Malcos

Lots of things can add punch. 1. The first thing to do to create a phat beat is find the right samples first. 2. Layers. Layer your snares, and pan out your high frequencies - a lot of people forget about panning claps and hats! 3. E.Q. 4. Compression. 5. Reverb. Steps 3, 4 and 5 take some time to learn, and they can be interchangable in order. A short reverb can add a hell of a lot of impact.

Cheers, some nice sounds in here, time to slice slice slice! Edit after listening: There are some seriously phat drum sounds in this

What?! Oh no, have I missed the deadline for submission?!

Always nice to see a Nord, what's that synth on the desk?

Check it out, you can listen to the whole album at: http://malcos.protagonistrecords.net/album/electronic-reality

One of my friends does a really good rock scream, he says he does it by holding spit in the back of his throat or something like that.

I can't believe I only started using this plugin like a week ago - everyone should have the synth1 vst!

Wow nice synth!

Ok been busy but now working on my track...are there any WIP deadlines for this atm?

Couple of new vids up. All I have to do now is put in the rhythm/jam sessions and that's it. Are there any other videos you think I should put up?

Yes, I should be recording some more next week. My friend Raz is the one with the camera and the video editing skills, and we both have different schedules so it can be difficult sometimes.

Tried my free refills?

This is such a great timewaster! Try it on shuffle for 'auto' mode. http://www.incredibox.fr/

Well the magic chord thing works both ways, could stay with the A note in the left hand or move it around with the chord. I'll put both examples in. I agree it all depends on context. I'm always happy for any feedback it will help me to improve the next videos I record. Thanks guys. 2nd video is up now btw.

Oh yeah lol I just made that up so it sounds exciting. If you play the chord made up of: A in the left hand then G,B,C,E in the right hand. If you move that same chord pattern around the A minor scale (all white keys) you can come up with some interesting chord progressions, and it sounds quite rich - easy for beginner/intermediate players to mess around with.

Thanks guys - the second video was already done in conjunction with the first, and it ends with me promising a tutorial with all black keys next, which covers the pentatonic scale and chinese sounding thing - I'll put those in explicitly actually! Yes Gario, I completely forgot rhythm as an actual concept in itself, I will do some videos on that specifically. I've got a lot to work on there, that's about 8 videos already: 1. Intro to keys + white keys 2. White keys advanced 3. Intro to black keys 4. Black keys advanced 5. Rhythm 6. 'The magic chord' 7. Rhythm advanced 8. Jam session

I'm self taught so my fingering will always seem dodgy to those who were clasically trained. As SnappleMan said, that's why I called it keyboard tutorials instead. I think that the A minor scale sounds a little more engaging, and too many people start with C major triad which sounds way too happy and row row row your boat type of thing. I see A minor as the 'drop D of keyboard'. What kind of theory do you guys think I should put in? I've tried to minimalise the amount of theory for the first couple vids, only talking about things like octaves, names of keys - really essential stuff. I'm trying to get people to start playing asap, that's my ultimate aim with these videos. There is so much theory out there on the net, I want to do something different.

Let me know what you think guys.... HD option should become available in a few days. Hopefully the first of many.

Herrow...?

I'll have Track 17 'Battle Theme' from Dragon Quest 3 please...

There are a few ways to deal with this kind of thing. If I get block, I don't allow myself to even touch my keyboard for a whole week. I just take a break from music altogether. Sometimes you just have to allow time for your creativity to recharge. Another thing you can do is listen to as many different types of music that you can in order to stretch your subconcious musical mind. Classical, jazz and rock are good because they are quite complex and varied. You can try listening to genres/styles you wouldn't normally. As some friends for recommendations. Thirdly, try different sounds/instruments that you wouldn't normally use. Don't try to make a song, just play about with the sounds. This is all about just getting an idea or two that you can start a song with. There are times when possibilites are endless and that can paradoxically leave you with no ideas! Every time I start working on an album I set myself a rule that I have to stick to. That helps to narrow things down and focus my mind. Sometimes if you force it too hard, or sit down to 'make a song' it doesn't work. Relieve yourself of that pressure and allow your mind to express itself. I suppose that doesn't apply to pros who are on strict deadlines!

I tried to take a panoramic picture using my phone, so yeah that's how it looks, although the picture just appears bent somehow and the colours look a bit funny! It is a wireless setup - the perspective is from my L-shaped sofa, and the chair on the right hand side of the room is the one I use when I want to make some music. There is also a small table near the sofa which is out of shot, that's where all the remotes/controllers are.

(Old studio on page 14 of this thread) New living room/home cinema/studio setup:

Hey guys, I'm back with some drum and bass for you all. I had great fun making this album, thanks to everyone for your continued support. :mrgreen:Check out the previews on protagonist and pick up the 2 for 1 deal while it's still available! If you're a drum and bass fan, also check out Zircons' rather excellent 'Mass Media Constant' EP, which inspired me to also do a dnb album.

I'll probably just end up repeating what has just been said lol. For drums, the EQ you'll probably end up putting on the kick drum to make it work with the bassline will change the way it sounds. Snares/claps can be chorused and layered, hi hats can be muffled using eq then re-enhanced using harmonics/brighteners. Putting some really harsh compression over a drum loop can completely change the way it sounds, a la Rob Dougan. Acoustic instruments can be layered together, you could use two different string samples from different sources for example. Place a nice hall reverb over them to taste, push the better one to the front and keep the not so good one in the background to thicken it out. Layering also works well with special fx samples. As for using instruments for solos, again layering would work well here, and depending on the instrument, some very subtle phasing and use of appropriate reverb. The thing to remember is that an instrument can have a completely different expression depending on the context, so as long as you focus on the vibe of the song and not the amazing sample, the listener will be caught up in the groove (we hope!).