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Secret weapons?
I know some of us like to protect our tricks like they are cold war secrets, but I figured we could share at least some, so that we can all learn from each other. You can list programs, specific ways to make elite kicks, or really just whatever comes to mind that you think is a secret weapon.
I'll start.
UAD Pultec Pro - People really don't understand how great of an EQ this is. You can't even put it in the same category as other emulations from other companies. This is by far the cleanest boosting EQ that exists in the software world, and it's only $79 if you have a UAD card, and rumor has it there is an update coming.
Softube Trident - New EQ, but just flat out INSANE. By far the most colorful EQ I have ever used, and the saturation button included introduces a type of saturation I have never heard before. Only 13 total unites of the Trident were ever made (and it's not because they sucked, I believe Trident studios just made them specifically for their studios, but I could be wrong there) - Can't recommend this enough for a colorful EQ
Funny one here, but Ableton Drum Racks. They put everything, both software and hardware, to absolute shame. I even use the platform as an FX rack and sometimes a vocal sample rack. Quite simply amazing.
PSP Xenon - Best limiter on the market
PSP - 608 Multi-delay (puts the Waves multi-tap to shame)
As far as technical tricks go, I think tuning percussion has become extremely overlooked these days, and it's really not hard to tune them. The first thing you do is if you're using a closed hi-hat and an open hi-hat you use the exact same sample. (the open hi hat) - Then you just drop everything except the decay to create the closed high hat (Thanks for this tip Eric J)
Boosting with a Q of 1 and boosting by 1dB will give your bassline a little more bite (typically)
The most sensitive (or interpreted as the loudest part of your hearing) is between 1-3k. Always toy around in that frequency range to try and get the cleanest sound possible.
Manually creating a reverse delay....(kinda duh here, but many people don't realize it) - Create your original delay, bounce it to audio, and just play it backwards!
And most important of all, never put beverages near your studio equipment.
My top three secrets:
1. Less is more. Don't over complicate things. If you feel like you need ten layers for a bass line, you might want to rethink your approach.
2. You don't need a bunch of plugins and software instruments to make good music. One or two in each category is good enough and in many cases, stock plugins are just fine.
3. Talent makes good music, not equipment.
transitions:
start your next element (like a lead or something) 1 bar earlier while muting some of the other elements.
Re: Secret weapons?
+1 to less is more.
Here's one trick that I like to use on occasion to make arp or gated sounds more interesting and more syncopated - rather than having them start on the downbeat, snap them to the last quarter or eighth note of the preceding measure. It will add some interest/urgency/drive and, by starting early, creates an anticipation of the next chord. And, if you're using an arp or gate that is based on a 16th note pattern, moving it by an 8th note will add a syncopated feel to it. Or, you can move it back by an 8th note or quarter to have it lay back behind the beat/chord change (can work well for a more chilled feel).
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Stephen Wiley And most important of all, never put beverages near your studio equipment. |
Break as many production tip rules as possible.
jp.
I dont know...maybe stop following too many rules. The only thing you really need are basic EQ use knowledge, Compressor and Reverb use knowledge. Learn your monitors well, whether they are $35 or $1500. Everything else should be discovered and be made by feeling and taste, with the listener and dancefloor in mind. Learn the craft but then learn how to break the rules.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Kismet7 I dont know...maybe stop following too many rules. |
Re: Secret weapons?
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Stephen Wiley The most sensitive (or interpreted as the loudest part of your hearing) is between 1-3k. Always toy around in that frequency range to try and get the cleanest sound possible. |
Channel Delay or Track Delay. whatever you wanna call it
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Eric J My top three secrets: 1. Less is more. Don't over complicate things. If you feel like you need ten layers for a bass line, you might want to rethink your approach. 2. You don't need a bunch of plugins and software instruments to make good music. One or two in each category is good enough and in many cases, stock plugins are just fine. 3. Talent makes good music, not equipment. |
Get A Mac!
joking..
not really a secret weapon just putting something out there..
never forget that what your doing is art, and its coming from your heart.
only weapons in me arsenal would be knowing where my skills lie and use them to full effect.
+1 less is more
+1 talent makes music
Get some serious monitor-speakers. Your talent doesn't work if you cannot hear what you are doing. There are some really affordable out there.
But don't forget to cross-check your mix on different audio-systems (car, kitchen, club...).
1.Use compression only, when you exacly know, what you want to get!
2. Sometimes really short reverb can add a lot of "power" to sound.
3. Don't produce after 10PM, your mum will be anrgy 
and ofc
+1 for "less is more"
1. dont be a fool.. wrap your tool.
that is all
Was doing a bit of "studying" at work last night. Two goodies here.
1. Delays - Set a delay to less than 30ms with low feedback. You won't get a delayed sound but it'll create a much wider, fuller sound that can be used to pull bass and vocals to the front of a mix. It's really helpful for pulling sounds forward in a mixing as well as having them cut through a mix. Great weapon here!
2. When using short motif's, modulate the pitch to the filter cut off so the sound brightens based on how hard you hit the keys. Very underrated.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Stephen Wiley 2. When using short motif's, modulate the pitch to the filter cut off so the sound brightens based on how hard you hit the keys. Very underrated. |
If I posted them, they would no longer be secrets.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by G-Con Should that be modulate the velocity to the filter cutoff? |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles If I posted them, they would no longer be secrets. |
Probably true. My production methods are hardly esoteric.
Compression can be used to add groove to individual samples or loops.
If you add a compressor to a long percussion sample, with a short attack (1-10ms)and medium release(roughly 50 ms or more), you can add a dip to the sample that will make it sound more interesting.
The groove control on a compressor is the release. Every compressor has it's own release curve, meaning that you can get different grooves with different compressors or limiters.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by D:Nero But don't forget to cross-check your mix on different audio-systems (car, kitchen, club...). |
-1 for less is more. That's fine if you want to create a simple, edgy track or something but for me the best thing to do with my tracks is just sit with the chord progression and come up with countermelodic riffs to fill out a song. In my songs it's not unusual to have anywhere from 4 to 8 melodic bits completely separate from each other to be playing at the same time.
Doing that lets me constantly introduce new things. When I write a track I can have a two or three minute passage where I don't go more than a phrase or two without introducing something new to the track, whether it's a percussion line or riff or bass change or whatever, I constantly change things to create interest without the initial idea being lost in all of it.
Also one of my favorite melodic things to do is write a melody, and then overlay another higher melody on top of it. I did it in Force of Life and I'm doing it with a track I'm writing now, if you have the build-up focus on the first "incomplete" melody and then bring in the second higher part during the breakdown it makes the track sound absolutely massive and really gives the entire song a sense of cohesiveness between the buildup and the drop that I feel a lot of tracks don't have.
That's a great point, Kysora. Knowing when it's enough is probably better than less is more.
lower the master so you dont clip
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