Music Making Tutorials, Guides, Articles

T h ere are loads of ways to generate drum and percussion sounds in the studio these days – we’re spoilt for choice with all sorts of beat-making methods. However, whether it’s external hardware, plug-in software, or synthesized or sampled drum sounds (or a mixture of the two), nearly all of these drum-sound sources have one thing in common: drum ‘kits’ are stored as patches in which each drum sound is assigned to, and therefore triggered by, a specific MIDI note.

PreSonus Studio One is more than capable of being your companion from song conception to completion. In this tutorial, Gary Hiebner shares 5 essential mastering tips Studio One users can enjoy. Studio One Professional comes packaged with a great mastering tool application. You can create songs, and then bring these songs into projects to master them. Let's take a look at some of the tools that are available and how they can assist you with your mastering. First I'll cover the different metering options that are available, and then I'll finish off with a suggested mastering chain order to use.

It’s been almost ten years since  the last major update  to Acid, the original loop-friendly DAW, so it’s fair to say that the software has been due some love for a long time. Now in the hands of Magix, which acquired the application from Sony Creative Software, it looks like it’s finally got it, for version 8 has now been released. Thankfully, the interface has been given a much-needed revamp, with the old ‘Windows 95’ look replaced with a “sleek and modern” GUI that’s designed to work well in dimmed environments. The software now has a 64-bit architecture, and you can make 24-bit/192kHz multitrack recordings. Advanced MIDI and audio editing features are also promised. Magix says that Acid Pro 8 comes with more than $1000-worth of plugin instruments and effects, including the DN-e1 virtual analogue synth, Vintage Effects Suite, Vandal guitar processing plugin and Vita 2 sampler. You also get a 9GB library of ACIDized loops and samples. “Acid Pro has a long, distinguished history and a very large and loyal following,” says Torsten Heise, Acid Pro 8's product owner. It was vital, then, that we spent a long time consulting with this Acid community of artists and producers over how we should improve the software. We are very pleased that most of their suggestions have been included in Acid Pro 8. This enormous passion of the Acid fan base has really transferred to me and my team.”    “We firmly believe that, with its enhanced power and features-set, this latest version of Acid Pro will appeal to those users and a completely new generation of creative musicians and professional producers. Acid Pro 8 heralds a new dawn in the software's glorious history and will become the DAW of choice for today's forward-thinking and creative artists.” All of which sounds promising, but the real devil will be in the detail, and it remains  to be seen if Acid will ever be able to make up the ground that it’s lost to the likes of Ableton Live.   You can buy Acid Pro 8 outright for $149, while a subscription fee of $7.99 a month gets you access to the software and updates. Find out more and download a demo on the  Magix  website. The software remains Windows-only.

FL Studio is known for having one of the most user-friendly and intuitive scoring systems. The FL Studio piano roll adds significantly to that reputation for a number of reasons. In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to use the FL Studio piano roll and it’s tools, including the Riff Machine. I’ve also included an FL Studio Piano Roll Shortcuts spreadsheet at the very end to streamline your production further. Let’s get started! Finding the FL Studio Piano Roll First, we need to know how to find the piano roll window. There are a few ways we can do this, outlined below:<

Image-Line’s FL Studio was originally released in 1998 as a 4-channel MIDI drum app called “Fruityloops.” Rebranded as “FL Studio” in 2003, this software is now a feature-packed DAW that’s a popular choice for hip-hop producers, beat makers, and electronic musicians. But to get the most out of the software, you really need a hardware controller. Which one should you choose? Here are our picks for the best MIDI keyboard controller for FL Studio.

It’s been over 20 years since FL Studio (back then known as “Fruity Loops”) took on the bedroom producer scene, and since then it has been responsible for some of pop’s biggest musical innovations, such as Trap and Dubstep. The DAW has certainly wiggled its way to becoming a more serious contender (and hence obtaining a more “serious” name), and so has its native plugins. So in this post we’re going to take a look at over 30 of the best plugins for FL Studio… not just native, but also 3rd party paid and even free.

There are as many ways to use  samples  as there are music producers. Working with samples can be as simple as dragging and dropping them onto your DAW timeline. But many producers prefer the workflow of dedicated sampler plugins. Sampler VSTs have a lot in common with hardware samplers—but they’re much more powerful and flexible.

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to sample in FL Studio. Sampling is a process that can mean two different things: To record parts of a piece played on a live instrument (or any sound for that matter) To process and extract parts of a pre-recorded track, and creatively rearrange them into something different Note:  You must have FL Studio Producer Edition or higher to record audio and vocals.

You’re tired of using the same worn-out sounds. In the same way that poor ingredients affect the food on your plate, boring samples will shape the tracks you compose, too. What tools can music producers, composers, and sound designers use to bake creativity into their tracks? Today’s post shares top sound-shaping tools: software samplers, sample players, and software instruments. They’ll share a broad mix of app choices, their highlights, and help you choose what’s the best plug-in for your workflow. Sample Players, Instruments, and Samplers It’s common to confuse samplers, software instruments, and sample players. What’s the difference?

There are as many ways to use  samples  as there are music producers. Working with samples can be as simple as dragging and dropping them onto your DAW timeline. But many producers prefer the workflow of dedicated sampler plugins. Sampler VSTs have a lot in common with hardware samplers—but they’re much more powerful and flexible.