XferRecords and Steve Duda have just released the follow up to their 2014 flagship virtual synthesizer Serum with the aptly named Serum 2. This Donation Based update comes 11 years after the initial release of Serum, and since then we have seen a slew of VST synthesizers that have drawn inspiration from the original Serum. It's only fitting then that Serum 2 draws inspiration … [Read more...] about Serum 2: The Best Synth Upgrade
Sound Design
Better Snare Rolls with Sampler in Ableton Live
Ableton has multiple sampler devices as part of its core device library. As of Ableton 12.1, the Drum Sampler device has been added however in this post we're going to talk about why Sampler can still be the most powerful instrument for snare rolls when using multiple snare samples to introduce variation to the snare roll. Create a blank MIDI Track (Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+T) and … [Read more...] about Better Snare Rolls with Sampler in Ableton Live
Drum Samples Generated by AI?
If you could reduce your reliance on clicking through endless drum samples looking for the perfect kick, would you? Do your friends always tell you your snares are whack? What if I told you that with the power of AI, you can craft and customize unique algorithmically generated samples ready to use in your next track? Enter Emergent Drums from Audialab. Generate Drum … [Read more...] about Drum Samples Generated by AI?
Essential Plugins for 90s Inspired House & UK Garage
The 1990's saw the first true successes of electronic dance music in modern culture outside of 80s synthpop. Key to this was the proliferation of more affordable gear as well as the rise of the computer and early DAW's like FL Studio (still called FruityLoops back then) and Logic. Synthesizers and drum machines like the Roland's SH-101, TR-909, 303, Juno, and for the sake of … [Read more...] about Essential Plugins for 90s Inspired House & UK Garage
3 Saturation & Distortion Plugins That Aren’t A Waste of Money
Music production has changed a lot since I first started writing beats in FL Studio 4 back in the very early 2000s. I didn't really know what a VST plugin was, nor could I afford them being 11 years old and all. Computing power has increased significantly the last two decades, and ingenuity in programming has lead to some really awesome sounds coming from some plugins. Let … [Read more...] about 3 Saturation & Distortion Plugins That Aren’t A Waste of Money