Table of contents for 10-2021 in Beat English

In addition to the singer‘s expression, the quality of the vocal recording determines whether a song is impressive as a whole and whether it can credibly convey its message or story to the listener. On the technical side, a high-quality microphone that matches the voice, a musical preamp and a good audio interface, as well as reliable acoustics play the main roles. And, of course, the knowledge of how to use your own recording equipment effectively. Basic Equipment for Pro Vocals Microphone In general, a distinction is made between two basic transducer principles for microphones: The robust, dynamic microphone, which is often used on stage, works with a plunger coil, rarely has a linear frequency response and is most often used specifically for its typical sound coloration. Particularly for powerful…

1Hit tricks Chopped Vocals are en vogue, especially in Deep House, as well as in Pop, Trap, EDM & more where they are often used as production hooks. A current example is the hit „One More Time“by Robin Schulz & Felix Jaehn featuring Alida. The striking chopped vocals are the most distinctive musical element of the chorus here. 2 Cut up vocals For this sound trick, a vocal phase from Alida is used in the song. To create similar vocal sounds, you can choose to use your own melodic vocal recording or a vocal loop from a sample collection. The old-school approach is to load the vocal recording into an audio editor and cut it into individual syllables. 3Create slices If you have a sampler such as NI Battery or…

Beat / Do you have any specific tips on how to start writing a song? Paul / Whether you start with the lyrics or the music, both starting points can lead to great songs in the same way. In my experience, the component you start with gives you the most creative freedom. For example, you can create a memorable, unique lyric rhythm or vocal melody from a supporting line of lyrics that will later make the song distinctive. The composition can then be based on these guidelines. Each subsequent decision arises as a consequence of this first component. Conversely, lyrics written on existing music can also be guided by many things: Time signature, tempo, mood, arrangement, key, and so on. This often puts the component that comes first in the foreground.…

1 Find the right key It is important to set the correct key of the beat in the plug-in, otherwise the vocals will sound out of tune. Without any knowledge of music theory, the best way to do this is using a keyboard. Play all the notes of an octave one after the other to the beat and note which 7 fit. Go to pianoscales.org and match the scales with your notes - done. 2 Pitch correction This type of audible pitch correction is applied to many of Post Malone‘s tracks. To have full control over the effect, you should use it during recording. Post Malone plays the plug-in like an instrument during recording and can, therefore, influence the sound in real time. This way of working saves a lot…

Beat / Hey Timm, Superbooth is just around the corner and everyone is really excited to finally talk, marvel, discover and try things out „for real“again. But there will be changes. How does 2021 differ from past editions? TS / I think you‘ll feel like there‘s more to discover because the event is broader and more venues have been added to the show floor. So you can discover a handful of exhibitors in one space, and as you move on to the next, you can reflect on what you‘ve seen and build some anticipation for the next room, the next tent or the next stage. Of course, there are more regulations on movement, such as the split day, with half in the outdoor area and the other half indoor. But…

Akai FORCE The ultimate in standalone end-to-end production workflows, complete with every tool you need to produce, remix, mashup and perform your tracks live. Fusing clip-launching, a linear arranger, MIDI Multi capability, step sequencing, sampling, synth engines, tactile touch screen control and much more, all in a singular standalone device, FORCE is primed for any setting, from the studio to the mainstage – no computer needed. 989 Euro value | www.akaipro.com Doepfer A-111-6 The A-111-6 offers a complete synth in the smallest space: a total of ten knobs, five toggle switches and ten CV sockets cavort on the front board. Oscillator, filter and envelope are on board, frequency and pulse width modulation included, even filter FM is possible. The resonance is capable of self-oscillation and can be played tonally as…

Beat / What was the first book that captivated you? Mark Rae / „Papillon“by Henri Charriere. Aptly, I read it when I was twelve years old, standing up leaning against a bunk bed. Something inside me knew that the story was true, with added embellishments from the author‘s creative source. I started writing lyrics with my musical output on Grand Central Records in the mid 90s. I moved to America in 2006 and started writing screenplays in Venice Beach, Los Angeles. My autobiography “Northern Sulphuric Soulboy” was my first book release. It was a cathartic experience to write about my past in the music industry. Beat / Were there any blueprints for you in terms of combining music and words? Mark Rae / An influence came from the Four Corners…

Project info Material: MPC Live, Live II, X, One, Touch, Studio, Renaissance, MPC Software 2 and MPC Beats Time required: 1 hour Content: Build basses, grooves and effects from wavetable samples. Difficulty: Advanced 1 Wavetables? Before we get into the nitty-gritty, a brief introduction: Wavetables are ultimately short WAV files, but they are not intended for simple playback. Instead, the synth picks out a short section and plays it back as a loop. The starting point of this loop is constantly shifted, which provides the characteristic sounds. 2 Sample start Now, an MPC can also play back a very short loop, but the dynamic shifting of the loop is not possible. The start point of the sample itself can be controlled by velocity and we will make use of this.…

meinHomestudio.de More Cubase workshops and video courses can be found at: www.MeinHomestudio.de Project info Material: Cubase Elements, Artist or Pro Time required: About 15 minutes Content: Design your own fat wobble bass preset with Prologue. Difficulty: Advanced 1 Oscillator 1 First, create a new instrument track in your Cubase project and then load the Prologue synthesizer. In the following, we will create a bass sound. It is usual to tune the instrument down an octave. To do this, set the Coarse slider in the first oscillator to a value of -12 semitones. 2 Filter To attenuate the high frequency components of the sawtooth sound and reduce them to lows and mids, we use Prologue‘s Filter section. Select the 24 dB LP2 filter shape. This is located on the outer filter…

Features Hybrid drum machine Based on the TR-909 11 instruments Analog sounds + samples 64-step sequencer Wave designer Dual-mode filter Individual outputs MIDI/USB Facts Manufacturer: Behringer Web: behringer.com Distrib: Specialty Price: 349 Euro ▲ Faithful sound ▲ Additional sound parameters ▲ Wave designer ▲ Flexible sequencer ▲ Variety of connections ▲ Solid workmanship ▲ Attractive price ▼ Button haptics Alternatives IK Multimedia UNO Drum 177 Euro ikmultimedia.com Arturia DrumBrute From 299 Euro arturia.com Roland TR-8S 599 Euro roland.com It took almost three years for Behringer‘s homage to the techno classic Roland TR-909 to make it from the announcement via various prototypes to series production. By comparison, the TR-808 replica called RD-8, announced only a little earlier, has already been available for two years and appears in parallel to the RD-9…

» Music makes me feel better. It is my whole life, my passion. « Beat / I recently saw one of your live sets from your home studio. I couldn‘t help but notice It‘s entirely surrounded by trees! Fatima Hajji / Yes, I‘m really lucky to be living in this forest place! At the end of each day, I love to have a big walk with my dogs here. Sometimes even the cats come. Beat / These home DJ sets have become a typical feature of the pandemic years. They‘ve forced many DJs to be even more organised. How did you deal with it? Fatima Hajji / In a sense, I actually like to be too organized … In the mornings I take care of my personal stuff: Mails, checking social network…

BÃTFÓØT: BÃTFÓØT The extravagant spelling of the band‘s name should make it clear that this trio from Tel Aviv likes it idiosyncratic. On their self-titled debut, the three musicians mix a wide variety of sounds, including styles such as rave, techno, big beat, hip-hop and punk. The electronic sound of the crazy Israelis is reminiscent of bands like The Prodigy and The Beastie Boys, but also contains house elements, so it is not surprising that “B⊠TFÓØT” is a great album for the dance floor. Not always easy to listen to, full of surprises and thoroughly unconventional, the journey through 13 whipped-up songs provides a proper adrenaline kick. The humor is not neglected either, as the unusual spelling of song titles like „??? Fun ???“or „~BÂM~BÁM~BÄM~“or „[Skip Intro]“shows. Listen to it…

The common thread: Beat issue 10/2021 For many years, Beat has been inspiring its readers not only with practical and musical topics, but above all with the tight integration of editorial content. From the very beginning, Beat has been about creating, about the structured building of ideasand the common thread - in the magazine as well as in the tracks. This navigator shows you the highlights of this issue andallows you to see the big picture. Studio Insights: Third Son UK producer Joseph Thomas Price tasked himself with writing, mixing and releasing his debut album in just 20 days. Si Truss finds out how he rose to the challenge… Page 62 Review: Roland Fantom 6 V2.5 The Fantom has come a long way since our first review. Highlights are the…

1 Let‘s go! The microphone is the most important link in the signal chain. In the following, you will learn what to consider when selecting, connecting and positioning the studio microphone. When recording vocals in the studio, condenser microphones are most often used because of their clear and detailed sound. 2 Connection Microphones are connected to a mixing console, preamp or audio interface via an XLR connector. They provide a very low level, which is very susceptible to interference. That is why the signal is transmitted symmetrically, i.e. normally and phase inverted, which makes it easy to remove interferences. 3 Directional character Unlike dynamic models, condenser microphones require a bias voltage of 48 volts for operation, which can be activated at the preamp or audio interface. There are three main…

1 Robot harmonies Vocoder vocals can also be heard in some of the current hits, such as „Todo De Ti“by Rauw Alejandro and the catchy „Faded Love“by Leony, which quotes the 2002 O-Zone hit „Dragosteo Din Tei“. In „Faded Love,“the lead vocals in the break before the final chorus are supported by distinctive vocoder background vocals. 2 Vocoder feed Would you like to use this effect in your productions as well? Nothing could be easier! Melodic vocals offer themselves as a sonic basis, for instance, in the chorus of your song. Load a vocoder plug-in such as the freely available TAL Vocoder 2 [1] as an insert effect. Poly Mode should be activated here. Then create a MIDI track in your DAW. 3 Tonal playing With this, select TAL-Vocoder 2…

»I learned to keep things raw.« Beat / Six years have passed since „Trails“. What did you do during that time? Mano / Six years seems like a long time between records! The biggest thing that happened in the last few years is that we have two daughters now. So between adjusting to fatherhood and maintaining my DJ career „At The Moment“wouldn‘t have been possible earlier. I think I probably rushed the last album and I didn‘t want to make the same mistake again. I was much more patient making this record. „At The Moment“feels like a musical rebirth for me, I‘ve got renewed confidence in my art and my creative passion has come back to where it was when I made my first album. Beat / How long did you actually…

Further info: Info at: www.analogobsession.com; www.overtonedsp.co.uk; www.initialaudio.com; www.cdsoundmaster.com License & password: www.serialcenter.de More plug-ins from Analog Obsession: www.analogobsession.com 1 Massive rock drums Kolin is a real ace for especially punchy rock drums. Turn up Input Level fully and set a very short Release time and an Attack time of about 25 ms. This leaves the transients unprocessed, but emphasizes the room content. Increase Output Level and set the frequency of the High Pass Filter (HPF) to about 250 Hz. 2 Big electric basses With the TUBA virtual tube amp, you can give instruments a punchy sound in just a few steps. Electric basses sound immediately rounder and more voluminous by boosting the low frequencies with the L.F. control and a moderate gain with the Level control. In Hi-Gain mode, even…

Project data in issue downloads: www.bit.ly/BeatDL189 Project info Material: Studio One 4 or 5 Time required: 1 hour Content: Hearing frequencies of a bassline are selectively faded out by filter via sidechain, but sub is retained. Difficulty: Advanced 1 Filter! This trick requires nothing more than a lowpass filter, but the sound stands and falls with its quality. It can also tickle even more out of the bass under certain circumstances. The PreSonus Autofilter is the perfect tool in Studio One. By the way: If your bassline comes from a synth, you can use its internal filter. 2 No sidechain … Here we go: To ensure that the kick and bass give each other enough air, sidechain is a tried and true method. The bass is pushed away when the…

Project info: Material: FabFilter Pro-G, Pro-Q Time required: 30 minutes Content: Duck bass frequency-specifically. Difficulty: Advanced/Pro 1 Bass routing As a first step, we send the bass, which we want to duck frequency-specifically to the kick drum, to a bus. The tap is done in Pre-Fader mode, so that the volume of the signal on the bus is always identical to the original signal. We now have two identical signals from the bass. Once on the audio track and once on the bus. 2 Load gate and EQ Now, we load the Fabfilter Pro-G on the bus channel as the first instance and the Fabfilter Pro-Q directly afterwards. We activate the sidechain input of the gate and route the kick into the sidechain input. We set the gate‘s threshold so…

Features 91 instruments and effects Over 2900 presets MPE 1 GB MDrummerEssentials 3 GB MSoundFactoryEssentials Unlimited number of linkable modules Lifetime updates Facts Developer: Melda Production Web: meldaproduction.com Price: 199 Euro (Introductory price, regularly 299 Euro) ▲ Flexibility for custom tools ▲ Many instruments and effects ▲ Preset quality ▲ Sampler ▼ Drum instruments lack punch Alternatives Native Instruments Reaktor 199 Euro native-instruments.com As a symbiosis of sampler, synthesizer and effects, which allow a high degree of individuality and the design of your own studio elements, the MSoundFactory development environment from Melda Production should be considered. But many existing studio tools are also included. Instruments In the left third of the GUI, the 91 instruments are listed, which can be filtered specifically by category. You can choose from a variety…

Zampler plug-in, soundset, audio demo and MIDI data: download see page 3 ACID GALORE! In Corrosive, the latest soundset for our Zampler//RX and Akai‘s MPC series, biting basslines and synth sounds meet crisp retro drum loops. Here Roland‘s magic acid machines are allowed to flex their muscles. Besides 32 loops and 32 bass patches from Roland‘s TB-3, a whopping 99 loops from the drum classic TR-8 are on board. A total of 1 GB of hand-picked sounds, ready for our SFZ Player Zampler, are waiting to be used in your tracks.. www.zamplersounds.com Facts Corrosive for Zampler: ▲ 1 GB soundbank ▲ 32 Acid loops ▲ 32 Bass patches ▲ 99 Drum loops from the TR-8 Corrosive for Akai MPCs: ▲ 302 MB samples (optimized for MPCs) ▲ 28 keygroup programs…

Features 2-channel battle mixer 2 line inputs 2 phono preamps 3-band EQ 16 Performance pads Scratch-bank (Serato DJ Pro) 22 Beat-FX for effect levers Magvel Fader Pro rekordbox DJ Bluetooth input USB connection Facts Manufacturer: Pioneer DJ Web: pioneerdj.com Price: 1,499 Euro ▲ Effect levers ▲ Scratch Bank ▲ Variety of the Beat FX ▲ Loop MIDI ▲ Bluetooth ▲ Compatible with rekordbox and Serato DJ Pro ▼ No Send path Alternatives Rane Seventy rane.com 1919 Euro The layout of the 2-channel mixer DJM-S7 is oriented according to its predecessor, the DJM-S9. The upper third of the mixer belongs, in addition to the loop functions, to the tone control with a strongly intervening 3-band equalizer and the filter control next to it. The determination of whether the signal source is…

00000 Deejayladen Oschatz Thomas-Müntzer-Str. 4 | 04758 Lonnewitz Deejayladen Dresden Alaunstr. 13a | 01099 Dresden Deejayladen Leipzig Simildenstr. 2 | 04277 Leipzig 24h im Online-Shop Tel. 03435 9880-10 | www.deejayladen.de 40000 Djs Delight – T. Tennagels Erkrather Str. 4 40233 Düsseldorf Tel. 0211 - 35 37 21 Fax 0211 - 35 37 23 info@djsdelight.de www.djsdelight.de 90000 Musikhaus Thomann e.K. Treppendorf 30 | D-96138 Burgebrach Tel.: 09546 9223-0 Fax: 09546 6774 info@thomann.de www.thomann.de Advertise starting at 40 Euro in the Beat buying guide Your consultant: Yvonne Popall +49 (040) 28 51 66 48 y.popall@falkemedia.de…

With X-Gear, IK Multimedia ventures into the digital effects pedal market, which is supposed to give guitarists the Amplitube sound. While X-Space includes a Reverb effect, the X-Time pedal provides a Delay. The X-Vibe model is a Modulation effect, while X-Drive is a Distortion. Each of the pedals has 16 different algorithms and 50 presets, as well as three footswitches. The models each have two inputs and a stereo output, as well as MIDI and USB interface. An input for an expression pedal has also been thought of. Low-noise converters allow for a resolution of 24 bit and 192 kHz. The signal- to-noise ratio is 123 dB. The Reverb Time, Color and Modulation of the X-Space can be edited, while the Delay can be adjusted for Feedback, Delay Time and…

Project info Material: Microphone, Channel Strip or preamplifier, compressor and equalizer Time required: 30 minutes Content: Prepare vocal recording session Difficulty: Beginner 1 Before recording When the singer arrives at the studio for the recording session, all technical preparations should already be complete: The microphone should be connected, the headphone mix prepared and tested, and all audio and effects connections properly routed. The same applies to the artistic side: the singer should be well-rested and not have a cold or be seriously ill. 2 Proper preparation SOf course, he has prepared lyrics, content and expression of the vocal line using playback and is familiar with the song. During the entire session, he should avoid sweets and carbonated or alcoholic drinks. When recording, be sure to maintain a „healthy“level. Control the…

» #1 Rhyme for all you‘re worth! Whether Rap, EDM, Pop Music or Metal - most song lyrics come along rhymed. House/mouse/louse/spouse - that can‘t be so hard. Yes, it can! It is said that there have been musicians and lyricists who lost their way in search of the best rhyme and were never seen again. The most important tip we can give you is: Rhyme! And do it as often as you can. By rhyming a lot, your brain will have built up a large rhyming vocabulary after a short time, just waiting to be used. In any case, Pumuckl would have made a good songwriter. » #2 Find new metaphors A metaphor is a linguistic, stylistic device in which a word or expression is transferred from its actual…

Project info Material: Logic Pro X (Version 10.6.2) Time required: 45 minutes Content: Pluck sounds like Deadmau5 using Logic X‘s onboard tools. Difficulty: Advanced 1 Preparation First create a track for software instruments and load Alchemy. Before starting any sound design, play a simple tone or chord sequence and loop it. This way, you can hear each setting immediately. Now, go to the Advanced section at the top left of the plug-in and reset the preset with File/Initialize. 2 Oscillator A Select Ultra under Quality in the upper right corner to work with the best possible sound. Now, under global, click A to open the settings for this oscillator. On the right, set the Num and Detune parameters to 4 and 20 percent respectively. Now, activate the filter on the…

Project info Material: Ableton Live 11 Time required: 20 minutes Content: Different saturation effects and specific applications; tape and transistor saturation effects in Live; parameter settings and application examples. Dificulty: Advanced 1 Generate saturation Saturation occurs when electrical hardware components, such as transistor, vacuum tube or magnetic tape are overloaded. When the incoming electrical signal can no longer be processed, the output signal becomes nonlinear to the input signal, that is, it distorts or compresses. Saturation always refers to harmonic distortion. 2 More power in the mix Harmonic distortions cause small amplitude peaks that are multiples of the incoming frequency. Vacuum tubes produce even multiples of the fundamental frequency, 2nd order harmonics that generate heat. Use the Dynamic Tube audio effect to add powerful low-mids to a sound. 3 Add…

Given that recent world events have pretty much cancelled the entire global social and cultural calendar, many people have found themselves with an abundance of time on their hands. It’s not uncommon to find people taking on something new, from gardening to baking to misguided construction work – lots of people seem to have a project right now. For British producer Joseph Thomas Price, aka Third Son, lockdown hasn’t meant putting music on hold though. Instead, he took advantage of the rare window in his schedule you the Everest of any musician’s career – his debut album. Not content with simply setting himself the goal of creating a full LP, Price publicly committed himself to the task of writing, recording and releasing the album within 20 days, while documenting the…

Features USB-microphone Cardioid pattern 20 Hz - 17 kHz 78 dB signal-to-noise ratio 16 bit/48 kHz iOS support Facts Manufacturer: Mackie Web: mackie.com Reference: Specialty retail Price: 48 Euro ▲ Very favorable ▲ Clean sound ▲ Solid workmanship ▲ Shock-mount included ▲ iOS compatible Alternatives t-bone SC-440 55 Euro thomann.de In a relatively short time, Mackie has continued to expand the Element series with inexpensive microphones; the latest test candidate is the very affordable EM-91CU with a street price of less than 50 Euro. It is very reminiscent of the somewhat more expensive EM-91C, both in appearance and name. But while the EM-91C is a classic condenser microphone with XLR connector, the EM-91CU has a USB-B connector on the bottom, which explains the U at the end of the name.…

POWERED BY DOEPFER Endorphin.es Golden Master As plug-ins and in the form of desktop or rack devices, compressors are almost a dime a dozen. In modular systems, the selection is rather limited - especially in terms of multiband compressors. Manufacturer Endorphin.es ventures into new territory in two respects because, on the one hand, as far as we know, there are no modules in this category yet; and on the other hand, it is the first mixing and dynamics effect from the Spanish workshop. The Golden Master‘s features are clear: two inputs (with channel 1 normalized to channel 2), two outputs and a CV input for modulating the output volume. The compressor offers three operating modes that are active in parallel: Volume, compression and stereo widening. The operation is done via…

Project info Material: Ableton Live 11, Ableton Push Time required: 60 minutes Content: Structure and modify samples for Live performance; create beat-independent loop variations; create pitch shifts and stutter effects using clip automation; use effects for soft decay of samples. Difficulty: Advanced 1 Organize setup For quick and easy playing with Push, it is recommended that you use only the first eight tracks and scenes. Prepare your Live setup by loading various samples into Scene 8. Place a drum beat in Track 1. For example, for a classic Jungle setup, use an Amen Break. 2 Prepare samples Load a bass tone into Track 2, such as a powerful decaying 808 sample. Load genre-typical vocal samples into the 3rd track and a racy pad sound into the 4th track. Reserve scene…