hosie
ILLIEN
Battle Points: 21
Been adding to this post for a while now and have decided just to make it live as otherwise I might not ever get round to it. So it's a work in progress.
So new room, new setup. With work and general life stuff I have very little time to really do music these days. Tends to be in the wee small hours when everyone is asleep. So now more than ever my workflow is priority.
Current setup looks a little like this
DAW - Fl Studio Producer Edition
Maschine MK3
Serato Sample (monthly subscription - should probably just buy it)
Waves Ultimate (monthly subscription) - got sick of catching things on deals and then the installation processes (again, time I didn't have or want to waste installing!)
Loopcloud (annual subscription - got 50% off)
Tracklib (recent addition, wanted to try for a while, monthly subscription)
Just picked myself up some Bayerdynamic DT Pro 990 250ohm headphones. I'm happy with them but have still been using my Sony MDR7506's as another reference point. If you're just listening to music I'm not sure you'd find a better set of headphones at the same price point as the 7506's. I've also invested in the Topping L30 II Headphone Amp (not stacked it, but probably will) and even without the DAC I have to say the sound is incredible. Well worth the investment. Although turn the wrong knob and your ears are for the bin.
I know Waves receive alot of hate but the Waves Ultimate has really helped my workflow. Every single Waves plugin available at the drop of a hat. Am I using it to it's full potential? Probably not - but I have found myself using or introducing a new plugin each project, usually when I have an issue, I tend to Google it and see what Waves plugin everyone else is recommending to fix that particular issue. Just updated and got the latest plugins Curves Equator, IDX Intelligent Dynamics, Space Rider & Feedback Hunter. I've not used Waves Stream yet but looks like a great collaboration / feedback tool.
My biggest workflow hack has to be integrating Maschine in to FL Studio. I use a very quick method which effectively gives me a fully functioning Maschine within the DAW - setting input to midi. This means if I create a really nice drum sequence I can flick through drumkits in an instant to check out some other drums using the same sequence.
So just recently I've just about got to a point where I can sit down and just make music. In doing so I've started loop recording / blending / overdubbing and I've successfully managed to make all of my beats like this and quite often it's one take. It's made things so much more enjoyable and ideas develop quicker, plus there's alot more happy accidents. In fact my latest Warzone beat was made using this method. I was thinking of doing a quick how to / tutorial video on this but not sure how much if any interest it would receive. But yea, if anyone (especially sample based, boom bap heads) are looking for workflow ideas then hopefully this helps.
Like everyone else I start a beat differently depending on how I feel. However lately I've started a technique that helps develop a groove / swing before I've even touched a sample. I'll get my drums sorted - and this can take some time, mainly because for boom bap I think it's the most important part of the beat and with weak drums the rest doesn't really matter. Once I have drums down I'm now going straight to the bassline. Working it until I'm happy with the groove. Not necessarily for long, as I might not even go with that groove or that bassline, but it really helps when adding in or finding samples. The way you chop, play the sample is different just by having the bassline already present.
I recently invested in a Tracklib subscription. I'm not really sold on it - the website is a bit clunky, the download process is laborious - particularly clicking back after you've downloaded a song. Having only been on for a short period it seems very limited in terms of it's database of songs (apparently over 100,000 songs and samples). However I'm constantly coming across the same songs and artists each visit - regardless of what you search for you'll come across them after a scroll down or two. It's not exactly cheap for what it is either. There is no doubt some good stuff to be had, although most of the multitracked / stem stuff all seems to be very recent material, essentially artists creating these "samples" with the prime goal of selling it as exactly that, to companies like Tracklib. Although the majority of the material is free to release you don't have to worry about any comebacks regards clearing samples. It's probably worth a months sign up and using all your credits up every now and then. Not something you'd be going with on a rolling month to month.
So new room, new setup. With work and general life stuff I have very little time to really do music these days. Tends to be in the wee small hours when everyone is asleep. So now more than ever my workflow is priority.
Current setup looks a little like this
DAW - Fl Studio Producer Edition
Maschine MK3
Serato Sample (monthly subscription - should probably just buy it)
Waves Ultimate (monthly subscription) - got sick of catching things on deals and then the installation processes (again, time I didn't have or want to waste installing!)
Loopcloud (annual subscription - got 50% off)
Tracklib (recent addition, wanted to try for a while, monthly subscription)
Just picked myself up some Bayerdynamic DT Pro 990 250ohm headphones. I'm happy with them but have still been using my Sony MDR7506's as another reference point. If you're just listening to music I'm not sure you'd find a better set of headphones at the same price point as the 7506's. I've also invested in the Topping L30 II Headphone Amp (not stacked it, but probably will) and even without the DAC I have to say the sound is incredible. Well worth the investment. Although turn the wrong knob and your ears are for the bin.
I know Waves receive alot of hate but the Waves Ultimate has really helped my workflow. Every single Waves plugin available at the drop of a hat. Am I using it to it's full potential? Probably not - but I have found myself using or introducing a new plugin each project, usually when I have an issue, I tend to Google it and see what Waves plugin everyone else is recommending to fix that particular issue. Just updated and got the latest plugins Curves Equator, IDX Intelligent Dynamics, Space Rider & Feedback Hunter. I've not used Waves Stream yet but looks like a great collaboration / feedback tool.
My biggest workflow hack has to be integrating Maschine in to FL Studio. I use a very quick method which effectively gives me a fully functioning Maschine within the DAW - setting input to midi. This means if I create a really nice drum sequence I can flick through drumkits in an instant to check out some other drums using the same sequence.
So just recently I've just about got to a point where I can sit down and just make music. In doing so I've started loop recording / blending / overdubbing and I've successfully managed to make all of my beats like this and quite often it's one take. It's made things so much more enjoyable and ideas develop quicker, plus there's alot more happy accidents. In fact my latest Warzone beat was made using this method. I was thinking of doing a quick how to / tutorial video on this but not sure how much if any interest it would receive. But yea, if anyone (especially sample based, boom bap heads) are looking for workflow ideas then hopefully this helps.
Like everyone else I start a beat differently depending on how I feel. However lately I've started a technique that helps develop a groove / swing before I've even touched a sample. I'll get my drums sorted - and this can take some time, mainly because for boom bap I think it's the most important part of the beat and with weak drums the rest doesn't really matter. Once I have drums down I'm now going straight to the bassline. Working it until I'm happy with the groove. Not necessarily for long, as I might not even go with that groove or that bassline, but it really helps when adding in or finding samples. The way you chop, play the sample is different just by having the bassline already present.
I recently invested in a Tracklib subscription. I'm not really sold on it - the website is a bit clunky, the download process is laborious - particularly clicking back after you've downloaded a song. Having only been on for a short period it seems very limited in terms of it's database of songs (apparently over 100,000 songs and samples). However I'm constantly coming across the same songs and artists each visit - regardless of what you search for you'll come across them after a scroll down or two. It's not exactly cheap for what it is either. There is no doubt some good stuff to be had, although most of the multitracked / stem stuff all seems to be very recent material, essentially artists creating these "samples" with the prime goal of selling it as exactly that, to companies like Tracklib. Although the majority of the material is free to release you don't have to worry about any comebacks regards clearing samples. It's probably worth a months sign up and using all your credits up every now and then. Not something you'd be going with on a rolling month to month.
