Close the curtains and inform the neighbors, because in this tutorial we will transform your own voice into a monster you never thought you had inside you!

Thumbnail image by shanewarne_60000.

Step 1: Recording Your Voice

First, fire up Logic Pro. Record your voice making some screams and squeaks into a microphone. Try to make it sound something like the examples, but almost anything will do. If you can’t record your voice, try to get some samples from the Internet or use my voice.

Download audio file (Screams.mp3)

Use ‘Strip Silence’ to cut the different screams. Set threshold to the right percentage until you see that your screams are cut away from the rest of the audio. Click OK and remove the rest of the audio around the screams, if there is any left.

Select all your audio and right-click on one of them. Click on ‘Convert to New Audio File(s)’ and call them “Screams”. You will see the names of your audio files change to Screams, Screams #1 and so on. (If you wish to change these names press Esc and 4 to get the text tool. Click on each scream and name them what you want. Press Esc and 1 to go back to your normal cursor.)

Step 2: Using the EXS24

Now you have your audio screams chopped up and ready to go, we’re going to get one of them into the EXS24. While there already are many tuts about this, I will explain this process shortly. Open a new software instrument track for your EXS24. Click on edit in the upper right corner of the EXS24 which will open the Instrument Editor.

Click on ‘Zone’ to open a menu, then click ‘Load Multiple Samples’. Click on one of your screams and press ‘Add’ and then ‘Done’.

After this Logic will ask you where to put the note on the keyboard. Normally you would put the sample on one single note, but in this case we want the scream to be on every single note possible. In order to do so select “Auto-map” to get the scream widely spread on the keyboard.

Click on Instrument and “Save” and call this sampler “Half-Life.” Close EXS24.

Step 3: Creating the Monster

You’ve got your voice samples and have put them in the EXS24 sampler on every key, so now it’s time to get the monsters out of your speakers. Press Command 6 to get the piano roll out.

You can press any key on the virtual keyboard on your screen to hear the sound of your voice. You will probably notice some strange sounds. On the C3 key you will find your original voice, but if you move higher you will start to sound like a little baby. That’s cool for a trick, but we want the monster inside of you to come out! The more interesting parts of this piano roll are the keys below C3, where you will find your voice processed much lower than your original voice. This is where the fun starts. Press Esc 2 to get your pencil tool out of the box and start drawing some lines below C3.

You will now hear a creaking monster waiting for his dinner.

Download audio file (CreakMonster.mp3)

Step 3: Scaring the Neighbors

Once you’ve got the hang of this it’s time get the neighbors to call the cops. “There are monsters in the house next to us!” Get your other screams and creaks into another EXS24 and combine them. Every scream you have made will sound like something else once you’ve processed it with your sampler. You can drag your MIDI file up to get instant results, or make new ones on the track to make them more unique.

At this stage your imagination is your most deadly weapon. Go wild drawing in notes and the darkest creatures will come out. Start panning channels left and right to get you monster sound bigger and bigger. Don’t turn off the lights because you’ll end up in an institute.

Here’s the creature I created:

Download audio file (Monster.mp3)

Step 3: Adding Effects

From this point on you’ve got your own army of monsters backing you up. But the fun doesn’t end here! You can add all sorts of effects, which will make your monsters even scarier. There are no rules on which effects you should use, but try some reverb, phaser or distortion on your outputs. Try other effects as well, start experimenting!

Download audio file (Monsterwfx.mp3)

To learn more about what you get as part of Audio Plus, read this. To take a peek inside this tutorial, hit the jump!

“Just like everything else in music and recording, it’s now possible to master your own material. The tools are readily available and are very inexpensive compared to previous audio generations, but just because you own a hammer doesn’t mean that you know how to swing it.

Mastering is a basically simple process, but like all simple processes, it’s a lot more involved than it seems. As long as you know a few tricks and don’t have beyond-reality expectations for the end result, it can improve your program material by varying degrees, or just as easily make it a lot worse than what you started with.”

Table of Contents

• What is Mastering?
• The Difference Between You and a Pro
• The Mastering Technique
• Perceived Audio Level
• Competitive Level
• Hypercompression — Don’t Go There!
• How to Get Hot Levels
• The Signal Chain
• The Limiter
• The Compressor
• 4 Rules For Hot Levels
• Mastering Compressor Tips and Tricks
• Frequency Balance
• Summary

Existing Plus members can log-in and download. Not a Plus member? Join now.

Step 1 - What is Saturation?

Saturation is a process that has its roots firmly in the analog domain. Mix engineers using tape would print ‘hot’ levels to create a type of compression, which is known as tape saturation.

When tape is driven in this way and the level meets 0db (and a fair way beyond) the level clips, but in the analog realm this is known as ‘soft clipping’. The end result is a satisfying, fuzzy overloaded signal which displays natural compression and limiting characteristics. Engineers would use this as a tool on certain elements on the mix.

Digital systems are generally a lot stricter and really anything above 0db is considered as hard clipping. Anything beyond this brick wall should create digital distortion. Of course this isn’t technically accurate when it comes to modern DAWs and interfaces, as many of them incorporate a soft clip algorithm in their channels and master buss. This is why, for the most part, you don’t experience a huge problem if you induce small amounts of clipping in applications such as Logic, Cubase or Reason.

The soft clipping that occurs in these situations is certainly better than digital distortion but doesn’t create the effects we are looking for here. If we wish to recreate classic tape or tube saturation then a dedicated plug-in or hardware processor is called for. Of course you could go all out and invest in some real tape or tubes but as most of us are now producing ‘in the box’, let’s look at some purely digital options.

Classic tape machines are famous for their saturation effects

Step 2 - Saturating Drums

Saturation can work in pretty much any mix element but it really shines on a few specific things, drums being one of them.

A great drum performance recorded through pristine mic pre-amps into a 24 bit DAW can be a beautiful thing but sometimes during mixing they can lack a little attitude and grit. Saturation can supply exactly the right amount of edge without overly coloring or affecting the piece’s original feel.

Most saturation plug-ins work well as inserts and are extremely simple in nature. Once you understand the process of saturation you should know when and where to apply it and to what degree. Ideally you are looking to strike a balance between saturated sounds and cleaner, less colored elements. Of course you could plaster saturation effects across your entire mix but only if you want your mix to sound as if it was recorded to tape!

For this demonstration I have used the excellent URS ‘Saturation’ plug-in on an acoustic drum loop at a few different settings. Hopefully this will give you an idea of what is possible when you are presented with various different flavors of saturation.

The models used are a tube pre-amp at about 30%, followed by a tape machine model at 100%.

Download audio file (2.mp3)

Drums with no treatment

URS tube saturation

Download audio file (2b.mp3)

Drums with URS tube saturation

URS tape head saturation

Download audio file (2c.mp3)

Drums with URS tape saturation

Saturation in any form adds harmonics to the sound. The perceived volume is also raised as natural compression and limiting occurs when the effect is introduced. These combined effects add up to what could be called ‘fatness’ or a ‘warm’ analogue feel. Whatever you call it, it certainly works in both examples here.

The plug-ins I’ve used in this tutorial range from high-end to bundled DAW products. I’m sure there are some interesting free products that offer similar features, so if you know of any please feel free to share links.

Step 3 - Heating Up Synth Lines

Another great way of using saturation plug-ins is to treat synth sequences. Virtual analogue instruments can be brought a little closer to the real thing and most sounds will be given a more upfront, edgy quality.

Here I have fed one of Logic Pro 8’s stock Apple loops through the SPL ‘Twin tube’ saturation plug-in. The sounds that come out of this plug-in are truly amazing and you could be convinced you’re listening to hardware. I’ve barely used the harmonics parameter and have simply dialed in a decent amount of saturation.

The end result is a fuzzy, loud synth loop with a retro feel. This is what most synth lovers strive for and it’s something that’s often difficult to achieve with soft synths alone.

Download audio file (3.mp3)

Synth line with no treatment

Download audio file (3b.mp3)

Synth line with SPL saturation

The synth is treated with an SPL twin tube processor.

Step 4 - Vocal Treatment

Surprisingly enough even vocal recordings can benefit from a good dose of saturation. To show it’s not just third-party plug-ins that can deliver the goods in this area, I have used the ‘Bitcrusher’ plug-in from Logic to achieve a similar effect.

With the resolution at full and the bitcrushing off, the drive control adds gentle soft clipping and saturation. This makes the vocal fuller and also quite a bit louder.

Download audio file (4.mp3)

Vocal with no treatment

Download audio file (4b.mp3)

Vocal with Logic’s bitcrusher

Logic’s bitcrusher is more than capable of some nice saturation effects. 

Step 5 - Saturation in Mastering

A very common use of saturation is to strap it across the master mix buss. This can give your entire mix an analog quality and can even fool the most discerning ears into thinking hardware was used in the process.

A favorite amongst many for this sort of critical buss and mastering work is the PSP Vintage Warmer. I’ve spoken to many producers who absolutely swear by this box of tricks and use it for most of their buss limiting and saturation duties.

The Vintage warmer has a lot more to offer than just straight forward saturation and is capable of compression, limiting, tape effects and even basic EQ. The audio examples below use only saturation and limiting. This means the overall volume of the parts is boosted considerably but you can certainly hear the saturation effect clearly.

What I’ve done to demonstrate the Vintage Warmer is play all the demo material together and strap it across the master buss in Logic. There are no other effects here apart from some filtering on the synth and the saturation plug-ins that have been covered.

Download audio file (5.mp3)

Mix with no treatment

Download audio file (5b.mp3)

Mix with PSP Vintage Warmer 2

The PSP Vintage Warmer is a favorite amongst producer for mastering duties.

Woods

The woods that your guitar is constructed from will give you your tone. For the most part we are dealing with Mahogany, Swamp Ash or Ash, Alder, Maple, with more exotic woods such as Korina. Let’s discuss the two most popular.

Mahogany is a very rich and warm sounding wood. Gibson use this as a tone-wood for their Les Paul and SG models. These guitars also feature a Mahogany neck which further adds to the warmth of the sound. For a clean signal these woods are very smooth, full and jazz-like and have been used by Larry Carlton and Robben Ford for these reasons.

With gain or distortion the woods take on a ‘classic rock’ vibe. Led Zeppelin and AC/DC have helped to make this sound very much part of rock history. It really bites when picked hard and is very smooth when strummed or picked as single notes. A good example of the smooth tone of these woods is the the intro to Guns N’ Roses classic Sweet Child Of Mine, which is played on a Gibson Les Paul on the neck pickup.

Alder is classic Fender tone. It was Fender’s replacement for the more expensive swamp ash but has become a sought after tone wood in its own right. Alder has a ’snap’ to the tone that can be heard on most of Hendrix’s work. It’s a thin sound that still retains lots of character, and it’s bright and therefore cuts through a mix or live sound with ease.

Clean tones are ‘jangly’ as demonstrated by Mark Knopfler (think Sultans of Swing). These classic tones are still favored by modern artists such as John Mayer. Slight overdrive really adds to the ’snap’ of the sound. John Mayer has a classic Alder tone.

These woods have been in popular use since the late 50s and are usually what we expect a guitar to sound like. All musical genres have used these two woods over the years and they are now firmly established as the sound of the electric guitar.

Acoustic Sound

Acoustic sound is vital to the overall sound of an electric guitar. Acoustically it should resonate when strummed across all strings and should have a good acoustic volume. Check the body of the instrument when playing it. It should have a lively vibration and this can be checked by hitting the B string and placing your hand directly onto the body. There should be a strong vibration. This indicates that the guitar is alive and will sound good amplified.

This should be the first thing you check, if you don’t like the way it sounds acoustically or it does not have any of the above characteristics then don’t even bother to plug it in. Remember all guitars are not equal regardless of the model or manufacturer.

Construction

The best woods available will only sound good if the construction of the instrument is to the highest quality. Neck-to-body joint is paramount, as this is the single most important construction consideration. Look at the point were the neck sits at the body—there should be no visible gaps and should generally look tidy.

The finish of the instrument is also important. Unfinished or natural guitars will resonate more because the wood is free to vibrate, and finishes should be applied as thinly as possible to preserve the characteristics of the tone woods. Go for a thin finish for the best sound. Also, ‘thick finishes’ have been used in the past to hide a particularly bad looking piece of wood, sunburst guitars generally use better wood than solid colored guitars simply because you can see the wood through the finish.

Necks and Fretboards

Modern guitar construction gives us a choice of through or bolt-on necks. The through neck is glued into place (without bolts) and generally aids the access to the higher frets due to the smoothness of the neck joint. There is some contention as to whether or not the through neck aids tone and sustain. Many believe it does, and others believe a bolt-on neck gives a crisper sound. Use your ears to decide.

The radius of the neck is important. It will determine the comfort of the instrument and should be a primary consideration when buying your guitar. Make sure you can play chords and single notes with ease and also check string bending and vibrato. Check the edge of the fretboard . Do the strings sit too close to the edge for you? Are the strings easy to push off the board?

Fret-wire is important for the overall playing and feel. Common sizes are small, medium and jumbo. It’s easier to fret a note with a bigger fret-wire. Fret-wire is made from nickel or stainless steel, the latter having a much longer lifespan.

Common fretboard woods are Rosewood, Maple and Ebony. Rosewood adds a warmth to the tone. Maple adds a clean crisp edge and Ebony is somewhere in the middle of the two. Not too bright, not too warm—a very nice compromise.

Scale length is a personal choice. A smaller scale length allows you to use thicker strings—the belief is that the more string vibrating over the pickups the thicker the sound. Use your ears and decide for yourself.

Pickups

Popular pickup choices are Humbuckers, Single Coils and P90s. Humbuckers have a ‘big’ sound that cancels hum due to construction. Rock players favor these as they react well with distortion and remain ‘tight and focused’ with a big sound. You can coil tap humbuckers to create a single coil type of sound. This is usually done with a ‘tap-switch’.

Single coils are weaker in comparison but offer a sound all of their own. They can sound ‘nasty’ in a good way. They are also great for that classic "blues " sound. A downfall of the single-coil is that they are not hum-canceling and can be noisy especially under fluorescent lighting. Modern single coils such as the DiMarzio Crusier have hum-canceling features so noise is not so much of an issue.

The P90 is an overgrown single coil so it falls right in the middle of the two sounds.

Pickups are a personal choice. A good way to utilize the available sounds is to go for a guitar with a mixture of pick-ups. For instance, neck and middle single-coil and bridge humbucker. Coupled with a 5-way selector switch this will give a wide choice of sound options covering all musical styles.

Hardware

A guitar is fitted with various hardware parts. In general they consist of a bridge, volume, tone controls and machine heads.

Bridge types are fixed, tremolo and floating tremolo systems. In the early 80s floating tremolos were a big part of rock guitar, the tremolo literally floated in the recess of the guitar allowing you to raise and lower pitch with the bar, these allowed some crazy sounds to be made that became a trademark of early 80s rock. The downfall of this system was they were high maintenance and became feared by guitar technicians. The floating trem is currently out of vogue and seen as a little over the top but again your own needs should govern your own choice. Beware that guitar techs will charge more to set these systems up as they require more time to find the optimum position for the floating tremolo.

The classic Fender tremolo bridge can also float if required but tuning stability is seriously compromised if this option is favored. Usually Fender bridges are set against the body so that pitch can only be lowered.

Many players believe that a fixed bridge is the best overall option for tone. Because of its solid to-body construction it really resonates against the tone wood of the body and tone appears ‘thicker’. Many classic Gibson guitars are built on this premise.

Machine heads control the amount of tension on your strings and are used to bring the guitar into tune after careful adjustment of each one. ‘Locking’ machine heads hold the string in place firmly and aid tuning stability, an ideal companion for the classic Fender tremolo bridge system.

Maintenance

A guitar owner should take care to ensure their instrument is kept well maintained. This will prolong the life of the guitar as well as ensure that it sounds its best at all times.

Complete sets of strings should be changed regularly to keep tone at an optimum. The amount of time between string changes will vary from player to player depending on how long they play for. Don’t wait for your strings to break before changing them.

At some point in the guitar’s life you will want to get a professional luthier to service it. This will include fret dressing, truss rod adjustments and general repairs. This will further extend the life of your instrument as well as keeping its resale value.

Ultimately your guitar is a personal choice. It must fit your needs in terms of sound and playability, feel good and inspire you to play and practice.

I hope you have enjoyed this guide to electric guitars and it serves as food for thought.

The job of buying a new microphone is an important one—and an expensive one. It can be a very complicated one. Fortunately, the Internet is filled with pages of useful advice and recommendations about microphones.

This article will introduce you to 40 websites that do just that. And you can make this page even more helpful by adding your opinion in the comments. Let us know which microphones you prefer, as well as helpful websites about microphones I’ve missed.

Understanding Microphone Types & Uses

Part of the battle in choosing a microphone is knowing that different types are better for different jobs. Here are some web pages that give you the details.

1. The-Microphone-Guide.com. The ultimate resource on microphones.
2. Media College.com: Choosing the Right Microphone. A brief article about the main types of microphone, and things to consider when buying one.
3. Buzzle.com: How To Choose Your First Microphone For Your Recording Studio. A brief article giving advice about buying your first microphone.
4. eHow: How to Choose a Microphone for Podcasting. Six brief steps to buying the right mic.
5. eHow: How to Choose Correct Microphone for Home Recording. A similar article with five brief steps.
6. eHow: How to Choose a Microphone for Recording Vocals. Another brief article in three steps, this time for vocal mics.
7. Ezine Articles: How to Choose a Microphone to Record Acoustic Violin. Great advice from a Masters of Music in Violin Performance.
8. Articlesbase: How to Choose a Vocal Microphone. Some quick but helpful advice.
9. Educypedia: Microphones: Overview. A helpful list of resources about microphone terminology.
10. Audiolink: How To Choose Wired & Wireless Microphones. A detailed and helpful overview of how microphones work, and some brand name options.
11. About.com: Condenser vs. Dynamic Microphones. Advice about when to choose a condenser mic, and when to go dynamic.
12. Build A Recording Studio.com: Microphones - choosing the right mic for your recording purposes. A helpful article that talks about what type of microphone to choose, with a recommendation.
13. Macworld: Choosing a microphone and other podcasting hardware. An excerpt from “Take Control of Podcasting on the Mac”, Second Edition, a $10 electronic book available for download from TidBits Publishing.
14. Silver Dragon Records: Microphone Selection. A brief article on microphone selection with lots of links to other helpful articles.

Microphone Buying Guides

There are plenty of online music stores that want to sell you a microphone. But they don’t want to sell you the wrong one (and worry about refunds and postage and disgruntled customers). So they provide helpful buying guides that help you buy the right microphone from them the first time. Hopefully they’ll help you too.

1. Sweetwater: Live Sound Microphone: Buying Guide. A detailed guide covering types of microphones, impedance, polar patterns, and what to look for.
2. Sweetwater: Studio Microphone: Buying Guide. A similar article with a focus on the studio.
3. Sweetwater: Wireless Microphone: Buying Guide. Another guide, with a focus on wireless.
4. Musicians Friend: Microphone Buying Guide. Another helpful and detailed guide about buying microphones.
5. TweakHeadz Lab: Microphones for the Home Studio. A guide to selecting the right group of microphones for your home studio, with links to reviews of specific mics.
6. Sam Ash Direct: Microphone Buying Guide. Consider what you are using the microphone for before buying.
7. MusicGearReview.com: Microphone Buying Guide. Things to consider when buying a mic.

List of Recommended Brands and Models of Microphone

At the end of one helpful blog post on microphone types, the first commenter asks, “Can you suggest a desktop microphone that we should use?” You may be asking the same.

It’s nice to know specific brands and models that others are using successfully. Here are some web pages that give specific mic recommendations.

1. Audiotuts+: 10 Best Affordable Microphones for the Home Studio. Specific mic recommendations for home recording.
2. Transom.org: What Microphone Do I Get? A helpful article with a long list of recommended mics for different purposes.
3. Dolphone Music: Finding the Best Microphone. An article about microphone types with specific microphone recommendations.
4. HubPages: The Best Microphone for Live Gigging. A look at vocal mics with a specific recommendation.
5. The Garage Door: All About The Best. A humorous look at microphone recommendations.
6. Galttech: Microphone Reviews and Buying Guide. A buying guide with specific mic recommendations.
7. The Musician’s Guide to Home Recording: Choosing and Using Microphones for Your Home Studio. A detailed and helpful article with photos and recommendations of specific mics.
8. Blog Relations: Shure SM-58 - Still the Best Microphone. A good general purpose mic.
9. eHow Expert Village video: Choosing the Best Microphones for Your Home Recording Studio. A video with specific mic recommendations.
10. ZDNet: Ode to the microphone: A podcaster’s selection guide. Though this article is a little old now, it gives a long and detailed set of microphone recommendations.
11. Activemusician: Recording Microphones. A detailed catalog.
12. Activemusician: Live Sound Microphones. A detailed catalog.
13. The-Microphone-Guide.com: Why AKG Microphones are a Good Choice. A positive review of AKG mics.
14. ADK: ADK Audiophile Series Microphones. ADK mic catalog.
15. Tom Lee Music: Studio Microphones. Online catalog.
16. Shure: Pro Audio and Personal Audio. Online catalog.

Interactive Pages that Help You Choose a Microphone

I’ve been looking for a useful online tool for choosing a mic - and failed! I’m sure that somewhere on the Internet there must be a helpful web form that you can fill in - listing mic uses and preferences - and after hitting “Submit” it spits out a list of microphone models that are perfect for you. Unfortunately I haven’t found it - let us know in the comments if you’ve found one.

Here are some sites that don’t quite do that, but they do narrow down the choices for you with some targeted recommendations.

1. Wize: Best Microphone Reviews. A list of microphone uses linked to searches of specific recommendations with reviews.
2. Shure: Choosing the Right Mic. If you’re buying a Shure mic, this page can help you narrow down the choice by matching mic characteristics to the most typical live sound applications, then identifying the most appropriate choices.
3. Audiolinks: Microphone Questionnaire. Not really an interactive online tool, but a form to fill in to get Audiolink’s advice about buying a microphone for your needs.

To learn more about what you get as part of Audio Plus, read this. To take a peek inside this tutorial, hit the jump!

“A MIDI orchestra isn’t a real orchestra. That might not sound very helpful: you know that MIDI is no replacement for the power and humanity of real musicians. But it seems that despite this reality, many people waste their time trying to force their music to sound as “real” as possible by obsessing over the nuance of every single note and beat. Although these infinite tweaks may eventually yield results, it only takes a handful of simple techniques to address the most common issues that makes MIDI sound so artificial. If using Pareto’s 80/20 principle you could argue that 80% of how good your music sounds comes from 20% of the techniques you use, then it only makes sense that we should focus on the 20% that are going to make a real difference.”

Here’s the kind of lively MIDI music you’ll be able to create once you harness the knowledge inside:

Download audio file (example.mp3)

Table of Contents

• Make the Most of Dynamics
• Velocity
• Modulation
• Volume & Expression
• Keeping it Interesting & Varied
• Incorporate Live Elements
• Perspective

Existing Plus members can log-in and download. Not a Plus member? Join now.

Setting Up the Combinator as an Effect Device

With these setups we are going to use the Combinator as an effect device. To do this we will route the incoming audio through Combinator’s input. Here’s a screenshot of the setup.

For more information about the Combinator, visit Eric Shafer’s tutorial.

Distorted Delay

This demonstrates a simple stereo delay with a distortion and filter. First insert a Line Mixer and route its main output through Combinator’s “From Devices” input. Then connect “To Devices” to Line Mixer’s Channel 1 input. This way we can use the Line Mixer for the effects. Here’s a screenshot.

Now throw in one ECF-42 Filter, one Scream 4 Distortion and two DLL-1 Delay devices, holding down the shift key as you insert these devices so they don’t auto-route. Rename the delays as “Delay L” and “Delay R”. The routing of these devices follows:

• Line Mixer Aux Send > Filter Input (Make sure you have set the “Aux Pre/Post” to “Pre”)
• Filter Output > Scream Input
• Scream Output Left > Delay L Input
• Scream Output Right > Delay R Input
• Delay L > Line Mixer Channel 5 Input
• Delay R > Line Mixer Channel 6 Input

Here’s a screenshot of the routing:

This way the input signal will run through Line Mixer’s Channel 1 Aux Send to Filter, Distortion and Delays. Now we’re going to configure Combinator macro controls for devices. Go into the Programmer on the Combinator and enter these settings:

• Line Mixer > Rotary 1 > Channel 1 Aux Send > Min: 0, Max: 100
• Line Mixer > Rotary 1 > Channel 1 Level > Min: 100, Max: 0
• Rotary 1 works as Wet/Dry control.
• Filter > Rotary 2 > Frequency > Min: 40, Max: 110
• Filter > Rotary 2 > Resonance > Min: 50, Max: 20
• Filter > Button 2 > Mode > Min: 0, Max: 2

Rotary 2 controls both Freqency and Resonance, Button 2 switches between BandPass and LowPass modes.

• Scream > Rotary 3 > Parameter 1 > Min: 0, Max: 127
• Scream > Rotary 3 > Parameter 2 > Min: 127, Max: 0
• Scream > Button 3 > Body On/Off 1 > Min: 0, Max: 1

Rotary 3 modulates the Distortion and Button 3 enables the Body. These values are not exact values, and you can experiment with these.

Now let’s add an auto-pan effect. To do this we’re going to use a Malström. Drop one in while holding the shift key. Now connect Mod A CV output to Combinator’s Rotary 4 CV input. Go to Malström’s modulator A and select “Curve 16”, turn “Sync” on and set the “Rate” as 8/4. Then go back to the Programmer and set:

• Line Mixer > Rotary 4 > Channel 5 Pan > Min: -64, Max: 63
• Line Mixer > Rotary 4 > Channel 6 Pan > Min: 63, Max: -64

Now you should see the Pan knobs are wiggling opposite ways.

Here’s an example of how this device sounds. For this example I used a Dr. Rex with the “Dr. Rex Instrument Loops > Various Hip-Hop Loops > Hhp_Pingline_98” patch and on the Scream I used the “Fidelity FX > Digistructor” patch. You can of course try this with different Distortion patches.

Download audio file (1.mp3)

Filter Delay

This device setup is a re-make of the Filter Delay effect in Ableton’s Live. Again, start off with a Combinator and a Line Mixer in it, connect “To Devices” to Line Mixer Channel 1 input and Line Mixer main out to “From Devices”. Then add a Spider Audio Merger/Splitter to the soup. Connect Line Mixer’s Aux Send to the Spider Audio’s “Split” input. Again switch to “Pre” on the Line Mixer Aux.

Now place 3 ECF-42 Filters and 3 DDL-1 Delays while holding down the shift button. Name the Delays “Delay L”, “Delay L+R” and “Delay R”. The routing of these devices follow:

• Spider Audio Split Output 1 > Filter 1 > Delay L > Line Mixer Ch. 4 input
• Spider Audio Split Output 2 > Filter 2 > Delay L+R > Line Mixer Ch. 5 input
• Spider Audio Split Output 3 > Filter 3 > Delay R > Line Mixer Ch. 6 input

Here’s a screenshot:

Turn Delay L’s pan to full left and Delay R’s to full right. Now to the programmer:

• Line Mixer > Rotary 1 > Channel 1 Aux Send > Min: 0, Max: 100
• Line Mixer > Rotary 1 > Channel 1 Level > Min: 100, Max: 0

Rotary 1 works as Dry/Wet control as before.

• Filter 1 > Rotary 2 > Frequency > Min: 40, Max: 110
• Filter 1 > Rotary 2 > Resonance > Min: 50, Max: 20
• Filter 1 > Button 2 > Mode > Min: 0, Max: 2
• Filter 2 > Rotary 3 > Frequency > Min: 40, Max: 110
• Filter 2 > Rotary 3 > Resonance > Min: 50, Max: 20
• Filter 2 > Button 3 > Mode > Min: 0, Max: 2
• Filter 3 > Rotary 4 > Frequency > Min: 40, Max: 110
• Filter 3 > Rotary 4 > Resonance > Min: 50, Max: 20
• Filter 3 > Button 4 > Mode > Min: 0, Max: 2

Like above, Rotaries 2, 3 and 4 control both Frequency and Resonance, and Buttons 2, 3 and 4 switch between BandPass and LowPass modes.

For the final touches insert a RV7000 Reverb after Delay L+R with a Dry/Wet around 35, pick a Reverb patch to your taste. Then add a Stereo Expander after the Line Mixer main output.

Here’s how this device sounds:

Download audio file (2.mp3)

For the guitar loop I’m using “Music Loops > Variable Tempo (rex) > Downtempo Loops > 90_Bluestrat” patch on the Dr. REX.

Brake/Spin Effect

This is quite a different and experimental but very fun-to-use effect setup. I believe you have noticed the weird sounds when you are changing the Delay steps on the DDL-1. Now we’re going to use this weird delay effect to create a break/spin effect sounding as if you are playing on a turntable.

For this effect we’ll only need a DDL-1 Delay and a Malström inside a Combinator. Then we’ll route the Combinator’s “To Devices” output to Delay’s input and Delay’s output through “From Devices” input. Turn the rack around and on the Delay, select “ms” instead of “steps”, turn “Feedback” and “Dry/Wet” down to 0.

Go to the back of the rack again and connect Malström Mod A CV to Combinator’s Rotary 3 CV and Mod B to Rotary 4 CV. Turn CV values up to 100 on both Rotaries. Go back and select “Curve 2” on both modulators of Malström. Turn on the “Sync” buttons.

Here’s a screenshot of both the front and back of the rack:

Now let’s get to the Programmer and for the Delay:

• Rotary 3 > Delay Time (ms) > Min: 1, Max: 2000
• Rotary 4 > Delay Time (ms) > Min: 2000, Max: 1
• Button 1 > Dry/Wet > Min: 0, Max: 127
• Button 2 > Dry/Wet > Min: 0, Max: 127

..and for the Malström:

• Rotary 1 > Mod A Rate > Min: 0, Max: 127
• Rotary 2 > Mod B Rate > Min: 0, Max: 127
• Button 1 > Mod A On/Off > Min: 0, Max: 1
• Button 2 > Mod B On/Off > Min: 0, Max: 1

Now, what happens when you press Button 1 while you are playing is Combinator enables the Malsröm’s Modulator A and turns Delay’s Dry/Wet value up to 127. Then Modulator A sends CV data to Combinator’s Rotary 3 which modifies the Delay Time. The increase (or decrease) in Delay Time creates a Spin/Brake like effect. Also you can use Rotary 1 and 2 for the speed of these effects.

Here’s how this sounds:

Download audio file (3.mp3)

Finally, you may want to check Getting Down and Dirty with Delay on Discovering Reason and Peff’s website for more crazy Delay setups.

Whether you are using a super flexible cutting edge soft sampler or a vintage hardware model, completing transforming your samples into brand new instruments and sound FX should be a breeze. So before you reach for a filter plug-in to treat your audio, it might be worth calling on your sampler for sound mangling duties.

We’ll take a look at some different samplers in action, and each example will show a different aspect of how to use your sampler as an effective synthesizer.

Step 1 - Using a Sampler as a Virtual Analogue Synth

At the most basic level your sampler can be used as an actual synthesizer and is capable of producing excellent pads, lead and bass sounds. All you really need to complete this exercise is for some simple waveforms to be loaded into your sampler’s memory. You can generate these using most sample editors or a soft synth.

To start with try a basic looped sawtooth waveform combined with a pulse width modulated square wave. By spanning these two samples across your keyboard you should be able to play it as a basic pitched instrument immediately. Raw waves tend to pitch shift very well and often don’t even need to be multisampled. From this point the possibilities are pretty much the same as most subtractive synthesizers.

To show you that creating a convincing synthesizer patch is really possible with any sampler, I have used an old Akai CD3000i to produce an analogue pad sound, using only the saw and pulse waves discussed above. This simple patch should be easy to create using any sampler you have in your collection.

Basic Akai sawtooth waveform

Download audio file (1.mp3)

Akai sawtooth

First up I created four keygroups in the Akai, two containing saw waves and two containing pulse waves. All this means is that whatever key I press these four waves will play together in unison.

Initial keygroups

These keygroups were then panned and tuned at various intervals. The saw waves for example were slightly detuned and then panned to the hard left and right to create a wide chorus effect. The pulse waves were tuned a 7th apart and panned slightly to fatten the overall sound.

The whole sound was then filtered using a resonant low pass filter. As this sampler is pretty old now the filter options are limited to say the least but perfectly acceptable results are still possible here. The resonance has been cranked up and with a little work on the envelopes the sound started to come together.

Filter settings

Both of the Akai’s two envelopes were used here, the first to control the amplitude and another the filter cutoff. Both envelopes were set with a long attack and release to produce the classic pad sound. It’s worth noting that no extra effects or processing were used here at all. What you’re hearing is simply some digital waveforms, filters and envelopes and nothing else.

Akai envelope setting

Download audio file (1b.mp3)

Final Akai CD3000i pad sound

Step 2 - Getting the Most From Your Sampler’s Filters

We all know how easy it is to apply a filter plug-in to a piece of audio or sampled loop playing back in our DAW but although this approach is very quick it does have its drawbacks. In the majority of cases the filter’s output tends to have no relation to the actual sound being fed through it. In other words the filter’s cutoff frequency is static and does not react to the dynamics of the sound itself.

Of course some more advanced filter plug-ins do have envelope followers that allow you to create filtered sounds based on your sample’s dynamics, but there is a way to achieve much better results using most software samplers and REX files.

Of course for this to work, you will need to have some loops already in REX format, or you could build your own files using Propellerheads Recycle. Once you have some REX files ready you can start experimenting with some very interesting filtering technique.

Let’s take the EXS24 mk2 for example (the soft sampler supplied with Logic Pro 8). When a REX file is loaded into the EXS24 editor it automatically maps the files across the keys. It will also produce a MIDI file that will play back the mapped samples seamlessly.

Loading rex files into the EXS24 mk2

As the loop we are using is now split into many sections the samplers filter will ‘clamp’ down on each section as a separate sound. This essentially means that if you set up a filter envelope with a fast decay for example, you can generate acidic effects that tightly follow the dynamics of your sound.

The EXS24 mk2 filter section

The EXS24 mk2 envelope section

Download audio file (2.mp3)

Original untreated REX loop

Download audio file (2b.mp3)

REX loop filtered in the EXS24mk2

Step 3 - Using LFOs to Create Dynamic Sounds

A great way to utilize your sampler as a synthesizer is by taking advantage of its LFOs (low frequency oscillators). These can often be routed to numerous destinations within your sampler and also synced to your DAW’s BPM/clock.

Some good examples of this would be a sampler producing a synced vibrato or auto-panner effect. Here I have used two LFOs in Reason’s NN-XT soft sampler to create both of these effects.

Obviously more complex effects can be created but this demonstrates that great effects can be created completely inside the sampler without resorting to separate plug-ins and automation.

The NN-XT LFOs creating vibrato and auto pan effects

Download audio file (3.mp3)

NN-XT LFO effects

Step 4 - Using Modular Routings to Create Complex Sounds

Some more powerful software samplers, such as Native Instrument’s Kontakt 3, are capable of semi modular routing. This means that you can place an LFO, envelope, filter, effect or controller just about anywhere in the sampler’s internal architecture.

When this was introduced, it represented a huge leap forward in sampling technology and allows nearly limitless manipulation of sounds. If you find yourself tweaking a sound within Kontakt and you like the result of changing a parameter continuously, it is very likely you can insert a controller and have it do the work for you.

This approach allows you a lot of freedom compared to some other samplers where some of the modulators are hardwired to destinations or only allow limited options. In this example I have used various modulators to completely mangle a sample to show you what is possible using only Kontakt’s internal synth engine.

Kontakt 3’s modular approach to modulation routings. 

Download audio file (4.mp3)

Dry untreated sample

Download audio file (4b.mp3)

Sample treated using Kontakt’s internal engine

It hasn’t always been that way. I can point to a number of very effective periods in my musical life where the right practice has led to quantum leaps in my playing. During those times I spent at least an hour practicing every day (sometimes more), had a focus each week on what I wanted to get good at, but didn’t spend all of my time just focusing on that one thing. I divided my time between theory, warm-ups, scales and licks, and practicing other things I’d learned over the previous months.

I feel like it must be time for that to happen again, though I haven’t decided whether to focus on keys or guitar or to learn a new instrument. So I opened my browser up at Google, and started to look for inspiration. There’s a lot of it out there! Here are some useful sites that I found.

1. Imagine, if you practice … - music practice

This one’s a bit of a long read - which is perfect if you want to procrastinate with your practicing! While aimed at singers considering a music career (and choir singers in particular), the article is also relevant to those practicing wind instruments. “A correlation may be drawn to other wind instruments where there is fundamental need to build stamina for playing that instrument.”

The article goes through some of the benefits of practicing for increasing amounts of time each week. It lists some of the benefits of practice as being endurance, improvement at soloing, and building a crescendo. The point of the article is to get you to imagine what you could be if you practice enough. Did it motivate you?

2. Connexions: A Guide to Great Home Music Practice

This article points out that even if you have a teacher, most of your progress will happen when you are practicing on your own. First of all you should get organized by setting goals and setting practice times. You don’t need to practice long, and it doesn’t hurt to skip a day, as long as you don’t skip days often.

The article then goes through what you should cover in your practice session: warm up, work on it (practice the hard bits and make sure you get it right), sight reading, cool down, and evaluate. Don’t practice the hard parts during the warm up - your body is not ready for them. And don’t practice the hard parts during the cool down - encourage yourself by playing something you enjoy and can play well. During the evaluation session, keep track of your progress and whether you are achieving your goals.

3. MusicTeachersHelper.com: A Shared Handout - “How to Practice”

With a focus on practicing drumming, this article covers six steps of music practice:

1. Ask “Why am I practicing?” If you don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish, you never will.
2. Get ready to practice. Get everything you need, make the environment suitable, and protect your hearing by wearing ear plugs.
3. Warm up. Start with simple stretches, breathing exercises and some basic patterns.
4. Practice with focus. Make sure every song and exercise relates to your daily goal. Saying “Close enough” is a terrible long-term strategy. Practice things that are difficult, and realize that initially they will sound terrible. Continually push yourself.
5. Write it down. Write down your goals, what you practiced, and how long you practiced.
6. Rinse and repeat. Practice daily.

4. Metronome: How to practice music

This brief article lists four things you need to master during practice: rhythm, technique, note accuracy/tuning, and tone.

5. BBC: How to Practise Music

Besides “repeating something many times”, this lengthier article describes how to make the best progress when practicing music. Some of the more interesting points include:

• Don’t rehearse your mistakes.
• A list of some crazy ways to avoid boredom.
• Isolate the problems.
• Speed kills - practice slow and steady, and use a metronome.
• Learn to read music with your eyes shut.
• Amateurs practice until they get it right; professionals practice until they never get it wrong.
• Little and often is the best way.
• It is surprisingly easy to fail to hear what you are doing.
• Music is important: take it seriously.
• Music begins and ends in communication.

6. Practicing Music Effectively - How to Apply This Practice Technique to Quickly Improve Your Skill

This article explores what makes a bad practice session. It warns of the ineffectiveness of rote learning, and warns that plain repetition can cause boredom.

The key concept: “Focusing your attention to very specific improvement in small steps.” This allows you to achieve real improvement in short sessions.

7. Learn-Music-Theory.com: Music Practice Skills - How Do I Practice?

We’ve heard some of the main points of this article before: set practice times, warm up, work on the difficult bits not the easy bits. This medium length article is quite helpful.

8. Helium: Ten tips for better music practice (9 Articles)

If you enjoy getting different perspectives, you’ll love this site. Nine people give ten tips for learning music - a total of 90 tips!

9. eHow: How to Practice Music Efficiently

Here are seven tips learned over twenty years as a professional musician:

1. Eliminate distractions.
2. Relax.
3. Set a goal.
4. Work through the music from top to bottom.
5. Go back through the piece slowly with a metronome, taking notes.
6. Evaluate.
7. Review your notes before your next session.

10. eHow: How to Optimize your Music Practice Session

Here are another six points for getting the most out of a practice session:

1. Relax.
2. Set a goal.
3. Go slowly.
4. Assess.
5. Bring the speed up gradually.
6. Repeat the steps.

11. Study Bass: How To Practice Reading Music

This article covers some main points for learning sight reading for bass guitar. Here are the headings:

• Consistent, Steady Reading Practice
• Trial Runs Are OK
• Pace Yourself When You Read
• Mind Your Fingering
• Position Yourself and the Music Well
• Say It Out Loud

12. Music Careers: How To Practice Guitar With A Limited Amount Of Time

If you only have a limited amount of time to learn guitar, you need to make the most of every minute. This article points out that your attitude has as much effect on your practice as what you do, and goes on to cover the essentials for getting significant results in your guitar playing.

“I want to share with you three powerful ideas and practice strategies that can be used to maximize results from your practicing by increasing efficiency. They can and should be applied regardless of how much time you have to practice, and especially when time is limited.” In short, the principles are:

1. Transferability
2. Blueprint for success
3. Divide and conquer

13. eHow Video: Music Practice

This short video clip gives hints for practicing piano, and is part of a series of piano lessons.

Here is a summary of the video contents: “A musician should practice in short spurts by breaking up their practice sessions into learning five minutes of a piece at a time. Practice playing music in-between other errands with tips from a professional musician in this free video on music careers.”

14. Jazz FAQ Video Series: How to practice and play jazz music

This five minute video is a slide show with text and voice-over covering the main points of practicing jazz.

Did you find any of these sites useful and motivating? Do you have any tips about practicing music you would like to add? Let us know in the comments.

To learn more about what you get as part of Audio Plus, read this. To take a peek inside this 65 sample pack, hit the jump!

Here’s an example from Toby of what can be done using the 50 Funky Guitar Loops Sample Pack:

Download audio file (FGLDemo.mp3)

Sample Pack Inventory

REX:

• Chord Loops
• Clean
• Isley Guitar Hooks
• Monster Octave Riffs
• Stabs
• Talker
• Wah Wah

WAV:

• Chord Loops
• Clean
• Isley Lead Hooks
• Licks 96bpm with swing
• Monster Octave Riffs
• Stabs
• Talker
• Wah Wah

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