Analog synthesizers expand your musical horizons
From mood-setting ambient tones to raucous synth-pop, analog synthesizers have made a mark on music in various genres – and they’re not just for keyboards! Read More.
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The Amplifier ADSR Envelope: How to manipulate analog synth parameters
ADSR stands for Attack, Decay, Sustain, and Release, and each one of these four parameters (or “stages”) of the envelope affects how loud your analog synth sound will play over time. Read More.
Creating and modifying sounds on analog synths
From throbbing bass lines to sinuous hip-hop leads, from effervescent dance atmospherics to grinding industrial riffs, the sounds of analog synths play a huge role across various musical genres. Read More.
Travel-friendly portable audio interfaces
These four portable audio interfaces will help you get audio in and out of your laptop quickly and easily and sound great doing it. Read More.
How to pitch your music for video games
Game composer Tom Salta and music publisher Jake Versluis advise hooking up with a quality music publisher if you can – or making a strong pitch directly to game-makers if you can’t – but how do you approach either sort of party and get taken seriously? Here’s advice on how to pitch your music for video games. Read more.
Virtual instruments – the secret ingredient of film, TV, and video game music
Ever wonder who plays the Hollywood scores? Not so long ago, film scores were recorded in studios and on sound stages. These days, that brilliant score might not have been played by a live orchestra. Technology allows virtual instrument developers to create near-identical versions of real-life instruments. Read more.
MIDI FAQ for beginners
MIDI, or Musical Instrument Digital Interface, is a language by which computers, virtual instruments, and hardware samplers/synthesizers can communicate. There are a lot of unfamiliar terms and concepts in the MIDI world, so let’s take a look at a few questions that I typically hear from first time users. Read more.
Choosing the right audio interface for your home studio
If you’re preparing to set up a home recording studio, this article can help you better understand some of the basic elements regarding the audio interface with your computer or DAW. These concepts can get very complex, but this post will focus on some of the more basic points about the subject. Here are nine questions you should ask when comparing audio interface options. Read more.
Using Auto-Tune in Your Home Studio
Many people want to lay blame on the tools for their work sounding robotic or unnatural, but this doesn’t have to be the case if you learn how to use your tools properly and pay attention to what the settings do. Of course, there is a limit to how much tuning or editing you CAN do to a less-than-perfect performance… Read more.
Using MIDI Controllers On Stage
MIDI controllers have been steadily rising in popularity and are a prized piece of gear for beat makers from the hip-hop and electronic world, as well as across a host of other genres. Read more.
Using a MIDI Controller In Your Home Studio
As the home studio has evolved, so too has the MIDI controller to fit the needs of the musician and the software that has become a part of the studio arsenal. Controllers now have moved well beyond acting as a keyboard for module synths and enhance any musician’s DAW and SoftSynth, enabling one to retain a tactile experience in an environment that seems to require more and longer use of the computer keyboard and mouse. Read more.
8 Reasons MIDI is Still Alive and Kicking
“Is MIDI dead?” The question seems to be echoed from forum to forum. MIDI was invented in the early 80s just after I got into music. Back then keyboards were primitive, the personal computer had just been invented, and 640K was enough RAM for anyone. MIDI was a solution that fit like a glove in that world. You might be surprised people are still using it today. Read more…