What are the best saturation VST plugins on the market right now? This article will give you eight tips for fantastic saturation plugins that take your sound from dull to incredible – with true-to-hardware emulation of vintage tape recorders and beyond. These saturators have the beautiful analog qualities you love – for the best and most lively mixing results. Let's begin with our first choice on the list — the Decapitator by Soundtoys. 1. Decapitator (by Soundtoys) When you want the true feel of analog hardware, a few plugins do it better than others. One of them is the Decapitator...

Source: Christian Hirt Instagram Story Q&A @ChristianHirt Secret Tips 1. Any tips for making powerful and bouncy progressive basses like in your Passenger 10 productions? - “Short decays. Very controlled reverbs and ultra tight and controlled delays. All insert FX or even extra tracks only for the effects.” 2. What’s the secret for the clarity of elements in your mix? Everything’s crystal clear. - “Good question! I try to work without sub-groups or buses. I try to work out a track by the rules of Max Martin: There can only be one single element in a track in front. That’s...

This second version of our free chord generator creates amazing chord progressions with a few clicks. All you need is to give it the root note and it’s going to do the rest. It always stays within your scale and plays advanced extensions for you. In this way you can easily create unexpected, elaborate progressions. Download Chord Generator In this article I go over what it can do.  It still has basic functionalities: Major and Minor scales Drop Bass and Rootless functions 7th, 9th, 11th and 13th extensions Lowering extensions by an octave 6 NEW FUNCTIONS: (With Live 11’s updated...

The autotuning industry (does an industry like that exist?) is booming. If you turn on the radio, you can hear autotune on almost every track. Strangely, the options in the free autotune VST plugin market are still few... But the ones available are sufficient for your autotuning needs. Whether your goal is making your vocals sound like T-Pain or if you want natural results – these free autotune plugins will work fantastic. Let’s dive into the list. Graillon 2 (by Auburn Sounds) Do you want to ensure that your vocals are singing perfectly in tune? The Graillon 2 autotune is...

Who said creating amazing space and dimension in your mix must be pricy? The free VST market is still booming. And it feels like the selection gets better every year – with plugins competing with or sounding better than their $300+ big brothers. This article shares the best free reverb VST plugins you can download in 2021. Let’s dive right in. 1. TAL-Reverb 4 (by TAL-Software) Looking for a classic and a bit diffused reverb with a hint of the 80s? Well, it might just be your lucky day. The TAL-Reverb 4 fits the bill and is as great-sounding as it...

Drums are the foundation of incredible music pieces in almost every musical genre in the world. Make great drums and beats – and your track will stand firm. As a music producer, learning how to make great-sounding drums and beats is one of the more important things you can learn in music production. In this complete guide to drums in Ableton Live, you will learn how to: Add your drums Mix your drums Pan your drums Compress your drums Tune your drums But before we start, make sure you check out these articles on creating masterful drums and beats: Guide:...

Consistently making fatter drums is what many producers strive for. The drums are the foundation of any great electronic music track. If your drums sound thin and weak, there’s a very good chance that will spread throughout your entire mix. And the last thing you want is a flat and thin mix! >> Learn how to make professional drum beats. Many times, the secret is to fatten up your drums – giving them more punch, power, and warmth. In this article, you will get five valuable tips on how to make fatter drums – every time. Just follow the tips...

Want to humanize your MIDI drums? Computers are robotic. That includes DAWs and programming your MIDI drums for your beats. When drawing out your drum notes into a perfect grid with maximum velocity, it can quickly become too perfect and boring. Why? Because it lacks life and a human’s touch. Luckily, humanizing MIDI drums in Ableton is easy. And in this article, we will show you exactly how you can humanize your drums in three simple steps. But first, let’s dive in to understand what humanizing drums mean. What Does Humanizing Drums Mean? Humanizing your MIDI drums means taking digitally...

Want to make a fuller, fatter lead sound? Then you need to learn how to layer leads. Layering your lead sound is a must-know technique that serves electronic music producers well. Once you know the process behind it, you can make all your lead sounds shine by enriching missing qualities and frequencies or making mind-bending harmonies that makes your listeners crave more. This article will teach you the five steps on how to layer your leads properly. You will also learn why to layer leads in the first place. Let’s dive into and look at the 'why.' Why Layer Leads? Layering leads...

What is the circle of fifths, and how do you use it? If you’re a music producer or went to music classes in school, you’ve probably heard about the circle of fifths. You have maybe even seen pictures of a wheel outlining all the different notes. Click here to learn everything you need in Music Theory.  When you look at first glance, the circle of fifths may seem complicated. But trust me, it's a lot simpler than it looks. In this article, you will learn how to use the circle of fifths in your music production. You will also learn how to...