Next up I’ll be going into modulation matrixes and any other extra settings you are likely to find in most synths. If there is anything in particular you would like to see in future casts please let me know.

Screencast

The answer often doesn’t lie in reprogramming the sequence or using heavy effects processing. A more simple approach can be using one or two extra synths layered with your original pattern. This can add depth and pace to the whole piece and often make the part more exciting.

Lets take a look at the entire process, from recording the original part right through to mixing the layered sounds into your existing project.

Step 1 – The Original Project

For this tutorial I have constructed a basic loop, that includes drums, bass and few effects. This is the bare bones that I will flesh out with our MIDI sequences.

I have supplied the Logic Pro project file in the download pack, so you can take a closer look at what’s going on. You will need Fabfilter’s plug-in pack installed, if you don’t have this you can get a fully functional 30 day demo here.

An overview of the original loop used.

The original loop:

Download audio file (1.mp3)

Step 2 – The Basic Pattern

To get the ball rolling I loaded a really basic patch into Fabfilter’s Twin 2 soft synth. I then played a very basic pattern and recorded the result into Logic. I ensured there weren’t too many overlapping notes and everything was in key.

The basic Fabfilter twin patch.

As you would expect the sequence sounded a bit dry at this point and fell a little bit flat when everything was played in unison. Although I was happy enough with it musically, something had to be done to bring things up to speed!

The initial, untouched MIDI sequence.

Step 3 – Some Initial Alterations

Before I started to layer some extra sounds i wanted to get this first patch sounding its best. I started by applying some basic quantisation to the sequence. Although the original recording wasn’t too far off this just brought the whole thing into line and tidied up a few mistakes.

The quantise settings.

The sequence with quantise applied.

The quantised sequence:

Download audio file (3.mp3)

I then started to look at the actual synth patch and made some adjustments that gave the sound a little more character. I added some resonance to the low pass filter and modulated it with a fast envelope generator to add some acid squelch. Other touches added at this point included some stereo unison and a touch of the synths internal delay effect.

The altered synth patch.

The altered synth patch:

Download audio file (3b.mp3)

The synth’s delay effect.

The synth with some delay applied:

Download audio file (3c.mp3)

Already these alterations made a huge difference to how the synth sequence sat in the mix but some extra work was needed to get the most out of the pattern.

The synth part in the mix.

The single layered synth part in the mix:

Download audio file (3d.mp3)

Step 4 – The First Layer

To add some pace and movement to the sequence its sometimes a good idea to use tempo synced patches or arpeggiated sounds. Often the patterns created by using your original MIDI with this type of sound will fill out a track and impart a decent amount of energy.

In this case I simply copied the MIDI part to a new track and instantiated a new Fabfilter Twin 2 synth. You’ll notice the copied part is named in italics. This simply means it is an alias or ghost copy. The advantage of this copying method is that any edits made to the original part will be reflected in the copies. This feature is available on most DAWs.

The MIDI part copied as an alias.

Once the part was copied it was tranposed down an octave and then a new arpeggiated patch was loaded in Twin 2. The new part is tempo synced so any extra notes that are added are locked perfectly with the whole project. This part really adds an extra dimension to the whole sequence and can be easily mixed to the required level, even a small amount will add body and depth.

The new Fabfilter twin patch used for the second layer.

The two layers together:

Download audio file (4.mp3)

Step 5 – A Second Layer

If you feel your pattern needs even more spice you can add another layer, in fact you can add as many layers as you like! It’s really just a case of repeating the last step and creating more instruments for the new MIDI to trigger.

I often find that a layer containing an instrument that is in direct contrast to the original can work very well. For an example I have used Logic’s ‘Sculpture’ physical modelling synth to add a bell / chime patch to the mix. It adds an ethereal haunting quality and works pretty well.

The final layer added by Logic’s sculpture.

The ‘Sculpture’ chime layer

Download audio file (5.mp3)

All layers playing in the mix:

Download audio file (5b.mp3)

This is really aimed at the beginner who is relatively new to subtractive synths or people just starting to program their own patches. I’ve tried to keep the videos a little shorter than previous offerings but I have to apologise for any heavy breathing you might hear in the later stages – my boxer Alfie decided to come and sleep in my studio!

Don’t worry if you don’t own Reason as I have constructed the same sound in a couple of other synths: FAW’s Circle and Logic’s ES2. Hopefully this will allow the majority of people to follow the series.

Screencast

The Patch in FAW Circle

Here is the patch in Subtractor and also recreated using Future Audio Workshop’s excellent ‘Circle’ synth. While these recreations won’t sound identical, they should give most of you a chance to load the patch up.

You can download a fully functional demo of Circle here.

The patches for each of these are available for download in the play pack below.

The original patch in Subtractor.

The patch recreated in FAW Circle.

The Patch in Logic Pro 9’s ES2

Here is the same patch, but this time in Logic’s ES2 synth.

The patch recreated in Logic’s ES2.

This tutorial is aimed at anybody new to Kontakt or Komplete 5, people who haven’t really explored Kontakt’s groups, or anybody looking for a new, creative approach to beat-mangling.

Step 1: Loading a Drum Sample

For this tutorial, you can reasonably use any drum loop that you want. I will be using a clean loop of James Brown’s “Cold Sweat” that I found online. (Just remember, even though some of these loops show up everywhere, be sure to clear copyrights on any samples in your own work.)

Download audio file (1 – ColdSweatUnaltered.mp3)

Step 2: Creating the Sample Map

When you first drag and drop a sample into the Kontakt window, it will create a new Instrument where the sample is mapped across the entire keyboard. We need to change this for the original sample.

First, click the Wrench icon on the Instrument. This turns on Instrument Edit Mode. Next, click on the Mapping Editor. If you want an extremely in-depth lesson on mapping samples, definitely check out the Kontakt manual.

Highlight the sample zone by clicking on it. Drag and drop the borders so that the sample only plays on a certain key. I have moved it to C1. Move the Root Key to C1 as well, either by the info bar above the mapper, or by right clicking the zone and selecting Batch Tools>Move Root to Center.

Step 3: Slicing the Drum Loop

Now for the fun part. Beat-slicing in Kontakt is not nearly as automated and user-friendly as it is in other samplers, namely Guru, Battery, Maschine, etc. However, what it lacks in ease-of-use, it makes up for with depth and usefulness.

Keep the Mapping Editor open. Now, open the Wave Editor as well. Here, you see the waveform of the loop.

Click the Sync/Slice tab. Click the power button on the Grid box to turn it on. A series of blue lines should appear over the waveform. These are the slice markers. Before we continue, make sure the tempo of the loop is read appropriately. Since my ColdSweat.wav is a two bar loop, Kontakt thinks that it is an 80.59 bpm single-bar loop. Click the + button to double the tempo of the file, bringing it up to 161.18 bpm.

Now, you must decide whether you want the beatslicer to slice the loop on a fixed grid (i.e. 1/8 notes, 1/16 notes, etc.), or by transients (which detects hits based on a sensitivity slider). Usually, I prefer a fixed grid, as it makes programming with standard rhythms much easier. However, for this tutorial, we will use transients, as this particular loop’s timing suffers from slight human error. Click “Auto” to change to transients, and adjust the sensitivity slider to your liking. If you are feeling adventurous, you can manually move the slice markers. (This works in both Fix and Auto modes!)

Step 4: Mapping the Slices

Here is the unusual step (as far as most beatslicers go). We now have to map the slices into our instrument.

Drag the mapping editor back into sight, but keep part of the wave editor in focus. (If you are running Kontakt in standalone mode, you can open these editors in separate windows.) Now, select all of the slices by either shift-clicking to select a range of them, or ctrl-clicking to choose individual slices. Then, drag and drop the slices onto the mapping editor (I am choosing C2). It is important to note, the number of keys that each slice will map onto is determined by the vertical mouse position as you drag the slices. I keep the mouse towards the bottom of the mapping editor so that each slice only takes up one key.

Step 5: Setting Up the Groups

Once you have the mapping set the way you like, you can close the Wave Editor. Now, scroll back up, and re-open the Group Editor. You should now see two groups in the box: “1 samples” and “slices mapped”. You should also see a big red “Edit All Groups” button. Turn that off immediately. What you will want to do now is rename the groups to something that works for you. I prefer “Original Loop” and “Default Slices”.

Step 6: Programming a Beat (Test Run)

Here’s where you must provide a bit of your own creativity. Turn your host’s tempo up to about 160 (the tempo of the sliced loop), and program a small 1-or-2-bar loop. Remember, C1 is the original loop, and the slices begin on C2. Here is what I have programmed:

Download audio file (2 – Beat.mp3)

Step 7: Fixing the Slices/Turning Kontakt Into a Drum Machine

Now, if you are anything like me, you were probably driven nuts by a few things while programming your loop, namely:

1. No velocity sensitivity! How can you program an interesting loop without dynamics?
2. Drum samples lasting only as long as the notes in the host! What gives?
3. Polyphonic slices? Not on my watch!

As I mentioned in the Wave Editor, Kontakt is powerful. Too powerful. It’s designed for all samples, not just drums. It is up to you, the programmer, to determine exactly how you want everything to sound.

Step 8: Volume Control

For now, close the mapping editor. You should only have the Group Editor open. Be sure that only the slice group is selected, and not the original loop – this will save you headaches when wondering why the modulators aren’t working. Now, click the “Mod” tab under Amplifier, and you should see an “Add Modulator…” drop-down box. Click on that, then External Sources>Velocity. Click it again, and select Envelope>AHDSR. Now, listen to your loop again.

Your loop may now be lower in volume. Why? Well, most hosts have drum hits at velocity 100, whereas 127 is maximum velocity. Now that you have added a velocity modulator to your slices, they no longer auto-play at full-impact. Feel free to tweak your loop’s velocity levels to your tastes.

Also, do you see that downward arrow button next to the Envelope Modulator? Clicking that will automatically scroll to the bottom of the instrument, where your envelope resides. Since we are working with percussion envelopes, we should select “AHD Only”. That way, we are left with a three-stage envelope, perfect for percussion. Keep the Attack around 1 ms, so that there aren’t noticeable pops at the beginning of a slice. Tweak the Hold (How long the sample stays at max volume) and Decay to your liking.

Step 9: Your First Automation

Now would be a perfect time to set-up an automation for the envelope’s decay setting. Tweaking a drum loop’s decay is a classic IDM effect (it often sounds like Trance-Gating). First, if it’s not already open, open Kontakt’s browser by clicking the big folder button on the top of the plug-in. In the browser, click the “Auto” tab, and make sure that it is set to “Host Automation”. Drag-and-Drop #000 onto your envelope’s decay knob. It should now say “Assigned to: Decay” next to #000.

Before we go any farther, have fun with this. Let your loop play, and tweak the decay knob to hear this effect.

Download audio file (3 – DecayTweak.mp3)

Step 10: Setting Up a Voice Group

At this point, you probably want the slices to mute each other, to give that hard, edited sound. Go back to your Group Editor, and again, make sure only the slice-group is selected. Right under the Group box, you should see a little drop-down box that says “voice grp. <off>”. Click that, and select “v01″.

This will place all of the slices into one voice group. The default settings (next to the drop-down box) show that the voice group defaults to only one voice-per-group, and the oldest sounds are killed off by newer sounds. Play back your loop to hear that nice hard-edit sound. If you had long decay settings, you will now hear that decay get chopped off.

Download audio file (4 – VoiceGroup.mp3)

Step 11: Let the Duplications Begin

Remember how I said the slicing was the fun part? I lied. Here is where Kontakt really begins to show off. Before we get into it, I’ve expanded my loop into a two-bar loop with some velocity changes:

Download audio file (5 – TwoBarLoop.mp3)

Okay, deep breath. Go to your Group Editor, and select only your slice group. Right under your Group box, select “Group Start Options”. This open a new tab full of group switching options. Select Group Starts>On Key. For the boxes, select “if key is between” C4 and C4. Play your loop. If you hear nothing, click (or play) a C4, and you should hear sound again.

What just happened? When you changed the “Group Starts On Key” setting, you changed the condition that must be met before the group gives off voices. By hitting the conditional key, you turned the Group back on.

Now, making sure that only the slice group is selected, right-click on it, and select “Duplicate Group(s)”.

Whoa! A couple of things just happened that you should be aware of. A new group was created and selected, with the same name of “Default Slices”. The “Original Loop” group now has a check on it (I don’t know why this happens), and the C4 key on the Kontakt keyboard should turn red (indicating that the C4 key is in charge of a group).

Uncheck the “Original Loop” group, and rename the new, duplicated group to “Default Slices +2″. Select ONLY “Default Slices +2,” and change the Group Start settings to Group Starts On Key C#4-C#4. Under Source, bring the Tune knob up to 2.00. Play your loop, and hit your C4 and C#4 keys. Your loop should change pitch accordingly.

Download audio file (6 – Pitched.mp3)

Step 12: AWESOME! But First, a Rookie Mistake

So, a quick anecdote. The first time I used this technique, I sat in front of my computer and created new groups for about three hours, building this ridiculously complex loop-gnasher. I opened my project the next day and hit play. No sound! What went wrong?

Well, I will show you. Scroll back up to the top of your Kontakt Instrument and click “Instrument Options”. Select the Instrument tab, and look at the options. See “Key Switch Default Key”? That’s the key that Kontakt activates when it first boots (By default, C0). Change this to C4, or whatever your default Group’s key is.

There. I saved you some hair.

Step 13: Go Forth and Multiply

Before we finish, let’s add one more group. Using the same process as before, duplicate the “Default Slices +2″ Group, and change the start key to D4. Turn the tuning knob back to zero. Now, go to your “Group Insert FX” tab (right under the Source tab where the Volume controls are), and add a “Lo-Fi” effect. Play your loop, and key-switch your Groups to hear the effect.

Download audio file (7 – Final.mp3)

That pretty much concludes the tutorial. From here, it’s up to you to decide on more groups. Keep duplicating your groups, changing the Group Start keys, and changing parameters/effects. Experiment to your heart’s content.

Some ideas to get you started:

• Create tons of pitches, and play melodies with your drum loops.
• Create an additional group of only pitched snares. Also, place this onto a separate voice-group so that you can compliment another loop.
• Create a group where the tuning knob is modified by an LFO, creating a sea-sick effect.
• Create a group that uses Kontakt’s TimeMachine, to get those awesome Squarepusher-style stretched, granular hi-hats.
• Read-up on how to set-up multiple outputs (a whole tutorial unto itself). Route your groups to separate outputs, and work with them from there.
• Finally, last but not least, don’t forget your automations! Half of the fun is in the performance.

I hope that you have found this technique to be useful!

Woods

The woods that your guitar is constructed from will give you your tone. For the most part we are dealing with Mahogany, Swamp Ash or Ash, Alder, Maple, with more exotic woods such as Korina. Let’s discuss the two most popular.

Mahogany is a very rich and warm sounding wood. Gibson use this as a tone-wood for their Les Paul and SG models. These guitars also feature a Mahogany neck which further adds to the warmth of the sound. For a clean signal these woods are very smooth, full and jazz-like and have been used by Larry Carlton and Robben Ford for these reasons.

With gain or distortion the woods take on a ‘classic rock’ vibe. Led Zeppelin and AC/DC have helped to make this sound very much part of rock history. It really bites when picked hard and is very smooth when strummed or picked as single notes. A good example of the smooth tone of these woods is the the intro to Guns N’ Roses classic Sweet Child Of Mine, which is played on a Gibson Les Paul on the neck pickup.

Alder is classic Fender tone. It was Fender’s replacement for the more expensive swamp ash but has become a sought after tone wood in its own right. Alder has a ’snap’ to the tone that can be heard on most of Hendrix’s work. It’s a thin sound that still retains lots of character, and it’s bright and therefore cuts through a mix or live sound with ease.

Clean tones are ‘jangly’ as demonstrated by Mark Knopfler (think Sultans of Swing). These classic tones are still favored by modern artists such as John Mayer. Slight overdrive really adds to the ’snap’ of the sound. John Mayer has a classic Alder tone.

These woods have been in popular use since the late 50s and are usually what we expect a guitar to sound like. All musical genres have used these two woods over the years and they are now firmly established as the sound of the electric guitar.

Acoustic Sound

Acoustic sound is vital to the overall sound of an electric guitar. Acoustically it should resonate when strummed across all strings and should have a good acoustic volume. Check the body of the instrument when playing it. It should have a lively vibration and this can be checked by hitting the B string and placing your hand directly onto the body. There should be a strong vibration. This indicates that the guitar is alive and will sound good amplified.

This should be the first thing you check, if you don’t like the way it sounds acoustically or it does not have any of the above characteristics then don’t even bother to plug it in. Remember all guitars are not equal regardless of the model or manufacturer.

Construction

The best woods available will only sound good if the construction of the instrument is to the highest quality. Neck-to-body joint is paramount, as this is the single most important construction consideration. Look at the point were the neck sits at the body—there should be no visible gaps and should generally look tidy.

The finish of the instrument is also important. Unfinished or natural guitars will resonate more because the wood is free to vibrate, and finishes should be applied as thinly as possible to preserve the characteristics of the tone woods. Go for a thin finish for the best sound. Also, ‘thick finishes’ have been used in the past to hide a particularly bad looking piece of wood, sunburst guitars generally use better wood than solid colored guitars simply because you can see the wood through the finish.

Necks and Fretboards

Modern guitar construction gives us a choice of through or bolt-on necks. The through neck is glued into place (without bolts) and generally aids the access to the higher frets due to the smoothness of the neck joint. There is some contention as to whether or not the through neck aids tone and sustain. Many believe it does, and others believe a bolt-on neck gives a crisper sound. Use your ears to decide.

The radius of the neck is important. It will determine the comfort of the instrument and should be a primary consideration when buying your guitar. Make sure you can play chords and single notes with ease and also check string bending and vibrato. Check the edge of the fretboard . Do the strings sit too close to the edge for you? Are the strings easy to push off the board?

Fret-wire is important for the overall playing and feel. Common sizes are small, medium and jumbo. It’s easier to fret a note with a bigger fret-wire. Fret-wire is made from nickel or stainless steel, the latter having a much longer lifespan.

Common fretboard woods are Rosewood, Maple and Ebony. Rosewood adds a warmth to the tone. Maple adds a clean crisp edge and Ebony is somewhere in the middle of the two. Not too bright, not too warm—a very nice compromise.

Scale length is a personal choice. A smaller scale length allows you to use thicker strings—the belief is that the more string vibrating over the pickups the thicker the sound. Use your ears and decide for yourself.

Pickups

Popular pickup choices are Humbuckers, Single Coils and P90s. Humbuckers have a ‘big’ sound that cancels hum due to construction. Rock players favor these as they react well with distortion and remain ‘tight and focused’ with a big sound. You can coil tap humbuckers to create a single coil type of sound. This is usually done with a ‘tap-switch’.

Single coils are weaker in comparison but offer a sound all of their own. They can sound ‘nasty’ in a good way. They are also great for that classic "blues " sound. A downfall of the single-coil is that they are not hum-canceling and can be noisy especially under fluorescent lighting. Modern single coils such as the DiMarzio Crusier have hum-canceling features so noise is not so much of an issue.

The P90 is an overgrown single coil so it falls right in the middle of the two sounds.

Pickups are a personal choice. A good way to utilize the available sounds is to go for a guitar with a mixture of pick-ups. For instance, neck and middle single-coil and bridge humbucker. Coupled with a 5-way selector switch this will give a wide choice of sound options covering all musical styles.

Hardware

A guitar is fitted with various hardware parts. In general they consist of a bridge, volume, tone controls and machine heads.

Bridge types are fixed, tremolo and floating tremolo systems. In the early 80s floating tremolos were a big part of rock guitar, the tremolo literally floated in the recess of the guitar allowing you to raise and lower pitch with the bar, these allowed some crazy sounds to be made that became a trademark of early 80s rock. The downfall of this system was they were high maintenance and became feared by guitar technicians. The floating trem is currently out of vogue and seen as a little over the top but again your own needs should govern your own choice. Beware that guitar techs will charge more to set these systems up as they require more time to find the optimum position for the floating tremolo.

The classic Fender tremolo bridge can also float if required but tuning stability is seriously compromised if this option is favored. Usually Fender bridges are set against the body so that pitch can only be lowered.

Many players believe that a fixed bridge is the best overall option for tone. Because of its solid to-body construction it really resonates against the tone wood of the body and tone appears ‘thicker’. Many classic Gibson guitars are built on this premise.

Machine heads control the amount of tension on your strings and are used to bring the guitar into tune after careful adjustment of each one. ‘Locking’ machine heads hold the string in place firmly and aid tuning stability, an ideal companion for the classic Fender tremolo bridge system.

Maintenance

A guitar owner should take care to ensure their instrument is kept well maintained. This will prolong the life of the guitar as well as ensure that it sounds its best at all times.

Complete sets of strings should be changed regularly to keep tone at an optimum. The amount of time between string changes will vary from player to player depending on how long they play for. Don’t wait for your strings to break before changing them.

At some point in the guitar’s life you will want to get a professional luthier to service it. This will include fret dressing, truss rod adjustments and general repairs. This will further extend the life of your instrument as well as keeping its resale value.

Ultimately your guitar is a personal choice. It must fit your needs in terms of sound and playability, feel good and inspire you to play and practice.

I hope you have enjoyed this guide to electric guitars and it serves as food for thought.