FL Lesson : Slicex

Today I have another tutorial for you, as requested by Rorschach Redemption, on how to slice up beats in Slicex. As usual, I'm starting out pretty basic. I might teach advanced techniques later down the line.

Free Soft Synth : TranceDrive

I'm playing around with this thing right now on my midi keyboard, and I have to say, it sounds beautiful for a free vst. Right off the bat it loads up a fatass supersaw lead. It comes with 3 oscillators with six waveforms to choose from (including a supersaw made up of 7 detuned saw waves). It comes with plenty of built in filters and effects perfect for trance and lots of other styles. I used this in my most recent single and it fit in beautifully with other more expensive synthesizers.

So go get your hands on a VST host of some kind (there are freeware ones out there) and give this beast a try. (Download links below!)

http://www.yedey.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/TranceDrive-VSTi.zip
http://www.yedey.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/TranceDrive-Exe.zip

Massive Lesson : Fat Saw

I have a new tutorial prepared for you. Today we're going to learn how to make a fat saw lead using NI Massive. I'd definitely recommend this synth to any electronic musician with a little money to spare.

Bob Moog and his Invention

Today I have a little history lesson for you guys. It's about the Moog synthesizer. Bob Moog's synth was a big fucking deal in the world of electronic music. It's been scaled down many times over the years, but it's sounds are still used today.



I'm pretty sure most of you are familiar with A Clockwork Orange, which has a mostly moog-based soundtrack done by Wendy Carlos. Speaking of Wendy Carlos, I stumbled upon a vinyl copy of Switched On Bach a few days ago.

Anyway, here's some Clockwork Orange. I'd strongly recommend getting a copy of the soundtrack if you don't have it already. Sorry the video's fucked up, I'll upload one later.

Distortion Plugin Comparison

I'd like to test the abilities of all the different distortion options on the market. I'm starting out with just a few, but this will continue in a later post. I'm testing the plugins on a Roland TR-909 kick, trying to get a distorted, gabber-style kick. There is a link to hear the sound under each picture.

Here is the original kick sound.
Dry 909 Kick

Bitcrusher
 http://freemusicsoftware.org/plugins/Bitcrusher.dll
Not really for what we were trying to do, but interesting nonetheless.

Bitcrusher

Camelphat
http://www.camelaudio.com/camelphat.php
This provides damn good distortion, but it isn't free.

Camelphat

FuzzPlus 2
http://www.audiodamage.com/downloads/product.php?pid=ADF001
This little guy really surprised me.

FuzzPlus2


Clipping
Here I simply turned the volume up too loud and got the clipping sound. You can do this one in audacity.

Clipping


Tell me what you think and if you'd like me to continue comparing distortion effects.

MinimogueVA Moog Emulation VST

Anyone who likes using old school synth sounds should download and play around with this VST plugin. It's really great at emulating the sounds of a classic Minimoog, and best of all, it's free. It's an excellent alternative to anyone who can't afford Minimonsta, which kicks ass by the way.

http://www.home.no/gunnare/downloads.htm

More about the Minimoog coming soon.

The Funky Drummer

Here's another insanely popular beat to sample from James Brown's "The Funky Drummer". This has been called the most sampled song in history, but I doubt it with the Amen Break gaining so much popularity in recent times. I remember hearing Public Enemy using it in a song I heard yesterday.

Here's the download link for those of you who wish to sample this famous drum break.
http://98014bc0.realfiles.net

Mellotron

I was just listening to Tobacco today and I noticed a mellotron sound, so I decided I'd share this beast with you guys. You probably remember hearing this thing in Jungle book when you were a kid. Classic "synth"

Here is a link to a nice VST that mimics the famous mellotron sounds(including the badass flute).
http://971e4238.seriousurls.com

The Amen Break

This is a loop that you should all have in your arsenal, the Amen Break. It's from "Amen, Brother"by the Winstons and it happens to be one of the most popular breakbeat samples of all time. You'll hear it everywhere once you know it.

Download it here!
http://6148166e.thesefiles.com

Audacity Tutorial : Reverse Reverb

Here's my first tutorial on how to get that kickass reverse reverb effect with Audacity.