by djnarrative | 10 Mar, 2012 | Reckorder Tutorials
This month's tutorials feature a great breakbeat masterclass from Tommy D (Ctrlz Z/Skism) and a wicked free analyser which has really helped define that solid kick and the snare starting point, as well as mixing the kick and the bass so they sit well together. Following last months tutorials, and in particular the information about getting that kick and snare sitting in their rightful place, i went searching for a better analyser. I was using abletons built in one but i really wanted something bigger and more versatile. After trying out a fair few demos of favoured one like Roger Nichols Xl Inspector and Blue cat I found Voxengo Span. This is a free audio analyser thats not only nice and clear but also allows you to view 2 channels at once (e.g the kick and the bass) After watching this tutorial on how to use it (dont be put off by the fact its trance production like i was - its easily the best how to ive found for span) i was then able to really produce my tracks and deal with any of the issues of conflicting frequencies that i was facing previously As a starter dish, i would also like to put forward one of the best masterclasses i have seen. Tommy D from Ctrl Z/Skism offering up a very thorough, honest and engaging walkhrough of how he remixed the freestylers track - Ruffneck. How it relates to Span analyser is that I remember when i first watched this it covered really well how to get those phat kicks and punchy snares hitting at the right...
by djnarrative | 29 Mar, 2011 | Reckorder Tutorials
As with making a Phat Kick, making a great snare out of layering sample is a similar process though you can add more layer (i think 3 is plenty for kicks and a couple more max for snares). Again I generally look for snap, punch, and weight. Snares weight is around 200hz, and the snap is around 2000 hz with the punch somewhere in betweeen, so again break out your frequency analyser and see where your sounds are hitting. Obviously electronic music snares are quite different from normal snares and have quite a range dependant on what style your making. Dubstep for example are massive snares, whereas techno snares are totally different, so again tune up, eq and layer some sounds and see if you can make the one your after. I generally look for it punching nicely at 200-250 hz for breaks type tracks so that might be a helpful starting point. Then when you got a kick and snare you happy with, play them together and see if they work well melodically and dynamically. If not repeat til you're happy. There's lots of useful snare making tutorials and i'll post them here when i find any particarly good ones, but til then here's a decent one from gear slutz forum - http://www.gearslutz.com/board/electronic-music-instruments-electronic-music-production/384973-big-snare-tutorial.html and some useful forum posts on glitch hop forum -...
