Whats your Best Tech Tip?

[p]Doesnt matter what type of Music you make… Knowledge is Key.[/p]



[p]Its great finding out about different techniques,. to use & abuse them when your making your own productions… or even lessons from other peoples experience.[/p]



[p]A couple of things have really helped me over the last while to improve the way that my tunes sound.[/p]



[p]1. Already posted this one - Sample Delay (100ms on either L or R) to widen & thicken the sound.[/p]



[p]2.Layering Sounds - such as pads / noises, whatever to make a more interesting listen. I like to think of it like a Chord… You’ve got different layers of notes piled up on top of one another. This can be just as effective with a really smooth Pad under a White Noise. I like making creating little stabs or hits by combining a low sound and a kinda crunchy or harsh top. Opposites attract & usually stimulate the ear better than if you just heard them on their own.[/p]



[p]3. Using the right Sounds - This is a simple one… Sounds basic, but without this forget about it. I spent a couple of years getting free samples in Magazines etc… of all sorts of stuff. It sometimes would take me ages to find exactly what I was looking for. I mainly use One Shot Drum Samples… No rhythm or Music Loops. So just to take Drums as an example…you are pretty much sorted from the get go if you have a couple of decent 808 & 909 sample packs. Goldbaby do FANTASTIC ones. I’ve now made up my own library of sounds that are actually worthy of being there. All the Free Rubbish/Demos that I gathered got binned. Burn everything - Start again! :smiley: Seriously though… Gigs of rubbish quality samples will not make satisfying music that you are ever going to be truly happy with. Realise this & you are one step closer to where you need to be. No point making aTrance Tune with mad Arps and a live Jazz Kit Sample Set, with a few Industrial Kit Hits. Always use the expected sounds for your genre, unless yu are actually trying to make Jazz Industrial Trance. :slight_smile: Make your own library - Get rid of the S*** off your drive. It’ll speed up how you work & improve the quality.[/p]





[p]Thats just a couple of things that have helped me. I’d love to hear what tips have changed how you make Music etc… [/p]



[p]You might have picked it up in a Magazine, heard it from a Friend or even picked it up on another Forum… Can be anything - a workflow tip / a cool techinque or perhaps a golden rule that you always follow.[/p]








I’ve learned to be pretty ruthless with my stuff. If it sounds stale, bin it. A good track can almost write itself.



One thing I’m interested in doing is learning techniques for adding texture to tracks. What I mean is having sections where the sound seems to almost bend and fold out of the speaker. Sidechain compression only goes so far here, although it is definitely a start. Good examples I can think of are Krazy Baldhead’s ‘The B Suite’ track 4, and the new album by Bop - ‘Clear Your Mind’ that I got the other day.



I’m not sure if I’ve explained myself clearly here, but does anyone have any tips for doing this with tracks?