This tutorial will help you to stop looking at your gate plug-ins as boring noise removal tools and get you using them as creative tools and effects.

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It’s often pretty straight forward to create and program a basic beat. The real challenge comes when we try to introduce a groove that gives our track soul and character.

There are a few ways to do this of course and useful methods include using recorded performances, MIDI sequencing and even entire drum loops. All of these techniques can really add to simple beat, but if you are a fan of getting things down quickly and producing really satisfying results, then you may want to try a different approach.

This tutorial looks at how we can build a groove using existing loops in our library without using them in their entirety. The result is an original groove that often feel as if they have been ‘played’.

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A lot of DAWs allow the user to create tempo lockable grooves within their environment. These loops will change in tempo with our DAW’s master clock. This ability can be extremely useful for quick auditioning of new grooves or experimenting with different tempos in our projects.

The main problem here is that most applications use unique file formats that can only be loaded in the specific program you are using. In some cases, such as the Apple loops format, these files can even be dependent on a certain operating system.

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This tutorial contains three screencasts showing you how to set up sidechain routing in Logic 9, Cubase 5 and Reason 4.

In these tutorials I use a kick drum to trigger the sidechain and use a piano loop for the processed sound but obviously you can apply this technique to any two sounds you wish. I have also included the project files from each DAW so you can load them up yourselves.

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There’s no doubt that wide stereo sounds are pleasing to the ear. It can bring a mix to life or make individual elements shine. It’s certainly a subject I get asked about a lot and something that many producers seem eager to be able to master.

Here’s a rundown of the different methods we can use to boost the stereo image of both our whole mix or individual instruments. Of course some of these are more sensible options than others when it comes to producing a coherent, intelligible mix. It’s worth taking a minute before you turn your new stereo enhancer plug-in up to 11.

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As producing completely ‘in the box’ fast becomes the norm, it’s essential we maximize the potential of our computer set up. Of course, improving our computer hardware and investing in new sample libraries is one way to do this—but another is to seamlessly wire together our applications using Rewire.

Rewire is often underestimated and in many cases goes unused. Using Rewire correctly can actually expand your sound palette, avoid unnecessary rendering and even add extra processing tools to your DAW. Let’s take a look at how Rewire works, some of its history and a few situations we can use it in.

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The new version of Cubase has landed with some pretty impressive new features that will be interesting to both new and seasoned users alike. Let’s take a look at a few ground-breaking features the new version has to offer and see if these latest additions keep Cubase up there with the other big guns.

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Whether you are working on a doubled vocal part, the drum track or a bassline, that one slightly out of time note just stands out and brings the whole production down. Of course we can always just go for another take and record the part again, but it may seem a shame to have to do that if the part is otherwise perfect, and sometimes it is something you only notice when the other musicians have gone home!

It may just be that you have a vocal part from another project that you want to use in a remix, and you want to change the timing or duration of some of the words or syllables. In this tutorial I’m going to take a look at the powerful Sample Editor in Cubase 4 and show how we can use the Free Warp feature to alter the feel of a vocal part and also to correct an out of time djembe recording.

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Not long ago, transient designers were only available as hardware processors. Now, a number of DAWs and plug-ins are dragging the technology into the digital domain. With all these new emulations and interpretations of a classic processor becoming available, it’s well worth familiarizing yourself with what could become an essential part of your production process.

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If you fancy having a go at composing music to film, one of the first obstacles you will encounter is how to synchronize the music to the action in the film. Whether you are using real or virtual instruments, you are going to have to make the music follow the picture, and if you are working to a brief they may specify exactly where they want sections of music to start and finish.

In this tutorial I’m going to look at how we can import such a film into Cubase 4 and compose some music for it. I’ve put together a short nature sequence with butterflies and a spider (this is not going to win any Oscars, but it will suffice to practice with!) and I’ve written an imaginary brief from a producer specifying what should happen at certain timecode points in the film.

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