Category: Production skills

How to get stereo width on modern bass sounds

There’s a general rule in music production that low bass frequencies should be kept in mono. This is still largely true as it provides compatibility with multi-speaker club systems and prevents the stylus from jumping off the record if your music gets cut to vinyl.

However, future bass, house and drum and bass genres all often feature super wide sounding stereo bass sounds, so how’s it done?

The trick? Layer your bass

The real trick to this is in layering tracks.

In the past I’ve used up to 4 separate layers to get a bass sound to properly sit in the mix. Most of the time this is unnecessary and 2 layers is enough. Layer 1 will be mono and contain all the low bass and sub frequencies, layer 2 will be stereo and contain upper bass, mid and high frequencies.

Let’s look at how to quickly set this up.

Step 1: design your bass sound

The type, style or genre is up to you. This tutorial is about production not sound design so I’ll let you decide on the sound and the midi pattern that plays it.

Step 2: duplicate the whole bass track

The first track will be the mono sub bass and the duplicate will be the stereo bass.

Step 3: change track one to mono

On the first track put a utility plugin and in the width section, pull the 100% down to 0%. The track is now in mono.

Step 4: add an EQ to the mono track

Put an EQ8 after the utility, right click on the top of the plugin and select ‘oversampling’ from the drop down menu.

Choose a low pass filter from eq band 8 and bring the frequency down to the bass region. The sweet spot for the frequency will depend on the sound, tone and key of the bass line and you’ll have to use your ears (adjusting both mono and stereo tracks) to find it but somewhere around 100hz is a good starting point.

Step 5: add an EQ to the stereo track

On the 2nd track (stereo bass), copy over the same EQ8 but change the low pass filter to a high pass filter.

Step 6: add a stereo effect and/or width processor to the stereo bass track

We now need to add a stereo effect and/or width processor to the stereo bass track. There’s a long list of plugins that can create this and you really need to experiment with one or with a chain of effects to fit the style you’re going for.

Any modulation effect like a chorus or flanger can add stereo modulation, a very short reverb or delay could add a sense of space. For even more width we could use utility, vinyl distortion or frequency shifter to push the stereo image out super wide.

One of my favourites is the stereo enhancer from PSP’s Stereo Pack.

Here we’re using ableton’s frequency shifter with the wide function enabled and spread at 1.37Hz.

Now you have 2 channels, sub bass in mono on track 1 and super wide stereo bass on track 2.

Playing both channels together should sound like the whole bass line is bursting out of the side of the speakers but actually all the power in the bass is safely in the middle with the kick drum.

Further tips

You can now experiment adjusting the frequency slightly on both eq’s as well as the volume of both tracks.

You could try adding saturation/distortion to the stereo track to make it more aggressive. You could also try shifting the midi on this track up an octave or adding a second oscillator to the synth with the pitch shifted up.

Have fun with your new super wide bass………

25th April 2017
Create unique beats with clip envelopes

You don’t need to be a drummer or even know that much about rhythm to start creating your own, unique beats and loops in Ableton Live.

In this week’s blog I’m going to show a really simple technique using clip envelopes to cut up your loops and generate original ideas to use in your tracks.

This is a lesson that pretty much every student at Ideanoise has found useful – keep following our blog for more creative tips and tricks.

If you like, tell me what you’d like to know more about in the comments below and I’ll write you a blog.

via GIPHY

18th March 2017

5 top video channels for music producers

In no particular order of preference…

1. Ill Gates	Electronic music production tutorials and live workshops. Interesting tips on methodology and work habits.
2. Pensados Place	Learn from legendary mix engineer, Dave Pensado. Also include interviews with top music industry artists,engineers, producers, mixers, and record executives.
3. Automatic Gainsay	Analogue synth guru, tutorials and demos.
4. Beat This	Watch top producers as they demo their technques/skills in just ten minutes.
5. Telekom electronic beats	Artist features and live recordings from Underworld to Goldfrapp.

18th January 2017

7 steps to perfect compression

Compression is one of the most important skills to master in music production but is usually seen as a dark art by those who haven’t quite grasped it.

In this blog post we’re going to walk through the best way to set up a compressor so you can really hear how it’s changing your sound in order for you to make proper judgement. We’re using Ableton’s compressor in this example but the following technique can be applied to any compressor.

Why use compression?

There are many uses for a compressor – from smashing transients on a snare, to smoothing out vocals. Your final settings will depend on what you’re trying to achieve. In this example we’ll be compressing a drum loop. The aim will be to keep the punch on the drums by allowing some transients through, but controlling the overall level in order to thicken up the sound.

Basic controls

Ableton’s info view does a decent job of explaining the controls on the compressor while hovering your mouse over them. Here’s a brief (and not so technical) overview of the important parameters we’ll be using in this tutorial:

Makeup	Makeup is an automatic gain control which increases the output volume as you compress. I mention this only because we will be turning this function off.
Threshold	Threshold is the level at which compression takes place on our incoming signal. This can be loosely thought of as the amount of compression.
Ratio	This can be loosely thought of as the strength of compression. Higher ratios will result in stronger compression.
Attack	The attack controls how fast the compression kicks in after the signal breaches the threshold. Raising this parameter has the effect of increasing transient detail by allowing the first few milliseconds of the signal to pass through uncompressed.
Release	The release controls how long it takes for compression to stop after the signal falls back below the threshold.
Gain Reduction Meter (GR)	The gain reduction meter shows how much the compressor is squashing (reducing gain on) the signal.

The trick is to overdo it…

In order for us to effectively set our attack and release controls we need to really hear what’s happening. Overdo the amount of processing, make the ideal settings then dial back the amount.

Let’s Compress…

Select a drum loop for this tutorial. Open up Ableton’s compressor, then work your way through these steps:

1. Start with the makeup switch off. The attack at 0.01ms and the release at around 2ms. Having the release at 0ms would probably create distortion which we want to avoid in this example.

2. Crank up the ratio to around 20:1 so we get very strong compression and with the loop playing, pull down the threshold until there is a large amount of gain reduction happening in the GR meter.

Now we are over compressing the signal, let’s move on to the attack.

3. Slowly increase the attack and listen to the signal as you do it. As the attack reaches around 6.0 or 7.0ms you should hear the transients appear, bringing the snap and punch back in to the loop. You can now set the attack according to how much of this punch you want in the end result.

4. Watch the GR or gain reduction meter whilst setting the release. In this example we want the compressor to reset after each drum hit in the loop. So the release should be quite fast, the GR meter should be returning to or almost to zero between drum hits.

The best release setting is dependent on the tempo of the loop. Faster tempos will lead to less time between hits and therefore a faster release setting.

You should hear the compressor creating a sucking effect as it releases in between hits. Use your ear to ultimately decide on the correct timing and groove the release creates.

5. The attack and release is dialed in, now we can pull back the threshold so it’s effecting only the peaks of the input signal.

6. The ratio can also return to reasonable setting. Around 5.0:1 sounds fine in this example, this ratio is strong enough to control the high peaks but remains quite transparent.

Again, your ears should be the ultimate decider on these two settings. You can experiment with ratio and threshold with confidence knowing the attack and release is set.

7. Whilst bypassing the compressor on and off you can use the output control (Out) to the right of the GR meter to make sure the compressed signal is of equal volume to the uncompressed/bypassed signal. This way you can make proper judgement on exactly what effect your compressor is having.

For more information on the many different ways to use compression and when you should do it, book a masterclass at Idealnoise.

15th January 2017

3 New Year workouts for new music producers
Start the New Year with three music production exercises to improve your composition skills.

1. Reference an existing arrangement
- Pick a simple track you like which works on the dancefloor and copy the arrangement bar for bar. Use it as a guide to understand why a track is successful.
- Replace the sounds with your own similar sounds and write your own melodies. Think about the space each sound takes in the frequency spectrum and make sure yours are a similar match.
If you do this right you’ll end up with a completely different track and be one step further in understanding how to lay down an arrangement that delivers.

2. Go minimal

Too much choice with sounds and effects is not always a good thing. Great creative learning can come from simplifying your next session. Try one of these approaches:
- Force yourself to use just one synth for a whole track. Creating all sounds, including drums from one place. You can layer some drums with samples if you need more impact.
- Or choose to use only samples and no synths. Make a new folder of 20 or so samples and use sound design to create a whole track from only these samples.
3. Bootleg a track

There are so many acapella and remix packs out there, that make bootlegging easier than ever. It’s a great way to get yourself noticed if you do a good job, and the lessons you’ll learn from this exercise will be invaluable.

Remember, if you don’t directly profit then you’re not infringing any copywrite laws and you are free to play the track out or give it to DJs who will do that for you.

These are some of the lessons for beginners we work through with our students at Idealnoise. For in-depth tailored tuition on music production and composition techniques, book yourself onto a masterclass at our London based studio in Peckham, SE15.
1st January 2017
The fastest path to better music production

Live by the ethos: source is king

I only began getting great results when I realised that the source sound is the most important thing in achieving a professional mix. It’s a simple tip but nonetheless very important and often overlooked by people, especially when starting out. In a nutshell, it’s all about getting the best possible result you can before reaching for effects and processing.

Why is good source sound so important?

Post processing can only help you so much in making a sound really shine. Or finding a place for it in the mix.

Even if you plan to destroy something with distortion you will be better served by destroying a nicely recorded sound.

How to improve your source sound

Below we’ll look at some of the key areas your source sound could easily be letting you down, and what to do about it.

Vocals

Pick the right mic

Bruce Swedien, the legendary engineer of Michael Jackson, rarely used EQ and compression. Instead he relied on the different characteristics of his many mics and spent a lot of time on positioning them.

Singers – before buying a mic, get yourself down to a professional studio and try a few different mics out to see what suits your voice best.

Try different mic positions

We don’t all have the luxury of having many microphones, but we can all experiment with positioning. Try different positions in the recording room and changing the placement in front of your singer. For example, a darker sound may be achieved by positioning the mic off-axis. Brighter sounds may be captured by singing directly at the capsule. And more bass will be picked up by utilising the proximity effect and singing very close to the microphone.

Spending some time with this before recording may negate the use of extensive EQ later on. And the result will always be more natural.

Synthesis

For synths it always means going back to the synthesiser controls. I can’t stress how important this tip is, in particular for electronic dance music/EDM. Even if you’re mainly using presets in your productions, learning basic synthesis will give you the ability to fit those sounds in to your track before reaching for creative effects or EQ and compression.

Manipulate envelopes to get the right shape

The most important section in shaping the sound is going to be the amplifier envelope. Here we can make a sound softer or more aggressive in it’s attack, louder or quieter in it’s body and tighter or more flowing in it’s release. We can also change the timing and the groove by adjusting the envelope which is extremely difficult to do with post processing.

– If the sound is too thin or too fat then try adjusting the filter section or changing the waveform’s over in the oscillator section.

– For a sound that cut’s through the mix aggressively, a saw tooth wave with a high pass filter is a good example.

– A square wave with a low pass filter will give the sound more bass and body.

If the synth sound is too big and washed out in the mix, check if the synth has built in effects. You may want to dial back the reverb/delay or bypass them completely.

Samples

Quite simply with drums or other samples you need to spend some initial time searching for the right sample. Some more tips:

– An organised sample library will save you a lot of time here.

– Before adding some high end to a snare because it’s not quite bright enough, try to find a snare that already has that frequency and then layer it with your snare in the mix or replace your current sound entirely. The same goes for sub bass on a kick drum or the body of a tom.

– Utilising the amp envelope of your drum sampler will also help you enormously in dialling in the length or snappiness of your drum sounds so they fit straight into the mix.

This may all seem very obvious but it’s the most important tip I can share with you to stepping up the quality of your productions.

We will always need to use some EQ and compression among other processes to achieve the final mix but the results will be infinitely better if you spend some ‘quality time’ with the source sound first.

Feel free to post up any questions or thoughts you have in the comments below.

M@

21st December 2016
Boosting vocals or instruments with overdrive and saturation
Here’s a simple but great alternative to EQ that can be used when you’re looking to boost frequencies in an instrument or voice.

What are benefits to using overdrive and saturation rather than EQ?
- Boosting with digital EQ can be a hit and miss task – unless you have an analogue style equaliser and the source is perfectly recorded, the result can be harsh or unpleasant.
- EQ will only work on the harmonics already present in the sound. Whereas distortion creates new harmonics which, if used carefully, can sound sweeter at higher gain.
Some multi-band saturation plug-ins

Fabfilter’s Saturn plugin is a great tool to achieve this effect. It has split frequency bands which you can add variable amounts of saturation to.

Ableton’s Overdrive is a simple but effective tool that can get also the job done. We’ll use this plug-in as an example to demo how you can approach this.

STEP 1: set the drive amount

As a starting place, try setting the drive amount to 20%.

STEP 2: choose the frequency range you want to boost

Using the bandpass filter display (at the top of the plugin) we can choose the frequency range at which the boost will be added. Try setting the bandwidth to 3.5 and then slide the centre frequency from left to right to find the sweet spot.

Try boosting low end on bass lines, high end on high hats and vocals, mid range on percussion.

STEP 3: dial it in

Once the right frequency area has been found you can vary the bandwidth, wet/dry and drive to get just the right blend of saturated boost.

You will probably only need the wet/dry mix to be around 10-20% as any more than this will result in a distortion effect rather than an EQ boost.

NEXT STEPS:

Experiment and have fun! Feel free to post any questions you have in the comments below.
15th December 2016