Thank’s for doing this. This tutorial/masterclass has become a sort of foundation for the way that I work. I’ve been dabbling with dance music production since I was a teenager. I’m well into my mid-30’s now and have developed some sort of mental block to finishing anything. Probably because in the back of my mind I’m wondering, “Am I doing this right?” Having a framework to adopt and then adapt to my creative process has helped me out immensely, especially when that framework came from watching one of the best in the game. Thanks a lot Sonic Academy!
Hi,
Can this track be re-produced in Logic Pro 9. This is what I am on at the moment and I’m still learning the DAW. They all look similar. I’m also a novice and am focusing on learning music theory for now but I’m not good at structured learning. Being thrown in at the deepend seems to work better for me hence I want to re-construct this track in Logic 9. Please advise what plugins I will need for this and any other tips.
Cheers
Shazad
thumbs up Good tut.
Hi Shazman, you can totally follow along in Logic, you may have to replace some of the native Cubase plugins with Logic ones, but this is a great learning tool also. If you get stuck on which plugin to use, post on here and we will try and help you out. Don’t forget, you also get audio version of all the synths used and the MIDI parts, so if you don’t have a particular synth, you can you the MIDI part or just drag in the .wav version
Just completed this. This has been a super fun and very informative course. Thank you!
Hey guys, Just rejoined SA. Have been Gold member a few times in past
years. For over a decade I’ve wanted to learn how to create “proper”
(138) trance. I just watched Bjorn’s interview w/ Chris. Fantastic. This
guy is the real deal. Very musical. Very about form and technique.
Doing things the right way. Okay I’m going to ask this anyway: Any
downside to working this tutorial in Ableton 9 standard? Think I just
need Mr. A’s reassuring approval. It’s already on my machine. I know it
pretty well. What will I be missing, if anything? THANK YOU!
2 Likes
Nice track!!! I am on Logic Pro X, but it is no problem to reconstruct the track on Logic.
One thing in mixing i don’t understand: Bjorn puts the level of all tracks to -15 dB to get headroom for mixing. But he leaves all channel faders on 0 dB and sets the input of all channels to -15 dB, f.e. on the output of the software instrument. Would it not be much easier to put the level to - 15 dB with the channel faders?
2 Likes
Brilliant tutorial. It showed me that it’s the detail on each track that’s so important. Just bought the ANA synthesiser as I got fed up with the demo threatening to kill four puppies unless I did. Although I like Cubase’s Retrologue, the real pain with it is that the pre-sets don’t have descriptive names. that’s where the ANA wins.
Cubase! Finally a real DAW! 
No its in cubase
One thing in mixing i don’t understand: Bjorn puts the level of all tracks to -15 dB to get headroom for mixing. But he leaves all channel faders on 0 dB and sets the input of all channels to -15 dB, f.e. on the output of the software instrument. Would it not be much easier to put the level to - 15 dB with the channel faders?
I had the exact same question and Ive learned a lot about why he does this.
A really great discussion on this from some serious pros in this thread on gearslutz:
TL;DR is this:
Setting the gain right off the source to approx. -15db gives head room for plugins after the source to add to the sound without adding unintended distortion and clipping. The channel fader is at the end of the signal path so setting the level here instead of at the source can not avoid this potential distortion.
If your input source comes in at -0.1db then, for example, an EQ with a +4db boost to the highs coming after will just slam into the ceiling with no where to go except distorting. The channel fader being last means it cannot help, it will simply lower the volume of the distorted signal it receives.
FYI this is greatly simplified for brevity and clarity. There is a lot more to it than just this. Check out the thread if you want to know more. But setting input sources to -15db is a good practice for a number of reasons. how you ultimately choose to gain stage is up to you.
distorting in the digital domain (thanks to 32 and 64-bit floating point precision) - means it isn’t really distorting / clipping at all.
Going into and out of plugins is a slightly different story - some come equipped with oversampling to eliminate the problem, and some don’t, so at the end of the day, it’s best practice to always leave yourself some headroom when going in and out of devices - and is an absolute must if you are going into and out of hardware, as it most definitely will distort / clip then.
1 Like
To add to Bryan, he could also be using k metering - where he is considering what signal level is going into his plugins or external hardware - Running at digital full scale can mean the signal is around 14bd to loud for certain bits of hardware and similarly certain plugins. High end model analogue plugins like waves or UAD are modelled at component level in the analogue world, that means they are expecting a signal of 0vu. So when running you DAW and normal digital full scale or above, as we can with 32 bit floating point, means the signal is now like 20db to hot for the modelled plugin and you are therefore inducing the distortion modelling of the plugin. This can add distortion and more harmonic and start to really clog a mix. Bringing everything down to -14, -20 (K14 K20 metering) can really make a difference to the clarity of your mixes and the plugins across them.
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I am really impressed with this tutorial. I have just recently started adjusting the levels of my input stage for the reasons that Chris outlined. I have been using Logic X in “pre Fader” metering at around minus 9 - 10 db. Not sure how that translates though. I also like the way he uses compression and distortion. He sets the level back to unity and only listens for the change caused by effect. He makes sure that it isn’t just louder, because just “louder” makes everything sound deceptively “better”. I call it “Honest Mixing”. It takes a lot of practice but this is what it takes to achieve a world class mix. great tutorial so far. I am at the layering section.
Cheers.
Rob
1 Like
Great Job Bjorn! I really learned a ton. I call this the “Precision” Tutorial. It really shows how attention to all of the small details can add up to a massive sound! I would recommend this course to all aspiring Trance producers.
Cheers,
Rob.
I would like to see a video series with alan morris also! His tracks are top notch!
Chris how would i do this technique in ableton
I subscribed to watch this amazing video by an awesome Producer!
but I’m having an issue with the video 
I Have a slow internet connection (2mbps) so watching the videos is a bit painful, is there anyway to lower the quality a bit so my connection can handle it?
Hey
Our Standard Definition videos stream at 1000kbps which is touch and go with a 2mbps connection. I would recommend a faster connection (5mbps) if possible
Hey guys I need help. Since I couldnt find a pluck I liked from the Adam Ellis presets so I decided to make my own. I am quite proud of it, as I am a beginner to sound design and music production, but I cant quite find a good saw lead for the melody. Everything I try sounds really high pitched, even if I lower the keys down an octave. If anyone can help a brother out, it would be greatly appreciated. Great tutorial by the way!