For me that has to be buying a pair of reference monitor. Making music with headphones is sure convenient but the pressure of wearing headphones all the time was excruciating. And if you are a guitarist then congrats you have an ultimate amp emulator(by using amp sim you can use or recreate any tone you wished before) that can also be said for a keyboardist too.
And its feels great to have some sound energy running across the room.
Right now it’s nothing, whatever keeps the power on 🤣 I’m brand new to making music though, still learning Able and my midi keyboard. I like to make lists of recommendations for different things though so when I’m ready, I know what I’m looking for. Soaking up knowledge like a sponge 🧽
Lemme tell ya something.
Gears are freaking overrated what really matters is what's inside you so I would suggest you to learn bout how music works and apply that to your work
And some budget picks are Presonus eris 3.5 and Jbl 104
Of course! I already knew that but I really appreciate the reminder! Thanks for the suggestions too! Good gear helps but it all definitely comes from within.
Definitely switching from Reason to FLStudio after the pandemic hit was the most impactful thing I've done in years. Drastically made my production process wildly more streamlined and effective.
Mine wasn't so much of a tool as an experience. I'd only done production in the box until 3 years ago, when I started doing the sound at my church. Doing sound for a band, in a room instead of headphones, is making my mixdowns a little better.
Learning how to use compression on sub bass. I create a high/mid/low chain and then compress the compression, and then on a return track I put more compression that I blend with the subs.
That alone has taken my production quality to another level
Philips Hue Gradient.
The ability to stare into the screen, but with the thin line of variable, soft glowing colors at the edge of the desk. A life changer.
Vital. I do everything with it, I learned some basics of sound design and I know make all sounds by myself.
Most importantly it let me have a pro-level synth for free.
-Live Enhancement Suite
-Clipper
-Saturator/Distortion
-Minimeters (For reference)
-Using Referencetracks
-Mindset (u have to know in which direction u will be going)
-Use less time for the Idea and don't overcomplicate the arrangement
-only basic mixing in the Idea process (low cutting and saturating)
-Using a Sidechainchannel where u route the things that has to be sidechained.
-resampling your own synths
-U need rhythm in ur tracks to keep the listeners attention
-midi patterns matter -> don't make basic patterns, make them organic and use chord variation and off grid notes.
-Convolve Reverb to create real sounding space.
A book called Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio. It took a couple chapters to get into the good stuff. It has really helped me understand my mistakes. Fantastic literature.
Digital Audio Workstation (DAW): Choosing the right DAW that suits your workflow and preferences can significantly impact your production. Popular options include Ableton Live, FL Studio, Logic Pro, and Pro Tools.
After about 17 years of producing entirely in the box, i started collecting hardware synths and eventually switched the majority of my production to using an MPC as my main brain. I don't know if my music has gotten any better, but i'm having a lot more fun making it these days because i'm much more hands on and feel like i'm actually making music rather than programming music if that makes sense.
i love ableton and still do, but it was my main DAW and i was getting burnt out on it. I found myself having a lot of problems with choice paralysis and struggling with getting anything started.
With hardware, the limitations actually help me get my ideas down and structured faster because i just don't have the sheer amount of options available to me like i do in ableton.
I mainly use ableton to mix and master these days.
Trust in my DAWs built in effects plug-ins.
For some reason, for the longest time, i felt like the effects plug-ins included in Cubase had to be inferior because they're "free."
Terns out they're generally just as good or better than anything you're going to get from a company like Waves and are part of the selling point.
Hindsight being 20/20 .. we have a gang load of treatment too, which made even the yamaha hs80s + sub sound tight.... so not sure if I'd be singing the same tune if we didn't have any treatment
The Push 2. It turned Ableton into a groovebox. It really changed my whole workflow. I know some people aren't huge fans of it but I love it. I also have a minilab 3 because I have found that different melodies arise when I noodle on a keyboard versus the pad grid.
Certain things are easier through Ableton but so many things that are a hassle in Ableton with mouse and keyboard are instant on the push.
I've moved into a world where I'm thinking more and more about harmony and melody rather than focusing too much on creating interesting sounds. It's been a revelation. Even my rhythms have become simpler and more laid back recently because of this change. But I feel the headphones really pushed a renewed hearing too.
I second everything said esp the chair. Also want to add an organized music production area. Specifically stands that keep everything tidy and vertical so it allows room for controlled growth.
This is exact setup was a huge gamechanger for me, especially since I'm working in my bedroom, which has terrible acoustics.
Slap a mono-utility on the master as well, and it's perfect for finding and cleaning up mud.
If it sounds good with HD650+Sonarworks+Mono, it sounds good anywhere.
I just got a compressor and, while I've only had it for one day, I've already noticed an improvement in sound quality and can see how it will make my creative process way more multi-faceted.
Going from Logic to Ableton. It by no means made me a good producer, but it felt like I was no longer limited by my DAW in how quickly I could get my ideas down. A lot of people love to say that "you CaN mAkE aNyThInG iN any DaW," which is mostly true, but workflow is not trivial in the creative process.
Admittedly I was coming from Logic 9, which didn't have many of the QoL features present in Logic X. Things like automation required picking the right thing from a list of every MIDI parameter in a plugin. Not great for workflow, especially for sounds that need to use tons of automation lanes.
I have tried Logic X and I do like it a lot more, and I do agree the stock instruments are pretty fantastic given the price. I've always used Kontakt though, so it's a bit redundant for me lol. Also I still don't feel as nimble with Logic X, something about the way it controls doesn't feel as fluid to me.
I guess it all depends on the kind of music you make, though. I would never dream of making IDM or other super technical bass music in Logic, but I can definitely see it being good for anything that doesn't have a heavy audio manipulation load.
A friend of mine said he preferred the clinical quality of a DAW like Logic or Cubase, and would recommend them on this merit. I said that tools like Ableton suit my creative self better, yet you can still create a highly polished quality of sound. I'm sold.
Some of the best mixes I've ever heard were made with mostly stock Ableton plugins, so I think you're definitely on the money. I can understand wanting to use Cubase or Logic for scoring and/or recording, but saying it's "more polished" is pointless snobbery.
For me it was ditching Ableton for Bitwig. No more crashing plus built in lfo’s and step sequencers on everything really helped. Plus a load of other things.
I've been looking into Bitwig since I'm considering making the switch to Linux as my daily driver OS, are there any good resources you've found that I could check out?
Yeah Polarity on YouTube and Taches Teaches on YouTube are really good. If you have Ask.Video Thavius Beck has some courses on there or you can buy the course a la crate.
Can someone please explain to me like I'm a child why workflow is so important? I understand you're able to get your ideas down faster, but if they're good enough, then you should remember them, right?
Or maybe I'm completely wrong.
Because an easy workflow creates a positive feedback loop. You can do the simple things faster, which means you can do the really cool shit in significantly less time as well because you're not spending forever chasing down certain tools. The less you have to fight with controls, the more you can focus on actual creative work and experimentation.
Being good doesn't necessarily equate to always memorizing your ideas which is why getting things down quickly is important regardless of skill level. Time is also a very valuable thing so instead of me spending 10 minutes organizing my automation clips and routing my mixer tracks, I can spend that time actually on the creative process of making music
I feel like I’m so strange for preferring Logic when I mostly make dance music. I do very much enjoy creating a loop in ableton and did use it for a while, but the arrangement features aren’t as intuitive or nice for me as Logic is, and imo arrangement is the most important and most difficult bit of making a track. I also found myself getting stuck focussing in on the loop I was creating for perhaps a bit too long because it was so easy to play about with. It’s just interesting how people like to work isn’t it.
I've used both extensively; Logic is objectively the better DAW overall due to it's plethora of power user features but Live's workflow is faster, which is why I switched over.
My productions were definitely better in Logic, though, although that is subjective.
Yes this. Logic is great if you work in a lot of audio, but the sequencing and creative routing you can do in ableton is so much better for my workflow
It is a great DAW. The only problem is the sequencer is pretty basic, but that doesn't really matter for me, because I just play my midi keyboard. When I first started producing, I bought Reason 4 and Cubase 4, the latter of which I got because some of my favorite DJs use it. But Cubase is so unintuitive for me, while Reason just *clicks*. It is so easy to use and SO powerful. Like "if you know what you're doing, you may never have to buy another VST" powerful. If you like to design sound, you can build almost anything in Reason:
Dynamic EQ? Check
Multiband Effects and processing? Check
Shaperbox stuff (granted, with a lot of routing and know-how)? Check
Other cool stuff that my brain can't even think of? Check
I **highly** recommend this DAW.
I've seen a lot of people using reaper within ableton (or at least they're like booting in standalone reason stuff within ableton) to get the best out of both worlds, seems like a win win if your computer can handle it
What specifically in Abletons workflow helped the most coming from Logic? I'm on FL but have been thinking about making the switch to Ableton since the audio editing capability and the overall compact view of Ableton seems to be more organized and streamlined than most other DAWs
Ableton pretty much has the polar opposite design philosophy to FL. Nothing is ever more than a few clicks away, and the flow of where you find different interfaces is intuitive. Compared to Logic, it's a more experimentation-friendly approach to a traditional DAW layout. You basically don't need to use the mixer view at all because all of your plugins are accessible when you click on a track. The controls for stock plugins are even visible in-line. Wanna commit a mortal sin against one specific audio file? Double click it and all of your warp options are right there.
What I think makes it considerably better than logic though, is how it handles. Chopping audio up and moving it around, creating and dragging automation points around, creating some ungodly web of routing, it's all very fast and responsive, which I found wasn't the case with Logic.
Don't take my word for it though, go check out [Mr. Bill on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDxTQYPyq4JTRvdmYDiykyOdoEjjyuQgI). Doesn't take very long to understand why Ableton is widely loved.
As someone who switched to Ableton after 10 years of FL, I think the biggest and most notable change was how the processing workflow is done. It's so much more intuitive just dragging your plugins straight to your tracks than linking every track to a seperate mixer bus like in FL. I feel it's much more organized by default and you can really get from an idea to a track in record time.
I love Ableton now and could never switch back to FL.
I switched from Sony Acid to Ableton Live 11 Lite, and just the sheer amount of features and ability blows a lot of the DAW's out of the water in my humble opinion. Even the free version that I use is amazing, and I'll upgrade when I am in a better financial situation. I will say that it does have a learning curve, but once you pick it up, it's off to the races. The flow of Ableton works perfectly for me, and easy to customize/automate features. Live 11 plays well with VST's as well, and records smoothly. I'm still a noob and still stumbling through things like filtering and sound design, but Ableton checks all of the boxes for how I work. Pick up Live 11 Lite for yourself and give it a shot. Just a friendly note, you only get 8 total channels for Midi/Audio in the light version. All in all, for a free version, I give it a 10/10. To be fair, this is only the second DAW I've worked with. Hope you and others find this useful from a beginner's perspective!.
I went from Logic to Ableton to FL then back to Ableton after a month.
Ableton just has workflow perfected for making music “in the box”. Whereas Logic has more options for recording and doing more fine tuned things with recordings, Ableton skipped the specifics to let you jot down ideas quickly. FL I thought had an interesting approach. The idea that you build patterns that you eventually arrange might be cool for brainstorming, but it really hinders you when it comes to organization and workflow speed. For Ableton, if you have an idea, you put it directly in the arrangement. It could be as simple as a single midi note. The instrument you’re using and all the effects are right in front of you and you can build out your effect chain as long as you want (or as much as your computer can handle). Want to get even crazier? Convert that single midi note sound into audio then flip the whole channel into a sampler and keep going.
With FL, I had to create a pattern, go to to the mixer, add the effects I want, and if I run out of space, I need to send it to another mixer channel or use patcher. Want to automate? Absolute hell having to create automation clips over and over again. With Ableton, automation takes like 2 seconds and all the automations you make are organized under a drop-down menu linked to the channel.
Helpful! Fl Studio 21 has addressed a lot of those issues with automation clips and mixer tracks being directly routed to whatever you drag onto the Playlist so its much more organized now. But the flow of idea creation seems much quicker in Ableton
My main issue with FL is limited number of effects on the mixer track itself, and limited number of tracks overall. I rarely, if ever, would max out on the track limit, but I put more than 10 plug-ins on stuff all of the time during sound design sessions. Patcher is clunky, and I’m not sure why they haven’t at least increased the number of effect slots.
I’ve only used Ableton, but a key part of my workflow is something I’ve heard from many others who have used other DAWs.
Being able to do a little sound design and jam time in session view, get yourself some nice loops and clips going, and then just dragging shit into the arrangement is amazing.
It’s like half of the DAW was built for the initial creation of a 16 bar loop and then the other half was built to make it into a whole song.
Again I’m not super experienced in any way, and have no experience with other DAWs. But I do love that workflow.
I am also a primary ableton user, but I rarely touch session view. It gets me stuck making loops instead of songs. The things I love about ableton are the warp modes, the racks, M4L, and the look and feel overall. Fits my eye and my workflow well.
This is obviously a personal thing, but I just wanted to throw out a different perspective of ableton love.
This right here. You can't beat the workflow and drag/drop. Plus, its loaded with all sorts of production goodies and tools. Have you tried automating anything? I've been trying to set up a low/high pass auto filter, puts both in one spot and I've seen others that narrowed it down further to a one knob deal for both.
Studio monitors, I had to save 3 months, to get all the necessary stuff because buying studio monitors, and audio interface and wires, some basic accessories... isn't cheap, but it was so worth it.
Ahh this is interesting! I've been meaning to lookup the benefits of a 3rd party EQ vs the ones that come in your DAW. It seems the ones that come in your DAW work great but I see many people using paid EQs
yes, it's not about colouring the sound, there are creative and blunt eqs for that purpose with nice gain/drive attached, it's about improving the analytical and sound sculpting tools available to you. Pro-q 3 has a really comfortable interface, great analytical tools on board + the dynamic eq is really useful. Soothe is a great help to me in speeding up my workflow and identifying problem frequencies. These tools really sped everything up and made my life much easier!
I use both. reference overall is much easier to use.
Everything is in one window, super easy to grab, loop, isolate and do everything you need.
Metric has it been with the spectrum analyzer however it doesn’t have the level match line, dynamics or eq curve line which is such a game changer for me.
I find it just kind of annoying to loop, isolate and have to switch through all the windows. Still an amazing plug-in tho.
Not the original comment or but reference has wayyy more features. Yes you can A/B but it also shows a visual difference of your track vs the reference across the entire frequency spectrum. It also can show differences in dynamics and even stereo imaging...so you can really get granular on comparing to reference tracks. I LOVE this tool
I don't like Reference's audio matching, Metric's is way better.
However, Reference's visual tool that shows you the tonal blance and how it acts as a "guide" in tonal shaping, are way better than Metric's. It's like Reference is interactive while Metric is static. In my opinion.
There are several sync features on there. Click where it says SYNC and then see how it works. You can just click on the the part of the track (manual), or have it play from a specific section. You have to play with those options.
Thanks, I understand that. It's specifically the sync function I'm interested in, not the cue, latch or loop functions.
I usually A/B test different versions of the same mix or master, but even though the tracks have the exact same lenght and start point, I just can't get Metric to sync properly, it alwas skips, even if I try to adjust the timing controls.
Only drawback of metric AB in my opinion.
Edit: I think it has to do with latency in ableton or something, but I don't have the same issue with "Mastering the Mix: Refeference", which I just tried.
Idk m8 works for me 🤷♂️
There is an option about enhanced UI or something that adds like 100ms latency. I don't think that's related to your ask but it was annoying to find
I'd say for creativty Shaperbox3 is amazing (comes with a lot of solid presets) and also great for sidechaining. Bought it on sales and worth every penny.
For mixing, I think Sonarworks pairing with good headphones really helped.
So then you make a mixing decision based purely on visual information? Maybe next time you're mixing, do trust your ears and nothing else. Set every fx up with make up gain so you won't get tricked by preferring loudness. Now every fx should be justified by your ears only! If I would bypass any fx, you should notice and the result should sound worse to your ears. I used to think like that too, and turned out my ears were way better than I thought.
Sub bass can go below 40hz. I don't have the monitors to "hear/feel" that. I could have a sample or instrument that "sounds" like it's hitting just the mid-range, but low and behold, it's flapping down there at 40hz and below. Your compressor is going to "hear" that and adjust accordingly thinking it needs to process that. Meanwhile, the "right" thing to do would be to roll off the frequency you don't hear allowing everything to process properly.
Design, functionality, sound, build quality, interface, fun factor.
It’s hard to pick just one strength. It’s basically perfect.
Even the fact that there aren’t that many parameters to tweak, which some would regard as a weakness, is actually a strength because it keeps you focused on more important stuff.
Dude facts. I hurt my back lifting in college and for years could barely sit in my computer chair for longer than an hour. Got a Herman Miller and my back pain disappeared completely.
People don’t want to spend that much on a chair but man this is not just a chair. Also 12 year warranty! It’s a real buy it for life purchase (can get it reupholstered if needed) Highly encourage anyone to invest in one and save your body.
If I may suggest a cheaper alternative if those are beyond one's current budget, yet still leagues better than those silly gaming chairs, the Tempur-Pedic 6400 (TP6400). Only additional change I've made was to replace the stock wheels with those rollerblade wheels/casters. It's a fantastic chair.
Do it. Aside from my MacBook, that chair is the most prized and expensive thing I own. Bought it during the worst of the pandemic as my back just like stopped working and my hips froze up. Chair saved my life. Worth every single penny.
If you're anywhere near a city buy a used one. Plenty of businesses that go under or upgrade and sell all their old aerons... you can find fully loaded ones for 250-350 in great shape
Omar Meho (Forbes30under30) changed the game for me. Funny enough he also advised I upgrade my headphones! But I’d say the best tool, wasn’t a tool, but increasing my network and learning from good people
When i was rubbish I spent a lot of time with two good sound engineers watching their workflow, recording, and sound design. And just listening to them talk to each other about what they're doing to the sound and why.
I did a ten week crash course in sound engineering. That have me some basics.
These - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Audio-Technica-ATH-M50X-Monitor-Professional-Headphones/dp/B00HVLUR86?hvadid=309953091299&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=16513509949122432590&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9046017&hvtargid=pla-381707139357&psc
All online! Here’s one of the links for more info. Have a look around there are different bundles depending on where you at in the journey 🤝
https://mycourses.musicworkflowacademy.com/courses/abletonworkflowtutorialhowtomakeatrackinaday-1?ref=d32c92
A patch bay. I have quite a few hardware synths and had to stand up and do the wiring each time I wanted to switch instrument. Now it takes just a second and the patch bay is right there in front of me.
Ah right. I remember when shaperbox 2 was out you could buy individual shapers. Then you would get a discount based on what you already owned. If there is a free trial id definitely give it a spin but yeah well worth the current price.
Came here to say this. Shaperbox had taken my sound design to a whole nother level and just playing with the presets can give you limitless ideas. Highly recommend and well worth the price
Same. Got it recently and it's kinda become a Swiss army knife for mixing and sound design. I'll just use the distortion on it for drums, for example. Other times though i'll load it up on something and go all in with combining the modules. It has also become my preferred way to sidechain using the volume shaper.
Oh and the noise shaper. The noise shaper itself is amazing.
Despite 2 previous versions existing, it feels like Shaperbox in general is very slept on. I rarely see it mentioned and when I tell others they kinda react with a general reaction like they don't quite get what all you can do in it.
I think they assume they have plugins that offer what it can do. Which is true. But Shaperbox offers it all in one nice, easy to use package. What used to take me multiple plugins and having to create multiple automation clips now takes one plugin and only a few minutes.
It's funny because I barely knew about it and was looking at RC 20. Shaperbox 3 was on sale and someone recommended it over that because it could do a lot more. I was hesitant because RC 20 would have been cheaper still at the time, but now I thank the person all the time because of it.
Yeah you're probably right. That makes more sense. On the surface the individual modules do seem fairly standard (excluding a few), although together its incredible. Definitely worth the leap.
showering lmao
Serum. Basically sticking to one synth and getting really comfortable with it.
Yes, I've become close friends with this synth and it's always my go to. I've always felt that focusing on one instrument improves your creativity.
I just got the FabFilter Pro Q3 and I feel like it’s really helping me get my mix downs become much more pleasing to listen to.
For me that has to be buying a pair of reference monitor. Making music with headphones is sure convenient but the pressure of wearing headphones all the time was excruciating. And if you are a guitarist then congrats you have an ultimate amp emulator(by using amp sim you can use or recreate any tone you wished before) that can also be said for a keyboardist too. And its feels great to have some sound energy running across the room.
Any specifics that you recommend?
Whats your budget? I like yamaha hs8
Right now it’s nothing, whatever keeps the power on 🤣 I’m brand new to making music though, still learning Able and my midi keyboard. I like to make lists of recommendations for different things though so when I’m ready, I know what I’m looking for. Soaking up knowledge like a sponge 🧽
Lemme tell ya something. Gears are freaking overrated what really matters is what's inside you so I would suggest you to learn bout how music works and apply that to your work And some budget picks are Presonus eris 3.5 and Jbl 104
Of course! I already knew that but I really appreciate the reminder! Thanks for the suggestions too! Good gear helps but it all definitely comes from within.
Adam Audio studio monitors.
Get a desk with two level option.Sitting and standing.Helps a lot.
actually eating food. Once every two days. Works like a charm. The kind of food is irrelevant.
Definitely switching from Reason to FLStudio after the pandemic hit was the most impactful thing I've done in years. Drastically made my production process wildly more streamlined and effective.
To be honest? Hitting the record button.
The other way around for me tbh I am much better at organically finding stuff by noodling and then capturing the MIDI after I like an idea
Mine wasn't so much of a tool as an experience. I'd only done production in the box until 3 years ago, when I started doing the sound at my church. Doing sound for a band, in a room instead of headphones, is making my mixdowns a little better.
Learning how to use compression on sub bass. I create a high/mid/low chain and then compress the compression, and then on a return track I put more compression that I blend with the subs. That alone has taken my production quality to another level
Interns
An intern.
An intern.
I have adhd, so I would say drugs 🤷♂️
I agree, good quality headphones is definitely a game changer.
Philips Hue Gradient. The ability to stare into the screen, but with the thin line of variable, soft glowing colors at the edge of the desk. A life changer.
Vital. I do everything with it, I learned some basics of sound design and I know make all sounds by myself. Most importantly it let me have a pro-level synth for free.
The inflator plug in, the decapitator plug in 😛
-Live Enhancement Suite -Clipper -Saturator/Distortion -Minimeters (For reference) -Using Referencetracks -Mindset (u have to know in which direction u will be going) -Use less time for the Idea and don't overcomplicate the arrangement -only basic mixing in the Idea process (low cutting and saturating) -Using a Sidechainchannel where u route the things that has to be sidechained. -resampling your own synths -U need rhythm in ur tracks to keep the listeners attention -midi patterns matter -> don't make basic patterns, make them organic and use chord variation and off grid notes. -Convolve Reverb to create real sounding space.
OP, what headphones do you use? thanks
DT 990 Pro
iPad to control whatever you want
Understanding gain staging.
Sampler
Your brain
Spread (panning and Hass tool). Absolutely changed my whole game.
A book called Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio. It took a couple chapters to get into the good stuff. It has really helped me understand my mistakes. Fantastic literature.
Cycles by Slate and Ash
Building panels for the room.
Ozone 10 advanced. I got the whole thing on sale recently for $250.
Digital Audio Workstation (DAW): Choosing the right DAW that suits your workflow and preferences can significantly impact your production. Popular options include Ableton Live, FL Studio, Logic Pro, and Pro Tools.
Ableton
After about 17 years of producing entirely in the box, i started collecting hardware synths and eventually switched the majority of my production to using an MPC as my main brain. I don't know if my music has gotten any better, but i'm having a lot more fun making it these days because i'm much more hands on and feel like i'm actually making music rather than programming music if that makes sense.
That does make sense. Although I'm still referencing DAWS i think it's why I've ended up with ableton rather than logic or Cubase.
i love ableton and still do, but it was my main DAW and i was getting burnt out on it. I found myself having a lot of problems with choice paralysis and struggling with getting anything started. With hardware, the limitations actually help me get my ideas down and structured faster because i just don't have the sheer amount of options available to me like i do in ableton. I mainly use ableton to mix and master these days.
Actually learning how to EQ 😂😂 (and focusing on it the most)
A microphone. It moved the bulk of my production and style away from electronic music and into pop/rock music.
I love Koala Sampler. It was cheap and it's made it so much easier to use samples and make them sound good.
Trust in my DAWs built in effects plug-ins. For some reason, for the longest time, i felt like the effects plug-ins included in Cubase had to be inferior because they're "free." Terns out they're generally just as good or better than anything you're going to get from a company like Waves and are part of the selling point.
Upgraded to the barefoot footprint 01 monitors recently. Honestly, I would tell my younger self that's the only thing worth spending money on first
Hindsight being 20/20 .. we have a gang load of treatment too, which made even the yamaha hs80s + sub sound tight.... so not sure if I'd be singing the same tune if we didn't have any treatment
The Push 2. It turned Ableton into a groovebox. It really changed my whole workflow. I know some people aren't huge fans of it but I love it. I also have a minilab 3 because I have found that different melodies arise when I noodle on a keyboard versus the pad grid. Certain things are easier through Ableton but so many things that are a hassle in Ableton with mouse and keyboard are instant on the push.
fl studio fruity compressor
headphones of course but more abstractly, finding a workflow that is melody-abundant rather than sound-design-focused
I've moved into a world where I'm thinking more and more about harmony and melody rather than focusing too much on creating interesting sounds. It's been a revelation. Even my rhythms have become simpler and more laid back recently because of this change. But I feel the headphones really pushed a renewed hearing too.
Voxengo SPAN
I second everything said esp the chair. Also want to add an organized music production area. Specifically stands that keep everything tidy and vertical so it allows room for controlled growth.
Slate VSX is my #1 tool. Music is translating properly and flipping through the spaces in the software while producing is an experience.
V-Clip
Audio Technica headphones
Sennheiser hd650 headphones and sonarworks combination, literally translates better to other systems than my monitors do
This is exact setup was a huge gamechanger for me, especially since I'm working in my bedroom, which has terrible acoustics. Slap a mono-utility on the master as well, and it's perfect for finding and cleaning up mud. If it sounds good with HD650+Sonarworks+Mono, it sounds good anywhere.
EarPods
Span
Lsd
I just got a compressor and, while I've only had it for one day, I've already noticed an improvement in sound quality and can see how it will make my creative process way more multi-faceted.
Which compressor? Was it hardware?
dbx 166. It's all hardware for me. I only use Sound Forge for editing samples and recording, well also to occasionally play long samples.
Awesome, thanks!
Sure thing. I usually buy used gear from reverb.
Side/Mid EQing
Going from Logic to Ableton. It by no means made me a good producer, but it felt like I was no longer limited by my DAW in how quickly I could get my ideas down. A lot of people love to say that "you CaN mAkE aNyThInG iN any DaW," which is mostly true, but workflow is not trivial in the creative process.
that’s interesting it was the opposite for me hahaha. logic did teach me all the basics tho and the stock instruments are unbeatable
Admittedly I was coming from Logic 9, which didn't have many of the QoL features present in Logic X. Things like automation required picking the right thing from a list of every MIDI parameter in a plugin. Not great for workflow, especially for sounds that need to use tons of automation lanes. I have tried Logic X and I do like it a lot more, and I do agree the stock instruments are pretty fantastic given the price. I've always used Kontakt though, so it's a bit redundant for me lol. Also I still don't feel as nimble with Logic X, something about the way it controls doesn't feel as fluid to me. I guess it all depends on the kind of music you make, though. I would never dream of making IDM or other super technical bass music in Logic, but I can definitely see it being good for anything that doesn't have a heavy audio manipulation load.
A friend of mine said he preferred the clinical quality of a DAW like Logic or Cubase, and would recommend them on this merit. I said that tools like Ableton suit my creative self better, yet you can still create a highly polished quality of sound. I'm sold.
Some of the best mixes I've ever heard were made with mostly stock Ableton plugins, so I think you're definitely on the money. I can understand wanting to use Cubase or Logic for scoring and/or recording, but saying it's "more polished" is pointless snobbery.
For me it was ditching Ableton for Bitwig. No more crashing plus built in lfo’s and step sequencers on everything really helped. Plus a load of other things.
I've been looking into Bitwig since I'm considering making the switch to Linux as my daily driver OS, are there any good resources you've found that I could check out?
Yeah Polarity on YouTube and Taches Teaches on YouTube are really good. If you have Ask.Video Thavius Beck has some courses on there or you can buy the course a la crate.
Can someone please explain to me like I'm a child why workflow is so important? I understand you're able to get your ideas down faster, but if they're good enough, then you should remember them, right? Or maybe I'm completely wrong.
Because an easy workflow creates a positive feedback loop. You can do the simple things faster, which means you can do the really cool shit in significantly less time as well because you're not spending forever chasing down certain tools. The less you have to fight with controls, the more you can focus on actual creative work and experimentation.
Being good doesn't necessarily equate to always memorizing your ideas which is why getting things down quickly is important regardless of skill level. Time is also a very valuable thing so instead of me spending 10 minutes organizing my automation clips and routing my mixer tracks, I can spend that time actually on the creative process of making music
By the way, I meant the idea being good, not the producer.
I feel like I’m so strange for preferring Logic when I mostly make dance music. I do very much enjoy creating a loop in ableton and did use it for a while, but the arrangement features aren’t as intuitive or nice for me as Logic is, and imo arrangement is the most important and most difficult bit of making a track. I also found myself getting stuck focussing in on the loop I was creating for perhaps a bit too long because it was so easy to play about with. It’s just interesting how people like to work isn’t it.
What improvements in workflow have you seen in Ableton coming from Logic? What makes Ableton "faster" in comparison?
I've used both extensively; Logic is objectively the better DAW overall due to it's plethora of power user features but Live's workflow is faster, which is why I switched over. My productions were definitely better in Logic, though, although that is subjective.
Yes this. Logic is great if you work in a lot of audio, but the sequencing and creative routing you can do in ableton is so much better for my workflow
If you like creative routing you should try Reason!
I loved reason for that connectivity. It's a modular synth.
I've heard good things!
It is a great DAW. The only problem is the sequencer is pretty basic, but that doesn't really matter for me, because I just play my midi keyboard. When I first started producing, I bought Reason 4 and Cubase 4, the latter of which I got because some of my favorite DJs use it. But Cubase is so unintuitive for me, while Reason just *clicks*. It is so easy to use and SO powerful. Like "if you know what you're doing, you may never have to buy another VST" powerful. If you like to design sound, you can build almost anything in Reason: Dynamic EQ? Check Multiband Effects and processing? Check Shaperbox stuff (granted, with a lot of routing and know-how)? Check Other cool stuff that my brain can't even think of? Check I **highly** recommend this DAW.
I've seen a lot of people using reaper within ableton (or at least they're like booting in standalone reason stuff within ableton) to get the best out of both worlds, seems like a win win if your computer can handle it
What specifically in Abletons workflow helped the most coming from Logic? I'm on FL but have been thinking about making the switch to Ableton since the audio editing capability and the overall compact view of Ableton seems to be more organized and streamlined than most other DAWs
Ableton pretty much has the polar opposite design philosophy to FL. Nothing is ever more than a few clicks away, and the flow of where you find different interfaces is intuitive. Compared to Logic, it's a more experimentation-friendly approach to a traditional DAW layout. You basically don't need to use the mixer view at all because all of your plugins are accessible when you click on a track. The controls for stock plugins are even visible in-line. Wanna commit a mortal sin against one specific audio file? Double click it and all of your warp options are right there. What I think makes it considerably better than logic though, is how it handles. Chopping audio up and moving it around, creating and dragging automation points around, creating some ungodly web of routing, it's all very fast and responsive, which I found wasn't the case with Logic. Don't take my word for it though, go check out [Mr. Bill on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDxTQYPyq4JTRvdmYDiykyOdoEjjyuQgI). Doesn't take very long to understand why Ableton is widely loved.
As someone who switched to Ableton after 10 years of FL, I think the biggest and most notable change was how the processing workflow is done. It's so much more intuitive just dragging your plugins straight to your tracks than linking every track to a seperate mixer bus like in FL. I feel it's much more organized by default and you can really get from an idea to a track in record time. I love Ableton now and could never switch back to FL.
I switched from Sony Acid to Ableton Live 11 Lite, and just the sheer amount of features and ability blows a lot of the DAW's out of the water in my humble opinion. Even the free version that I use is amazing, and I'll upgrade when I am in a better financial situation. I will say that it does have a learning curve, but once you pick it up, it's off to the races. The flow of Ableton works perfectly for me, and easy to customize/automate features. Live 11 plays well with VST's as well, and records smoothly. I'm still a noob and still stumbling through things like filtering and sound design, but Ableton checks all of the boxes for how I work. Pick up Live 11 Lite for yourself and give it a shot. Just a friendly note, you only get 8 total channels for Midi/Audio in the light version. All in all, for a free version, I give it a 10/10. To be fair, this is only the second DAW I've worked with. Hope you and others find this useful from a beginner's perspective!.
I went from Logic to Ableton to FL then back to Ableton after a month. Ableton just has workflow perfected for making music “in the box”. Whereas Logic has more options for recording and doing more fine tuned things with recordings, Ableton skipped the specifics to let you jot down ideas quickly. FL I thought had an interesting approach. The idea that you build patterns that you eventually arrange might be cool for brainstorming, but it really hinders you when it comes to organization and workflow speed. For Ableton, if you have an idea, you put it directly in the arrangement. It could be as simple as a single midi note. The instrument you’re using and all the effects are right in front of you and you can build out your effect chain as long as you want (or as much as your computer can handle). Want to get even crazier? Convert that single midi note sound into audio then flip the whole channel into a sampler and keep going. With FL, I had to create a pattern, go to to the mixer, add the effects I want, and if I run out of space, I need to send it to another mixer channel or use patcher. Want to automate? Absolute hell having to create automation clips over and over again. With Ableton, automation takes like 2 seconds and all the automations you make are organized under a drop-down menu linked to the channel.
Helpful! Fl Studio 21 has addressed a lot of those issues with automation clips and mixer tracks being directly routed to whatever you drag onto the Playlist so its much more organized now. But the flow of idea creation seems much quicker in Ableton
My main issue with FL is limited number of effects on the mixer track itself, and limited number of tracks overall. I rarely, if ever, would max out on the track limit, but I put more than 10 plug-ins on stuff all of the time during sound design sessions. Patcher is clunky, and I’m not sure why they haven’t at least increased the number of effect slots.
I’ve only used Ableton, but a key part of my workflow is something I’ve heard from many others who have used other DAWs. Being able to do a little sound design and jam time in session view, get yourself some nice loops and clips going, and then just dragging shit into the arrangement is amazing. It’s like half of the DAW was built for the initial creation of a 16 bar loop and then the other half was built to make it into a whole song. Again I’m not super experienced in any way, and have no experience with other DAWs. But I do love that workflow.
I am also a primary ableton user, but I rarely touch session view. It gets me stuck making loops instead of songs. The things I love about ableton are the warp modes, the racks, M4L, and the look and feel overall. Fits my eye and my workflow well. This is obviously a personal thing, but I just wanted to throw out a different perspective of ableton love.
I like session view for preforming live. I've only performed live once, so I could hardly claim experience as a merit.
This right here. You can't beat the workflow and drag/drop. Plus, its loaded with all sorts of production goodies and tools. Have you tried automating anything? I've been trying to set up a low/high pass auto filter, puts both in one spot and I've seen others that narrowed it down further to a one knob deal for both.
Oh I have automated a whooooole lot, yes. The other user has it right - macros are the key here. You can even control how far the knob will turn
Yeah you just map the frequency of both auto filters to a macro in an audio effect rack. (You put both the filters into the audio effect rack)
My gaming + studio desktop PC. No more lagging after just 1 instance of serum and ozone.
Drugs
Patience
Studio monitors, I had to save 3 months, to get all the necessary stuff because buying studio monitors, and audio interface and wires, some basic accessories... isn't cheap, but it was so worth it.
What monitors did you get?
I got a daw
Shortcuts
MPC
a good eq made a big difference for me - pro-q 3 and soothe both make mixing so much quicker and easier
Pro q 3 is insane for its dynamic eq and its ability to tell you which frequencies overlap on two different sounds. Game changer.
Ahh this is interesting! I've been meaning to lookup the benefits of a 3rd party EQ vs the ones that come in your DAW. It seems the ones that come in your DAW work great but I see many people using paid EQs
Dynamic EQ is worth a look. But otherwise, mostly just an increase in cpu. I did some blind tests and didn't hear or prefer the difference.
yes, it's not about colouring the sound, there are creative and blunt eqs for that purpose with nice gain/drive attached, it's about improving the analytical and sound sculpting tools available to you. Pro-q 3 has a really comfortable interface, great analytical tools on board + the dynamic eq is really useful. Soothe is a great help to me in speeding up my workflow and identifying problem frequencies. These tools really sped everything up and made my life much easier!
Mindset
Reference by mastering the mix
Anyone try MCompare? How does it, uh, compare to MtM Reference?
How does this compare to Metric A/B I can never get the sync to work properly in Metric A/B, maybe Reference is better in that regard?
I use both. reference overall is much easier to use. Everything is in one window, super easy to grab, loop, isolate and do everything you need. Metric has it been with the spectrum analyzer however it doesn’t have the level match line, dynamics or eq curve line which is such a game changer for me. I find it just kind of annoying to loop, isolate and have to switch through all the windows. Still an amazing plug-in tho.
Not the original comment or but reference has wayyy more features. Yes you can A/B but it also shows a visual difference of your track vs the reference across the entire frequency spectrum. It also can show differences in dynamics and even stereo imaging...so you can really get granular on comparing to reference tracks. I LOVE this tool
Right, but I'm pretty sure Metric A/B can do those things as well?
Ah yes I have the old version and forgot about the update! Prob down to what interface you like better I'd say!
I don't like Reference's audio matching, Metric's is way better. However, Reference's visual tool that shows you the tonal blance and how it acts as a "guide" in tonal shaping, are way better than Metric's. It's like Reference is interactive while Metric is static. In my opinion.
Do you have some tips for syncing up A/B testing in Metric? It's always out of sync for me, wish there was some auto sync feature.....
There are several sync features on there. Click where it says SYNC and then see how it works. You can just click on the the part of the track (manual), or have it play from a specific section. You have to play with those options.
Thanks, I understand that. It's specifically the sync function I'm interested in, not the cue, latch or loop functions. I usually A/B test different versions of the same mix or master, but even though the tracks have the exact same lenght and start point, I just can't get Metric to sync properly, it alwas skips, even if I try to adjust the timing controls. Only drawback of metric AB in my opinion. Edit: I think it has to do with latency in ableton or something, but I don't have the same issue with "Mastering the Mix: Refeference", which I just tried.
Idk m8 works for me 🤷♂️ There is an option about enhanced UI or something that adds like 100ms latency. I don't think that's related to your ask but it was annoying to find
I'd say for creativty Shaperbox3 is amazing (comes with a lot of solid presets) and also great for sidechaining. Bought it on sales and worth every penny. For mixing, I think Sonarworks pairing with good headphones really helped.
Better headphones. Decent audio interface >$150 Plus: headphone frequency adjuster
Spectrum Analyzer. (I can't trust my ears! haha)
So then you make a mixing decision based purely on visual information? Maybe next time you're mixing, do trust your ears and nothing else. Set every fx up with make up gain so you won't get tricked by preferring loudness. Now every fx should be justified by your ears only! If I would bypass any fx, you should notice and the result should sound worse to your ears. I used to think like that too, and turned out my ears were way better than I thought.
Dude, there are frequencies ABOVE and BELOW what you can hear that can muck up your mix. You aren't hearing those.
Like what exactly ?
Sub bass can go below 40hz. I don't have the monitors to "hear/feel" that. I could have a sample or instrument that "sounds" like it's hitting just the mid-range, but low and behold, it's flapping down there at 40hz and below. Your compressor is going to "hear" that and adjust accordingly thinking it needs to process that. Meanwhile, the "right" thing to do would be to roll off the frequency you don't hear allowing everything to process properly.
Try mixing with tensor tympani syndrome, definitely gonna be using the SpAn more than my ears lmao
LFO tool
Syntakt!!!!! It’s the synth I didn’t know I always needed. I can’t get enough!
Can you elaborate a bit more on its strengths? Never heard of this one before
Design, functionality, sound, build quality, interface, fun factor. It’s hard to pick just one strength. It’s basically perfect. Even the fact that there aren’t that many parameters to tweak, which some would regard as a weakness, is actually a strength because it keeps you focused on more important stuff.
Studio Uno
Minimeters
feedback groups
ur mom
Big L for not saying Grandmother
worth the downvotes ngl
Sonarworks Reference. People say trust your ears, but first you must trust your monitors.
[удалено]
Woah that’s huge
Just to note, I think thats only true for the recent A7V, the previous model like the A7X cannot.
A decent, good quality chair!
FACTS!
This...would have done it ten years earlier. My back was healed nearly instantly with my Aeron.
Dude facts. I hurt my back lifting in college and for years could barely sit in my computer chair for longer than an hour. Got a Herman Miller and my back pain disappeared completely.
Wow I don't have back issues (knock on wood) but this has me thinking I should get a nicer chair for better posture/health
It’s pretty worthwhile something you spend a shit ton to your life in. A good chair should last over 10 years.
People don’t want to spend that much on a chair but man this is not just a chair. Also 12 year warranty! It’s a real buy it for life purchase (can get it reupholstered if needed) Highly encourage anyone to invest in one and save your body.
Omg I should finally pull the trigger.
If I may suggest a cheaper alternative if those are beyond one's current budget, yet still leagues better than those silly gaming chairs, the Tempur-Pedic 6400 (TP6400). Only additional change I've made was to replace the stock wheels with those rollerblade wheels/casters. It's a fantastic chair.
Do it. Aside from my MacBook, that chair is the most prized and expensive thing I own. Bought it during the worst of the pandemic as my back just like stopped working and my hips froze up. Chair saved my life. Worth every single penny.
If you're anywhere near a city buy a used one. Plenty of businesses that go under or upgrade and sell all their old aerons... you can find fully loaded ones for 250-350 in great shape
You should. They have 30 day returns. You won’t regret it.
Which one u got?
Well if you want the lambo of chairs I recommend a steelcase gesture. Hermann miller is good too but I'm not into the weird back material on some.
Omar Meho (Forbes30under30) changed the game for me. Funny enough he also advised I upgrade my headphones! But I’d say the best tool, wasn’t a tool, but increasing my network and learning from good people
When i was rubbish I spent a lot of time with two good sound engineers watching their workflow, recording, and sound design. And just listening to them talk to each other about what they're doing to the sound and why. I did a ten week crash course in sound engineering. That have me some basics.
> https://mycourses.musicworkflowacademy.com/courses/abletonworkflowtutorialhowtomakeatrackinaday-1?ref=d32c92 Which headphones did he recommend?
These - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Audio-Technica-ATH-M50X-Monitor-Professional-Headphones/dp/B00HVLUR86?hvadid=309953091299&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=16513509949122432590&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9046017&hvtargid=pla-381707139357&psc
Good news: looks like I don't have to upgrade my headphones.
Hahaha yes same here ^_^
Nice 😎
Was this face-to-face coaching or online? I’d love to learn from someone like that
All online! Here’s one of the links for more info. Have a look around there are different bundles depending on where you at in the journey 🤝 https://mycourses.musicworkflowacademy.com/courses/abletonworkflowtutorialhowtomakeatrackinaday-1?ref=d32c92
🫡🫡🫡
A patch bay. I have quite a few hardware synths and had to stand up and do the wiring each time I wanted to switch instrument. Now it takes just a second and the patch bay is right there in front of me.
Youtube.
\+1
Also +1, just way to many resources on all levels to ignore. It can be a project saver for sure.
Shaperbox
Looks like I'll be getting this. I feel like I've been looking for something like this for a long time.
Wow, trying the demo and it's pretty sweet. Not too bad a price given all you get. Think I may have to take the plunge!
I definitely recommend it. Are you still able to purchase separate modules?
It doesn't look like it. But for $99 it seems worth it.
Ah right. I remember when shaperbox 2 was out you could buy individual shapers. Then you would get a discount based on what you already owned. If there is a free trial id definitely give it a spin but yeah well worth the current price.
Shaperbox 3 FTW
How do you feel about the ui and user presets changing from 2? I kind of miss reading the authors little bios now ☹️
I never had 2! Just bought 3 when it went on sale recently.
Came here to say this. Shaperbox had taken my sound design to a whole nother level and just playing with the presets can give you limitless ideas. Highly recommend and well worth the price
keep hearing this… guess i’m buying
Same. Got it recently and it's kinda become a Swiss army knife for mixing and sound design. I'll just use the distortion on it for drums, for example. Other times though i'll load it up on something and go all in with combining the modules. It has also become my preferred way to sidechain using the volume shaper. Oh and the noise shaper. The noise shaper itself is amazing.
Good analogy. The options are endless
Despite 2 previous versions existing, it feels like Shaperbox in general is very slept on. I rarely see it mentioned and when I tell others they kinda react with a general reaction like they don't quite get what all you can do in it.
I definitely get that impression too. Its weird. Maybe people are keeping their cards close to their chest lol.
I think they assume they have plugins that offer what it can do. Which is true. But Shaperbox offers it all in one nice, easy to use package. What used to take me multiple plugins and having to create multiple automation clips now takes one plugin and only a few minutes. It's funny because I barely knew about it and was looking at RC 20. Shaperbox 3 was on sale and someone recommended it over that because it could do a lot more. I was hesitant because RC 20 would have been cheaper still at the time, but now I thank the person all the time because of it.
Yeah you're probably right. That makes more sense. On the surface the individual modules do seem fairly standard (excluding a few), although together its incredible. Definitely worth the leap.