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Producing in 2014: What are you doing?

I'm not meant to start a war, but I'm just curious how you guys produce in this day and age. I'm becoming sort of a dinosaur working with synths, controlled by midi, mixing them on a desk and recording them playing all together into a stereo mixdown.
Call me lazy, but I really can't be asked anymore to record as wav, chop it to loops and polish and mix it all ITB. I just like working OTB with the PC off.

Now, others will work fully ITB, some use only VSTi's and other use a combination of VSTi's and samples (i.e. Maschine) again others predominanty use samples (loops and 1-shots) to lay down a track and add i.e. Only a lead and bassline with a VSTi

Then there are guys who only use samples, they cherrypick what they like and put it all together like a collage, slice and dice it, one shots, loops, riffs it doesn't matter as long as it gells together to a bigger whole than sum of parts.

How do YOU produce these days?

I'm still primarily using Reason. It still works pretty much how I want it to.

I'm in renoise, everything else I use is free stuff. I'd prefer to replace renoise with something free as well, but the free options are a bit lacking in the automation and control department. I am mostly sample based, though lots of those samples come from softsynth recording of my own patches.

For 2014, I'm trying to find a way to sound different without it being unappealingly weird.

I'm 100% ITB and try to keep my setup as minimal as possible, because my career has had me moving around a lot over the past few years. I don't see myself buying another hardware synth again, regardless of my career circumstance. I've just become accustomed to recalling entire projects without needing anything but my laptop and always found recording hardware a total pain in the ass.

I switched to Studio One about 18 months ago, after being a Cubase user since SX1.

I've also cut back the plugins I use significantly. I own Komplete, but only have Battery, Massive, FM8 and Kontakt installed. The Korg Legacy synths are the only other instruments I use. For effects, all I have beyond my DAW plugins is the Cytomic plugins and a FabFilter bundle.

I use samplers a lot more now than I used to, but thats a consequence of my musical preferences changing. I'd say the average song is 50/50 synths/samplers.

After 10 or so years of doing this, I think I'm approaching the point where I really know my tools inside out. I don't even try out new gear unless I have a really specific reason for doing so, whereas in the past I would demo every flavour of the month plugin.

Well I've no bought a plugin for ages now, apart from Alchemy come to think of it.

I realised in 2013 that mixing, and all the options that come with a modern DAW setup actually hampers my creativity so I'm trying to simplify that workflow.

A recent switch to Live has gone some way to achieving that, and also massively sped up the process of getting a track started.

Ultimately I'd like to take a lot of the mix process OTB and keep all my options hands on. I may even go down the Cirklon route too. But I definitely see a multi channel desk to run my hardware through being the main route to composition, with software as a backup to that.

A mixture of hardware and software synths, software effects and samples, all mixed itb

my way of working now has change a lot i use mainly samples ie working with audio i think its because i cant make them big porfessional tunes so i like to throw shit at a brick wall and see what sticks

I'm ITB (Sonar, PT, Logic, Live, soft synths, etc.), OTB (Kurzweil PC3X, Tetra, channel strips, compressors), and hybrid (Virus TI2, Maschine). Pretty much every one of my tracks have vocals, guitars, bass and/or other recorded parts (including my h/w synths), use my Virus and/or Maschine, and are all recorded, mixed and mastered in my computer using software hosts, synths, processing plugins, and audio editors. I don't discriminate.

Making sounds.

Sidechaining my donk with cowbell on it,

At home, I'm now nearly entirely ITB with Logic (and a little of PTHD when I can be bothered to look at it's hideously uninspiring interface), with exception to my Electribe ES1 that I just use a step sequencer occasionally for drums (via battery).

I probably will end up dropping the 'Tribe soon though as battery is a bit flakey and I've gotten more in to just placing samples in the arrange page.

I am however starting consider playing with Live as I'd love something quick and cross platform......that is, if I can get over the fugliness of the sequencer.....

quote:

Originally posted by DJ RANN if I can get over the fugliness of the sequencer.....

If I can get used to it......

I still don't know how people use Ableton with all those timing issues. You basically can't use any high quality oversampling plugins, except maybe on your master. I think all the perceived sound quality problems people have with Ableton are actually a result of PDC issues causing phasing and so on.

What are the timing issues you speak of? I only used ableton when it first came out and it was fun for the first hour. That was about 2002 and I haven't touched it since.

quote:

Originally posted by DJ RANN What are the timing issues you speak of? I only used ableton when it first came out and it was fun for the first hour. That was about 2002 and I haven't touched it since.

The big problem I experienced personally is the total lack of PDC on automation. If you need a filter to bypass right on the drop, you're going to have a bad time. That's a good enough reason for me to never use Ableton.

Others complain about general MIDI/audio jitter when using lots of non-realtime plugins. Apparently things just wont be sample accurate anymore, for whatever reason. Most people probably don't notice this in general use. I didn't. However, it would obviously limit your ability to do advanced mixing tricks and could cause all kinds of phase problems.

Lastly, Ableton seems to have PDC problems with lots of plugins in general. I think any plugin that doesn't have a fixed delay won't work properly, but you'd need to confirm that. I remember a dev talking about this. It's a really shitty problem, because they end up having to set the delay to the maximum, even if the plugin isn't actually using it. For example, a compressor with 200ms maximum lookahead set to 10ms lookahead should only need to report 10ms. In Ableton, I believe it would need to report 200ms, because it can't change dynamically. This obviously really sucks for anyone doing actual recording.

After years of being the Ableton poster boy, Deadmau5 switched to Cubase because of these problems, so it's not just whiners on the internet.

quote:

Originally posted by echosystm I still don't know how people use Ableton with all those timing issues. You basically can't use any high quality oversampling plugins, except maybe on your master. I think all the perceived sound quality problems people have with Ableton are actually a result of PDC issues causing phasing and so on.

Its not that bad - you can make music with Ableton Live despite the PDC stuff

more sidechain
more analog

quote:

Originally posted by evo8 Its not that bad - you can make music with Ableton Live despite the PDC stuff

The number of hits made on Ableton would attest to that, but why limit yourself unnecessarily?

The way I see it, unless you absolutely cannot live without the Ableton workflow, you're better off on Cubase, Logic, S1 or Sonar. FL Studio, Reaper and most others all have similar issues. Reason has no delay compensation AT ALL lol.

Mainly ITB, with some recording of my hard synths, vocals and the other day guitars as I did a rock track believe it or not.

I'm lately thinking of ways to distinguish myself from the army of people using construction kits.


If time and money were more plentiful I would go much more OTB but most spare money is invested for the day I want to give up work.


I have not bought any products for a long time.

I will be spending money on mastering services once I have several of my D n B tracks fully finished.

I only work in Reason and Reaper.
It's all I really need.
For dj shit VDJ and MixMeister.

BTW
Ableton Live has some nice tools but I try to stay away from Ableton Live.

I only work in Reason and Reaper.
It's all I really need.
For dj shit VDJ and MixMeister.

BTW
Ableton Live has some nice tools but I try to stay away from Ableton Live.

all ITB and I just picked up a pair of those tiny Alesis Elevate monitors new for $70, surprisingly legit

im mostly ITB - still got the virus and sherman though - want a couple more analogue synths at some point

Loving the quality of current plug ins with a powerful computer

im massively into working with vocalists ATM, just got a Neumann U87 and a focusrite Pre

I want to get more live stuff in my productions in the future, bass etc, continue studying jazz piano, get into songwriting and being a musician and a better producer

Want to experiment much further with FM this year, very interesting stuff. Just upgraded Komplete so loads of new stuff to use there

Integrating midi controllers like lemur to manipulate sounds in ways that well, some happy accidents.

Spending time working on channel chains getting unique sounds and using as little source material and making the most of what you have.

Starting to experiment with tech trance.Trying to master Hocketing to create some rather unusual and mindfucking melodies. Just trying to find my style really.

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