I’m sitting here in front of my DAW about to embark on a new production and was wondering how y’all kick it off on your end??
I use a combination of Peak Pro & Ableton. Whilst there are exceptions for every new production I generally get started in Peak by chopping up larger samples into smaller clips for import into Ableton.. from there I slice the clips to midi for triggering via controller. I record grooves I like, drop in other source material from sample packs or my own libraries / recordings.. sprinkle the magic dust onto it, master it.. then reference on as many different speaks as I can get my ears onto…
This is a summarized / simplified version.. but I’m interested in different project approach techniques that I haven’t thought of…
If I start with a new track this is generally the route I take:
-Start a 1 bar loop and then insert the following:
-Find some nice low - mid & high end kick drums, EQ all of them properly, layer them up to form one kick drum and then take it through a waves SSL for some punch.
-Next I do the bassline. Program the synth first and then record some loops.
-After that comes claps, snares, percussion and stabs
When i have a nice groove going I start building a basic arrangement.
Then (if for a remix) I add remix samples or for own productions maybe an extra synth, some pads and sweeps.
Then I add effects where necessary (most of the time in breakdowns etc)
Following up I get all the levels about right, then EQ all the channels, compress busses that need it, and apply some plugins where necessary.
Then comes mixdown; panning tracks, check if mono sounds good, get levels exactly right and final adjustments to the arrangement.
Track is then bounced into a 24 bit wav. Reload that into Logic and do the mastering (low freq-eq, general eq-ing, neutral compressor to tame the high peaks, SSL compressor for sound coloring and punch, maximizer to get the loudness right).
So… yesterday… I was cutting up my source track that I’m basing the whole production around… and I couldn’t help but wonder if I’m making extra steps for myself by cutting in a wav editor before bringing into Ableton… question is what’s your w-flow for the kind of situation where you’ve got an entire 3+ min source track… do you cut in an editor first or just bring right into your DAW?? Note that I’m using many small 1 bar to 4 bar snippets from the track I’m cutting… I’m cutting into larger sections and then slicing in the DAW.
I have never encountered such a situation. For remixes always make sure you have the stems, without them it’s hard to get a good sound and to extract the samples you want. If you don’t have the stems or are sampling from a random track like you are saying, if i’m right, you can just load the wav file in ableton, apply warping if necessary, and then drag the file into the sampler. I don’t think there is any advantage of using an editor for that.
The project I’m working on right now really isn’t a remix.. but I’m using lots of segments from older source material for whcih stems aren’t available. Your completely right about the sound though.. and I’ve been struggling with that! As far as the editor.. I’ve always had a habit of using it to get smaller manageable material.. and thinking back… I might have saved a hour or so off of many past productions going straight into sampler… However, even though the warping is really good in Ableton… in this case Its a pain to go through the entire track given that I recorded it directly from vinyl, it wasn’t quantized originally, and it changes tempo!!
On that note.. I’ve managed to use layers of EQ to extract sounds I want to use.. but there is one thing I have not been able to figure out.. This gets a little off of the ‘big picture’ subject of the thread, but do you have a way in Ableton to apply LFO to an extracted bass-line audio sample? I’m trying to create a very light dub-step oscillation to a bass audio sample… nothing I try creates the sound I have in my head!!
Pooh, don’t know about applying LFO’s on clips. One solution I can think of is to apply the dry/wet knob of the effect or filter knob or whatever you would want the LFO to control, to clip automation. Just draw sort of a sine wave in the clip and you should be able to get the effect
