Welcome back to our student spotlight. This time we talk to Steve Williams.

• What’s your name and artist name (if any)? Give us a bit of background on yourself. How long have you been producing and how did you get into music? 
  • My name is Steve Williams and I produce and perform as drusnoise. I have been part of the electronic music scene since my time as a raver in the mid-late Nineties in Canada, through to clubbing in London and Paris in the 2000s, and now as an electronic music producer and performer based in Berlin. My drusnoise artist persona integrates two key areas of my background. As a sustainability scholar, I work on sustainable energy system transitions. In my research, I am particularly concerned with the role of citizens and decision making, justice in transitions, engagement with Indigenous peoples, and the arts and sustainability. So my research background has a direct connection to my musical interests. When I was completing my PhD in Canada, my niece and nephew started calling me ‘Dr. Uncle Steve’ which led to ‘dr.us’ and then to ‘drusnoise’!
• When were you a student at 343 Labs?
  • I started with 343 in Berlin in Summer 2020 through to Spring 2021
• What classes are you taking/have taken?
  • I ended up taking four classes! Starting with Mixing and Mastering, then Sound Design, Composition & Arrangement, and just wrapped up the Live Performance class.
• What is/was your favourite thing about being a student at 343?
  • Definitely the community! I made lasting connections with fellow students and instructors that led to making music, performing, and making videos together. It was also great (when lockdown rules allowed) to be part of the community of producers, performers, and engineers at Riverside Studios in Berlin.
• What type of music do you make? How would you describe your music?
  • I mainly produce and perform live techno with a hardware-based setup but my music is full of contrasts and tensions. Between analog and digital, improvisation and programmed sequences, four-to-the-floor techno and random noise, synthesized sounds and field recordings, produced tracks, and live performance. I embed field recordings that fuse nature and urban life such as the sound of rain on metal balcony roof, rattling bicycle fenders and bells, banging pots and pans from street demos, and recordings of friends chatting on the street. I am also fascinated with making music from ‘natural data’ including the electrical emissions from plants that generate voltages for sound pitch and triggers and global CO2 concentration data from the Mauna Loa Observatory on the island of Hawaii translated to sound and waveforms.
• What inspires you when you make music, and which artists or producers do you look up to?
  • My biggest love and inspiration is the energy I get from performing live in front of a crowd on a big sound system. Although lately, that means on livestreams! I love the interplay between me getting lost in my own music and the reactions of people on the dance floor. Music is such a big part of my life and building a connection through music always inspires me. 
• Do you have any projects on the go? Tell us about them!
  • My debut EP – Invisible Wires – drops on June 11!! Check out the launch party on https://twitch.tv/drusnoise 11.06.21 at 19.00 Berlin time – streaming live from 343 Labs in Berlin. Three dark techno tracks that are produced and arranged versions of tracks that started out as live performances. I used Ableton for mixing and arrangement but almost all of the sounds are from my modular and analog synths, drum machines, and outboard FX running through an analog mixing desk.. Next up, I am working on a four-track EP each featuring a globally recognized, innovative sustainability scholar discussing different aspects of transition, transformation, and the Anthropocene. This bridges my worlds of sustainability and music, by embedding each of these sets of ideas in techno tracks. Samples, synthesizers, percussion, melodies, and rhythms are carefully chosen to support, challenge, and enhance the ideas presented. Check out my web site or follow my socials for latest info
• What are your goals for the coming year?
  • Finding a real-life venue to play live sets! There is a LOT that is out of my control to make that happen but I am hopeful that Berlin (and other European countries)  clubs will start to open later this year. I know my performances connect with people through online livestreams but there is really no substitute for a dance floor with a sound system that shakes the walls and rattles your bones.
• Is there anything you would like to share or say to the 343 Community?
  • What I have learned most at 343 is don’t be afraid to take risks. Get that almost finished track out there. Play that livestream. Sing those lyrics that have been sitting in your notebook for a year. It won’t be perfect but it will be out in the world. I always try to remember the quote from Miles Davis “Do not fear mistakes. There are none.”

• Links to website, social media
  • https://drusnoise.lsnto.me/InvisibleWiresEP
  • https://instagram.com/drusnoise
  • https://facebook.com/drusnoise
  • https://youtube.com/drusnoise
• Links to music (spotify, beatport, soundcloud, bandcamp etc)
  • https://soundcloud.com/drusnoise
  • https://drusnoise.bandcamp.com

Ableton Live 11 New Features, Effects & Instruments

Written by Ableton Certified Trainer Peter Trimbacher

Overview

Since the exciting new Live 11 release, we dug into the many bold features that are getting the community excited.

Long-time users will be happy to know that the bulk of the enhancements focus on the workflow side, including audio improvements such as take recording, comping, and refined clip editing.

The MIDI side sees a major overhaul with the ability to quantize notes to scales, add velocity and note chance and allow polyphonic expression through the new MPE standard.

There are a variety of new effects to choose from, including the innovative Hybrid Reverb, and we see major updates to Racks as well as a host of smaller but well-executed enhancements to existing devices.

As with any major update, you can be assured of a smooth transition to the new version, which does not stray far from the interface we all know and love. Let’s take a minute to unpack the most exciting new features.

 

Audio – Comping & Linked Track Editing

Comping

Indispensable to instrumentalists and attractive to producers, Comping is a long-awaited feature that is designed to compile multiple takes of recorded audio into a perfect composite musical performance.

Practical Ideas:

1. Loop record an instrument multiple times and select the best notes/phrases from each take to create the perfect composite.
2. Resample audio from another track e.g., manipulation of synth parameters and select the best articulations to find the perfect flow.
3. Create take lanes on an existing track like a percussion loop, drag multiple clips into the take lanes and create a composite percussion element.

Linked Track Editing

The ability to link multiple tracks together for editing is a huge time saver for those who like to work with multitracks. Splitting, duplicating, deleting, and fading, for example, are shared across tracks that have been linked using the link tracks command when selecting multiple tracks and right-clicking in the track title bar.

Practical Ideas:

1. Link tracks that have been simultaneously recorded into your session – e.g., a multiple mic’d drum kit.
2. When remixing a track, link together the remix stems to make cohesive adjustments to all song elements.
3. Editing a multi-part MIDI performance that shares the same notation on varied presets.

 

MIDI – MPE, Chance, Keys, and Scales.

The MIDI editor is the most visually different part of the whole user interface in Live 11 due to the number of new updates that are packed in on the MIDI side. New tabs for note parameters, follow actions, envelopes, and MPE organize the updated feature set elegantly.

MPE

MIDI Polyphonic Expression (MPE) makes it possible to expressively play harmonies and vary parameters, including pitch bend, slide, and pressure parameters per note on a host of capable instruments such as the native Wavetable and Sampler. Although most inspiring with specialized hardware (Roli Seaboard), it is possible to program these changes directly into the updated MIDI editor.

Practical Ideas:

1. Create evolving pads over 8-16 bars by assigning slide and pressure to wavetable index and filter cutoff.
2. Try simple LFO-like geometric motions on smaller bar lengths.

Keys and Scales

Perhaps one of the biggest advantages of the Push instrument is to be able to play within a musical key and scale without prior theory training. This form of pitch quantization is now directly available in the MIDI editor and is also linked to Push for an integrated workflow experience.

Practical Idea: Using a chosen scale, activate the editors scale mode and compose a simple triad chord progression over a duration of four bars. Each chord should have three notes separated by one space and last one bar.

Chance Tools

Digital drummers and users of devices such as the Elektron machines should be thrilled to discover native control over note and velocity chances. It is now possible to set velocity note, and chance ranges to enhance both percussive and rhythmic instrument sources like drum racks or sequenced synth lines.

Practical Ideas:

1. Set velocity ranges for supporting elements such as ghost notes in a drum sequence.
2. Use chance amounts on certain fills or embellishments within a sequence.
3. Create ever-evolving rhythmic synth lines by assigning multiple parameters to randomized velocity.

Devices

On the sound design and mixing front Live 11 brings a host of new devices and well-executed updates.

Visually the audio effects are now grouped into themed clusters like Dynamics and EQ and Filters, freeing up collections for other organizational purposes.

Hybrid Reverb

To most users, the Hybrid Reverb will probably be the most interesting device to explore since it combines the familiar Reverb and Henkes’ Convolution Reverb devices into an ultimate all-purpose workhorse. What’s more, is that the reverb side has been generously updated with multiple new algorithms, including the increasingly popular Shimmer style. The novel implementation of various signal routing presets between the two parts leads to interesting hybrid possibilities.

Spectral Resonator & Time

The spectral devices, explained here in detail (https://www.ableton.com/en/blog/spectral-sound-a-look-at-live-11s-new-spectral-devices/) use what is called fast Fourier transform (FFT) technology to break down into individual pieces called partials and manipulate these signals in real-time. In short, these devices add new exciting options for sound designers. As with many new tools, they can be daunting at first but really grow on the user in the long run.

For long-time users of Live, Spectral Resonator bears an immediate sonic resemblance to the Resonators device, but the big difference here is the technology behind the two devices. FFT allows a much wider control over the sound leading to an enhanced feature set including individual harmonic control as well as Unison, Chorus, Wander, and Granular modes of operation.

For a few moments of use Spectral Time is probably closest to the Grain Delay in sound but where it really shines is its ability to freeze the signal completely, leading to otherworldly drones and textures. The freeze function also features a host of modes and fine-tuning options.

PitchLoop89

One of the co-founders of Ableton, Robert Henke, has developed PitchLoop89 to resemble a famous effect from 1978; you can read about it in detail on his website.  (https://roberthenke.com/technology/pitchloop89.html)

The effect bears some resemblance again to the Grain Delay, which was previously the only device to offer pitch-shifting delays in the software. Unlike its predecessor, this new plugin features stereo processing and advanced granular-like manipulation via the infinite loop function.

Updated Racks

Ableton’s Device and Instrument Racks see major enhancements in Live 11. We can now vary the number of displayed macros from 1 to 16! The values can be randomized, and in case things get confusing, we have the ability to return to saved preset states using snapshots.

Updated Devices

Similar to the last update, some devices have been given a facelift, combined, or both.

• Chorus-Ensemble now features new Ensemble and Vibrato modes.
• Phaser-Flanger effects are now combined, featuring up to 42 notches in Phase mode!
• Redux now has updated controls to dial-in settings from not noticeable all the way to completely crushed.

 

Instruments

AAS Updates

The Applied Acoustic Systems collaboration in Live 7 and 8 produced a series of physical modeling Instruments, including Tension, Electric, and Collision. While these new tools could generate novel tones, their interfaces were somewhat of a barrier to music makers who didn’t have the patience to dive deep into complex interfaces.

The changes in Live 11 aim to rectify this shortcoming, offering simplified and visually compelling ways to interact with the parameters.

Inspired By Nature

Created in collaboration with Dillon Bastan, Live 11 will ship with a strong collection of 6 new instruments and effects.

Physics-based motions like bouncing or directional movement enable organic ways of interacting with sound.

Vector FM, Grain, and Delay offer frequency modulation, granular synthesis, and delay respectively in a shared GUI  style in which a circular display is shared across the devices to show particle movement.

Emit, Tree Tone, and Bouncy Notes are, on the other hand, a little more varied, barring some resemblances to iZotope Iris, Sonic Charge Synplant, and the Bouncing Hammer in Ableton Tension. These devices offer yet more granular, resonator, and pitch-shifting delay options to the aforementioned updates.

New Sounds

A collaboration with Spitfire Audio expands Lives’ orchestral offering with the inclusion of well-curated Upright Piano, Brass Quartet, and String Quartet sounds. Curated Collections including Voice Box, Mood Reel, Drone Lab offer vocal, textural, and drone sounds to bolster the ever-expanding native sound library that users of Suite enjoy.

Performance

On the performance side, we see noteworthy updates to follow actions both on a clip level and directly in the scenes on the master channel. Additionally, Andrew Robertson BeatSeeker (https://www.ableton.com/en/packs/beatseeker/) utility is now infused in the software, directly allowing responsive tempo following incoming audio such as a drummer’s snare signal.

Updated Follow Actions

Tedious manual adjustments are now a thing of the past with the inclusion of Linked follow actions relying on the length of the clip to trigger the programmed action.

Updated Master Chanel

Follow actions can also be directly programmed into scenes for an automated playthrough of a session. Resizing the master also reveals additional information such as tempo and time signature changes previously needing to be programmed into the scenes.

 

Extras

CPU Metering

The utilization of CPU-intensive effects such as Hybrid Reverb and modern third-party synths and effects often leaves older laptop fans spinning up to get the fires put out. To help find out where the drain is coming from, we are now able to monitor CPU usage directly on the channels just below the fader. CPU is shown in peak and average levels on both individual channels and the master.

Templates

Most DAW offerings allow template management natively within the software. Rather than manage templates in cumbersome ways on the hard disk, Live 11 catches up to the norm, offering storage and recall of templates under the categories section of the browser sidebar.

 

Push

With all these new updates to workflows and devices, owners of the Push instrument won’t be left in the dust. The team at Ableton put a lot of emphasis on the instrument’s ability to control the software exclusively on the unit so new devices will include visualizations, clip keys, and scales will sync automatically, we will be able to view up to 16 macros and have polyphonic aftertouch.

 

Conclusion

The update may seem at the surface to be lackluster or expected, but the truth is that the workflow enhancements are positively game-changing on both audio and MIDI fronts. Updates and upgrades to existing instruments and devices will see users reach less for third-party options, while new additions will inspire people to create new and unique sounds.

Community Spotlight: Nefertiti Gold

Welcome to our very first Community Spotlight, where we will be shining the light on the amazingly talented Nefertiti Gold!

Nefertiti started learning with 343 Labs back in April 2020 and has taken our Logic Pro, Vocal Production, Electronic Music Composition & Arrangement, and Mixing & Mastering courses – almost the full program! With such a rich musical background, and having performed at some incredible events including SXSW in 2019; Nefertiti is definitely one to watch! We asked her a few questions to get the low-down on this lyrical genius with the voice of an angel…

Tell us a bit about yourself. How long have you been producing and how did you get into music?

Well, my artist name is Nefertiti Gold and my name is Nefertiti (lol). I’ve always been a vocalist first, and along the way, I picked up learning to play a little bit of piano and a bit more of the guitar so I can accompany myself. I’m classically trained so I started singing classical arrangements and studied as a voice minor at Kean’s Conservatory of Music. After that program ended, I dived back into singing more contemporary R&B style music and went on to do live performances. I’ve gotten the opportunity to perform at some pretty dope venues from New York to LA, and at SXSW in 2019, but as far as music production goes, that’s still fairly new to me as I’ve only gotten into it for about 8 months now.

What’s your favourite thing about being a student at 343?

My favorite part about being a student at 343 is the ability to learn from some of the most experienced musicians possible when it comes to not only the creative side of music but also the technical side as well.

What’s your favourite music genre when making music?

My favorite genres to create are Trap and R&B, although I’m still learning how to tweak them so that they can really pop.

What inspires you when you make music, and which artists or producers do you look up to?

Music is an emotional experience for me so I’m probably in my feelings whenever I’m songwriting (lol). Artists I’ve looked up to have been predominantly vocalists such as Whitney Houston, Musiq Soulchild, Brandy, and Jazmine Sullivan.
How would you define your individual sound?

Before the pandemic, my performances would usually be dubbed as “coffee house R&B” – something that’s chill and always sets the mood.

Do you have any projects on the go? Tell us about them!

I recently released my first beat tape on Halloween titled “Island Universe”. The premise is the idea of going somewhere new, a different world or planet which is what I felt like I’ve done during my process of learning to produce and bring my ideas more to life. I’m also in the process of putting together my next EP, which I’m pretty excited about since I’ll be back singing in the booth again.

What are your goals for the coming year?

For my goals this year, I decided to keep things fairly simple and not force myself to take on too much. I want to focus on putting my EP together which I’ll announce the title in the next couple of months, and I also want to learn Spanish 🙂

Is there anything you would like to share or say to the 343 Community?

I don’t know where to start! I’m grateful that there’s a music community out there that’s obsessed as much as I am (lol). The support system is amazing. And it’s been great coming across so many different talented individuals of different genres that allow me to continue learning as much as I can. And most importantly of all… Black Lives Matter.
So, pretty safe to say that Nefertiti is a boss when it comes to music and we couldn’t be happier that we are able to have her as part of our community!

 

More music can be found at the following links (all major platforms):

https://fanlink.to/IslandUniverse https://fanlink.to/_GOLD

You can also find her and follow her on the below social links:

Website: www.nefertitigoldmusic.com

Youtube: www.youtube.com/nefertitigold

Facebook: facebook.com/nefertitigoldmusic

Instagram: instagram.com/nefertiti.gold

Twitter: https://twitter.com/nefertitigold_

Snapchat: https://snapchat.com/add/nefertiti.gold

Thanks for checking into our first ever Community Spotlight, folks! Stay tuned for our next spotlight which will be focusing on our very own techno-god, Mr. Abe Duque, who is a long time 343 Labs instructor.

Best Free and Paid DAWs for Beginners and Pros

A producer’s best friend is their digital audio workstation or DAW. It is the software they use to make and record music.

Choosing the right DAW is like a guitarist choosing the right guitar, or a singer choosing the right microphone. However, unlike a single instrument or microphone, a DAW consists of seemingly infinite sound profiles and audio editing options. 

Though they are not all created equally, and in many cases, you get what you pay for. Choosing the right DAW for you will depend on your budget, your musical interests, and your computer software. In fact, many producers use different DAWs depending on the job at hand, as they each have their own strengths and weaknesses.

In this article, we will go over the best DAW for beginners, the best free DAWs, and our top picks for the overall best DAW for today’s modern producer. But first, let’s look into the actual purpose of a digital audio workstation.

What Exactly is a DAW

In 1978, Soundstream built what many deem as the first digital audio workstation. A few decades later, dozens of DAWs began to surface as technology grew, as well as its role in the creation of music.

In essence, a DAW is a software program that allows you to produce, record, compose, mix, and edit audio and MIDI. Most DAWs exist as a single program on a computer, but more complex ones exist as a configuration of multiple components controlled by a central computer. 

A good DAW allows you to combine and mix different sounds on a time-based grid. In addition, most come stocked with several audio & MIDI effects and plug-ins which allow you to manipulate and reinterpret sounds.

What Should You Look for in a DAW?

Now that there are so many different DAWs on the market, it can feel incredibly daunting to choose just one to invest in. In some cases, it will simply come down to your computer—for example, if you have a Windows computer, you won’t be able to use Logic, as it’s Mac only. 

On the other hand, your budget will dictate the quality of the software. There are free DAWs that can provide some good basic tools for producing, but at some point, you’re likely to run up against a wall. Most paid DAWs like Ableton or FL Studio have different price tiers, allowing you to use the software at a discounted rate, but with less access than the full versions.

Most importantly, your goal as an artist should be front and center in your decision. If you know you want to perform live, then it’s likely Ableton will be your best bet. If you care most about tracking audio and engineering, Pro Tools will be more up your alley. In most cases, you can utilize a free trial of the DAW you’re interested in, which will give you a brief opportunity to explore and see what works best for you.

Most DAWs can do a little bit of everything, but there are significant differences in their capabilities, and we’re here to break them down for you.

The Best Free DAWs

Like most things in life, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is, and this might include using complex software like a digital audio workstation for free. However, if you’re a beginner or just looking for some basic audio editing, there’s often no need to spend hundreds of dollars on an expensive program when a free one can do the trick.

Here are our top picks for the most versatile and resourceful DAWs that will cost you nothing to begin using today:

GarageBand

GarageBand is one of the most popular music software programs, and for good reason.

It is Apple’s stock music-making tool, and it has earned its reputation as being the industry standard for DIY musicians on a budget. It is unfortunately just for Apple users (sorry, Windows). 

While it’s not as sophisticated as its advanced counterpart, Logic Pro, GarageBand is one of the best DAWs for beginners and features some pretty complex features. It has a decent selection of virtual instruments, audio loops, and various sounds. 

CakeWalk by BandLab

CakeWalk is a free version of SONAR Platinum — minus the third-party software — for Windows users.

Like SONAR, it comes with many of the same effects: equalizers, compressors, limiters, and more. It has VST plug-in support, Bluetooth MIDI, and an analog console-style virtual mixer. The one caveat is that you have to first install the BandLab Assistant software and sign up for a free BandLab user account.

CakeWalk is a great choice for Windows users who want to get into production but aren’t quite ready to spend the money on a more advanced DAW.

PreSonus Studio One

Studio One Prime by PreSonus is an excellent starter DAW. It comes with 1.5 GB of royalty-free, unlimited audio tracks and mixer channels, time-stretching, multi-track comping, advanced automation, and more. 

The main drawback for many Studio One users is the lack of VST plug-in support. Songwriters or bands will likely get the most use out of this free DAW because of its unlimited tracking and mixing abilities.

Pro Tools | First

For many, Pro Tools First is an attractive choice when it comes to freeware because of the DAWs reputation. After all, Pro Tools is an industry-standard.

The free version includes AAX plugin support, numerous audio recording and mixing tools, over twenty native effects, and more. However, it only allows you up to sixteen tracks and four audio inputs per project. It’s also a pretty big CPU and storage hog, making it not the best choice for those with a slower computer.

Tracktion Waveform Free

Waveform Free is also known as the free version of Tracktion Corporation’s digital audio workstation software. It’s full of excellent features and offers full VST plug-in support. 

Waveform Free is particularly helpful for electronic music, as it’s capable of loading virtual instruments and comes with tons of creative MIDI features that were created to be easy for beginners to understand.

The Best Paid DAWs

For producers who are more serious about their work and are willing to spend a little extra money for fewer limitations, investing in a high quality DAW is one of the best ways to grow your work. 

Imagine cooking in a small cramped kitchen with one pan and a plastic spatula, then being upgraded to a huge professional kitchen with an endless array of state of the art equipment — upgrading to a full suite version of an industry-standard DAW can seriously upgrade your music. 

While it might be frustrating having to spend hundreds of dollars on a piece of software when freeware is out there, we believe it can make a significant difference in not just your music, but your workflow and overall approach to music-making. With that being said, here are our top picks for paid DAWs.

Ableton Live

Ableton is becoming a household name in the music industry, despite its early start as primarily a live performance tool. Today, it is the industry standard for live electronic music, but it’s quickly becoming a popular DAW for producing, mixing, composing, and more.

Equipped with built-in sampling and synthesis plug-ins, hundreds of virtual instruments and effects, and top-notch workflow design, it is one of the top DAWs out there. Its session view is perfect for triggering clips and loops live.

Ableton comes in three different versions: Lite, Standard, and Suite. 

Logic Pro

Logic is one of the most affordable high quality DAWs available. At just $200, it beats out all its competitors in terms of bang for your buck, however, it is only available for Apple users.

It comes with a wide variety of plug-ins, high quality audio loops, and a formidable arrangement view designed for easy workflow and composition. It is arguably one of the most commonly-used DAWs in music today, especially with Apple being the most musician’s choice of computer. 

Logic is great for just about everything, but best for artists who want to track and record audio, as well as get creative with unique production and mixing methods.

Pro Tools

Pro Tools truly is the industry-standard DAW. It’s the software of choice for nearly every professional studio. For engineers and recording artists, there are few competitors. 

However, Pro Tools has never quite made a splash in the bedroom producer community. For those looking to create sample-based electronic music with a heavy emphasis on creating music solely on your laptop, Pro Tools might not be the way to go.

It’s best used as a tool for recording and mixing audio in a studio setting, though it is versatile enough to achieve anything you want it to, don’t expect the workflow experience to be as seamless as other DAWs like Ableton or FL Studio.

FL Studio

FL Studio was originally known as Fruity Loops. It became a staple in the world of hip-hop production. In fact, many prominent hip-hop producers like Metro Boomin still champion the DAW today. It was at first only available to Windows users, but now it has expanded to Apple users, too.

It comes with a plethora of plug-ins and high quality sound design tools, making it one of the best DAWs for producers out there. Specifically, FL Studio is a mainstay for beat makers and loopers. Its unique workflow allows for quick and easy production of good beats and electronically-driven compositions.

Cubase

As one of the first commercially available DAWs, Cubase has a long reputation as a production favorite. It was originally intended for just MIDI use, and as a result, it has some of the greatest MIDI editing capabilities.

While it may not be as popular as some of the newer, flashier DAWs, Cubase is a historical software that can compete with any of the more modern DAWs out there. 

Conclusion

Like any piece of music equipment, the beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. No single piece of software will be right for everyone, and that’s why it’s important to really look inward at your ambitions as an artist before deciding where to invest your time and money for a DAW.

For those looking to start off with a free program, there are plenty of options depending on your computer. But be aware that you get what you pay for, and you will be up against many limitations that paid DAWs do not have.

For those willing to shell out whatever it costs, take your time with a few trial versions of different DAWs before you type in your credit card information. Workflow is incredibly important, and if one DAW just isn’t clicking for you, that’s probably an important sign to follow.

If your creative process is being bogged down by technical mishaps, that’s an important hurdle to overcome. Find the DAW that works best with your creative process, and from there, you can only go forward.

What are the best studio monitors?

One of the most essential tools for any home studio is a high-quality pair of studio monitors.

Whether you’re mixing, mastering, or simply producing the intro of a track, a good set of monitors will give you a clear and authentic audio signal for you to properly craft your sound.

Regular laptop speakers and low-quality bookshelf speakers are helpful for referencing your mix on a more average sound system — after all, if your track doesn’t sound good on an iPhone, it needs more work. But when it comes down to giving your sound a clean, high-quality audio signal, there is really no comparison.

For example, imagine you’re standing in front of a huge fifteen-foot tall painting in an art museum: you can see every brushstroke, texture, color, and tiny detail. Now, imagine looking at a low-quality. JPEG of the same painting on a phone. That’s the difference between working on music with quality monitors versus laptop speakers.

Most bedroom producers know the value of studio monitors, but the issue comes down to affordability. Many state-of-the-art monitors can easily extend into thousands of dollars. But the good news is that there are cheap studio monitors that will do the job well enough to ensure your music sounds professional.

In this article, we will break down the best studio monitors for every budget to help you decide which monitors are right for you. But before we get into actual products, let’s talk about a few important things to consider before you buy a new set of monitors.

Treating your room

This step is often overlooked by many producers. You can have the nicest high-end speakers, but if your room isn’t properly treated, it may not really make that much of a difference.

Think of a professional studio: people spend thousands just treating the room alone, and that doesn’t include the cost of recording equipment. That doesn’t mean you need to spend thousands, but ideally, your room should be as neutral and isolated as possible.

Whether you purchase acoustic foam blocks or create your own DIY sound frames, it’s key to get your room treated so it works with you, not against you. Depending on the shape and layout of your room, you will also need to find the best spot to position your speakers. 

The size of your monitors

In general, the bigger your monitors are, the more power they will have. This might seem like an obvious reason to buy the biggest monitors you can afford, but you might not actually need all that power.

Depending on the size of your workstation and room, you may not need the biggest speakers. In fact, if your speakers are too big for your room, it can overload the space. Measure your workstation and room before buying to be sure you select the right size and power.

Studio monitor stands and foam isolation pads

When purchasing a pair of monitors, you will likely need either studio monitor stands or some foam isolation pads. The speaker stands will be best if you have the proper space.

However, if you’re planning on simply placing your speakers on your desk, foam isolation pads will help treat the sound of your space.

The placement of your speakers

There’s nothing inherently wrong with tossing a pair of speakers on a bookshelf or your desk, but going back to treating your room, you want them to be set up as best as possible to give you a clear signal.

You want to make sure you’re placing the right monitor at the right distance from you for your room. For example, nearfield monitors will be best if placed closer to your ears, which works well in most home studios. Alternatively, midfield monitors are best when placed further away for a bigger room.

The best budget studio monitors

Now it’s time to talk about actual products. You’ve probably heard of the classic brands: ADAM, Yamaha, KRK, Focal, Mackie, Presonus, Genelec, Dynaudio, Neumann, etc. People will argue to death about which products are superior, but the truth is, it really comes down to musical genre, personal preference, and your price range.

While equipment quality is highly subjective, we believe these monitors to be the most trusted and most exciting.

 

Under $300

If you’re just starting out and simply looking for the best budget studio monitors, there are options. Cheap studio monitors can still pack quite a punch, if used right. Typically, those just starting out with producing will seek a budget-friendly option.

Here are our recommended picks under $300:

1. Presonus 3.5s
   • Average Price: $99.95 (Pair)
   • Power rating: 25 Watt
   • Link: Amazon
2. IK Multimedia iLoud Micro
   • Average Price: $299.99 (Pair)
   • Power rating: 50 Watt
   • Link: Sweetwater
3. M-Audio BX5-D3
   • Average Price: $149 (Single)
   • Power rating: 100 Watt
   • Link: Guitar Center
4. JBL One Series 104
   • Average Price: $179 (Pair)
   • Power rating: 60 Watt
   • Link: Sweetwater
5. Alesis Elevate 5 MKII
   • Average Price: $129 (Pair)
   • Power rating: 40 Watt
   • Link: Sweetwater

Under $600

If you’re willing to flesh out a bit more cash, there are serious benefits to boosting your budget for higher quality. These likely won’t break the bank, but they do come with a more intermediate price tag. 

For the producer looking to take things past the beginner phase into more serious territory, here are our top picks for under $600.

1. Yamaha HS5
   • Average Price: $199.99 (Single)
   • Power rating: 70 Watt
   • Link: Amazon
2. JBL 308P MKII
   • Average Price: $249 (Single)
   • Power rating: 112 Watt
   • Link: Sweetwater
3. KRK ROKIT8G4 KRK 8″
   • Average Price: $298 (Single)
   • Power rating: 203 Watt
   • Link: Amazon
4. ADAM Audio T5V 5
   • Average Price: $199 (Single)
   • Power rating: 50 Watt
   • Link: Sweetwater
5. Focal Alpha 50
   • Average Price: $299 (Single)
   • Power rating: 55 Watt
   • Link: Sweetwater

Under $1,000

As we move into this higher price range, the quality of the speaker will become much more pronounced. New frequencies will be available, and a more clear audio signal will come through. 

These speakers are recommended for the more advanced producer looking to invest in long-term, quality products for their home studio. Here are our top picks under $1,000:

1. Yamaha HS8
   • Average Price: $369 (Single)
   • Power rating: 60 Watt
   • Link: Amazon
2. ADAM A5X
   • Average Price: $499 (Single)
   • Power rating: 100 Watt
   • Link: Sweetwater
3. KRK ROKIT 10-3 GR4
   • Average Price: $499 (Single)
   • Power rating: 300 Watt
   • Link: Amazon
4. Focal Alpha 65
   • Average Price: $399 (Single)
   • Power rating: 105 Watt
   • Link: Sweetwater
5. Mackie XR624
   • Average Price: $299 (Single)
   • Power rating: 160 Watt
   • Link: Amazon

Above $1,000

These high-end monitors will transform your bedroom studio into something akin to a state-of-the-art studio. While the price tags for these speakers run quite high, they are a worthy investment for any musician looking to create the ultimate home studio. 

Here are our top picks for the best of the best monitors in the $1,000+ range.

1. Hedd Type 07
   • Average Price: $399 (Single)
   • Power rating: 200 Watt
   • Link: B&H
2. Dynaudio Lyd 48 
   • Average Price: $1,149 (Single)
   • Power rating: 105 Watt
   • Link: Sweetwater
3. Neumann KH 120
   • Average Price: $399 (Single)
   • Power rating: 180 Watt
   • Link: Sweetwater
4. Focal Shape 65
   • Average Price: $999 (Single)
   • Power rating: 105 Watt
   • Link: Sweetwater
5. Genelec 8030c
   • Average Price: $695 (Single)
   • Power rating: 100 Watt
   • Link: B&H

Conclusion

A high-quality pair of studio monitors are a must for any home studio, and they don’t have to cost a fortune to make a difference in your music. 

Our best advice beyond this list is to see if your local music hardware store has multiple speakers where you can test your music. Be sure that you’re not just testing your own beats, though. Play reference tracks from your favorite artists, too.

Which studio monitors do you use? Which model did we leave off that we should consider?

What is house music?

What is house music? History, origins, and production tips

If you’re not already familiar with house music, it’s likely that you’ve heard it before without knowing. Four on the floor kick drums, swinging hi-hats, gospel-cut vocal samples, bouncy chord progressions, and funk-inflected bass lines are all integral to the unique identity of the genre. While there is no concrete definition of house music, there are several characteristics we’ll teach you that make it instantly recognizable. 

It’s a genre that has made its way around the world throughout various phases of club culture. The house sound has even left its mark on other genres, such as pop, hip-hop, and indie rock. Because it’s such a repetitive style of music, once you get the basic formula down, it’s not too difficult to replicate. In fact, the genre thrives on repetition. It’s the subtleties in between that make certain tracks stand out.

In this post, we are going to show you how to get started with house music production. Many new students struggle at the beginning, but these methods are guaranteed to make it easier for anyone. But before getting into how to produce within the genre, let’s take a look at the origins of house music and how it came to be the diverse dance genre we know and love today.

 

 

House music origins

Where did house music start? The history of house music traces back to the late 1970s, deep in the underground clubs of Chicago — and later New York — as DJs began blending genres of dance music into a more mechanical formula with distinct, deep bass lines. It is often said that house music rose from the ashes of disco. DJs moving beyond the disco culture began to experiment with new mixing techniques and rhythmic variations that eventually became house.

Historic nightclubs such as Chicago’s “Warehouse” and New York’s “Paradise Garage” served as mainstays for a majority Black, Latino, and LGBT crowd. The house scene was viewed as a haven for these marginalized communities. Inclusivity and equality are the core of house music’s origins.

Built by Black artists, Frankie Knuckles is widely regarded as the “Godfather of House Music.” Other seminal Black innovators such as DJ Ron Hardy and Larry Levan helped lead the way in the early days of house. In this era, it wasn’t uncommon for DJs to lack basic equipment like turntables with varying speeds or even mixers. As a result of their limitations, pioneers like Frankie Knuckles would remix songs using a reel-to-reel tape machine, adding unique breakdowns to the mix. 

This evolution of dance music allowed house music to flourish in underground clubs, but it also began the spawn of different subgenres of house music. 

 

 

The different types of house music

Led by Larry Heard, Deep house originated via the fusion of Chicago house elements with inflections of jazz, funk, and soul music. Characterized by the use of Roland’s legendary TR-909 drum machine, soft keyboard pads, ambient mixes, and complex chord progressions, the subgenre emerged as a slower, more liquid, and stylish version of house.

Acid house followed with its unique emphasis on the “squelching” sound of the Roland TB-303 electronic synthesizer-sequencer. It was popularized by DJ Pierre and helped bring house music to a worldwide audience, and its influence spread to other dance genres such as jungle, techno, and trip-hop. 

House took off in the late 80s from underground to mainstream outside of the United States as Farley “Jackmaster” Funk’s “Love Can’t Turn Around” peaked at #10 in the UK singles chart. Eventually, the UK became a hot spot for the genre, as it spread across the world within the realm of dance music.

More subgenres began to emerge as the genre rose in popularity. In the last decade, new takes on house such as electro swing, future house, tropical house, lo-fi house, and more have become prominent interpretations of the genre today.

 

 

How to make house music

When it comes to making a house beat in Ableton (or any DAW), there are several core elements and guidelines that you can follow and utilize. By combining these tried and true methods, you will unlock several house music production secrets. However, as with any piece of music, experimenting with your own original interpretations is key to finding your own sound, and potentially creating the next subgenre of house. 

 

Tempo

• First, set your BPM to somewhere along with the 115 – 130 BPM range. Typically, the sweet spot is around 125 BPM, but it will depend on which subgenre of house you are going for. While other genres of music have more flexibility when it comes to BPM, the four on the floor nature of house music means keeping the BPM in a tight realm is key. From there, it’s time to create your house drum rack.

Drums

• The Roland TR-909 is king when it comes to the history of house music. This will be a good sample source to draw from as you begin selecting your kick, hi-hats, claps, rides, snares, shakers, and more into your Ableton house drum rack. When you begin building your beat, the most important place to begin is with your hi-hat pattern. You’ll want to start with a closed hi-hat and an open hi-hat.
• Create a groove that has sixteenth note relationships. There should be multiple instances where your hi-hats are separated by a division of a sixteenth note. Then, go into Ableton’s groove pool, select a nice swing groove, and apply it to your hi-hats. Without a swing, the pattern won’t have that signature house feel.
• Then, add in your kick drum, which will simply just be a four on the floor pattern. Your kick and hi-hat will be the foundation of your beat. Everything else you add — claps, snares, various percussion — will be supportive. But like any good house track, the first thing you hear drum-wise is almost always a dancy kick and hi-hat pattern that gets the groove building.

Vocal samples

• One of the best house music production tips is to find a powerful vocal sample that will help bring your track to life. Typically, a good gospel vocal sample will work.
• You can apply some pitch-bending to the vocal, but generally, house music does not feature heavily processed vocals. Because of this, you will want to spend the majority of your time finding the right vocal sample, since you’ll mostly only be treating it with minimal effects like delay and reverb.

 

Chords

• To make your own house music, you will want a good rhythmic pattern with your chords. The chord progression can be as simple as just using a few Minor seventh and Major seventh chords. Deep house producers often use Add 9 variations to give their chord progressions a jazzier feel. In many cases, less is more when it comes to your progression.
• Set them to delay on a return track in order to retain the power of all of your sounds while also getting effects in there. Having that small amount of delay will help give your chords more of a bounce and sense of spatial depth within the mix.
• While many house songs feature short, staccato chord stabs, using sustained chords can create a more dramatic and ambient slow-build effect. It depends on the subgenre of house you’re creating and the overall feel you want for your track.
  

Bassline

• For a classic bass line, a great house music production technique is to mirror your bass with your chord stabs. In other words, your bass would be hitting the same rhythmic pattern as your chords, and it should have a similar staccato tightness to it.
• By mirroring your chords and bass, you can drop either of them out at any moment and the track will continue the same groove. The two work in tandem with one another, and at some point in the track, you will want to drop out the chords and just let the bass rock, and vice versa.
• On the other hand, applying syncopation between your chords and bass line can be a great tool to add a unique rhythmic movement. 

General house music production tips

1. An incredibly simplistic element to give your track that extra sense of color and depth is to add a sustained string track. It can be just one note: a root note, a fifth, a third, whichever sounds best to you. Adding that sustained note will give you more of a classic house sound.
2. Another tip to help your track jump a bit more is to add in a syncopated snare later in your beat to add new rhythmic variations. Be sure to add the same or similar swing settings to your snare as your hi-hats. You want the whole track to work cohesively together as one unit.
   
3. Only use one oscillator on your bass. Choose a square wave, roll your cutoff way down, turn up your resonance, and add some envelope activity. This will give you a stab-y and powerful bassline. If you use more than one oscillator, they will begin to phase, and you will get little moments of phase cancellation, where the low end gets lost.
   
4. When it comes to arrangement, variation is key. Once you’ve created a strong foundation of drums, chords, bass, vocals, and various samples, you can flesh out the track simply by duplicating your main loop several times, adding in parts slowly, dropping things out, and bringing them back in varying orders. The secret is good pacing and never letting one sound get too repetitive.
   

 

 

Conclusion

House music has been evolving for several decades, and its prominent role in dance music does not seem to be fading any time soon. As you open your DAW and begin to explore different types of house music, remember these techniques. Hopefully, they will provide you with the basics on how to make house music for beginners and more advanced producers.

What are your thoughts on house music, its history, and the best production tips for making a powerful house track? 

343 Labs Approved as Ableton Certified Training Center

Ableton Spaces Recap

Ableton Spaces took place July 13th in Brooklyn, NY. Spaces was an all day Ableton conference that featured a number of different presentations, discussions, and performances focused around but not limited to the topic of Ableton Live. Artists that were featured at the event included Stud1nt, Nick Hook, Ebonie Smith, Ski Beatz, and Half Waif. The conference took place at The Music Hall of Williamsburg where presentations were held on stage while workshops and refreshments were served in the downstairs lounge area. The downstairs area was set up with Push controllers as well as a modular synth setup that was synced up to Live using a new feature called CV Tools. The day began with an engaging panel that included Jesse Terry, co-creator of Push, Stud1nt and Ski Beatz. It consisted of each artist playing a song that was made using the same sample and was provided by Ableton. Afterwards each artist broke down their workflows of making each piece which varied quite a bit from each other. The next presentation of the day was a highly informative presentation about the latest mixing and automation features of Ableton 10.1 and many of the new features available on the Ableton Push controller. After a break for lunch the afternoon was kicked off by another panel that included Nick Hook, Ebonie Smith, Stud1nt, and Coleman Goughary from Ableton which covered a variety of topics such as how to stay relevant in the industry and what to do when you feel like you’re out of inspiration. To end the day there was a performance by the Half Waif which feature a powerful demonstration of Live can do in the performance environment. Throughout the day there were meetups taking place at various times focused on specific topics such as software development and education. During the educators meetup we got the chance to catch up with all different types of teachers, developers and music professionals that use Ableton Live as an educational tool to teach music. As expected the quality of the event was as high as the other events Ableton has been holding for many years such as the annual loop conference. We hope to see more events like this coming to New York City in the near future.

Digital and Analog Synthesizers

A synthesizer is an electronic instrument that uses electrical signals to mimic the natural sounds we hear in physical instruments. It works by rapidly changing the voltage amounts in a circuit. These voltage changes (oscillations) repeat the same pattern and are referred to as waveforms. The artist shapes the sounds of the synth by controlling the structure, size, and speed of these waveforms.

Analog vs. Digital
An analog synth uses only electronic circuitry to generate and manipulate the sound. The MiniMoog Model D, Prophet Rev2, and the Yamaha CS-80 are all popular analog synths.
A digital synth is a standalone computer that recreates the physical circuitry model of an analog synth. Popular digital synths include the OP-1, Pocket Operators, and the Roland System1.

Many analog synth enthusiasts like to argue that a digital synth can never accurately replicate the sounds of it’s analog counterpart. Although, some synths use a hybrid of both analog and digital by using analog circuits and then employing digital technology to process the signal.

No matter what your preference is, analog vs digital, every synth has it’s strengths and weaknesses. To a synth enthusiast, most classic synths are easily identifiable by their signature sounds.