master, and sometimes target specific tracks) towards the drop and the...
2021-06-10 13:42:57 +0000 UTC View Post
I’m running you through the things I take into account when mixing kickdrums!
I always think of kicks as having a few different "parts", and I go through them here and go through some other considerations in terms of how you can improve how the kick sits in the mix.
I hope this'll help you to make your kicks sit better.
Mixing and mastering yet another house song.
A quick plugin tip of the day: Gullfoss EQ by Soundtheory.
Or I guess it's not an EQ in the traditional sense that you can move nodes around. It's a really interesting plugin, as it can both boost and tame things, and also just add...
2021-06-03 10:32:01 +0000 UTC View PostThere is one plugin I always pull out first when I feel the drum bus needs some low-freq help.
You may have seen I recommend and use the UAD Pultec EQ a lot for kick lows and drum buss lows. I understand not everyone wants to buy a UAD interface.
No fear, as there's a great free Pultec emulation by Ignite Amps.
As you know, I love breakbeats.
There's nothing better than a phat drumloop you can chop and rearrange.
I want to give my Patrons some specials, and here's a nugget.
It's from an unreleased song of mine (that may come out one day).
I was working on it again and thought, heck, if the song never comes out, at least let's put it out for people to use, bec...
I’m a nerd that makes his living doing audio engineering, and technological advancements such as isolating parts of music/audio fascinate me highly.
I also love making sample-based music, so being able to strip out and isolate some elements in audio interests me.
Hence, let’s take a look at and compare two music apps that can isolate musical elements:
RX8 by Izotope vs Neu...
2021-05-15 10:44:31 +0000 UTC View Post
I've always liked a slightly "toasty" sound in my own productions: it's not always super "audible" or in your face, but my music always leans slightly towards the oldskool / lo-fi / grungey end of the audio spectrum (as opposed to hi-fi / ultramodern / polished).
I have a pretty big toolbox for "dirtifying" sounds a little bit (or a lot) and Redux fits there nicely, so check it out!
I ...