I always start with a reference track right at the beginning of the production phase . So when I'm actually songwriting , producing , I have a reference track and usually what happens is I'll be out and about listening to the radio and I hear a song and I add it to this Spotify playlist I have .
I'm thinking , right , I'll come back to that and I'm going to use that as a reference for a song , because I really like the idea . There might be a certain section of the song I like . There might be a sound design , a vocal , a melody , whatever it is , and the song , in this instance , is no Bad Vibes .
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In this episode , I am lifting the lid on one of my favorite kick and bass drum creative techniques , and I use this in my latest single , half-life , which dropped at the beginning of May . Click the link in the episode description to give it a spin .
Before we do that , if you are a producer or artist stuck in your tracks and you need a bit of help just to break through creative blocks and elevate your sound , then click the link in the episode description and book a free producer potential discovery call with me .
Alternatively , you can visit my website , wwwsynthmusicmasteringcom , and together we'll audit your workflow , uncover key improvement areas and map out one thing you can do right now to move forward . So to schedule your free call with me , jump on my calendar , click the link in the episode description or visit synthmusicmasteringcom .
This build section and I was kind of thinking you know what ? It sounds a bit boring . What can I do with the kick and bass to make it a bit more interesting ? And I thought automation .
But before I did think automation , I actually used my reference track , and this is why I always bang out , bang on about reference tracks in this podcast , because I always start with the reference track right at the beginning of the production phase .
So when I'm actually songwriting , producing , I have a reference track and usually what happens is I'll be out and about listening to the radio and I hear a song and I add it to the Spotify playlist I have . I'm thinking right , I'll come back to that and I'm going to use that as a reference for a song .
So I really like the idea there might be a certain section of the song I like . There might be a sound design , a vocal , a melody , whatever it is , and the song in this instance is no bad vibes and I've got it here as my reference . And there's a bit in the build of that tune that I really liked the bass and the kick .
I can only assume that it is a high pass filter that is automating and moving up . So I'll play the reference for you . So it's this build section here . Just make sure I'm at the build , it's approximate because it's this build section here . Just make sure I'm at the build , it's approximate because it's not the same tempo .
And then we'll do it all over again , bringing on the new , best lives forever . So you can hear there it builds and there is a high pass filter , a low cut and as it gets towards the end of the build , it's automating and moving up .
So we're really only hearing that high mid range of the kick drum and a bit of the mid range of the bass and then when the chorus kicks in , or the drop rather , you get that emphasis . There's that contrast that night and day between the two and I thought you know what ? That's what I'm going to use in my production for Half-Life .
So this is what I did , starting with the kick drum . I've got the Logic Pro Basic EQ at the end of my plug-in chain here and basically I've got it automated .
So when it comes to the build , the kick drum , I've automatically got it jumped straight up to about 250 hertz with a low cut and it sounds like this Okay , and it does that for half of the build and then as it gets towards the well , as it gets to the halfway point of the build , I'm then automating it up to 200 , well , 2000 , rather hertz or two
kilohertz . So it automates even further up and there's more attenuation of those sort of mid-range frequencies , the low frequencies , underneath . So I'll play it from the beginning of the build . Just before the drop there's a steep drop attenuation back down to 20 hertz on the EQ , just before the drop comes in .
So then we have the bass , and the bass is quite similar really . I've got a low cut on the bass , same EQ again , starting at 20 hertz on the bass . So this is on the bass track stack because I've got one , two , three basses in total . I've got a sub bass , I've got my main bass and then I've got this other bass sample that comes in in the chorus .
So technically I've got two basses really and then there's one in the chorus and which has added a bit of grit . So basically , if I play this on its own , so this is the bass and what I'm doing is I'm gradually removing , attenuating those low frequencies from the bass , and that's up to one kilohertz .
You heard there just that other bass sample just coming in there . So if I play the two range , the low mid frequencies , and I'm creating a contrast between the build and the drop . So when we play it all together , which I'll do now , there we go .
Hopefully you can hear that there you've got that contrast between the the build and the drop , where we're removing those low mids , those low frequencies again from the kick and the bass . Just to emphasize that drop .
It's probably not as emphasized as it is in the reference track because I've got that break , that break beat going on just to add a bit of interest , some ear candy , as it were , before the drop comes in . But there we go , folks , a quick technique that I like to use .
I like to use automation of low cut and high cut , particularly on kick drums and snares as well , and snares as well . I like to use that on and I'm using it more and more , I find in the productions that I'm releasing at the moment . So give it it a go . Hopefully that has inspired you to play around with automation of high and low cut frequencies .
Keep an eye on your slopes . Obviously , we don't want to be boosting resonant frequencies , so do keep an eye on that . And also where you're positioning the EQ in your plug-in chain . In this instance , here I've got the end of my plug-in chain on the kick drum , but play around , see what works for you .
And also the importance of a reference track , because again , I was not struggling , but I was finding a challenge , thinking how can I make this more interesting ? And that's where the reference track really did help me with that . And , just as you can see here , if you're watching this , I say see , if you listen , you can't see it , but I'll explain to you .
I've also used the reference track just to give me a guide in terms of fleshing out the different sections of this song . So hopefully some inspiration for you there .
Before we wrap up , don't forget , if you want help on your production , some personalized feedback and just some ideas of how you can take your productions forward , do click that link in the episode description or , alternatively , head over to synthmusicmasteringcom and book that free 20-minute producer potential discovery call . Thanks for listening , folks .
Until next time , stay inspired , keep being creative and experiment inside the mix .