Source: VST Platinum
Author: Greg Hoffman

Intro

How many times have you started out writing a perfectly good song, but by the time you’ve finished it didn’t measure up to your original vision? It didn’t end up as good you thought it could sound?

This probably includes all of us at some time or other. And the problem usually lies not in the songwriting skill, but in the way the song was realised by the time it came out the other end of the sequencer.

The song sounded fine as an idea and a sketch, but somehow it subsequently went wrong. Or maybe you mixed and arranged as you went along, but the end result was never right. This points clearly to weaknesses in arranging and mixing technique. Technical weakness, if you like. Technical weaknesses we all share to some degree.

So how do we set about improving this? One solution I’ve found useful over the years is, from time to time, to use midi files to practice with. Use downloadable midi songs.

Midi files off the web? I can hear some of you barfing already. There’s no doubt that midi files have a bad name in an age when everybody is supposed to be a songwriter. Or at least a teeny-weeny bit original with that latest synth you just scored off the web. But before you totally croak, step back a bit and think.

You’d like to be a better arranger and mixer wouldn’t you? You would?

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Popularity: 67% [?]

Source: VST Platinum
Author: Greg Hoffman

This document on sampling is intended as a primer for the NEWBIE, who is looking to form a deeper understanding of what samplers, samples and sampling is (and are), and what they can be used for. This document is intended to give you the basic knowledge needed to begin to explore the world of sampling, multi-samples, and sample manipulation and composition.

Part I – Introduction

Well, this is indeed a very big topic and we are faced with a very general question, but let’s take a preliminary stab at an answer, it should help to get anyone started. We will look at what exactly sampling is and means, through to defining common sampling and sampler terminology, to how we can use the different tools in our samplers to accomplish a wide variety of tasks.

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Popularity: 76% [?]

Source: VST Platinum
Author: Greg Hoffman

Beginners Guide To VST Plugins

What is VST?

VST, Virtual Studio Technology, is an interface standard for connecting synthesizers and effects to audio editors and recording systems. Invented and developed by Steinberg, makers of the Cubase audio recording programs; VST replaces traditional audio recording hardware with software equivalents. So instead of having to route your audio out of your computer into your hardware effects units and then back into your computer, all the routing is done internally.

If you have a powerful enough computer, you can do real time effects processing, utilizing either a MIDI controller or through envelope tweaks using MIDI.

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Popularity: 100% [?]

Source: VST Platinum
Author: Greg Hoffman

I’m sure you’ve combed, searched and crawled all over the internet, talked to all your friends, grabbed every magazine you could, and read every scrap you can find on mixing, yet still, getting that perfect mix is still a dubious task. Believe me, I’ve fought with mixing myself for years, and I still struggle some days to get that ‘sweet’ mix. It can be a never-ending battle, because no two mixes are ever the same.

Alas, dear reader, there is hope, and that small glimmer of light lies in little hints that are sprinkled all over the place, planting seeds into your musical mind, and they lay dormant, just waiting to grow when you nurture them. That’s right, you have to nurture the seeds of mixing inspiration. As much as most people don’t like to hear this, learning to mix, and mix well, takes time and practice. It is not impossible to get a good mix, and you don’t need thousands of dollars of equipment or some ‘perfect’ listening environment to do so.

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Popularity: 71% [?]

Source:VST Platinum
Author: Greg Hoffman

Getting your groove

Home recording is one of the fastest expanding areas of the music industry. Every year, companies create new programs, enhance already existing programs, and engineer more interfaces so you can create higher quality music from the comfort of your home. What does this equate to? You being confused and intimidated because the chances are, you have no idea how to use it.

Unfortunately, the home recording industry has been regarded as extremely complex. The truth of the matter is that while recording music is as much an art as it is a science, anyone can do it. All it takes is a little ingenuity and a lot of dedication. On the other side of the spectrum, cost has been a huge factor that has held many great musicians back from recording from their home. Just four years ago, the cost of home recording equipment was astronomical. It made more economical sense to rent time from a professional studio and hire someone who knew what they were doing instead of trying to do it yourself. Now the times have changed and so have the prices.

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Popularity: 84% [?]