In the Studio with... Lee Coombs

Today's production feature comes from our highly skilled Prime Loops' signing, team member & music producer Lee Coombs!

A seasoned veteran, Coombs first hit the DJ slopes in 1989, bathing himself in the acid house scene at parties all across the UK. Crucial in shaping his all-encompassing approach to DJing and production, this boundary-less approach would become Coombs' trademark, mixing up breaks, house, electro, techno and acid with dexterous assurance.

Coombs is also the author and engineer behind Prime Loops' best selling sample pack releases "Tech Funk Vol 1" and "Tech Funk Vol 2", so there's a high possibility you have come across his work already!

Introduction:

"My name is Lee Coombs and in this article I'll take you through the production process of my track 'Detox' which is one of the singles from my 'Light and Dark' album. It's a classic piece of Lee Coombs Acid House. The main element of most acid tracks is the Bassline. On this track I wrote the Bassline on a Moog Voyager. It makes a beautiful Saw tooth wave and the low frequencies are thundering. I am a huge Moog fan, and recently bought the VX-351 CV expander for the Voyager, effectively turning it into a modular synth. I love the way they make all their stuff so it will interact with each other."

"The other acid sounds come from my Studio Electronics ATC1, It has the changeable filter cartridges in the back and at the moment I have the SEM2600 filter cartridge fitted which makes the sound really boxy and very squelchy. I do have a Roland TB-303 but I didn't use it on this track. Many people associate Acid sounding tracks with the TB-303 but to be honest all you need is a really good Analogue Mono Synth like the ATC1 or a Moog Voyager, well you don't need to go as far as a Voyager, something like the Moog Little Phatty will do equally as well for these types of sounds. All these are recorded into the computer with an RME Fireface 800 sound card. It's very important to have a top quality soundcard for obvious reasons."

The Bassline:

"I start by writing the Bassline and other parts in the sequencer. I use a PC with Cubase 4, I know Cubase 5 is out but I'm doing fine with version 4 at the moment. On this track the bassline has Glide making the notes all bend into each other. It's easy to over do this effect so make sure you have the drum track to play along with as this will have a say on how much glide you're going to use. It's all about the groove and the swing of the track. Everything in the track must fit the groove to make it sound fluid and tight. Then I record a 4 or 8 bar loop into the computer so I have something to work with and build around. Make sure you save your settings on the Bassline synth as you will need to go back later to record longer parts with the filter sweeping up and down as you like to work with building the arrangement of the track."

"Now you have it in the computer I normalize the volume to 0db. I don't tend to use much compression or limiting on parts recorded from Analogue synths too much as all this does is flatten the wave form and although it gets it loud is looses the life and energy it had. I do like to put a sidechain compressor on with the kick drum controlling the threshold. This gives it a bit of bounce with it pumping a little with the drums. Not too much though. If there are fast moving notes in your bassline then only a little sidechain will work. If you have long simple notes you can crank up the threshold and really get a nice effect on the bass, but that's for a different type of track to this one."

"If the main part of the track is the bassline then some of the higher frequencies will probably need to be turned up. But wait until you have all the other parts written before you commit to any of this. Sometimes I like to use a sub bass under the bassline sound. So I cut the top bassline from about 150db and lay the sub underneath it, making sure that it is cut from about 150db up. These 2 tracks must be identical in their construction of the midi part. This will make them blend into each other creating one big sound once they have been mixed."

The Drums:

"There are millions of drum sounds available now a days. I have to be honest I don't use drum machines. I am happy with using good quality samples and playing them with a decent sample player such as Native Instruments Kontakt. I always seem to head towards the old school Roland sounds such as 606, 707, 808, and 909. They just seem to work so well with dance music."

"Detox has very techno sounding drums, I used 909 hihats and built up the energy through the arrangement by programming the Open hat to come in more often and in some parts take the place of the closed hat. By changing the hihats throughout the track it will make it sound a lot more interesting and way more exciting. But the key is to keep the same groove all the way through the track. This is the most important thing."

"If you can bring in more drums and make it busier while building on the same groove you are on to a winner. Don't have too many sounds though as everything still needs it's own space. Kick Drums are a very important element as they can determine the whole sound and even the vibe of the track. I have a bank of favorite kicks that I always seem to head for. It all personal taste really."

"The middle section of Detox slows down the tempo from 126bpm to about 100bpm and then speeds it back up again after the breakdown. This section has live sounding drums which I sourced from Spectrasonics Stylus. I love this application for its versatility and the ability to audition every loop at any tempo instantly. Then you drag the midi part over to your arrangement and then you can go in and edit the loop and even quantize it to fit perfectly with your track and groove. Its all about the groove remember. Because this track has tempo changes Stylus is great because you are playing the sounds without timestretching them, same as triggering a sampler. As each different drum sound and part of the loop is triggered by the midi part in the arrangement."

"When you are happy with the arrangement of the parts render each part down to audio. Then you can start to process it. I always feel that I want to see the waveform on the screen as I do each process, such as compression, EQ, Reverb etc. This lets me see if I am doing too much or not enough to the sound. I like to normalize everything and then compress, EQ, apply Reverb to give them space. I don't tend to put much reverb on the main drum sounds as they loose energy and get a bit washed out. But I love to add lots of Big room reverb to things like Rimshots and Claves. This can make your drum track sound huge on its own. Then work up from the bottom and pan out left or right so the higher frequency sounding drums are panned out furthest although I like to keep Hi Hats fairly in the middle as they are so integral to the groove."

Main parts:

"In a track like 'Detox' when you have a large sounding Bassline that pretty much fills the frequency range there isn't much room left for other Main lead sounds. So to make the track more interesting I have another acid sounding Analogue sound in the breakdown sections. This time it's more concentrated in the higher frequencies with not much bass. Pretty much cut completely from about 150Hz down. This gives a great contrast to the bass and keeps the energy flowing through the track."

"I made parts with lots of busy notes kind of like writing an arpeggio. I didn't use to much glide on these as again it made a nice contrast to the bassline. Delay works very well on the high notes and you can create a new sounding riff if you get the delay time to swing nicely with the track. Again its completely personal preference and there are no real rules. The only thing you have to ask yourself is does it sound good?"

Effects:

"I use the Voyager to make most of my sound effects. It's so versatile that I can pretty much get what I want within a matter of seconds, record it in the computer and then move on to the next sound. I make white noise sounds and then filter them up and down with the track and then after they have been recorded and EQed (cut everything below about 1000Hz on these noise effects as they fill the whole frequency range) I like to Sidechain them similar to the bassline but more intensely. This is a very popular production technique at the moment."

"White noise sounds good when it's turned on straight away along with the rest of the track, such as after a breakdown etc. It's good to be as creative as possible with this. The Voyager has a space effect which will pan the two different sounding filters and so giving a much more interesting sound to the effect. Generally effects only need to be on when there is nothing else filling that space as much of the time 'less is more' with these tracks. Also the less you use them the bigger effect they will have when they come on."

"If you are using sounds from big keyboards such as a voyager then you will not need to do much processing to the sound at all. Maybe a little EQ to shape it into your track. Because it's a live machine every note is different to the last one which gives it a life all of its own. This is something that not many Soft Synths can do because they are all thinking in One's and Zero's digitally which means they ending up sounding the same a lot of the time."

"I love to come back out of the Fireface and send my effects and other Lead sounds into one of my collection of Pedal boxes. I have the Moogerfooger Anolog Delay, Ring Modulator, Phaser and the MURF. I use the external input on the Voyager quite often as that is one hell of a filter, sounds great on percussion loops and Break Beats. Also I have a pedal called the Crowther Audio 'Prunes and Custard' (from New Zealand, I picked it up while touring once in Australia) which is a 'Harmonic Generator Intermodulator'. This gives a distorted craziness to your sound that is great for lying over the top of the original sound such as a lead stab or arpeggio."

"My favorite effect is by far the Analog Delay. This creates a beautiful sound and fills gaps in just the right way. As it's live, you can really ride the feedback and listen to your sound get churned inside out while it evolves. It's a great replacement for white noise and sounds a whole lot more exciting. There are plugins that will do this well such as the Softube 'Tube Delay' but there's something about the sound of the Moog that no plugin can beat."

Vocals:

"One effect that has been working very well on my vocals is to duplicate the track, lay them on top of each other and then pitch down by 2 or 3 semitones (or more even) the second track; this fattens up your vocals massively and makes them sound a lot more vibey in the mix of the track. You may need to EQ the second track to get it to sit correctly. Obviously this wont work on full songs or some types of voice but for one or two word vocal stabs it's great. Also the analog delays come in very useful on these parts. Not on all of them but generally the vocals that are used in breakdowns or parts leading up to a breakdown where you want to achieve more tension in the track."

Arrangement:

"As all the parts of the track are created I place them in a rough arrangement. Then as more things are added I can generally hear what else needs to be made to make the track work. As most of my sounds are recorded live there isn't too much automation, only getting the delays to tail off correctly. But when I have done my basic arrangement and I am happy with the structure of the track I then do the final automating of any effects that might be from a plugin. My favourites are the Softube - Tube Delay and the Ohm Force - Hematohm, these are very versatile units that will give you all the delay and pitching effects plus more that you could ever need creating huge build ups and great tension in the track."

Main outs:

"I generally group tracks together, basically Kick, Snare, Percussion, Drum Subgroup, Bassline, Top Bassline sound (if there are two parts to the Bassline sound layered on top of each other) Lead sounds, FX, and Vocals they all go out the Main Outputs where I have a compressor just jelling the top frequencies together. Roughly -2db on the Threshold with a good mixdown setting. Something like 10ms attack, 40ms release, 3:1 ratio, Auto gain on etc. Then I have the Sony Oxford Inflator, threshold set at 0db, using it as a limiter to stop the levels flying into the red when things get busy. It gives great warmth and fattens the sound with its Effect level setting. I like to have this at about 28% most times."

"Then when I'm happy with the track it should be good to render down for mastering. If I want to play the track out in the club I make a new arrangement and then use the Waves L3 Multimaximizer. This has amazing abilities of getting your track very loud whilst keeping most of the dynamics all there. I usually get about another 3-5db out of my track with this Limiter. I wouldn't send this limited version to be mastered as you definitely loose some dynamics but for a road test it's great!"

Check out all of Lee's creations for Prime Loops here!

Making the most of SoundCloud

It's the biggest thing since sliced bread (or at least Reggae Reggae Sauce) for internet-savvy musicians. Allowing you to upload songs, embed snazzy little flash widgets and share music with other artists and fans in a clean, richly creative environment for free. Not too shabby - but some of the greatest uses of the soundcloud framework are still being discovered. Take a look at a few of them...

Community-based music creation

Have you ever shown a song to your friends and found out that there's one bit they all don't like, or something they think you should have done more? Well a clever use of soundcloud is to upload iterations of your work. Allow the Works in Progress of your tunes to be streamable so your audience can take part.

Your fans can suggest new ideas, warn you from making mistakes, even help you improve your production techniques if they themselves are technically inclined. Then you can continue to upload new versions until you are happy with the final result - having created it with help from all of your online amigos!

Make Musicians your fans

Find some artists on there that you like and get involved in their process. Give them ideas and suggestions enough and they'll be intrigued enough to check you out. Especially if you say something like "You might want to try this technique I used in my song 'Cyber Awesome Death Face'".

Whether or not you pick the first 4 words that come into your mind to name your tunes, this could result in collaborations, new fans and new friends from your promotional activities. The best way to get an active audience is to interact with it!

Creative Commons

Thanks to the creative commons license, you can use the power of giving your music away for free to get it all over the internet. Creative Commons licenses allow YouTube users to use your tunes on videos that could become viral hits.

They allow your tunes to be exposed to a massive audience and there will inevitably be people asking "Who made the music for this??!?!??" (With that many question marks). You can happily point them towards your soundcloud for an answer, or perhaps the video's creator will do so for you since I'm sure they'd be happy to add a little link in the description to your page.

Blogs and podcasts are also going to be happy to listen to your tunes, promoting them if they find themselves enjoying what they hear. That's when those widgets really come in handy!

So there are a few methods of utilizing the cloud to distribute your sound! Think about it enough and maybe you can think of some other methods of making the most out of some of the awesome websites out there!

5 ways to promote yourself outside of the internet

It's very easy to find yourself stuck inside the box these days - the internet is so big that you can be forgiven for thinking it's the only worthwhile method of generating new fans!

But back in the days before the internet, people had to do other things to get the word out...

Here are a few suggestions for how you can expand your fanbase without getting RSI!


1. Take to the streets

The original and... well, maybe not best, but it can still yield some good results if you pick your places and people correctly. Just like those flyer-handing-out people you find in all the city centers, find somewhere to set up shop for the day and chat to people that look like they're from your fan-base.

Well, some of you might say this is stereotyping, but to that I say that stereotypes exist for a reason! If you write trance music and see someone in a Tiesto Tee walk past, chances are they're more likely to enjoy your tunes than the kid in the Slipknot hoodie. Approach people, play them some mp3 clips and tell them where your nearest show is.

If you leave them with a business card they can put straight in their pocket with your web details on, then you can continue the fan-artist relationship online when you log on upon returning home.

2. Go to Gigs

When possible, instead of going to the streets, find out where some big artists with a similar sound to you are playing, then hit the queues outside the venue.

Again, chat, make friends and don't forget to mention how awesome your latest tune is!


3. Networking events

There are several musical events around the country - go to them! Talk to everyone. Make fans out of the gear manufacturers and the website developers. Everyone there is passionate about music, so they're a really receptive audience!

It's also a great way to keep up to date with what's going on in the industry. As with all the methods, a great way to make new fans is to make friends! Friends help you out by coming to shows and buying music.

If enough friends do it, the fans will eventually follow - friends of friends are probably going to be the first wave of fans that you don't actually have in your address book!


4. Arrange flash-mobs

Here's one for the more adventurous of you - A Flash Mob is where you organise a bunch of people to do something unusual at an allotted time in a public place.

Check youtube for examples - there are instances of thousands of people freezing in position, a group of pirates appearing from nowhere and having a fight in a town square, and even a dinner party on a tube train.

If you can organise your fans and friends to do something obscure to promote your tunes, not only will it make them feel more tied in to you as a musician, but it will no doubt raise awareness, so long as you leave the people thinking "Uh... What just happened?".

If you can also leave them with a business card explaining where they can find out what just happened, so much the better!


5. Contact local Radio

Local Radio stations are a great way to practice your interviewing technique and to get your tunes out to the people down the road without going door-to-door (though you could try that too - if it works for the Mormons it could work for you!)

Just give them a call and remember - make friends. I've previously had friends in local radio that have moved up to bigger and better things in more popular radio stations, taking their willingness to assist a local mate with them! Very handy.


I'm sure you can come up with plenty of other ideas, but here are 5 to get you started. So get out of the studio for a while, rest your eyes and build your social network!

What is Dirty South?

After the East and the West coasts had their own distinct Hip Hop styles, the southern states felt a bit left out and added their own style to the mix.

Welcome to the Dirty South...

What's it all about?

The Dirty South (Also known as Southern Hip Hop) has its roots firmly in da club. Party music through and through, it celebrates fame and money and rewards it with 808-tastic beats and repetitive (and as such, ridiculously catchy) detuned sawtooth synth lines over the top.

Occasionally you'll find one of the more epic dirty south tunes too, which ventures into sampling big string or brass sounds for the rappers to spit over and really push the club P.A. to its limit!

When did it start?

In the late 1980s, out of a genre then known as "Miami Bass" came Dirty South. It was originated by rappers such as 2 live crew. The initial sound was as bass heavy as its predecessor, making it ideal music for clubs.

How did it start to get popular?

As it progressed, the artists that came from the dirty south became more eclectic and more popular.

A few that sprung to the charts include Outkast, who pushed the envelope musically as well, being one of the few popular hip hop artists to venture outside of conventional 4/4 beats, Ludacris, who has featured on some of the biggest pop songs in the charts and become a massive rapper in his own right, and Lil Wayne, who similarly has pretty much spent his later career at the top of the charts.

Why is Dirty South so Dirty?

It spans from minimal to maximum impact, drum-machine focused to epic samples, but the consistancy lies in the message, which is pretty much to get up in the club. It's an easy message to follow and the club-goers and single-purchasers love it, hence its popularity.

Where can I get it?

As previously mentioned - just look in the charts! It's one of the easiest genres to find because it's so radio friendly (ironic, considering some of the more graphic content about what goes on after the rappers leave the club, girls in tow) so it's not hard to get stuck in!

For samples, check out Prime Loops' Dirty South Producer Combo Deal, which has a scary amount of quality samples to make epic Southern Beats with!

Fantastic FX... and how to use them

When you make a cake, you can't forget about those cherries on top. When you have a movie night, you can't forget about cheap microwaveable popcorn. When you make an awesome song, you can't forget about adding FX.

But which FX should you add? And Where? Let's take a look at some examples...

Rises

If you've just dropped the beat and are getting everyone's adrenaline bubbling, so they're positively itching for that all important drop to hit, it's time to turn to some rise FX!

These pitch-bending and filter-cutoff-opening FX bring the high frequencies in more and more as they progress; the increase in frequencies means more tension which means more awesomeness when it kicks in!

Sweeps

Do you feel you've got all the synths you want in a part of your tune, but it doesn't quite feel filled out enough?

Chuck a sweep in there and the modulated noise will sit nicely in those spare frequencies, padding out thin tunes 'til they're phat like an elephant with a puffy jacket that makes it look like a slightly larger elephant than it actually is.

Okay, bad simile, but it does fill out the track!

Impacts

Tired of conventional cymbols? If you've got a massive breakout in your track or are in need of some powerful punchiness in a big drop, it's time to venture into some impacts!

There are some particularly powerful ones in the XXL dance FX pack that are reminiscent of meteors striking planets. In a good way.

Reverses

Want to build some anticipation for a section of your tune? Reverses are for you! Reverse reverberations result in really realizing the potential of your track.

Just make sure they stop dead as the section you're building up to kicks in so the production sounds nice and tight!

Bleeps

Want some interesting little noises to punctuate your percussion? Bleeps and Blips are essential for House, Trip Hop, Glitch and a plethora of other genre producers.

Don't forget to correct the pitch of the sample if it has a tone though, unless you're aiming for painful, dissonant beats - in which case, try pitching one up a semitone and layering it with the original for extra pain!

Choose your Reverb!

While there are undoubtedly tons of methods of generating reverberation for your sounds, it can be difficult to choose which type to use for the situation you're in!

Here comes primeloops to the rescue with 5 sweet suggestions of which reverbs to rely on.

Hall

A great method of making something sit further back in the mix. The hall reverb can usually emulate a small, medium or large hall, depending on how far back in the mix you want the sound to sit. This can be a great way to counterpoint a large, upfront synth sound with some big pads, for example.

Room

A more subtle reverb, this one doesn't make a massive difference to a sound alone, but when applied to a few sounds it can start to make things sound more pro (so long as it's not overdone!). It reduces that boxiness that you often find from recording in your bedroom or by using a dry synth sound.

Plate

The sound is passed through a metal plate, with a pickup used to translate the vibrations from the sheet of metal into a useable sound. This is often used on snare drums, but can be great for sharper sounds - give it a try on some glitch hop samples for example.

Spring

Similar to the plate, except this time it passes the sound through some springs, giving a slightly different tone. If you have a guitar amp with a reverb on it, chances are it'll be a spring reverb.

Chamber

Back in the dark ages, before the internet and technology in general, reverb was made in "Reverb Chambers", where the sound would be played out of a loudspeaker and then re-recorded by a microphone after the sound had bounced back from the other end of the chamber. A convoluted method (not a convolution reverb, though!) of getting the sound, but it did the trick.

All these sounds can be emulated by digital reverbs or recreated perfectly (Thanks to impulse responses) by convolution reverbs. So next time you're looking to choose where to place your instruments, choose the right reverb for the right job - your mix will thank you for it!

What is Ambient?

You know, sometimes in-your-face electronica is a bit too much. The beats eventually result in a headache and the synths steal too much focus. Perhaps all you need is something in the background... something that's not asking for your full attention.

Welcome to Ambient.

What’s it all about?

Ambient is an offshoot of electronica that decided that music wasn't solely for dancing to. Relaxation benefits from chilled tunes and sometimes all you need to set the atmosphere is a bit of... well... ambience.

It's a genre of music that doesn't mind being ignored. It's meant to be in the background. It won't get offended if you just carry on about your routine without acknowledging its existence - all it wants is to set the scene.

When did it start?

While people had been experimenting with background music for years, conventional ambient electronica was initially popularised by Brian Eno, a ground breaking and well educated musician who was initially in the band Roxy Music, but after tiring of the ego of the lead singer (we've all been there), decided to create his own form of experimental music in the early 70s.

From this point, he and a few other innovators (Pink Floyd, Yes and Kraftwerk to name a few bigger names) pushed the boundries of beats back and concentrated on textures and slow melodies instead. As usually happens when a new genre is born, it sewed seeds in other musicians...

How did it start to get popular?

While it's never reached mainstream popularity, it has grown in renown. More artists that work with ambient more intensively or combine the floaty textures with other genres of music have popped up, including Aphex Twin and The Orb, who while never getting a number 1, still managed to appear on Top of the Pops and play a game of Chess while their single played in the background. Maybe that's where the offshoot of "Intelligent Dance Music" originated.

More recent artists such as Burial have taken Dubstep and spliced it with ambient to create more underground success stories, with hardcore fans not capable of singing enough praises for the works of their favourite Ambient producers.

Why is Ambient so awesomely atmospheric?

As the Ambient grandpappy Eno himself said; "it must be as ignorable as it is interesting." It's because you can ignore it that makes it stand out from other genres - if you're willing to listen. When you're in the mood for it, soak it in and sink into the ambience. If you aren't, simply tune it out. You can't exactly say the same for pounding 4-on-the-floor genres!

Where can I get samples?

If you're looking for methods of making your own Ambient pieces, the popular opinion generally involves manipulating samples. Grab some awesome starting points with the Ambient Fractals or Ambient Illusions sample packs from Prime Loops. Don't be afraid to grab some less obvious sample packs though - some up-tempo packs like Da sound of Bounce could be slowed, filtered, cut, spliced and mangled into a gorgeous soundscape. Therein lies the beauty of Electro-Ambient music. Playing with sound. Have fun, make some sounds and most importantly - relax!