Top 20 Guitar VST Plugins that Sound Like Real Guitars Jun 07, 2022

When it comes to creating the best guitar sound possible, you might think you need a great guitar, amp, pedal, and more. However, by using Virtual Studio Technology (VST), you can use a virtual instrument that sounds almost like the real thing. You will still to spend some money even if going the...

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Best Exporting Settings for Ableton Live 11 Jun 07, 2022

Once you are done with your song, it's time to export and turn it into an actual audio file.

  1. First, make sure all the tracks you want to be exported are active. Also, highlight the length of the part you want to be exported. 

  2. To export, select Export Audio/Video under the File menu....

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6 of the Best Max for Live Devices for Ableton Jun 07, 2022

 

Max for Live devices add additional functionality to Ableton Live. They’re devices created by third-party developers using the Max Console application. You can actually create your own Max for Live devices and get started by taking the Max Tour when you download...

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Top 10 Free VST Plugins Jun 07, 2022

In the jungle of free VST plugins, there are many gold nuggets to be found, if you know where to look. Some of the free plugins out there hold such a class that they could easily go for several hundred bucks. And there are a lot.

Firstly, we would like to give a big thanks to all the VST plugin...

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8 Step Song Finisher Checklist Jun 07, 2022

Finishing music is hard.

In fact, I would argue it’s the most difficult aspect of the creative process. It’s just a lot easier to endlessly tweak your music than it is to confidently put the finishing touches on a song and release it out into the world.

I get that. Not only in my...

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What is the Octatonic Scale? Jun 07, 2022

The Octatonic Scale consists, as the name implies, of eight notes. (An octatonic scale is also used as a term to describe a scale with eight notes in it.) The scale alternates half and whole steps and there are two different versions with intervals ordered contrarily.

Octatonic (Half Whole)

...

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The Kick Drum Jun 11, 2020

In dance music, the kick is king. Across virtually all genres and tempos, the kick drum, and its bassline partner, lay down the foundations upon which all other beats and mix elements are built.

The Perfect Kick Drum: It's All About Context

  • Short and Tight
  • Deep and Subby
  • Raw and Overdriven


When...

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Tuned Toms Jun 10, 2020

Here we have a programmed bouncy 808-style tom line. Although the tom works rhythmically, it's currently out of tune and subsequently feels divorced from the track.

To bring the tom into tune with the rest of the mix, the first step is to use a tuner to identify the pitch. Transposed down an...

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Tone, Transients, and Tuning Jun 09, 2020

Before going any further in this chapter, it's essential to understand three essential qualities that define any drum or percussive hit. These terms recur throughout the course: 

1: Tone (or timbre): The inherent character of a sound - the unique cycle of waves that together give a drum its...

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Elements of a Drum Kit Jun 09, 2020

While a drummer has to buy real drums and cymbals to build their kit, the dance producer's kit is almost always virtual - even though it follows the same paradigm of a genuine kit.

The modern drum kit has been recognizably standardized for the best part of a century: bass drum, snare, one or more...

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How to Use a Parametric EQ Jun 04, 2020

EQs are fairly intuitive to operate. We have all used them before; they are found, in simple form, in the tone controls of home stereo systems. The EQs that you use in mixing are not radically conceptually different from those tone controls: you have a frequency band, and you have a gain amount....

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