In the third installment of Mix / Master, Daniel Wyatt shares tips and techniques for mixing and shaping snare drums, and transforming stock sounds into your own unique creations. Using a track produced by Dubspot Mixing & Mastering graduate James Ellington, he shows you how to add saturation by utilizing Decapitator SoundToys (some analog richness to digital sounds) along with iZotope’s Alloy 2 to enhance the dynamics of the snare by EQing and compressing it.

Stay tuned for more useful mixing and mastering tips from Daniel Wyatt in this series.

Transform rough ideas and basic compositions into dance floor bangers and sonically pleasing commercial quality masters. Learn the well-kept industry secrets of EQ, compression, panning, level balancing, reverb and special effects from platinum mix/mastering engineer, Daniel Wyatt, senior Dubspot Instructor.

From rough mixes to quality masters.

Learn the well-kept industry secrets of EQ, compression, panning, level balancing, reverb and special effects and transform rough ideas and basic compositions into a commercial master.

Science behind the art.

Investigate how to use key concepts and tools in your tracks, while paying special attention to techniques of metering and spectral analysis in order to apply science alongside the art.

UPCOMING Mixing & Mastering Courses Starting In New York City:

December 17, 2012 in NYC – Mondays, 6:15-9pm

What’s Included:

Mixing & Mastering Level 1: Mix

Mixing & Mastering Level 2: Modify

Mixing & Mastering Level 3: Master

“The videos were helpful and the chats were great. I expected a lot out of this course and I got it!” - Jon Yu, California

Start dates and information about payment plans can be found here.

Or if you have questions, please call 877.DUBSPOT or send us a message.

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Over the past 20 years, the audio industry has followed a steady path into the realm of digital production as computers are providing more power and capability per dollar than most analog gear on the market. This movement is empowering new musicians to create, but it’s also changing the sound of contemporary music. Many of today’s producers are creating music entirely “in the box,” a technique that can be efficient and powerful but sometimes leaves the end musical product with a distinct digital sound. To remedy this, many producers have recently turned to analog tape to achieve a warmer, thicker sound before publishing. But the dilemma here is that tape is expensive, hard to come by, and the process of recording to tape can be time-consuming. Wouldn’t it be easier if someone could emulate the sound of analog tape in the digital realm as well?

To remedy this situation, Slate Digital, creators of high-end boutique mastering tools, have created a new plug-in called Virtual Tape Machines (VST / AU) that aims to replace the reel-to-reel tape deck and give classic analog warmth and compression to digital recordings. To create this new plug-in, Steven Slate (an accomplished professional producer and engineer) tapped into his community of professional engineers to find the best possible reel-to-reel decks to emulate. He then worked with Slate Digital Chief Technology Officer Fabrice Gabriel to create a “comprehensive study of the physical processes that occur when recording to analog tape through a tape machine.” The end result is a program that employs advanced algorithms to recreate the warmth, presence and nuances of a 2 inch 16 track from NRG Recording, and a ½ inch 2 track machine from Howie Weinberg Mastering.

“When we created the Virtual Console Collection it was the first time that I could mix inside the box and really enjoy what I was hearing, and feel that there was no sacrifice. But once we added the virtual tape machine, that just took it to a whole new level. Printing a mix to the virtual half-inch alone just makes the music come out of the speakers in a way that I’ve never heard before in the digital domain.” - Steven Slate

In practice, VTM delivers a warm, rich, and smooth sound that gives analog tape a run for its money. While the program isn’t cheap ($199 retail), it delivers pro quality sound at a price far under that of an actual reel-to-reel, with results that are so similar that you probably wouldn’t be able to hear the difference. The plug-in can be used on individual tracks to bring presence to parts of your mix, or it can be used for your mixdown, giving the entire mix a richer sound. VTM offers two tape machine types (2″ and 1/2″) and two speeds (15 ips and 30 ips), with both virtual machines offering control of noise reduction, wow & flutter, bass alignment, bias settings, level calibration, and grouping control.

“We take modeling very seriously. It’s a no-frills approach, it’s a no-compromise approach. Either we recreate the exact sound of what these tape machines are doing, or we don’t release the plug-in. These are famous tape machines that thousands of major pro engineers have heard, and I’m not gonna insult them by trying to add extra stuff. We want to recreate the sound of these machines and what they do. Because what they do is perfect.” - Steven Slate

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In this video we will explore using the side chain input of the ES2 synthesizer to add synchronized movement to our synth patches. Many people think “compression” when sidechaining is mentioned, but there are many other effects and instruments which have a side chain input. Used properly these inputs can add a multitude of fresh sonic possibilities to your sound design palette.  In this demonstration we use the amplitude signal that is routed into the side chain input to control the cutoff of the low pass filter in the ES2 synth and create filter movement which responds to the kick drum pattern in our beat.  I’ve also routed it to bend the pitch as well based on the same input.  These are just two examples of some of the creative possibilities that this type of modulation setup opens up.  Use your imagination and leave a comment with anything cool you come up with! – Matt Shadetek

Master Logic with our complete program of courses culminating in a four-track EP ready for release. In addition to achieving a complete overview of the composition process in Logic you’ll also earn the Dubspot Producer’s Certificate in Logic Pro. After completing this program, you will leave with a new EP, a remix entered in an active remix contest, and a scored commercial to widen your scope.

What’s Included

• Logic Pro Level 1: Shake Hands with Logic
• Logic Pro Level 2: Completing Your First Track
• Logic Pro Level 3: Mixing Essentials
• Logic Pro Level 4: Sound Design & Instrumentation
• Logic Pro Level 5: Advanced Composition & Production
• Logic Pro Level 6: Taking Your EP Global

Music Production with Logic Pro start dates:

October 29th in NYC – Mondays & Wednesdays, 10:15-am-1:00pm
October 21st DUBSPOT ONLINE

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Sausage Fattener

“How do you get that sound?” is a question that Swedish electronic music producers Dada Life get asked a lot. In response, they made a plug-in effect that will help you get their sought-after saturation and compression in a small and affordable package. “Hook up this fat bastard to your favorite DAW (AU and VST on both PC/Mac) and get dirty,” explains Dada Life. When we first saw photos of the Sausage Fattener appear online last year, we assumed it was a joke. The smiling sausage and minimalist approach to control didn’t look like the plug-in effects we are used to. Effects devices should be serious, shouldn’t they? But then we watched a slow and steady conquest as producers big and small started touting the Sausage Fattener’s abilities. It started with names like Tiësto, Kaskade, Diplo, and Laidback Luke. But then suddenly many of our peers were also touting the Sausage Fattener’s capabilities and reasonable price ($29) as a useful tool that helps boost your signal with a bit of compression and warmth.

“The Sausage Fattener only has two knobs. But don’t be fooled. With those seemingly simple parameters you can create loads of different sounds. Use the Sausage Fattener on a single channel with moderate settings as a musical compressor. Turn it up and you have a dirty bastard of distortion. But you can also use the plug-in on a bus (for example all the drums and the bass) or the whole track as a mastering plug-in.” - Dada Life

Fatter, Greasier Sound

Developed with the help of developers Tailored Noise, the Sausage Fattener is a clever way of giving other producers Dada Life’s signature compression sound without giving up the secret of how they really did it in the first place. Which is fine because at $29 you can’t complain with the results you get out of it. It works to help beef up almost any type of signal — from making MP3s sound warmer to giving your synth some oomph to making drums and bass sound dirty and raw and punchy. Depending on how far you drive the signal, you can get subtle or exaggerated results.”I find putting it at 10% on subbass really helps. If you you go too far, it starts getting distorted, but that little bump makes it nice and warm and fat,” explains Dubspot’s Professor Nalepa, who says that members of his Team Supreme collective in Los Angeles are fans of the plug-in as well. “Mike [Parvizi of Virtual Boy] likes to put it on his bass and crank it.”

Dada Life

Dada Life are a Sweedish electronic music duo that formed in 2006 with an electro-house sound that became popular on the festival circuit. More recently they have gained much exposure with heavy-hitting remixes for commercial artists such as Lady Gaga, Kaskade, David Guetta, Madonna, Duck Sauce and Justin Bieber. The Dada Life signature is a big, heavy and compressed sound that has put them on stages worldwide as DJs who bring a sense of humor to the waves of bass they’ve become known for. The Sausage Fattener is currently championed by Tiësto, Kaskade, Diplo, Laidback Luke, Chuckie, Sebastian Ingrosso, Dirty South, Hardwell, Angger Dimas, Frank E, Zedd, Lazy Rich, Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike, Marcus Schossow, John Dahlbäck and many other DJ/producers.

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In the latest installment, Chris Petti offers some sound design tips and techniques for live performance to Zac Baird (musician and keyboardist for KORN) using the Sylenth1 software synthesizer by Lennar Digital together with Ableton Live.

I hope that you’ve been enjoying my series. I have received a lot of great feedback, and I really appreciate it. Thank you!

I was all set to do the next installment of the Petti Test with the focus on chord entry into a sequencer. I had received the submission a little while ago, and thought it would be a good one. Two days before the shoot however, Dubspot received an email from Zac Baird, keyboardist and pianist currently collaborating with the band Korn.

Zac said he was going to be in NYC as they had a show in New Jersey. He said he was a big fan of Dubspot, had watched many of our YouTube videos, and loved what we are doing. He said he had a day free in NYC and could either go to a museum or come to Dubspot and learn something. (Not to say that he wouldn’t learn something at a museum, but anyway…)

So we invited him to drop by and asked him to make a guest appearance on The Petti Test. I got to spend quite a bit of time with Zac, and I can honestly say that he is one of the coolest cats I have met in the music industry. He is using Ableton Live on his tour with Korn but he hadn’t really worked with too many of the rack devices, so we spent some time working with those and putting parts and sounds together for his live performance setups. He has a rich history with hardware synths and workstations and the flexibility of the rack devices in Live allowed us to create setups that paralleled the way he used to do it.

Check out the video, and I hope that you enjoy!

- Chris Petti

Related Dubspot Courses:

Our music production program is custom-tailored to fit your musical style. You can choose from several Digital Audio Workstations including Ableton Live, Logic Pro, or Propellerhead’s Reason.

After completing this program, you will leave with 4 completed tracks (EP), a remix entered in an active contest, a scored commercial to widen your scope, and the Dubspot Producer’s Certificate in Ableton Live.

What’s Included:

• Ableton Live Level 1: Shake Hands with Live
• Ableton Live Level 2: Completing Your First Track
• Ableton Live Level 3: Production Essentials
• Ableton Live Level 4: Sound Design & Instrumentation
• Ableton Live Level 5: Advanced Composition & Production
• Ableton Live Level 6: Taking Your EP Global

“So far the experience through Dubspot is incredible, and I can’t wait to go through the next levels. It’s just getting better each week, and I can not wait to start putting an EP together, not just being able to put a successful track together!” - Dan Carter, United Kingdom

Become fluent in the language of sound design with this comprehensive program. This six-level Sound Design program uses Native Instruments’ Komplete as a platform for learning synthesis and sampling techniques. Starting with an introduction to the properties of sound, this comprehensive series of courses covers most common synthesis methods available for music production in the DAW of your choice.

Discovering the right sound is like finding a needle in the digital haystack. Learn the fundamentals to make this easier, and gain the depth of knowledge to make a good sound better. Factory content is great, but everyone has it – your mix needs something special.

What’s Included:

• Sound Design Level 1: Introduction to Komplete 8
  
• Sound Design Level 2: Synthesis with Massive, FM8 and Absynth
• Sound Design Level 3: Sampling with Kontakt and Battery
• Sound Design Level 4: Advanced Sound Design
• Sound Design Level 5: Reaktor Ensembles and Instruments
• Sound Design Level 6: Reaktor Programming

Start dates and information about payment plans can be found here.

Or if you have questions, please call 877.DUBSPOT or send us a message.

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“At the moment there seems to be a craving for that lofi retro sound. Everyone is trying to get rid of the clean digital output of VST’s and digital synths by adding another VST’s to their fx-chains that simulate analog gear.. or by purchasing analog gear that costs an arm and a leg. Here is a trick that costs about 10,- euros and looks way cooler than any VST!” - Riku Annala
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You may have noticed the increasing influence of analog sound that is happening in music production and recording. After decades of computer-based music, many producers are looking outside the box to find warmth and grit that a computer just can’t provide. Digital music has a tenancy to sound very clinical and even small additions of outside sounds, especially analog sounds, can bring depth and life to your music. Some producers use outboard mixers, pre-amps, or reel to reel tape to fatten up a mix. The medium of tape, in particular offers a unique (warm) sound and better dynamic range than most digital formats. But most of us don’t have a nice reel-to-reel sitting around to fatten up a mix. So as a creative work-around, I want to share a great technique that I recently learned by way of our friend Peter Kirn at Create Digital Music and Riku Annala, a producer/musician hailing from Helsinki, Finland. May I present – the cassette distortion / overdrive technique.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This is a great trick because it takes a minimal amount of gear, costs close to nothing, and provides a gritty, compressed effect that can liven up your beats. To create this effect you’ll need 1. an old cassette deck, and 2. a cassette to 1/8 inch adapter (the one that plugs your ipod into your tape deck). And some cables, of course.

To set up the effect: 1. Run the output of your source sound (drum machine, computer, etc) to the 1/8 inch end of the cassette adapter (I used 1/4 inch to 1/8 inch adapter to make this happen) and put the cassette adapter in the deck. 2. Connect the output of the tape deck to your mixer or speakers. 3. Press play on both your source and the tape deck, with plenty of volume coming from the source (the key here is to overdrive the signal a bit). 4. Enjoy your new analog compression / overdrive effect.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Now I must admit – I didn’t think this would work because I thought that the tape medium itself was the source of the sound/compression on tape recordings. But apparently this isn’t the case and the tape head itself will give character to your signal without the use of any tape at all. Recue.net’s Riku Annala explains:

“The results are actually surprisingly nice (depends on what you’re after). Of course the character of the sound completely depends on the components of the tape deck you use; the condition of the tape heads, connectors, mic pre’s etc. The sound is far from hi-fi, so if you’re after that, just go purchase a real reel-to-reel unit. In the case of Hitachi D-230 I use, there are a couple of different options for obtaining a different sound. The audio can be just played back through the tape, but it can also be fed through the line-in’s, “recorded” to the tape capturing it’s output. Both of the methods give actually quite a different sound. With the former method you can get a moderate crunch with a rather clean sound. With the latter, you get loads of more noise, but also A LOT more distortion and a nice pumping compression when pushed.”
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Michael Walsh is a producer of audio/visual art and a journalist living in Southern California. Read more of his work at soundsdefygravity.com

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After a series successful Education Sessions at SXSW, Dubspot traveled to Boston for Together Festival 2012 to host a series of free workshops. The workshops were an open forum to discuss electronic music production and performance techniques. In this video, Dubspot instructor and Logic Pro guru Bill Lee explains and demonstrates creative uses of Side Chain compression in Logic Pro and offers some tips and techniques for music production with Logic. Bill shows how using the side chain feature in Logic’s effects plugins as well as some of the program’s software instruments plugins is an effect way to enhance your production.

Logic Pro Producer Certificate Program

Master Logic with our complete program of courses culminating in a four track EP ready for release. In addition to achieving a complete overview of the composition process in Logic you’ll also earn the Dubspot Producer’s Certificate in Logic Pro. After completing this program, you will leave with a new EP, a remix entered in an active remix contest, and a scored commercial to widen your scope.

Classes start in NYC January 18th!
ONLINE July 22nd!

See more dates NYC and ONLINE classes!

Start dates and information about payment plans can be found here.

Or if you have questions, please call 877.DUBSPOT or send us a message.

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In this video Daniel Wyatt, Senior Instructor and Course Designer of Dubspot’s Mixing & Mastering Department, introduces the Vengeance Multiband Sidechain plugin. This plugin represents a breakthrough in sidechain technology, and has become an instant classic.  Now the producer/engineer can custom-tailor the envelope and tonality of any element within the mix with visual precision. A game-changer! Let’s explore the UI in part 1, and look at the practical applications in part 2.

Transform rough ideas and basic compositions into dance floor bangers and sonically pleasing commercial quality masters. Learn the well-kept industry secrets of EQ, compression, panning, level balancing, reverb and special effects from platinum mix/mastering engineer, Daniel Wyatt, senior Dubspot Instructor.

What’s Included:

About This Program

This program gives you everything you need to refine tracks into a clear commercial quality release, including special mixing and mastering techniques for dubstep, techno, house, trance, downtempo, hip-hop, and the gamut of electronically-produced music.

You will learn to mix and master your tracks using the same plugins that top industry engineers use every day, including plugins by Sonnox, Metric Halo, Altiverb, Soundtoys, Izotope, Waves, URS, and Abbey Road.

“The videos were helpful and the chats were great. I expected a lot out of this course and I got it!”
- Jon Yu, California

Start dates and information about payment plans can be found here.

Or if you have questions, please call 877.DUBSPOT or send us a message.

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Propellerhead Reason 6 Workshop with Hank Shocklee & Falty DL

Propellerhead Software’s Reason audio production platform made a massive leap in 2011. Reason 6 brought features such as the integration of Record (the acclaimed recording and mixing software), new instruments, new effects, a new mixer, and a sexy new audio interface called Balance. Add to this list a pay-what-you-want upgrade option for owners of Reason and Record and you’ve got an impressive music production platform that hit many best of 2011 lists in recent weeks. Reason 6 is a totally new beast.

To help you understand the depth and possibilities of this new production platform we are pleased to preset a special Reason 6 workshop at Dubspot NYC on Monday January 30th from 7-9pm EST. The event will feature production luminary Hank Shocklee (Bomb Squad, Public Enemy, Def Jam), dubstep / bass producer FaltyDL, and vocalist Cody Geil. Dubspot’s Chris Petti and Propellerheads’ James Bernard will host a series of discussions and demonstrations that will introduce you to new workflow and features in Reason 6 using the Balance Controller (read more on Balance below). James Bernard and Hank Shocklee will kick off the event with a short discussion on effecient production methods with Reason and they will quickly segue into producing a track from scratch in front of the audience. If you’d like to join us for this discussion and workshop, please RSVP on our Facebook page. In addition, we will be streaming the workshop live on out site, so bookmark this page if you’d like to catch the workshop online!

About Hank Shocklee

Hank Shocklee is one of the godfathers of hip hop and modern music production. Through his early work as a DJ on Adelphi University’s 90.3 FM radio station and as a nightclub manager, Shocklee started to meet the individuals who would later be transformed into the groundbreaking group Public Enemy. As Shocklee’s work with Public Enemy started to gain momentum and airplay, a then lesser-known Russell Simmons summoned Shocklee to work on remixes for artists on his Def Jam roster. It was Shocklee’s creative vision and energy that landed him a position with Def Jam Recordings where he served as Vice President of A&R and staff producer from 1986-1988, while he was still developing the Public Enemy Concept. Shocklee also eventually became the Publicity and Marketing point person for Rush Artist Management and handled touring projects for artists such as Run DMC, Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, and Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. With the signing of Public Enemy to Def Jam Recordings and the group’s rise to stardom, Shocklee’s efforts shifted to full time studio work. He served as Producer and Executive Producer for the group and led them to the success of 1 Double Platinum, 4 Platinum and 2 Gold Albums. Shocklee also managed Public Enemy along with Russell Simmons and Public Enemy soon became Def Jam’s biggest global act and went on the road for a series of successful world tours.

About FaltyDL

Drew Lustman’s releases as FaltyDL encompass IDM, drum’n’bass, hardcore techno, house, garage, and dubstep. Full of abstractions and abrupt changes, the majority of his output was nonetheless intended for active dancefloors. The New York-based producer debuted “FaltyDL” in 2007 but gained serious traction in 2009 with a pair of singles on Ramp, as well as an EP and an album — titled Love Is a Liability — for Planet Mu. More short-form releases on Rush Hour, Planet Mu, Ramp, and Swamp81 were issued across 2010 and 2011. You Stand Uncertain, a second album, was also released on Planet Mu in March of 2011.

Balance Audio Interface

• 2-in by 2-out audio interface
• USB 2.0 – bus powered
• Hi-end pre-amplifiers
• Hi-end 24-bit ADC/DACs, 44.1 to 96kHz
• Low latency design
• Clip Safe —  “built-in recording engineer” automatically heals any clipped recordings.
• Mac OS class compliant (no driver on Mac OS).
• ASIO drivers for Windows.
• Built-in Propellerhead Ignition Key
• Direct monitoring (for stand-alone or DAW use)
• Two XLR microphone inputs w. 48V phantom power
• Two 1/4″ guitar inputs with padding
• Four 1/4″ line inputs (two stereo pairs)
• One 1/4” headphone output
• Two 1/4″ TRS balanced main outputs
• Hardware input source selection
• Input level control
• Separate output and headphone level control
• Output muting

Links : Balance and Reason – Propellerhead – Balance and Reason Essentials
Balance Design and Features – Propellerhead – Balance – Design and Features

Master Reason & Record with our complete program of courses culminating in a four track EP ready for release.  In addition to achieving a complete overview of the composition process in Reason & Record you’ll also earn the Dubspot Producer’s Certificate in Reason & Record. After completing this program, you will leave with a new EP, a remix entered in an active remix contest, a Refill ready to share, and the Dubspot Producer’s Certificate in Reason & Record.

• Reason Level 1: Sketches, Beats, and Remixes
• Reason Level 2: Dissect and Reconstruct
• Reason Level 3: Sound Design
• Reason Level 4: Advanced Sound Design
• Reason Level 5: Recording and Mixing
• Reason Level 6: Beyond the Rack

This program is about learning Reason by going through the entire process of being an artist, from developing your sound through a series of sketches while getting familiar with the application to creating a fully-fleshed out four song EP. You will create a remix and submit it to an active remix contest, create a refill, and learn valuable insider tips and techniques.

Start dates and information about payment plans can be found here.

Or if you have questions, please call 877.DUBSPOT or send us a message.

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Mixing & Mastering Tutorial Pt 1: Limiter in Ozone w/ Ableton Live

Mixing & Mastering Tutorial Pt 2: Mid-Side EQ Technique w/ Izotope

Mixing & Mastering Tutorial: iZotope Ozone 4 – Using Harmonic Exciter

Mixing & Mastering Tutorial – Dubstep Bass Compression w/ URS

Mixing & Mastering w/ iZotope Ozone 4 – Using Multiband Compression

Transform rough ideas and basic compositions into dance floor bangers and sonically pleasing commercial quality masters. Learn the well-kept industry secrets of EQ, compression, panning, level balancing, reverb and special effects from platinum mix/mastering engineer, Daniel Wyatt, senior Dubspot Instructor.

What’s Included:

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Dubspot Instructor Daniel Wyatt offers a glimpse into Level 3 of our Mixing & Mastering program; explains and demonstrats Basic Limiting using iZotope’s Ozone 4. Students will learn essential tips and techniques for polishing their tracks, and giving them a finished, professional sound.

As the loudness war marches on, the modern mastering engineer increasingly turns to his/her limiter to create masters that keep up with the ever-increasing commercially-expected level. Essentially the limiter is a compressor that works with a fast attack, fast release, and a high ratio. As the threshold is decreased, the limiter quickly pulls down the peak transients (mostly the kick drum) and, then, with the the newly-created headroom, turns up the newly-compressed track with the make-up gain. This is where the primary loudness comes from!

Different limiters have different personalities and tonalities. The most important quality in a mastering compressor with regard to electronic music production is it’s ability to retain the low-frequency content while conducting the sometimes extreme amounts of compression/limiting that modern music requires. iZotope’s Ozone Mastering suite has a Loudness Maximizer that is capable of generating a club-poundingly loud master without sacrificing the low-end of the track. As the kick drum keeps happy club-goers dancing all across the globe, the mastering engineer must be careful to not decrease the kick’s power in the new master. When applied with skill and sensitivity, the Loudness Maximizer can create some amazingly pleasing yet very loud results.

Using the mastering limiter is one of three main ways of creating loudness. The other two are: compressing the low-frequencies of the track with a multiband compressor and then raising the level of that band, and by creating “perceived loudness” — which is a boost of either EQ or saturation in the upper-mid frequencies. In the first practice of multiband compression, additional RMS energy (slow moving acoustic power) is created by adding more compressed low-frequency to the mix. In the second practice, additional “presence” is created by way of additive EQ or saturation in the 2000-8000 K zone to make the track feel “closer”, ergo, louder.

All three of these practices, limiting, multiband compression, and increasing perceived loudness, combine to generate a loud, modern master. Ozone provides all of the tools to achieve this goal, as well as other mastering tools to create greater stereo width and imaging. Every aspect of mastering with Ozone is taught in Dubspot’s Mixing and Mastering course — both online and in the physical school. In addtion, the basic techniques are demonstrated on Dubspot’s Youtube tutorial channel.

As a final thought, while it is a very exciting and powerful feeling to make a track louder, it is very important that one does not participate in the ever-escalating loudness war. please excercise some restraint. Dynamics are a good things, and limiter-abuse strips the track of it’s low-end dynamics and can create a non-bouncy, harsh master. recently there has been a new trend on the part of the top producers to “run the other way” and deliver tracks to Beatport that are not over-limited. If these well-respected tastemakers and veterans can continue with this movement, there is hope on the horizon of the loudness war.

- Daniel Wyatt, Dubspot Instructor and Mixing & Mastering Engineer

Transform rough ideas and basic compositions into dance floor bangers and sonically pleasing commercial quality masters. Learn the well-kept industry secrets of EQ, compression, panning, level balancing, reverb and special effects from platinum mix/mastering engineer, Daniel Wyatt, senior Dubspot Instructor.

What’s Included:

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As the art-form of DJing evolves, one of the biggest trends is using controllers rather than turntables to DJ “Internally.” Usually when a DJ says they are playing “internally” with Traktor they usually mean that they are using Traktor’s internal playback mode and are not using any timecode vinyl or timecode CDs to control their music, and are DJing using strictly controllers.

While Traktor allows you to DJ internally with little to no prep work, it’s highly recommended to beat grid your tracks ahead of time in Traktor using Traktor’s metronome before you play in internal mode. This will make it so you can use the sync button to perfectly beatmatch your tracks.

In Traktor Pro 2, beat gridding tracks that are recorded to a click track (quantized to a grid) is easier than ever. Most of the time, all you have to do is shift the grid over a little bit and round off the BPM reading to the nearest whole number (ex. 129.99 to 130 BPM). For more, please check out my previous article on how to beat grid in Traktor here. Also, here is a video I did on how to do beat grids in Traktor.

As a Traktor specialist, one of the most popular questions I’ve been getting lately is “How can I beat grid tracks that are recorded with a live drummer?” and “How can I beat grid my classic disco records or vinyl rips in Traktor?” Unfortunately the answer is as of now, it’s very difficult and almost impossible to beat grid these tracks only using Traktor. However, while doing a Traktor training with David Morales, I found a way to get these tracks perfectly quantized to a click track using Ableton Live 8’s warping engine, so you can bring the tracks back into Traktor and beat grid them perfectly. Here is a step by step method on how to do it:

1. Right click or CTRL Click on the track inside of Traktor’s browser and choose “Show In Finder.” This will find the file on your computer.

2. In Ableton Live, show the Arrange view by clicking Tab, and drag the song into a new audio track in Ableton.

Ableton will then analyze the file and place green warp markers above the transients (kicks, snares etc.), which can be double clicked on to set pseudo warp markers. If you don’t see the waveform view you can click on the black triangle in the lower right hand side of the screen to show the waveform view.

3. Find the first beat of the song and double click on the Warp Marker flag above the transient to set a new warp marker. You might have to click and drag the beginning (left side) of the clip in the arrange view to the left so you can play the beginning of the clip (see video on how to do this).

4. Right click or CTRL click on the new warp marker and choose “Set 1:1:1 Here.” This will tell Ableton this is the first beat of the track.

5. Right click or CTRL click on the warp marker you just set and choose “Warp From Here”. This will re-warp the track based on the first beat that you just set. This should put each beat that drifts off of the grid back onto the grid.

6. Now that you’ve lined up your track on the grid and told Ableton where the first beat is, click and drag the beginning of the clip in the arrange view to the beginning of a measure. This will align the measures of the clip with the measures on the grid of the arrange view so your metronome will be on beat when you turn it on.

7. To check that the track is matched to Ableton’s grid, turn on the Metronome in Ableton , and then play the track with the metronome on.

*Note – You might have to adjust your Audio preferences in Ableton Preferences – Audio – to hear the track (through the master output) and the metronome (in the Cue Output). If the Metronome lines up with the track (you hear a metronome tick on every beat of the track that is beatmatched to the track) then you are almost done in Ableton. If the beat drifts off of the grid, you might have to place a new warp marker where the track drifts off beat, then drag the warp marker onto the correct measure / beat, then CTRL click (or right click) on that warp marker and choose “Warp from Here”. You would repeat this process each time the track drifts off of the grid. Hopefully Ableton will eventually get smarter each time you do this and figure out where all the beats are throughout the song.

8. Now that you have your track perfectly warped, and each beat is lined up with Ableton’s grid, you are going to export the track to make a new version of this track that is perfectly quantized to a beat grid. Before exporting you first want to show the intro of the track by clicking on the left side of the clip in the arrange view and dragging it to the left. Be sure to drag it as far as you possibly can to get the intro and any dead air before the first beat. Dead air is important because currently in Traktor you cannot set a grid marker before 1.1.1 and if part of the first beat is chopped off you won’t be able to beat grid the track perfectly.

9. Now choose your warp mode in Ableton by going to the Sample Display window and click on the Warp Mode dropdown menu. There are six different warp modes. I would recommend using Complex Pro warping mode since that will usually give you the best sound quality. Other warping modes might work better for different tracks, so be sure to look into how to use the different warping modes. But for now just use Complex Pro mode if you’re unsure what to use.

10. The next thing you want to do is get your levels right in Ableton before bouncing the audio. I like to do this in the session view. Click Tab to toggle to the session view and then play the track at its loudest part. When the track is playing at the loudest part, raise the gain of the channel as high as it can go without the levels hitting the “red” (clipping). Do the same with the Master volume. Turn it up as loud as it can go without the Master volume going into the red (distorting).

11. Now that you have your levels right, you need to make your Ableton session the same BPM as the original track. You can either get the BPM from the “Segment BPM”  window in Ableton’s Sample Display window, or what I like to do is used Mixed in Key to find the average BPM of the track.

12. Once you know the average tempo of the track, I like to round that up to the nearest whole number and then type that BPM in Ableton’s Tempo window.

13. Before Bouncing the Audio, click on the Clip in the arrange view so the clip is highlighted. This will tell Ableton how much of the track you want to export (in this case you want to export it from the beginning to the end).

14. To bounce the track from Ableton, in the Ableton Context Menu choose File – Export Audio and Video. Then use the following settings when you get the “Export Audio / Video” window:

15. Now Ableton is going to ask you where you want to save the file. I would save the file to somewhere where you save all of your other music, so you won’t have to move the file after exporting. This will save you from the headache of having a missing file in Traktor / iTunes etc. The way I like to name these files is “ArtistTitleBPM.wav” so in this example my file would be called “PrinceControversy121.wav”. This will allow me to see the BPM once I import the file into Traktor.

16. Before importing the track into Traktor, I personally like to use a program called “Platinum Notes” which will take the wav file I created and raise the levels, fix any pitch discrepancies, improve the sound quality and “re-master” the file so it has a more modern sound to it, and it will clean up a lot of warping artifacts as well. It will also convert the wav to a 320 KBPS MP3 to save disk space. If you don’t have platinum notes, no problem. You can use any external audio editor to raise the levels, or you can just leave the file alone and play it as is, and use Traktor’s internal autogain to raise the levels for you.

17. Once you have your file exported and have done any necessary audio tweaks, you can now bring the track into Traktor. You can do this by dragging the file you just created into a deck in Traktor via your finder or explorer in Traktor. You might have to drag the file into the deck a second time after Traktor analyzes the track so that Traktor’s auto gain will update itself.

18. With the track loaded, make sure you can see Traktor’s advanced panel below the deck by clicking on the little arrow icon beneath the Active button. Now find the first beat of the track and set a Grid marker on the first beat using Traktor’s Grid Marker button.

19. Now type in the BPM of the track you warped in Ableton. If you named the track the way I suggested you should see the BPM in the file name of your track. Just type this BPM into the BPM Edit window in Traktor.

21. Now turn on Traktor’s Metronome by clicking on the Beat Tick button in Traktor’s Grid Panel.

To hear the Metronome you either need to be in External Mixing mode in Traktor Preferences – Output Routing, or you need to route the monitor output to an output you can listen to (such as the built in output on mac, or an output of your soundcard of choice).

*note – its always more accurate to do beat grids in your headphones, connected directly into your computers headphone output.

22. Once you’ve set your grid marker and turned the metronome on, play the track and use the “Move Grid” buttons to shift your beat grid left and right until the metronome is playing in perfect sync with your track.

23. Once your metronome and track in Traktor are in perfect sync, click the “Lock” icon in the grid panel to save your beat grid to the track.

Now you can play all of those timeless classics and all of your rock, funk and Vinyl rips in perfect sync with any other genre of choice without worrying about them ever missing a beat thanks to the magic of Ableton and Traktor. Happy Mixing!

Mike Henderson | DJ Endo | Twitter | Facebook | SoundCloud

If you want to learn more about Warping in Ableton be sure to check out Steve Nalepa’s video on Warping in Live 8.

Digital DJing with Traktor Pro 2 Program

The definition of DJing has changed dramatically in the last decade. Laptops, controllers, and software have emerged alongside more traditional turntables and CDJ’s, smashing the barrier to entry. In today’s digital age, anyone can become a DJ. To reflect this renaissance, Dubspot has created the Digital DJing with Traktor program. In both our physical and online schools, students will learn how to DJ entirely with Traktor’s cutting-edge technology. An emphasis will be placed on the concepts of DJing rather than simply learning how to use the software.

What’s Included:

• Digital DJing w/ Traktor Pro 2 Level 1: Introduction to DJing
• Digital DJing w/ Traktor Pro 2 Level 2: Phrase Mixing
• Digital DJing w/ Traktor Pro 2 Level 3: Beyond The Beatmatch

Starting with a historical overview, students will learn the fundamental concepts of the DJ via Traktor’s intuitive interface. They will then begin to delve into the vast array of new possibilities offered by this groundbreaking software, presenting their work along the way. Students will leave with finished DJ mixes, a thorough exploration of DJing with Traktor, and a skill set and knowledge base perfect for further development.

DJ Extensive Program

Immerse yourself in the complete art of DJing from beatmatching to stage presence. Whether you’re a beginner in search of the fundamentals or a seasoned pro looking to take your talent to the next level, our curriculum is designed to accommodate all skill levels and styles of music. This comprehensive DJ program covers everything from basic mixing to advanced digital DJing. Learn more about our DJ courses and programs.

What’s Included:

• DJ Level 1: Rookie Sessions | Essentials I
• DJ Level 2: Phrase Mixing | Essentials II
• DJ Level 3: Beyond The Blend | Intermediate Skills
• DJ Level 4: Preparation | DJ Psychology
• DJ Level 5: Classroom to the Club | Advanced Techniques I
• DJ Level 6: Club to the World | Advanced Techniques II

“I love the class, and the content! Shiftee and Endo are very funny, and very clear, so the material is easy and fun to follow! I wish my college   teachers  were more like these two!” – Leandro Martinez, Chicago IL

Start dates and information about payment plans can be found here.

Or if you have questions, please call 877.DUBSPOT or send us a message.

Dubspot’s Digital DJing w/ Traktor: Course Overview – DJ Shiftee & DJ Endo

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In this tutorial Dubspot instructor and electronic musician Chris Petti takes you through three very powerful uses and applications for the versatile new Pulveriser effect processor in Propellerhead’s Reason 6.

Pulveriser brings together crunchy compression, dirty distortion, a multimode filter and flexible modulation in a single sound-crunching effect. Crush, mangle, and destroy your sounds. Apply careful parallel compression to bring out the details of a sample or recording. Use the envelope follower when recording live instruments for responsive, expressive filter effects.

First Use on Sub Bass

In the first example, the Pulveriser will be applied to an already heavy and solid Sub Bass patch. Listen as the Pulveriser brings a new level of depth and dimension to the bass thru its compressor , distortion, and parallel processing capabilities

Second Use on Synth Lead

In this second example, the Pulveriser will be applied to a lead synth patch. This example focuses on the Tremor’s spread functionality and parallel processing to add width and animation to the sound

Third Use on Synth Pad

In this final example, the Pulveriser will be applied to a synth pad sound. This example uses the Tremor and Spread functions, and shows how the Tremor’s rate can be controlled dynamically by incoming volume thru the Envelope Follower. The result is a pad/texture sound that now lives and breathes.

Here is a track that Chris Petti co-produced with up and coming producer and Dubspot staff DJ Koolis.

Chris Petti & Brian Kullas – Clocking Error by Dubspot

Reason & Record Producer Certificate Program

Starting November 29th, 2011 and April 18th, 2012 in New York

ONLINE Classes coming soon

Master Reason & Record with our complete program of courses culminating in a four track EP ready for release.  In addition to achieving a complete overview of the composition process in Reason & Record you’ll also earn the Dubspot Producer’s Certificate in Reason & Record. After completing this program, you will leave with a new EP, a remix entered in an active remix contest, a Refill ready to share, and the Dubspot Producer’s Certificate in Reason & Record.

Learn to use Reason & Record at Dubspot with our 6-level Reason & Record Certificate Program featuring courses that include:

• Reason & Record  Level 1: Sketches, Beats, and Remixes
• Reason & Record  Level 2: Dissect and Reconstruct
• Reason & Record  Level 3: Sound Design
• Reason & Record  Level 4: Advanced Sound Design
• Reason & Record  Level 5: Recording and Mixing
• Reason & Record  Level 6: Beyond the Rack

Check out this video interview with Dubspot instructor, Chris Petti on using Reason in  the classroom:

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Mixing & Mastering Video Tutorial Pt 1: How To Use A Limiter in Ozone 4 w/ Ableton Live

In part one of this three-part Mixing & Mastering video tutorial series, Daniel Wyatt teaches you How To Use A Limiter using Ozone 4 from Izotope, offering tips and techniques for polishing your tracks, and give them a finished, professional sound. Daniel Wyatt offers a universal mastering technique using Ozone 4, which is indeed one of the most powerful mastering plug-ins, but you can use this method to attain loudness in any host application. In part 1, Daniel Wyatt navigates the Limiter section and explains some the essential functions of the Loudness Maximizer (another name for the Limiter) in a step by step process; from Master Output setting to Dithering, correcting mixing mistakes, adding fullness without distortion, and Release control, for making the sound loud and bouncy. Stay tuned for part 2, as Daniel Wyatt concludes the series with a focus on Multiband Dynamics, Harmonic Exciter, and more.

Mixing & Mastering Video Tutorial Pt 2: Mid-Side EQ Technique

In the second part of this three-part video tutorial series, Daniel Wyatt shares an invaluable tip for mastering: The Mid-Side EQ Technique, also known as The Sum & Difference Technique, which is an amazing technique you can use to adjust the stereo width of tracks and make them wider. Once again, Wyatt is using the Ozone 4 mastering plug-in, but this is a universal mastering technique you can apply using any host application. Daniel Wyatt shows you how to navigate the Parametric EQ section of Ozone, switching between the Side EQ (used for wide-panned stereo information such as synths, pads, percussions, reverb etc. ) and the Mid EQ (used for kick, snare, bass, lead vocals, instruments, etc.) At the end of this tutorial you should have a good grasp of how to utilize The Mid-Side EQ technique, segment frequencies and make the Mid and Side EQs compliment each other – keep the Mids focused with an extra boost for the subs and the Sides gently rolling off lows.

Mixing & Mastering Video Tutorial Pt 3: Multiband Harmonic Exciter

In the third and final installment of this three-part Mixing & Mastering video tutorial series, Daniel Wyatt shows you how to navigate the various features and parameters of iZotope’s Ozone 4 in this brand new video tutorial, the followup to How To Use A Limiter and Mid-Side EQ Technique. Wyatt utilizes Ozone’s Multiband Harmonic Exciter to explain and demonstrate how to add some saturation to your mix and use the exciter signal processing technique to not only bring out the flavors of the elements of your sound but also generate new harmonic content and give your track a warm, fuzzy, and dynamic feel.

Below, we’ve got a brand new track titled “Parallel” from Dubspot Mixing & Mastering student Adam Schwartz. We have a pre-master and a mastered version, side to side. Please have a listen, and notice the significant improvement and transformation of the track from rough, low-volume composition to a dynamic, dancefloor ready banger. The track was mixed and mastered by the student, Adam himself.

Adam Schwartz – Parallel (Pre-Master + Mastered) by Dubspot

Transform rough ideas and basic compositions into dance floor bangers and sonically pleasing commercial quality masters.

Mixing & Mastering Program

See dates and register for NYC and online classes

Courses:

• Mixing & Mastering Level 1: Mix
• Mixing & Mastering Level 2: Modify
• Mixing & Mastering Level 3: Master

Learn the well-kept industry secrets of EQ, compression, panning, level balancing, reverb and special effects from platinum mix/mastering engineer, Daniel Wyatt, senior Dubspot Instructor. This program gives you everything you need to refine tracks into a clear commercial quality release, including special mixing and mastering techniques for dubstep, techno, house, trance, downtempo, hip-hop, and the gamut of electronically-produced music… Read more.

For more information about payment plans, please call 212.242.2100 or 1.877.DUBSPOT (1.877.382.7768) or send us a message.

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Steve Nalepa: Less is more. Using fewer elements will leave more space in your mix, just make sure each individual part sounds as excellent as it possibly can. Keep an eye out for competing frequencies and resolve this either through EQ or by arrangement choices, perhaps dropping some elements out. Once you’ve created your song, go through it and see if you can subtract. Sometimes it is hard to let go of a particular part you are fond of, but if it better serves the song, then do it. Have an idea in mind on where you want the song to go, then take it there.

Matt Cellitti: I try to render everything I do as soon as I’m done working on it. I have the problem where I can always start something, but never finish anything anymore.  So at the end of the writing session, I simply render it before turning it off and I actually accomplish this by using Wiretap Studio to quickly make a scratch recording.  After that, I either burn it to a CD or put it on my Android to listen in the car.

Because I travel a lot for work, I spend a lot of time in the car.  Oddly enough, this is where I get TONS of ideas for music/tracks/samples/songs – right when I’m sitting in downtown Chicago traffic, not moving for an hour ; ).  By having fresh song ideas always available, I can listen to them in the car and make notes about what to do when I get back to the studio.  Just speak your ideas into the old trusty Evernote app so you can look them up when you get back to the studio. Good ol’ technology!

Heinrich Zwahlen: Always check your mixes in a different room on a different system..one that you know well from listening to other music. Dont bother develloping a song structure unless you have some strong sounding ideas..write with the final sounds that you like, dont think about substituting them later.

Thavius Beck: If you add an element to your song, make sure it can be properly heard. This may sound obvious, but I have worked with so many people who just needed to turn up a background sound or EQ it so it wasn’t buried in the mix, and the difference it makes can be huge.  Sometimes it’s turning something up, sometimes it’s EQing, sometimes it’s panning, sometimes it’s adding a certain effect… If you put it in the song, chances are you wanted people to hear it, so make sure that they can.

Matt Shadetek: Break your process into two parts: Action (or creation) and Reflection (or editing).  Never do both at the same time.  Act, create some parts, add some things to your work in progress and try not to question yourself or reflect on where it’s going or whether it’s good enough.  Promise to yourself that you’ll reflect and edit later and that nothing will escape your studio without first being edited and having it’s tires kicked.  This is a way to distance yourself from your inner critical voice while you are in the act of creating.  Many people get stuck half way through because the work is starting to take shape and they started editing and questioning it and became paralyzed.  Run like hell for the finish line and reflect when the work is done.

John Selway: For better sounding digital mixes, remember to check the input and output signal levels at every point, between every device, track, plug-in, etc.  Avoid clipping (no red meters) and leave headroom.  I like to have an average level between -12dB and -6dB on each of my mixer tracks, with the occasional higher peaks.  Master level should never peak over 0dB.  If you want your sound to be saturated/compressed, use effects intended for that purpose rather than nailing your levels in the red.

Daniel Wyatt: Once the composition/production is pretty much together and you enter the mixing stage, it’s a great practice to import a current commercially released track into your session to use as an A/B reference.  You want to create a unique output that in your mix sesson that skips the master fader — in case you have some mix buss compression or limiting.  In Ableton we use the external output.  Next you want to key map the reference track, so that you can elegantly switch between your mix and the reference track in solo mode.  If you have a good mix buss compression setting on your mix, the relative volumes should not be too far off.  If not, feel free to lower the reference track a bit, to compare mix quality, not just loudness.  This practice will help you correct any oversights you might have in your mix, and ensure that if a DJ plays your track people won’t stop dancing!

Raz Mesinai: Here’s a tip for getting an even-sounding mix: Always mix right below your usual listening level. If you can hear all the elements in a track when listening quietly you are sure that the sounds have the right amount of presence in your mix. When listening loud you can of course hear sounds better, but have no real perspective as to whether they will come through on other systems.

Martin Perna: Here are two ways to use a cassette recorder to give your mix more texture.
(1) Plug in a cassette deck, or portable tape recorder to the output jack of your computer. Mix your drums down to audiocassette, then re-import them back into the session and mix down from there as you normally would. Using audio cassette for drums can give you a real tight compression and vintage sound that you’re looking for but can’t get from any plug-ins or other outboard gear. (2) If you’re using a tape recorder with a built-in mic, use that mic as a redundant or secondary mic for recording vocals, drums, or other instruments, and mix it in accordingly with the tracks picked up by your main mic or mics. You’ll get some interesting results that can thicken and build up the texture of the mix.

Evan Sutton: Plan your structure. Imposing a structure on a production can take even the simplest ideas into song territory. After you’ve got an initial idea or loop, take some time to plan out the structure of your production. Decide exactly how long it will be, how long each individual section will be, and how many of each section you will have. This is a great opportunity to steal ideas from other productions you love.

Set up markers (both Logic and Ableton Live have great marker systems that you can rename) so that you can easily jump between sections, and always know exactly where you are in the song. Once this is finished, you can start playing connect the dots with your piece. You’ll be able to work more efficiently and systematically, since you’ll have a better idea of where your song is going to go. It will also ensure that anything you add will be moving you closer to the goal line of having a finished production. The last thing that this technique will enable you to do is work before you’re inspired. We’re not all lucky enough to have home run ideas flowing out of our eyeballs all of the time. If you have a planned piece, you can always find something to do, no matter what.

Also – finish your productions. My friend and fellow Dubspotter, Matt Shadetek, said it best: If you never finish your songs, you never get good at the latter parts of the production process, like adding small details and finishing mixes. Do you want to be 40 when you release your first record?

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Our instructors are more than talented musicians, more than human software manuals and more than insightful critics; they are mentors, genuinely interested in seeing students develop and grow as artists. Their collective experience spans many fields, continents and years. They are the heart of your Dubspot experience. For more information on our talented staff please check out our Instructors page to learn more about the unique people who work for Dubspot. For information on classes at Dubspot please check our NYC Courses and Online School for course listings.

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Dubspot instructor and Mixing & Mastering engineer Daniel Wyatt shows you how to navigate the various features and parameters of iZotope’s Ozone 4 in this brand new video tutorial, the followup to How To Use A Limiter and Mid-Side EQ Technique – a tutorial series in which Wyatt offers tips and techniques for polishing your tracks and give them a finished, professional sound. In this tutorial, Wyatt utilizes Ozone’s Multiband Harmonic Exciter to explain and demonstrate how to add some saturation to your mix and use the exciter signal processing technique to not only bring out the fundamental flavors of the elements of your sound but also generate new harmonic content and give your track a warm, fuzzy, and dynamic feel. More about this technique is covered in Daniel Wyatt’s Mixing & Mastering course starting online the week July 3rd and in NYC August 6th.

The track used in this video is Dubspot instructor and electronic musician and producer John Selway’s of “The Hills” by Filippo Mancinelli & Allen May – out now on Darkroom Dubs. You can preview the track on YouTube.

Mixing & Mastering Program

Online Classes starting the week of July 3rd and in NYC the week of August 6th

Courses:

• Mixing & Mastering Level 1: Mix
• Mixing & Mastering Level 2: Modify
• Mixing & Mastering Level 3: Master

Learn the well-kept industry secrets of EQ, compression, panning, level balancing, reverb and special effects from platinum mix/mastering engineer, Daniel Wyatt, senior Dubspot Instructor. This program gives you everything you need to refine tracks into a clear commercial quality release, including special mixing and mastering techniques for dubstep, techno, house, trance, downtempo, hip-hop, and the gamut of electronically-produced music… Read more.

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In this new tutorial, Dubspot Instructor and Mixing & Mastering engineer Daniel Wyatt explains and demonstrates how to compress dubstep wobble bass in Ableton Live utilizing the LA-2A convolution compressor the URS Classic Console Strip Pro. Wyatt takes a low end heavy track produced by Dubspot Instructor DJ Shiftee, and apply a compressor (Opto2A) which has some tube harmonics and gives a focused energy to the bass. You should have a good grasp of how to use URS Classic Console Strip Pro to compress and sculpt unique bass sounds.

Mixing & Mastering Program Starting May 1st!

Three levels / 24 sessions / 66 hours of hands-on instruction + labs

Courses:

• Mixing & Mastering Level 1: Mix
• Mixing & Mastering Level 2: Modify
• Mixing & Mastering Level 3: Master

Learn the well-kept industry secrets of EQ, compression, panning, level balancing, reverb and special effects from platinum mix/mastering engineer, Daniel Wyatt, senior Dubspot Instructor. This program gives you everything you need to refine tracks into a clear commercial quality release, including special mixing and mastering techniques for dubstep, techno, house, trance, downtempo, hip-hop, and the gamut of electronically-produced music… Read More.

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Following up on the much-loved Minus Live Packs that Ableton gave to users in June comes a new set of 5 Live Packs that are free downloads for registered users of the software. The Create Diversity packs come as a nice change of pace from the Minus packs too. Taking aim at organic, world and experimental music these sets offer a broad palette of sounds and routings to work with and should inspire different avenues of creation. These kits feature experimental sonic textures and drum kits courtesy of Saturn Never Sleeps (USA), funky, Neo-Afro live stylings from Gazelle (South Africa), a breakdown of “Hit Me” — the Italo-disco take on Ian Dury’s classic by Telonius (Germany), as well as the results of a sampling spree through the catalog of Truth and Soul Records by Apple Juice Kid (USA) and some experiments in extreme compression from Ben Frost (Iceland).

These new tools for Ableton look great and come with nice bits of information from the artists who created them as well. I like this personal touch. I was immediately drawn to King Britt and Rucyl’s Saturn Never Sleep’s pack which offers spacey and otherworldly vibes (as their name would suggest.) Ben Frost’s kit offers some great insights into compression as he explains, “compression is a dark, treacherous beast and, in sonic terms at least, battling with it is at the core of this record… and this session, among other things is probably a fine lesson in what not to do with it (25:1 at -20dB on a kick drum, for example).” Apple Juice Kid offers samples from a classic Truth and Soul record for your remixing pleasure. Altogether this a nice holiday gift from Ableton for your creative growth and fun on those days off this season.

The second video that we have posted here was a bit of a treasure find last week and has been making the rounds at Dubspot. DJ Not So Much had a hypothesis to test: Will line level voltage perform as a control voltage parameter? And so he set about using Ableton Live and the Moog Slim Phatty to figure it out.

I asked a few people and no one understood what I wanted to do.  So I just bought the Slim Phatty blind hoping to exploit the CV inputs (filter, volume, pitch and a keyboard gate as well). Well, it worked very well. Better than I thought.  Here’s the video explaining the what and how! This is a tutorial/demo on how I pulled this off and everything you need to know! The Moog (notes) are controlled via the MPK25 but the filter and pitch modulation is via the CV inputs.

Yes – Line level (analog) signal has voltage. The modulation of the SF can be controlled with amazing accuracy and synchronization using an application like Ableton. The possibilities are endless – I am still trying to understand where I would like to go with this idea. For now – you have the basic knowledge. – DJ Not So Much

Michael Walsh is an audio/visual artist and journalist living in Los Angeles. Read more of his work at soundsdefygravity.com

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Dubspot instructor and Ableton Live expert Steve Nalepa concludes the series in this video (part 3 in our series focusing on Sidechaining in Ableton Live) by looking at two other important audio effects in the Compressor-Sidechain in Ableton Live: the Auto-Filter and Gain. Nalepa starts by applying the auto-filter on the synths without any sidechaining. He turned on the Sidechain-Compressor which amplifies the filter in an extreme manner. Nalepa further demonstrates how you can you sidechain and gate settings to create a punchy kick, and encourages you to go through it yourself and have some fun exploring these effects. Check out part 1 and two below! Was this helpful to you?  Do you have questions?  Leave us a comment below!

Ableton Live Tutorial: Sidechain Compression Part 1/3: Examples & Setup

Ableton Live Tutorial: Sidechain Compression Part 2/3: Compression Basics

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In this video (part 2 of 3 focusing on Sidechaining in Ableton Live) Dubspot instructor and Ableton Live expert Steve Nalepa explains and demonstrates compression basics within the Compressor-Sidechain audio effect in Live. He explains Dynamic Range, or the ratio between the loudest and the quietest sounds. As he states in part 1, Sidechain Compression simply allows “different elements of your songs to essentially dance together.” Nalepa starts here by adding compression o the group tracks he created in part 1 (dubstep drum pattern with a simple kick and snare and some couple of synths.) Was this helpful to you?  Do you have questions?  Leave us a comment below!

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