Available now:
In print from all good newsagents or from our online store here.
Or from our Apple's app for iOS devices here.
You can call it a 'greatest hits' if you like. Yes, the collective brains of Computer Music magazine have constructed a special edition containing our finest articles from the past two years and it's available now in print at all good newsagents or from Apple's Newsstand for iOS devices.
We debated and argued long and hard to compile our best features covering the broadest spectrum of topics. We get you grounded with 200 essential tips, take on making bass, beats, leads and more, grapple with sound design and slather the lot in lashings of lovely reverb and delay.
And before we finish there's massive features on mix secrets and the very modern guide to today's mastering.
It's an absolute production masterclass monster! And EVERY tutorial comes complete with audio and video to show you the techniques in practice. And in the digital edition you can just tap the links on the page.
It's out now in print (at all good newsagents) and digital (inside the Computer Music app). Go check it out!
Featuring:
200 Tips
It's the big one. 200 incredible tips for every hi-tech music technique there is. It all adds up to over SEVEN hours of video covering core production techniques like synthesis, drum programming, sound design, using samples, recording & editing, EQ, dynamics, melody, harmony, arrangement, width, depth, mastering… and more! We also cover techniques for specific DAWs such as Ableton Live, Logic Pro X, FL Studio, Cubase, Reason, and others.
Check out this sample video from the article - there's another 199 techniques to discover in the full guide!
Making Beats
If your drums aren't up to scratch, you've already lost the dancefloor battle. Get back in the fight right now with our heavyweight guide! Including:
• The best sources for killer drum sounds
• How to prepare and edit samples for maximum impact
• Programming beats in MIDI, from simple to advanced
• Making beats on the timeline in your DAW using samples
• Using swing to make a beat groove
• Streamlining beats with linear drumming
• Creating builds, fills and drops
…And much more besides, including ELEVEN tutorial videos.
Check out this sample video from the article:
Sound Design
Get the know-how, the tools and the inspiration you need to bring the sounds in your head kicking and screaming into reality. Over 15 pages with 15 videos, you'll:
•Get to grips with the basics of one-shot FX, looping and noise-shaping
•Explore advanced synthesiser functions to gain ultimate control
•Learn to resample and granulate sounds to turn them on their heads
•Delve into modulation and retuning to create dissonant, evolving timbres
•Take control over spectral sampling and learn the power of reversing samples
…And a lot more
The power you need is already at your fingertips - to see what's in store, here's one of this tutorial's videos:
The CM Guide to Reverb
Give your sounds the right sense of depth, space and size with our expert guide to this essential effect. Including:
• What all the controls on your reverb do, from early reflections to diffusion
• How to use sends and returns to apply the same reverb to many sounds
• Give your mixes depth by placing sounds in front-to-back space with reverb
• Control the stereo width of reverb to make your mixes sound great in mono too
• Algorithmic vs. convolution reverb - what's the difference, and which to use when
• Work with rendered reverb for incredible flexibility
Check out this video on creating a mix with real depth using reverb:
Modulation
Flummoxed by LFOs or exasperated by envelopes? Get back on the path to sound design mastery with our huge guide. Including:
• Getting LFOs in time with your track using sync and phase options
• ADSR envelope basics, and changing their character with envelope curves
• Designing multipoint looping envelopes with Curve 2 CM
• Using step sequencers and the Performer in Native Instruments Massive
• Working with the modulation matrix to create custom modulations
…And much more besides!
Each of our 11 step-by-step guides has an accompanying video so you can see - and hear! - exactly how it's done. Check out this sample video from the article:
Get a Grip on Dynamics
We take the confusion out of compression, explain expansion, and much more in our easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide! Learn how dynamics processors really work and how to get great results from them every time. Indcluding:
• What all those controls on your compressor actually do!
• How to select the right compressor and dial in its settings without fuss
• Sidechaining and parallel compression
• Frequency-conscious dynamics and multiband processing
• Reducing background noise with expanders and noise gates
• Adding snap and body with transient shapers
…And much more besides.
Check out this sample video from the article:
Advanced Mixdown Secrets
Want to get that high-end edge? Coat your mix with a professional sheen using these state-of-the-art top-secret engineering techniques. And there's video for EVERY walkthrough! Including:
• An easy trick for clean and classy hi-hats
• Tighter bass with sidechained envelope-shaping
• The transient step technique
• The 'pocketing' EQ style for clear yet dense mixes
• Integrating music theory into mixing
…And much, much more!
To give you a taste of what to expect, here's a free video on sidechained enveloping:
Modern Mastering
Finish off your tracks with the sound of now! We'll take you inside a contemporary mastering studio and show you how to apply 2015's sonic polish in software. Including:
• Why mastering is so crucial to making your music successful
• How to take control of the frequency spectrum with multiband EQ
• Powerful ways to control the stereo image for focus and space
• Maximising volume with clipping and brickwall limiting
• How to tell what your plugins are //really// doing to your audio
• Adding weight and consistency with advanced compression techniques
…And a lot more
Get up to date now, and have a taste of the tutorial videos from this huge feature…
AND MORE! It's all inside The Very Best of Computer Music: Ultimate Production Tips 2015 out now....
