What's the weirdest/best tricks you've learned over the years of making music?

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TritoneAddiction
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Location: Sweden

25 Nov 2017

Share your weirdest tips and tricks that you stumbled upon at some point.
If you have audio examples/tracks to share it's even better.

For me it was the realization that I could "fake" scream in my music and get away with it.
This is me whispering in an aggressive metal articulated way and then processing it through Scream4 (Fuzz distortion). It still needed some grit in the voice though in order to make it work. A real scream would of course be even better, but since It can't do metal screams this worked out way better than I expected it would.
Weirdly enough the clean vocal is run through the exact same effect, even the same amount of distortion. It just responded to the recorded sound in a different way.
Last edited by TritoneAddiction on 25 Nov 2017, edited 1 time in total.

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normen
Posts: 3431
Joined: 16 Jan 2015

25 Nov 2017

TritoneAddiction wrote:
25 Nov 2017
Share your weirdest tips and tricks that you stumbled upon at some point.
If you have audio examples/tracks to share it it's even better.

For me it was the realization that I could "fake" scream in my music and get away with it.
This is me whispering in an aggressive metal articulated way and then processing it through Scream4 (Fuzz distortion). It still needed some grit in the voice though in order to make it work. A real scream would of course be even better, but since It can't do metal screams this worked out way better than I expected it would.
Weirdly enough the clean vocal is run through the exact same effect, even the same amount of distortion. It just responded to the recorded sound in a different way.
Hehe, really cool.

In general many metal singing styles aren't really much about being loud but rather about getting the sound and then having the mic really close. Of course theres exceptions but it's true for many variants of styles from the 80's screamer / falsetto guys to the death metal growlers.

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Loque
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25 Nov 2017

For me it was the moment i realsized what a feedback loop does. I just love it. Overdriven signals with pure madness and stuff within a feedbackloop and finally add some glitch with gating/pumping to give it back some rythm or add a triggered envelope is pure magic.

Here is a little example. Some randomly played Europa pad, than with the feedbackloop and some stuff within it enabled, and finally only the feedbackloop driven.
Reason12, Win10

WongoTheSane
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Location: Paris, France

25 Nov 2017

The trick I learned is that you don't need 100 tracks to make a good song. You don't even need 20, nor 10. You can do heart-wrenching stuff with one instrument and one voice, no mixing, no mastering, and in mono.



I find it humbling and start deleting everything superfluous when I'm almost through with a song.

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modecca
Posts: 807
Joined: 07 Jul 2016

25 Nov 2017

This combinator uses the alligator to rhythmically jump between 3 different effects processers.
A.R.E.S: Alligator rhythmic effect splitter.



These combinators use basic stuff, that comes with reason 9.
ARES.zip
(13.34 KiB) Downloaded 92 times
🔗💥

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plaamook
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Location: Bajo del mar...

26 Nov 2017

Gorgon. He's the most entertaining.
I like the rest of you too but he's more entertaining.
Perpetual Reason 12 Beta Tester :reason:

You can check out my music here.
https://m.soundcloud.com/ericholmofficial
Or here.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC73uZZ ... 8jqUubzsQg

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Electric-Metal
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Location: Landstuhl, Germany

26 Nov 2017

plaamook wrote:
26 Nov 2017
Gorgon. He's the most entertaining.
I like the rest of you too but he's more entertaining.
I assume you've hit the wrong topic :lol:

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=7504392&p=366149&h ... er#p366149
:?: The question is - Who cares :?:

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plaamook
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Location: Bajo del mar...

26 Nov 2017

Electric-Metal wrote:
26 Nov 2017
plaamook wrote:
26 Nov 2017
Gorgon. He's the most entertaining.
I like the rest of you too but he's more entertaining.
I assume you've hit the wrong topic :lol:

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=7504392&p=366149&h ... er#p366149
Woops! Too many windows open.
Last edited by plaamook on 26 Nov 2017, edited 1 time in total.
Perpetual Reason 12 Beta Tester :reason:

You can check out my music here.
https://m.soundcloud.com/ericholmofficial
Or here.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC73uZZ ... 8jqUubzsQg

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plaamook
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Location: Bajo del mar...

26 Nov 2017

Weirdest trick...

Don't NOT do something just becuase it's easy.
-Brian Eno
Perpetual Reason 12 Beta Tester :reason:

You can check out my music here.
https://m.soundcloud.com/ericholmofficial
Or here.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC73uZZ ... 8jqUubzsQg

Ostermilk
Posts: 1535
Joined: 15 Jan 2015

27 Nov 2017

TritoneAddiction wrote:
25 Nov 2017

Weirdly enough the clean vocal is run through the exact same effect, even the same amount of distortion. It just responded to the recorded sound in a different way.
All of which, yet again emphasises how important the source material is toward getting a good result. That and knowing your tools well enough to choose the right ones for the job. In this case Scream4.

But if it ain't there to start with, no amount of fabulizers* being thrown at it will make it vibe like a good take.

* Benedict Roff Marsh

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Marco Raaphorst
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28 Nov 2017

plaamook wrote:
26 Nov 2017
Weirdest trick...

Don't NOT do something just becuase it's easy.
-Brian Eno
Yes fuck those "what would be the best compressor for EDM?" kind of questions :D

Do something differently. Try things in ways you never tried them. Break all the rules. Don't ever do genre specific stuff. Mix and blend things like crazy. Do things which scare you. Don't try to please people. Don't please yourself. Impress yourself.

We are all looking for meaning. But the best stuff has meaning in a very complicated way, which might change your live. Which might only hit you the 10th time you hear it. It's never what you know, it is what you don't know.

Mostly don't happen but when it does... flips your brain!

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SoulState
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28 Nov 2017

WongoTheSane wrote:
25 Nov 2017
The trick I learned is that you don't need 100 tracks to make a good song. You don't even need 20, nor 10. You can do heart-wrenching stuff with one instrument and one voice, no mixing, no mastering, and in mono.



I find it humbling and start deleting everything superfluous when I'm almost through with a song.
That song is so heart-wrenchingly sad, I couldn't listen to more than a few bars. There's generations of slavery and abject misery in it.
Hope none of us are ever able to create songs like that.
:reason:

dana
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28 Nov 2017

Repeating bouncing ball effect by modulating one lfo with another (using pulsar), then triggering a cv gate with that lfo. Here is a demo (retriggering resonans):



Using the echo with wobble and no feedback 100% wet as a tape effect. Modulate the lfo amount at key moments in the song for a kind of stereo buildup effect. Used to the max in this tune:



Take a sound, add delay, reverb, reverse it, add delay, reverb, reverse it, add delay reverb, reverse it.. sounds etheric.

Used in the flute sound at the beginning, i recorded me playing some flute then applied this effect
http://realisation.org/albums/million%2 ... urreal.mp3

Use separate, different lfos to slightly modulate each oscillator and filter in a thor (using the built-in lfo and external cv inputs).. add a bit of saturation. creates that vintage analog vibe. Lead in this tune:



On thor, 100% kbd, no env or velocity on comb filters with lots of resonance, send a sawtooth into it after you tuned as much as possible the saw to the comb filter.. then play a note, add pitch bend - sounds really weird and haunting.

Vintage Polar.. pitchbend down 7 or 12 notes with one polar, then add another polar bending back up to the original frequency. Use different modes, adds a kind of vintage vibe.

I'll leave the last two for you to try out yourself :)

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Loque
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28 Nov 2017

dana wrote:
28 Nov 2017
...
Great stuff!
Reason12, Win10

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demt
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28 Nov 2017

resting the lap/desktop on pencils to improve the cooling air flow
Reason 12 ,gear4 music sdp3 stage piano .nektar gxp 88,behringer umc1800 .line6 spider4 30
hear scince reason 2.5

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selig
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28 Nov 2017

There have been so many over the years, most which are now easily accomplished by plugins (but still, the original techniques can give unique results).

One of the first things I did when I finally got access to a studio in the early 80s was to run each drum through a plate reverb, gate it, and record it back to it's own track. This was before I even knew what 'gated reverb' was or had heard it - my goal was to get "longer" drum hits (before I understood how tuning and compression was useful for this). This was an Belmont University's recording school, and folks there thought I was kinda weird IIRC. ;)

There is also the "phantom snare" trick, which I just used again a few months ago to add "snare rattle" to a dull snare recording - just put a small speaker (traditionally an auratone) face down on a snare and mic it from the bottom. Reverse reverb and reverse audio track are still fun when they work, as is half/double speed recording for super high/low tracks. You have to play to the track, which makes it less "controlled" than just using a plugin to pitch it down or reverse it, and almost always end up with a more interesting result doing it "old school" IMO.

In fact, any "off line" technique that requires multiple steps can more often produce unexpected results (happy accidents) because of human interaction, something you won't get as often when you slap a plugin on something (though in many cases I do prefer the plugin approach).
Selig Audio, LLC

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Marco Raaphorst
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28 Nov 2017

A little trick for recording guitars using my Palmer PDI-03:
Record both the filtered and unfiltered output of the Palmer. When using the Filtered as direct monitor you don't need to use any low latency settings to record guitar. The unfiltered output of the Palmer is great for applying an Impulse Response as post processing.

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plaamook
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Location: Bajo del mar...

29 Nov 2017

demt wrote:
28 Nov 2017
resting the lap/desktop on pencils to improve the cooling air flow
Drill holes in your desk
Perpetual Reason 12 Beta Tester :reason:

You can check out my music here.
https://m.soundcloud.com/ericholmofficial
Or here.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC73uZZ ... 8jqUubzsQg

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normen
Posts: 3431
Joined: 16 Jan 2015

29 Nov 2017

To get that "splat" for a bass drum - use a small 6 or 8" speaker, play the bass drum signal through it with a volume thats almost killing the membrane - record with a dynamic mic - mix into original signal.

Edit: For added flavor kick in the cone ;)

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selig
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29 Nov 2017

For getting sustain on guitars recorded in the control room, run the guitar through a monitor. Use the left or right channel of the mains if there is no spare, panning everything else to the other speaker. Then touch the headstock of the guitar to the speaker cabinet and crank it up. Unless you are using some very expensive monitors that are filled with sand (or feel like they are), you will increase the sustain of the guitar and have some physical 'feedback' as you play. Avoid getting literal feedback by keeping the guitar from being in front of the speakers (or it may 'squeal' instead of feedback).
Selig Audio, LLC

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selig
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29 Nov 2017

ReAmp:
It's handy to have a re-amp around for not only running "direct-recorded" guitars through real amps/pedals, but also adding amps and pedals to your external FX loops for ANY instruments.

Similarly (and you don't need a ReAmp for this):
If you have a PA speaker (such as a Mackie SRM series) you can run anything through it for an interesting effect. Close mic it to add subtle color, distant mic it to add natural ambience to tracks.
Selig Audio, LLC

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CaliforniaBurrito
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Location: San Diego, CA
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01 Dec 2017

It probably isn't too weird in the big scheme of things, especially in this community, but I'm going to say randomized sequences that are tuned with control voltage. They called me Ace back in my high school hip hop days but I was just barely starting to tumble down the rabbit hole.

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