Well a quick post today about left and right brain stuff and how it influences you in the studio.

Sometimes when i get in the studio I don’t feel like writing beats.

Come on… you know what I mean don’t you?

You sit around and move/delete and organise your PC/Mac instead of being creative.

Well what to do?

Well lately (last couple of weeks) of just been letting my left brain (logical/structure etc) have its way in the morning.

There comes a point when you run out of stuff to organise and install etc.

I then go for a quick coffee and meal with the Mrs then back to the studio for a productive right brain creative session.

This next creative right brain session has completely changed the way i work in the studio as well and I think the results are amazing.

I’ll write another post about this new process I’m really into. I think it really works and could really work for you as well.

Anyways… keep writing those beats and stay aware of which side of your brain is taking over.

Safe

Dauntless

Howdy all,

Its seems like an eternity since the last time I wrote… Sorry about that. I’ve had heaps of stuff to deal with that has kept me out of the studio but its all good.

Its NOT to say that I haven’t in there working HARD! I’ve had some good friends drop in and say hello and give me some tips…

mainly Martijn from NOISIA and Pavel Rido from Metalheadz.

Anyways…. whats been going on besides the visits from famous DnB Headz?

Just more DnB Production when I get the chance.

I’ve recently just started to work through my Audio Projects so that I can focus on finishing some tracks! I’ve narrowed it down to about 8 tracks from about 70!

One of the main problems that I’ve noticed about writing music is I LOVE TOO MANY STYLES OF DNB!

Whilst this isn’t the worst thing that can happen to a producer it certainly isn’t ideal in my case! So I’ve had to really think about what style of DnB I want to produce and what styles I had to let go. This type of situation has meant that i’ve reassessed all the drum breaks, Bass lines, FX etc i’ve made and forced me to be aware of what I need to make in the future to achieve my goals.

There’s loads more I have to tell you but I’ll save that for the next post.

Hope your all well and the beats are hitting hard!

Dauntless

If you’ve been following this blog/site at all for the last year you’ll know that ABing or referencing your tunes is one of the MOST CRUCIAL things you could ever do! Now for all the peoples that are using Ableton Live this process is DEAD EASY to do. Just follow the steps below and you’ll be ABing properly in no time.

*** I have to give a big shout out to the guys over at the Ableton Live Forum for the heads up on this. ***

If you’re not using LIVE then don’t fret too much. Its pretty much the same process so just consult your manuals for your DAW.

 How to Set Up and AB Track

1. Make sure you activate the I-O Section (1)

2. Select Ext.Out  and then select 1/2 for your main sound card Outputs. (2)

3. I live to put a Voxengo Span on the Reference channel so that I can monitor the RMS (3) and the frequencies.

4. So all I do is DE-ACTIVATE THE CHANNEL and then just toggle the SOLO switch for quick ABing. Works great and is well easy to do!

Like i said before, this is not so hard to set up with Logic, Cubase or Pro Tools. Good luck and have fun!

See you on the dance floor.

Dauntless

The first part of this 3 part series is dedicated to:

Sub Bass! 

Yep, the really low low low how low can you go aspect of DnB.

To be honest the Sub Bass part isn’t too difficult as long as you follow a few simple rules.

1. Sub Bass is really hard to get right in the mix and your Bedroom/Studio room probably isn’t helping in any way  so do what most people do. USE A SPECTRUM ANALYZER! I use SPAN by Voxengo and the Ableton Spectrum. Spend some time getting to know the analysers because they are all different. Study your favourite producers tunes using the Analzyers but don’t rely on them! Ears FIRST!

2. If your just putting a Sub underneath a Mid layer then a regular Sine wave from a synth will be fine. You can use Albino or the EXS24 default patch. Just copy the midi notes or pitch of the Mid Bass and you’ll be fine.

3. If the Sub Bass is the prominent layer then you’re going to have to double it up. So duplicate the Sub channel. High Cut the new channel and add some distortion. You NEED to do this in order to hear the Sub in the mix. Use the Ableton Overdrive or Saturation effects or N.I Guitar Rig etc.

4. Make sure your Sub is in a “friendly” key/pitch. I normally write tunes in F/F#/G.

You can go up to A if you want but I would not go any higher or lower then the ones I recommended.

5.  You can pretty much make Sub bass from anything. Kick Drums or field recordings of pots and pans or tapping on a desk. Bung the sample into a sampler. Pitch down, loop,  experiment and have fun.

6. You really want a nice even and consistent Sub Bass so don’t forget to Compress and Limit if need be. I find that when using Span -21db if about fine when ABing against other tunes. You can go up to -18db but make your drums lighter.

7. Make your Sub Bass MONO if you plan on getting your tunes on WAX. Nuff said.

8. If you’re having a few issues with clicks and pops in your Sub Bass then playing around with the envelopes on your synth/sampler etc. If your still having problems then bounce the audio and use the FADES tool in Ableton Live etc.

9. If your Sub Bass is clashing with your Kick Drum then either

a) Use a kick that hits at a higher Frequency like 100hz etc.

b) Use Sidechain compression with the kick as the trigger.

Getting your Sub Bass right shouldn’t be a problem if you follow the steps above. This leaves loads more time to spend on some of the harder things like drums and mid bass!

Stay tuned for Part 2 coming soon!

Dauntless

Howdy Folks, Just a quick headz up to say “Hello there and Sorry I haven’t been around much!” Honestly, I haven’t been around much because I’ve been deep in the beats. It’s a bit of a catch 22 because even though I would love to update the site more with fresh content and videos etc when I get some spare time I’m busy producing music.

I hope you can all forgive me.

Anyways… I’ve been thinking about changing the format so that I can update the site more often.

I’ll probably just hit you with the good stuff in point form, like this:

VST Plugins I’ve been using loads in the last year that I couldn’t live with out. 

1. N.I Kontakt 4/5 – Love it. Learn to automate the Filter/Pitch/LFO’s.

2. N.I Guitar Rig 4/5 – Use each effect in small amounts.  Don’t over cook it. Great on Midz.

3. UAD EVERYTHING – The new Studer A800 is GOLD and the Cambridge is a MUST!

4. Sonnox EVERYTHING – The Limiter/Dynamics/Inflator are a must. Try just using the Warmth on the Dynamics/Effect on Inflator/Saturation on Limiter.

5. OhmForce Everything – These French Guys know what they’re doing and they do it brilliantly! Plugin Master builders!

6. Ableton Spectrum – Love this little Analyzer! I put it on every channel nearly!

7. Smexoscope – I place this on my Master Channel. Great for working out how “spikey/transient” a sound is. That way you can flatten the peaks if need be.

There is probably a few more in there but that will do for now.

BIG DNB Production Tip of the Week. 

Learn to layer some “Stereo Hits” on your Drum hits. By doing so you’ll get maximum stereo width and this in turn will make your Drums sound HUGE!

Works great on Hi Hats/Crashes/Rides/Percs and the Upper Snare Layer. Just make sure the samples are Stereo and have plenty of top frequency content.

Use an Analyzer if you’re not sure!

Well, thats it for today… speak to you guys a little later in the week.

Ez

See ya on the dance floor!

Dauntless