Composing for Kick Drums 3
Variation Like for any other part, adding variation to the kick drum pattern adds interest and scope. Generally speaking, there are two kinds of variation – changing the timing of notes (keeping the...
View ArticleThe case against compressed drums (articulation vs texture)
Don’t overcompress those drums! When drums are compressed, the body of the drums is brought up in level (relative to the transient). This creates the perception of longer sustain, making the drums...
View ArticleWhy ‘randomising’ is not ‘humanising’
How often do you see the terms ‘humanising’ and ‘randomising’ being used interchangeably? Or maybe you’ve seen someone ask how to make something sound more natural or human, and someone else suggests...
View ArticleSix ways to get bigger beats
Who doesn’t want bigger beats? Well, maybe your neighbours. But maybe you don’t like your neighbours. Who am I to judge? I just supply the tools. It’s up to you to use them ethically. Here are some...
View ArticleExamples of using group busses
Group busses are a versatile and useful mixing technique. They’re often used in a variety of different situations: Distorted guitar stacks. It’s quite common to layer or doubletrack (or tripletrack or...
View ArticleDo something different with rhythm
Break out of your usual rhythms. Think about all the usual assumptions you make when you’re programming drums and rhythms for other parts. People often speak of breaking the rules… what happens when...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Get more out of your phaser
You’ve probably got a phaser somewhere in your studio. Maybe several. They can usually be found lurking in your workstation keyboards, your plugin folder, your sampler or maybe your stompbox...
View ArticleCrunch your drums
Just a quick tip: If your drums are feeling a little weak, sometimes more compression/EQ/saturation/magicfix isn’t going to work – especially when your drums are already heavily processed. Instead, try...
View ArticleProcessing drums separately vs processing the whole kit
So, you’ve loaded up your favourite drum plugin, selected a kit, tapped out a beat and now you’re thinking about how to tweak the sound for your mix. And maybe your drum plugin has multiple outs or...
View ArticleClik here to view.
I turned quantise off
Some of you know I use Maschine. Mainly for electronic and pop drums. Some of you might also know that I have a custom groove quantise template in Cubase. Something like [0,+20,+10,+20], so 16th notes...
View Article
