Producers

The sampler was a game-changer in the development of modern music. It revolutionized the way people approach making music, paving the way to the yet unheard sonic landscapes and inspiring a whole new generation of record producers. In this article, I will explain how to use a sampler, along with all the things you need …

Building a computer for music production yourself might seem like a daunting task, but with the right guidance, it can be a walk in the park. With computers taking over a central position in most studios, it is well worth spending some effort choosing the best option within your budget. In this article, I’ll suggest …

If you are anything like me when shopping for studio gear or looking to upgrade your setup, the constant debate I have is how to balance the sound quality of the audio with the budget I have to spend.  I don’t exactly need a Neumann TLM 170 R for my sessions. I prefer plug-and-play options …

There’s nothing more horrifying to any live performer than the thought of getting on stage and your throat suddenly feeling dryer than the Sahara Desert and you not having a drink to hand. I’m sure you are fully aware of most setups; a standard mic stand, with nowhere to put your bottle of water, cans …

External sound cards (audio interfaces) are the best way to improve your music production, but they can be expensive. The good news is that there are a lot of great options out there. But with so many choices, it can be hard to figure out which one is right for you and your budget. We …

In this article, we pit two heavyweight entry-level microphones head to head, the AT2020 vs NT1A. With so many options now on the market, it is always tricky to decide which is the best microphone to buy. This article will talk about two microphones that are great workhorses, well priced, and perfect for any home …

When trying to approach songwriting systematically, most musician’s main question is, do you write music or lyrics first? The answer to that question has to be boring and nuanced- “It depends on what type of an artist you are and what you are trying to express with your art.” However, the discussion doesn’t have to …

Making beats has become a central part of electronic music production. As there are many ways to approach this process, beginner producers are often faced with numerous questions. The hot topic seems to be regarding the MIDI controllers, or more specifically- Do you need a MIDI keyboard to make beats or produce music in the …

With so many DAW’s to choose from these days, it can be hard to opt for the one that would perfectly match your workflow. In this Studio One vs Cubase “DAW battle,” let’s see which one will win you over. We’ll take a closer look at how similar and different they are and which features …

Ableton Detune vs Transpose: How are they different? How are they similar? In this article, I explain how Ableton’s transpose and detune are different. I will also explain how these functions could be used in Ableton Live. Let’s dive straight in. What Does Transpose And Deune Do? To see the transpose and detune functions, it …

If you are new to using Ableton Live, you may be wondering how to delete a track in Ableton. In this article, I show you how to delete an audio or midi track in your Ableton project and delete audio and midi clips. I will also show you how to disable clips so that they …

If you are new to Ableton Live or are new to automation as a way of manipulating sound, you may be wondering how to copy automation in Ableton Live. How can you copy one track or clip’s automation to another – creating similar audio effects across multiple tracks? In this short article, I explain how …

There is nothing worse than creating a banger new song and having Ableton crash before saving the live set. Later versions of Ableton Live have a built-in save feature that will store information in case Ableton crashes. However, the automatic save feature is not perfect, and many of us have lost valuable parts of a …

If you are wondering how to record vocals in Ableton, then look no further. By following our simple step-by-step guide, you’ll be recording vocals in no time! Let’s jump straight in… What You Will Need: Computer Ableton Audio interface Headphones Microphone Cables If you are not sure what an audio interface is, the simplest way …

Whether you are considering purchasing a secondhand license to an older version of Ableton Live Suite (yes, you can do that) or diving straight into the feature-packed Live 11 Suite, you may be wondering, ‘is Ableton Suite worth it?’ Let’s look at a few considerations for and against buying Live Suite and my reasons for …

The necessity of learning music theory is a hot topic among the audio community. Some people swear by it, and those who think it’s not only redundant but that it can even stifle your creativity, so who is actually right? In this article, I’ll explore the benefits and potential drawbacks of music theory and shed …

Audio clipping can be a source of pain for producers. It can be difficult to identify what causes clipping and how to fix it. In this article, I’ll explain what it is, how to identify it, and how to stop clipping in Ableton Live. What Is Audio Clipping? Audio clipping happens when an audio signal …

If you are a musician looking to get started in the recording world, you might be confused about how to do it. It can get overwhelming quickly, and more questions arise like: Does a MIDI controller need an audio interface? What are the essentials to get started? And how do you connect it all? These …

If you are new to Ableton Live, you may be wondering what each of the stock ‘plugins’ (e.g., instruments and effects) do? Perhaps you are a seasoned producer looking at utilizing the CPU-saving potential of inbuilt plugins. Either way, Ableton has a host of plugins to suit your needs. This article looks at the pros …

Ableton Live is the ideal DAW (digital audio workstation) for beginners who are serious about music production. Sure, there may be DAWs that are more user-friendly or cheaper, like FL Studio or Cakewalk. However, Ableton is the industry standard for music production and the most widely used by our favorite artists. Many people make the …

Many beginner music producers face spending a lot of money on expensive music production software to begin their musical journey. Luckily, there are a couple of free options out there, with Audacity being the one mostly used. Although it is well known as a simple audio editor, can Audacity be used for music production and …

A common question asked by new producers and those who have moved to Ableton Live is ‘how to bounce a track in Ableton?’. First of all, what do we mean by ‘bouncing a track,’ and secondly, how do we do it? What Does ‘Bouncing’ Mean? Bouncing a track refers to converting a track to an …

Learning to produce music can seem like a daunting task. You may feel overwhelmed with the technical aspects of making music; however, it doesn’t have to be that way. In this blog post, I’ll go over some of the most common misconceptions about producing music, how you can get started, and answering is music production …

Identifying chord progressions by ear is one of the most valuable skills a musician can develop regardless of the genre he’s involved in. It will enable you to interact with other musicians through improvisation, learn batches of songs quickly and be a great asset in the studio environment either as a performer or a producer. …

Most aspiring rappers think it takes years of practice and expensive lessons before you can even begin to think about rapping fast. And even then, most people never reach a point where they feel like their skills are good enough for them to want to perform in front of an audience. Of course, years of …

Getting that ”larger than life” sound from your vocals is essential to having your productions shine. After all, most people will judge the quality of your mix by how well you’ve produced the vocal track, so it needs to be upfront and huge. But how do you do it? Learning how to mix vocals professionally …

Ableton Live is a powerful music-making tool that can do so much more than just record and mix tracks. It’s one of the most popular DAW’s (digital audio workstations) globally, but it can be slow if you don’t configure it correctly. Following some simple tips we’ll discuss in this article; you’ll be able to make …

Over the years, mastering has become a central part of the process of making a record. But you might be wondering what do mastering engineers actually do? In this article, I’ll cover most of the topics regarding the mastering of audio- what it is, why it is important, some tips you can do in your …

Let’s face it – most of us are guilty of having too many unfinished tracks sitting on our hard drive. We lay a solid foundation with an 8 bar loop that sounds amazing and happily close the project assuring ourselves that it’ll one day grow into an amazing song. But that day never comes. To …

With vocals being the central and the most memorable part of a song, it’s no wonder most producers want to sample it and use it in their remixes. Since we often do not have access to multitrack stems, we have to isolate vocals, which is not always easy manually. In this article, I’m going to …

Songwriters have been a major part of the music industry for decades, but what about producers? Do they deserve songwriting credits as well? This issue has come up in recent years, and it will continue to be debated. Some people think producers are just hired hands, while others feel like they should get credit because …

Making steady income from music production might seem improbable and reserved for a handful of artists that “get lucky,” but that can’t be further from the truth. In reality, it has never been easier to turn your passion for music into a full-time job; it’s just a matter of finding the right information to get …

Bass roll-off is one of the most frequently used functions in audio production. It is utilized both in live and studio environments alike. Learning how this function works and how to judge the amount of bass roll-off is an essential skill to have as an audio engineer. This article will show what bass roll-off is, …

As a new music producer or musician, the process of coming up with the perfect chords and chord progressions for a song can seem a little complex. It can be a bit overwhelming trying to figure out which chords will match a certain genre or which one’s fits an emotion perfectly. It’s even more intimidating …

Singing from the chest is a vocal register that’s often used in speech and song. It’s also known as “chest voice” or “middle voice.” You might be singing this way already without even realizing it! Learning how to sing from your chest voice will help you find more vocal power, range, and control with your …

Organizing your sample library can be a boring and meticulous task. Ultimately, we want to have fun making music and not spend hours organizing messy folders. But what if I told you that a clean and tidy sample library could make the process of creating music more enjoyable? I’m sure you have been in a …

Learning how to EQ a bass guitar is one of the most challenging tasks while mixing a track. Also, it is one of the first things people pay attention to when listening to a song for the first time, so you really want to make it right! I’ve been struggling with getting my bass to …

Are you having trouble getting your mix to translate well to other playback systems? Does your mix sound bad on your smartphone? Mixing in mono can potentially solve all of these problems. Once mastered, you should consistently create a better mix with the confidence it will sound great through a mono speaker. This article will …

Mixing with pink noise is one of those techniques that sounded too weird to work, but once I tried it, I was pretty impressed with the results. If you are having problems getting the levels right in your mixdowns, this mixing trick might be the solution for you. In this article, I will explain how …

If you’re looking for a way to blend instruments, bring out a vocal track, or make a bass drum pop through the mix, sidechain compression is a potent tool that every producer should be familiar with. By allowing you to compress signals together whilst simultaneously adding an EQ filter, you can create a responsive sonic …

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where, no matter what you do to an audio signal, it just doesn’t sound good enough? In theory, everything should work, but for some reason, it just sounds thin and has no punch. One of the reasons may be that you are flat out working with a …

Learning how to EQ drums can be challenging. I probably share the same frustration as many producers worldwide, failing to make my drums punch as hard as they do on my favorite records. I have yet to see a Meme about struggling to get the right guitar sound instead of a good-sounding snare! But a …

Massive and Serum. Two VST plugin synths even your mom has heard of. Both have been used by some of the biggest EDM and pop artists in recent years. Both are powerful. You are probably are sick of people arguing which one is better. Why don’t we settle the score and answer the question, Massive …

As a musician and producer, one of my constant questions is how to write the right song, that perfect song that will touch everybody and move their heart and feeling so much that they will want to play it again and again. A song that people feel so connected to that it becomes their personal …

You’ve spent all that hard-earned money on the latest DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), a powerful computer to run it on, some serious studio monitor speakers, and a kick-ass external audio interface (sound card); all you need to know now is how to connect studio monitors to an audio interface! If it isn’t done correctly, to …