Howdy, just a quick post about what’s been going on around the studio. Well, er… not that much. I’ve unfortunately been sucked into that thing called life/JOB and so I’ve had very little time in the studio. This doesn’t mean I haven’t been thinking and dreaming about it. Oh no… I’m always doing that, much to the dislike of my wife! lol

You know how I normally go on and on about reducing the amount of Plugins, Soft Synths, DAWs etc that you might be using in the studio? Well, this applies to your actuall studio to,  so in the next few weeks/months I’m going to slim down the studio gear into a few choice components.

What the hell does all this mean? Access Virus TI Polar.

Access Virus Ti Polar

I’ve got the Ti Snow and I love it but I definitely am missing the extras knobs available on the Ti Desktop and Polar. Having that extra tweakability in a synth is crucial and I’m missing it dearly. Also, getting rid of the Mackie MCU PRO and the Novation SL Remote because the Polar has a keyboard and the Mackie doesn’t get used that much anyway. So, if you’re planning on buying some gear have a good think about what or how its going to fit in the studio and what role the unit is going to play. You might just find that you DONT need it.

For the peeps that managed to read down this far I have a treat/tip. Voxengo Gliss EQ2.0. If you don’t have this badbwoy yet then get it into your VST Plugins Folder pronto! That means find it and install NOW! My homeboys Phace and Mayhem have given me the big green light that this EQ is serious bizness! So super hot tip for you there! The Voxengo Gliss EQ2 is great for adding character. So it’s not really supposed to be for surgical EQ strikes okay? Leave that job for the Sonnex or  UAD Cambridge.

Voxengo Gliss EQ 2 VST Plugin

Another wicked VST Plugin that Is now an essential must is the BX Control. This plugin helps with the stereo image of your tracks giving you the option to go really wide in the mix with out effecting the low end. Nice.

Brainworx BX Control 2

Also Drumnbass Videos don’t come around every day so check this one out  by Blame – On My Own Feat Ruff Squad.

See you on the dancefloor

Dauntless

Howdy, well I know Its been a while since I’ve last spoke to you but I assure you that a lot has gone on! In and out of the studio! I suppose the most important bit of news to report to you is the addition of a new member to my studio family in the shape of a TC Powercore X8! This powered plugin dream box has been on the top of my “want” list for so long now that I almost can’t believe my eyes its in the studio! As you can see from the photos its a sexy all black beast which emits a techy blue light when its on. Very Cool INDEED!

What’s even sexier is the included plugins what come bundled with the Powercore (PoCo or short). 14 of them! YES, you heard that right, 14! I was in plugin heaven and the best news was that I had a further $500 squid to spend on plugins as well! Absolutely brilliant I say! Believe me when I say I felt like a kid in a candy store! However I won’t be going into full detail about the TC Powercore here. I’ll give you the full review in a few weeks. That way I can try some of the plugins out and give you an honest and informative review. So stay tuned!

Moving on then…

Well, it seems that everywhere I turn there is a drum n bass remix competition going on. First up you have the Sabre & Critical – One Hundred Teeth Remix Comp over at our good friends Kmag.com. Then you have the Panic Girl – Midnight Remix Comp over at ShadyBrain.net and then two competitions at Back 2 you . 1.  Breeze – We Can Rise Remix & 2. EZ Rollers – Crowd Rocker Remix. To round things up you have the Bachelors of Science – Lost inside Remix competition as well presented by IDJ and Horizons Music.

I love getting involved in Remix competitions because you get to see the individual audio samples of a certain tune and you can learn a lot from these bits. Its like peering into their minds a little and experiencing producing from their artistic point of view. I’ll be honest with you though. Even though I’ve downloaded quite a few Remix sample packs I’ve had ZERO success in finishing them. Yes, that’s right ZERO. I will now hang my head in shame for 5 minutes…

Okay, I had full intentions of finishing everyone of the remix tunes I started but somewhere along the way I lost focus. This happens quite frequently I have noticed but this time I’ll be prepared. I’ve discovered that If one doesn’t have a goal or a plan of attack you’re going to end up starting and never finishing anything. When attempting to finish a remix competition you need to set yourself some very specific goals, for instance:

1. What tempo?
2. What style? Jump up? Neuro? Liquid?
3. Another Genre perhaps? Dubstep? Trance?
4. How much of the original do you want to get in there?
5. Is there a certain sound you want to try? An Artist you want to emulate?
6. What bits of kit do you want to use?
7. … and so on and so…..

Questions like these will help you focus your goals and ideas together and hopefully assist you in finishing remixes and tunes in general. Fingers crossed!

Another big change to the studio or should I say Production flow is the use of Ableton Live. I’ve dabbled in Live for many years now but only ever so briefly and each time I walked away shaking my head in confusion! I’ve never quite “figured” Live out and how to “work” it into my Production method but thanks to Nymfo I have now. Thank you good Sir!

Live’s main strengths are obviously the way it handles loops on the fly and this is primarily how I use it. I use Live 8 to quickly audition all the loops I want to use in my tunes super quick so right now I mainly use it for layering breaks up fast. I use it in Sequencer View and lay out the tune as I go along applying EQ and Limiting as well but only moderately.

The whole Idea behind using Ableton Live 8 is to get the main ideas and loops of the song together and then export the tracks into Cubase 5 where I can go in really deep with EQ and Compression and Limiting etc. I’m still not 100% sure about Ableton Live’s summing engine but hey that’s just me. I know a tonne of producers out there getting great results JUST using Ableton Live but me, I know Cubase extremely well so I’m sticking with it for mixdowns, plus it still handles VST Plugins one million times better than Ableton Live does and this is hell important!

Another big change in the studio has been the plugin folder clean out! I’ve decided to clean out or should I say “limit” myself to only a handful of plugins again. I know I know this sound weird after just getting the PoCo but I’m going to treat those plugins like rewards.

So its probably going to be the Virus TI Snow (pictured at top of page), Spectrasonics Omnisphere, UAD Plugins and Sonnox plugins for now. Stay tuned for a VIRUS SAMPLEPACK coming soon! Also, I’ll be making a drum sample pack available to download for FREE soon as well. It won’t be massive or anything like that but I promise you it’ll be full of 100% brilliant drum hits and loops for you to use in your tunes. Perfect for adding weight and groove to your breaks.

Phew, thats a fair bit of writing then? I better get back in the studio I got a tonne of work to do!

See you on the dancefloor.

Dauntless

You know what? I’ve been producing Drum n bass for about 6 or 7 years now and I’m still amazed at the quality of it all. I mean it just seems to be getting better and better and better. Young new producers like Ulterior Motive, Rockwell, Noisia, Phace & Misanthrop and S.P.Y set the benchmark that little bit higher with every tune they release. I love it!  Bring on the challenge I say because if it were to easy then the rewards wouldn’t be worth it at all!

I haven’t been strapped to my production seat for 14+ hours in the last few months. I know some of you would remember that I’ve been on my Honeymoon and started a new job of sorts. Which has ultimately left me with NO time for drum n bass production. However, when ever I do get a few minutes I get on the beats and the great news I’m getting better!

How can this be?

First step is to be super organized, if you can. Try it out, for me. Please. Just put your drums some where and put your bass some where else and put your fx sounds some where etc etc.  This way when you need a sound. You know where it is. Don’t spend too long on this as the real goal here remember is to write tunes not be a super neat freak! Believe me, I’ve fallen into that trap before. It ain’t pretty! You get a whole computer of organized files but absolutely NO tunes finished. BAD BAD BAD!

Next step is get used to bouncing down your stuff. Whole tracks, breaks, bass, hi hat loops etc. Just bounce that shit out. Keep them in a folder called bounces and organize them by months. Why bouncing? Because It helps you when it comes to arranging and it’s much easier to hear how something sounds later on, as well as when you compare it to different versions. Lastly its great for recycling old loops and ideas which is awesome for when your stuck for any.

Another tip is to have more breaks. (NOT have more breaks samples! Actually physical breaks!) Its quite easy to get really involved in tune making and forget about such trivial things such as eating, showering, sleeping and other things not to be mentioned. However, by having consistent breaks it gives your ears that much needed rest and allows you to have a more bird eye view of your track/break/bass etc. This is so critical because it can get you back on course if indeed you had strayed.

All in all having some time away from the studio is because it can give you that space your head needs to relax and take in all that you have learnt. Ideas and concepts you couldn’t quite work out suddenly make sense and the whole picture suddenly is in more focus. The time you get when you get a few minutes is really appreciated and utilized in its fullest.

Well anyways, hope these little bits of advice help you become more productive in the studio.

See you on the dancefloor.

Dauntless

Let’s get 2010 started of in a smashing old way and the only way I know how to do that is get more drum n bass production done! Period! On bringing up this point that is exactly what I’ve been doing! Well, up until the point that I had to go up north to my sister-in-laws wedding! Doh!
I hope you had a great Christmas and New Years Celebration, I certainly did. Not too much, but just enough to keep my head and body happy! Anyways, whats been going down in studio I can hear you ask?
Well, a few things have been happening in drum n bass production land. A name that you should definitely be hearing more of in the future is Dj Sci Phi. Dave (as his mother knows him) is over on holidays in Sydney with his lovely wife for a while and I managed to get some quality production time with him. ( Honestly we spent the most part of the session with him showing me how he gets down! What an eye opener!) Mucho respect to the big Sci Phi because he didn’t hold back on the styles and secrets. For those that don’t know what style of drum n bass Sci Phi makes check out his Soundcloud. Its the really new deep, minimal style that’s blowing up big time all over drum n bass land. Big hitters like Loxy are playing his cuts in mixes etc. Def check my boy out! I’ve managed to get a little video tutorial/Q&A with him so be sure to come back at check it out.
Another big player to come through in December and play for No Frills Drum n Bass was Chook. Neuro-Funk producer extraordinaire and all round good guy. Phillipe (Chook – FullForce Recs) came and played Sydney Phoenix Bar and crushed the helpless crowd into dance submission. Chook producers on Logic 9 and I use 99.9% of the time Cubase5 so there wasn’t much production time going down. However, I did manage to corner him a few times to get some mixdown secrets and sound engineering tips. Chook has agreed to a Q&A for dnbbeats.com which I’ll be bringing to you shortly. We’ll go over how he uses Logic to produce those funky grooves for drum n bass and get his favorite vstplugins etc. In the mean time his Album “Cocoon” is dropping shortly and the single “Optimus Prime” is already out. Grab it here.
Finally, 2010 promises to be a big year for not only dnbbeats.com but hopefully me as well. I’ll definitely keep you posted on how my tunes are coming along and all the rest. Hey, if you have any tunes being released or just want me to have a listen to some please send me a megaupload/rapidshare etc. I’ll be more than happy to check them out. Anyways, back to the beats then. All the best in the studio.
See you on the dancefloor.
Dauntless

I’ve had Mixing Audio Concepts and Practices by Roey Izhaki for quite a while now. (truth is I wish I had it way earlier!). There ain’t that many books on production so I when one pops up you gotta give it a look, right?

For many drum n bass producers the mixdown IS the hardest part of making a tune. The constant battling of sounds in the mix or getting the tune loud for the club is enough to drive you MAD!

So lets not dilly dally, lets have a peek under its covers shall we?

==>>Grab Mixing Audio Concepts & Practices Here<<==

First off, Mixing Audio was  conceived to provide a complete research on mixing from  basic to advance techniques. This I found to be certainly true, as its written in very easy to understand English and is jammed with pictures and diagrams galore to help you understand whats going on.

The Book Contains:

- 584 pages.
- The book covers most of the major DAW’s from Cubase, Logic, Motu, Protools.
- 35 chapters covering ALL techniques and concepts to do with music production.
- Easy to understand English.
- Is used by the London SAE.

As I mentioned earlier the books is full of  Illustrations and audio samples.
Nearly 300 pictures and more than 2000 audio samples that come on the DVD to be infact!

Lastly Mixing Audio comes with 4 complete sample mixes which come with:
- notes on each audio track and what was done and why.

- A wide selection of genres to learn different techniques from  for e.g. pop to drum n bass.

- Before and after processing clips of all the 4 tunes for studying.

- Separate audio tracks from the tunes.

- For the most part, the text in the book includes the actual setting of processors and effects.

- Samples are CD-quality WAV

So If you’ve ever struggled with balancing levels or just don’t get how compression or reverb work or don’t quite understand the layout of a mixer then  I have no problem in endorsing Mixing Audio: Concepts, Practices and Tools. Its well written and it pretty much covers everything you wanted to know about mixing audio/music production.

==>>Grab Mixing Audio Concepts & Practices Here<<==

See you on the dancefloor

Dauntless