Experimental Dubstep Volume 4 is released, as of today/now.

I still don't really know what cover graphic is....but it looks fairly 'experimental' eh.

You're invited to go take a listen to the great demo track that local KvR musician & sound designer 3ee made for it. There's a freebee pack for it as well. And I wrote some new words for/about it in the description (as if that was going to cause a stampede ha-ha).

http://www.producerloops.com/Download-Producer-Loops-Experim ental-Dubstep-Vol-4.html

Also, it's ON SALE ! For whatever reason, a brand new product is on sale, 25% off, through the end of January here. Good time to buy, it's fresh and discounted, ya can't hardly go wrong.

And lastly-but-not-leastly, if anyone has any questions about it, please feel free to post them, or pm me. I still check KvR at least every 48 hours or so, I'd hate to miss a new synth/effect/sample-loop set release release.

Weds. *bump*. Looks like it's up to #14 on the -Dubstep- chart, so it's off to a good start. Thanks to everyone who has stopped by and taken a listen.

Someone had asked me about doing such 'bass heavy' tracks a while back, and I thought I would share the reply I gave.

A lot of the low/sub bass I use is really simple, either Zebra or Sytrus, just a simple sine wave. However, the majick happens in the compression stage. And that's going to vary too much to get into great detail about (depending of course on what compressor you use). But one simple tip that helped me a ton, for whatever reason, was to put a volume reduction after the compressor and drop it to about 1/2 or 1/3. I realize most compressors have a gain reduction built in, and if that works for you then great, I just had better luck getting the tone and mix balance the way I wanted putting a volume reduction *after* the compressor is all.

Also, as you can hear in the Experimental Dubstep series, sometimes I use 2 basses layered. A simple sub type of bass, and a wobble or super dark pluck on top, or what have ya. That takes longer to mix right of course, but it also allows you to get more bass in your track, and have more control over it as well. And it's something that could be done *in* one synth, for instance Zebra could do that as it has 4 lanes for different sounds. You could layer 4 basses in one patch if you wanted, though I'm pretty sure that would just be a big mess in the end ha-ha.

Hopefully someone else out there finds this info useful or at least interesting. And of course not every track needs a lot of bass, but when it does - experiment.

Thursday *bump*.

Friday *bump*, and sale reminder, ED4 is still 25% off through the 31st.

Looks like it's up to #11 on the charts today. Thanks to everyone who has stopped by and checked it out. And if you haven't yet, I hope you will have a few minutes to this weekend.

Someone suggested that I mention the whole 'tuning drums' subject, which is appropriate, since I have done that a bit during the Experimental Dubstep series. It seesm to come up fairly often, or at least repeatedly over the past few years in the -Production Techniques- forum area here at KvR. If I recall I posted in a thread there about it at least once before.

In my opinion, there's nothing wrong with tuning your kicks/toms/snares/whatever. However I also find (to my ears at least) that it's not a one-size-fits-all kind of trick or technique. Firstly and probably fairly obviously, I don't feel that it works so well with deep/bassy kicks and overly bassy basses. It seems better with one or the other, ie = clicky kicks and deep bass, or deep kicks and a more lower midrange bass. When it's done one of those 2 ways, it can make for a slicker/smoother mix sometimes. But even then it depends on your levels and which exact sounds you've chosen etc. Again, no one size fits all really.

In ye olden days ha-ha, we used to just tune everything by ear, which didn't always work out quite as we maybe had in mind, but it always sounded pretty good regardless. These days there are tons of pitch/tuner plug ins to use, that can help you get pretty much anything in tune. I even tune the snare sometimes, just because I can, and to hear what it sounds like that way. At some point though, or at least in some cases - it just doesn't do anything for the track, it doesn't help the mix, it's just a habit or some kind of weird obsession ha-ha. Oh, and my tuning tool of choice these days is Melodyne, though there are others that are just as good (I bought that FL one, 'Pitcher' maybe ? when it was at the intro price last year. But I was never too thrilled with it and haven't used it but maybe half a dozen times, just my taste I guess).

Hopefully some folks found that topic interesting or informative. Your own mileage may vary of course, and I encourage you to try it for yourself, and see what you think it sounds like.

ED4 steps up to #8 on the charts today. And the 25% off sale is on through Thursday still.

As a follow up to the "tuned drums" bit....Someone asked "how do I tune the drums, or to what do I tune them ?".

The *how* is probably easier to answer, so I'll mention that first. I suggested Melodyne, but they don't pay me to say that, so you can use any pitch recognition plug-in or stand-alone program ha-ha. Just resample or grab the drum hit sample you are using, and use it, isolated (by itself). Run it through your pitch shifter/detector of choice, and try the note it's closest to, or maybe even retune it some to match a note that is a step or two up or down. Then re-render it, or if it's a plug-in, resample it, so you can kill the plug in and "bounce" it as just a sample track and free up that extra ram/cpu.

After that, it gets more complicated....I personally usually use it as the 1 note. Ie = whatever the kick or first drum/percussion hit is note/key wise, that is first in my first bassline note. That said, if I was being totally honest, and/or digging into my own bag o' tricks, I might suggest that you tune the kick to the middle bass note, or even the last/turn around bass note. It ultimately depends on what kind of mood/vibe/sound you are going for. I've done it on all of those, first note being the most obvious, but not always the best really, it just depends on how everything sounds.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you've learned or at least thought of something new to try in your own music productions in this thread. If anyone else has any questions about the ED series, please feel free to post here or pm me.

Thanks for the tips! Might be usefull in my production session. Tuning drums is still weird to me, for that matter I prefer detuned synth sounds so it really depends on the style you want to create!

Thanks for stopping by, and glad you liked reading a little bit about my bass mixing and tuning-drum-hits techniques.

I definitely do not think drums need to be tuned in every track, but it's interesting the subtle changes it can make in the mix sometimes. I'm starting to think it's becoming just a "we do it because we can do it" kind of phenomenon these days though. Ie = we've all got some kind of tuner plug-in, so why not use it in new (if not often times superfluous ha-ha) ways. But if it sounds good, then it is good eh.

Since this is a form of 'dub', and delay is used quite a bit, I thought I would mention a few of the things I've used it for/on when doing the Experimental Dubstep stuff.

First off, my main delay plug-in is a freebee unit, and I say that mostly just to illustrate that you don't need a $100 delay to get some cool things happening. I also use the built-in delays on some synths as well, it just depends on what they can do to manipulate the sound for the needs of the track.

All the better if you automate some of the delay parameters, so that your sound changes over time. Modulations tend to give things more "life", especially in a dense mix. And filtering is your friend when it comes to delays, so things don't get too sharp/bright, or dark/rumbling.

Most delays offer you at least two *time* choices, in which case it's often interesting to mix and match, ie = 1/4 note one side, dotted quarter note on the other. And even better if you get 4+ time choices, then you can really mix it up for variety.

Another simple little trick I like to use sometimes is 'faking delay'. For instance, in your sequencer, paint out 3 eighth note hihats in a row - now lower the volume by 20% on the 2nd one, then another 20% (40% total) on the 3rd one. This can of course be done with kicks, snares, or even bass/synth notes as well.

All these techniques and more have been used in the Experimental Dubstep series. So the next time you fire up your host, give them a try and see if they sound good in your tracks.

ED steps up to #6 on the -Dubstep- chart today, and there's still 2 2/3 days left to go on the 25% off sale.

Reverb is another timeless dub tactic. Of course reverb is use din almost all kinds of music in various different ways, but I wanted to suggest a couple of ways it can be used in dub/dubstep productions, like I used it in the Experimental Dubstep series.

Reverb-as-delay method. This is pretty simple/obvious, but I don't hear it done all that well all that often. It's all about the predelay, you want it synched, and long. The concept being that the reverb delays (before starting) about an 1/8 note, so it's like a delay, in that the time before it starts is easily heard or perceptible.

Cloudverb. There are many ways to use or implement this technique, but ultimately it's about having more reverb *wet* signal than un-reverbed dry signal. In some cases, a good trick is to have 2 tracks, one for the dry signal, and one for the wet reverb-only signal. That way you can mix and match or go back and forth, and not have to do any midi assignments or programming to get the changes or blends between the 2.

Long reverb tails. Another technique that is not only for 'dub' styles, but it gets used a lot in dub. It helps to have a hi/low pass filter on your reverb for this one, otherwise the -tail- can become overwhelming in time. But mostly you just want a large room setting, and/or long feedback, maybe a bit of both. But then the damping, and/or filtering, is used to tame the middle of it, so you don't just muddy everything up (or like with too much feedback on your delay, end up with something louder than you started with).

And lastly, a shorter metallic sounding reverb. I like this one a lot, but it gets overdone fast. This is actually done with a delay effect. Just set the time really short, the shorter the better, like 1/64 or 1/28 of a note, and cut the feedback waaayyy down. It's tough to describe the sound, but it's kind of robotic and rubbery, but if you've done it right and it fades away fast, it has a really cool sound and vibe to it that fits right into dub music.

This is by no means a complete list of reverb tricks, but just some of the important ones I used to get the sounds heard in the Experimental Dubstep series. Once again, I hope these behind the scenes looks have maybe given you some ideas for your own productions. Happy reverbing.

Tuesday evening *bump*, and don't forget to catch "Justified" tonight, if that's your kind of thing. Mr. Patton Oswald might be back soon, as he was supposed to be a fairly big minor character this season, and I believe he was only in 1 ep thus far. At any rate, if anyone else had any questions, or wanted to know about any aspects of the production of the Experimental Dubstep series, please feel free to post here or pm me. I hope to do at least 1 or 2 more little micro-essays about it, but after that if no one has anything to ask or say, I'll be quiet and go away ha-ha. A quick thanks to everyone who has read these posts, checked out the demo, and/or purchased a copy to use in their music. Your support is always appreciated.

When it comes to using background layers/pads, I recommend that you always keep an eye on the attack/release settings, they may need some adjustment to fit the sound into your track better. (If you program exclusively, then mind the kill-notes, otherwise just watch your note finger(s) midi-recording-wise.) I like a faster release, and some reverb to make up the difference, or a kill note 2-4 steps or even a bar back, so my pad/synth sound blends/fades out more smoothly.

Another favorite trick/technique is using a pitch shifting delay or 2nd track, down an octave (if your cpu can handle that). I like to layer pads/strings/etc. Sometimes a plug-in can help with, and sometimes another track is required. Your host may vary.

Octaves are the bigger trick though. Layer something, a synth pad for instance, with another (same/copy) one an octave above or below it. It's easier that it sounds, especially in some hosts, or with some plug-ins. But if nothing else, just duplicate your track, and pitch it up or down an octave for a thicker/fuller/bigger sound. You might try adjusting the volume on the 2nd track too, you might want that lower/higher octave to not be as loud as the original, so it's a bit more subtle.

The last trick to mention here, and it has more to do with background/synth sounds than just pads, is to offset the note-on. Ie = have it trigger on the note after the root/kick/bass-one note. Or two, or even three after. Why ? To give it more of it's own space/life in the mix.

Are you getting some new ideas to try in your music ? I hope so, and I hope you get a chance to hear what I'm talking about in action, here - http://www.producerloops.com/Download-Producer-Loops-Experim ental-Dubstep-Vol-4.html Reminder = the 25% off sale ends tomorrow.

ED4 is at #5 on the -Dubstep- charts today.

Someone asked me about using presets in my stuff. Short answer yes, long answer, well, I change them, but yeah some of "my sounds" start out as presets.

Does it matter ? Not really. If it matters to you, then I guess it matters. But the real question is = do presets help you get the track sounding like you want it to ? Does it save you time ? Would you have made that patch if you could have from scratch ? If so, then, why are you asking the right/wrong question again ?

Obviously, I recommend some of each. Ie = use some patches, and make some of your own sounds. Do whatever works best for you, to get the tracks sounding how you want them to.

The simplest way to change a patch has to got to be either adjust the filter(s), or the fx. In the case of onboard fx, often times they just muddy everything up, or create a vibe/mood that you aren't that into or doesn't fit the track. Shut them off, and add your own effects.

Anything that is synched, be it lfo's or delays, can often benefit from being changed, to customize the sound to-fit. Try it out, see if it sounds better. Worst case scenario = you just go back and use the preset as-is and get on with your track.

Buying a new preset pack is usually cheaper than buying a new synth, and certainly quicker than learning to program a new synth. But ultimately, it's up to you, do you want to make your own sounds, or just get good sounds and get back to working on the music or playing ? You can do both of course, I'm just saying buying patches can be faster/easier/better for some people. And I say that as both a user & as a seller of patches.

Saturday *bump*. One last call for production questions, post here or pm me. Thanks.