Drum loops are a quick and easy way to set up the foundation of a song. We’re lucky to have so many ways to chop up loops and samples, so they can actually become an integral part of any production…
Production
Best Kontakt Libraries for Every Collection
Native Instruments‘ free sample player, Kontakt, is every music producer’s entry point to the industry’s largest collection of sampled instruments. Kontakt is a universal host to hundreds of realistic sampled libraries from dozens of manufacturers. The best Kontakt libraries should…
Making Music on Your Phone: The Best Apps for Mobile
Musicians’ creativity doesn’t stop when they’re on the road. In a perfect world, we’d all have access to the comfort of our home studios 24/7, churning out music as often as we’d like. But whether you’re a full-time artist/producer or…
Song Structure & Production: Secrets to Better Songs
Song structure is a broad term. There are a few chord sequences we hear in just about every song on the radio, and in tons of great songs that have been written over the years. We constantly go back to…
The Best Audio Sample Subscription Services
Audio sample subscription services are now more popular than ever. Gone are the days of sorting through samples on expensive disks you had to purchase, only to come up short. The demand for royalty-free libraries grew sharply after the advent…
Studio One Version 5 – What’s New
Since its inception in 2011, PreSonus Studio One has quickly become a go-to Digital Audio Workstation for beginners and pro’s alike. Combining the best parts of each DAW, Studio One offers a Customizable Workflow, incorporating everything you need in one…
Using Silence to Improve Your Productions
We don’t often consider the importance of silence when it comes to our musical productions. It’s easy to get caught up in the sounds we want to add, because that’s what music is all about! But if you use silence itself…
The Top 5 Most Common Drum Programming Mistakes
Drum samples and plugins have gotten so good that it’s never been a better time for realistic drum programming. As a matter of fact, it’s totally viable for solo artists to release projects with convincing programmed drums. But even with…
6 Ways to Make Your Production Sound Unique
Unique production is one of the best ways to have your music stand out from the pack. Whether you’re a songwriter, mixing engineer, or both, you can employ these techniques to make captivating productions! 1. First things first…make the song…
Choosing Software Synthesizers for Your Home Studio
If you’re a music producer or songwriter, software synthesizers are your best friend. Not only are they super inexpensive compared to hardware, they sound just as good! Plus, a lot of them come with gigabytes and gigabytes worth of sounds…
Understanding Additive and Subtractive Synthesis
Additive and subtractive synthesis are two of the 4 fundamental ways synthesizers create sounds, next to wavetable and FM. If you plan to get into synths at all, or even just use them occasionally in your work, it’s a good…
Modular Synthesis: The Most Powerful Synthesizers Ever
Modular synthesis is one of the most powerful sound design and music production tools you can use. From the outside, though, it looks pretty confusing…Even understanding the basics can take a while if you don’t know where to start. Luckily,…
FM Synthesis: The Classic Synthesizer Sound
Lots of classic keyboards like the Yamaha DX7 use FM synthesis to generate sounds. If it seems daunting at first, that’s because FM synthesis really is more complex than other types of synthesis. FM is much more theory-driven, so trying…
Synth Basics: The Top Virtual Instruments for Any Studio
We’ve taken a look at sound synth basics in the past, like how granular synthesis differs from wavetable, and how each factors into the creation of sounds we use everyday. But when we’re in the studio making music, we’re not…
MIDI Keyboard 101: Ultimate Beginner’s Guide
A MIDI keyboard—also known as a MIDI controller—is a piano-style device that lets you play and record your DAW’s software instruments and any other VST synths you have. They typically connect to your computer via USB for easy integration with…
Checking out Eddie Van Halen’s 5150 III with Glenn Fricker
This is going to be a lot of fun, I’m excited to have our good friend Mr. Glenn Fricker at the studio with us today. If you’ve been watching my videos you may have noticed the one amp rack in…
Why I Love Reaper with Glenn Fricker
Reaper, which stands for “Rapid Environment for Audio Production, Engineering, and Recording,” is a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) and MIDI sequencer software created by Cockos. As it is priced at less than $100, it is a great DAW for anyone…
11 Mistakes To Avoid In Music Production
In today’s episode, we are going to be talking about the top 11 mistakes to avoid in music production. Over the years the producer's role has changed dramatically. There was a time when a music producer was essentially the person…
The Ultimate List of Free Pro Tools Plugins
If you’re looking for third-party plugins to expand your growing collection, look no further than The Ultimate List of Free Pro Tools plugins. Whether you need a Pultec-style EQ or a trigger gate for electronic music stutter effects, this list…
Sound Synthesis: Basics of Granular and Wavetable Synthesis
Whether we’re aware of it, many of us are using sound synthesis technology everyday. As engineers and producers, we’re often relying on virtual instruments and plugins which use granular and wavetable synthesis to make sounds! Granular synthesis is the technology…
PhantomFocus System: Studio Tour with Carl Tatz
Carl Tatz is an award winning studio designer and principal of Nashville-based Carl Tatz Designs. Carl draws his expertise as a studio designer and acoustician from over thirty years of experience as a GRAMMY-nominated engineer/producer, award-winning studio owner (Recording Arts),…
The Best Drum VSTs for Any Budget
The best drum VSTs we’ve gathered run the gamut between $89 all the way up to $700! Thankfully, this means there’s a variety of choices to suit any budget. Of course, there are free options as well so you can…
The Best DAWs for Windows Operating Systems
Most of today’s DAWs are cross-platform, making it easy to choose if you’re running PC. Some titles are Mac-only, like Apple’s own Logic Pro, but for the most part options won’t be limited if you’ve chosen Windows as your primary…
Some of the Best Drum VSTs for Programmed Drums
Drum VSTs are one of the quickest and easiest means to lock down your song’s backbone. As a matter of fact, the software has gotten so good that it isn’t uncommon for solo artists to release finished albums with entirely…
Top Drum Software for Realistic Sounding MIDI Drums
Using drum software is one of the quickest and easiest means to lock down your song’s backbone. As a matter of fact, drum software has gotten so good that it isn’t uncommon for solo artists to release finished albums with…
The Best Free VST Synth Plugins
If you’re a music producer or songwriter, virtual instruments and software synthesizers are your best friend. And if you haven’t already developed an unhealthy obsession with plugins, you will eventually! The only problem with the plugin game is that it’s…
Free Audio Editors: Cutting Tracks on the Cheap!
Regardless of the type of audio you’re working with, there’s a good chance you’ll want software to help you mix, edit, or directly record the source. It doesn’t matter whether you’re producing music, podcasts, or audio to sync with video;…
5 Tips to Get You Creating Music
In this video, we’re going to be talking about 5 tips to get your creating music. 1. Just get started! Don’t ‘wait for inspiration’. Set aside time to work. Many people have full time jobs, are in School or are…
5 EQ Mistakes We Make While Mixing
In this Episode, we’re going to talk about 5 EQ mistakes we make while mixing. These are 5 EQ mistakes I see as a reoccurring problem that I have had over the years that I have finally come to terms…
6 Pre-Mastering Tips with Michael Romanowski & Phonitor 2 Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway Today we’re going to go over 6 tips that will help you prepare your mix to come into a mastering situation and get the best results with the grammy-nominated Mastering engineer Michael Romanowski. In addition to the…
6 Vocal Recording Tips
In today's video we’re going to be talking about 6 ways to drastically improve your vocal recordings! I really love talking about vocal recording. Those of you who know any of the recordings I’ve done know I've been blessed to…
4 Mixing Tricks That Have Nothing to do With Plugins or Hardware
Today we’re going to talk about 4 mix tips that have nothing to do with plugins or any hardware. Tip 1: Are your tracks ready to mix? You may have the world’s greatest hit song on your hands- it might…
3 Delay Mixing Tricks
Our community is truly fantastic! Everyone asks such great questions, which create amazing discussion! FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) Friday has been extremely revealing! In last weeks FAQ Friday we answered some amazing questions and this has sparked todays video! In…
3 Vocal Reverb Tips
Before we get started talking Vocal Reverbs please bear with me, here is my thought process on these Vocal Reverb ideas I’m going to share with you! One of the biggest complaints from many Engineers is how ‘perfect’ Digital is.…
Making Microtonal Music is Easier Than You’d Think
Welcome to this Tutorial Tuesdays article by Michael W. Dean, synth player in BipTunia. Author of $30 Music School. PRO TIP: I’d recommend that while you read this article, you listen to this Microtonal Playlist on Spotify. It has…
5 Music Production Tricks For Better Songs
1) Add Energy To Lead Vocals With Tape Delay There are a few ways to do this, but the easiest and most common way is with a distorted delay or with a saturated tape delay plugin. You can also do…
The Ins and Outs of Sound Design
Here at Produce Like a Pro, making music is our top priority! Of course, music production is only one facet of audio engineering. Lest we neglect our sound design friends in the film & television industry, it’s important to familiarize…
10 Things No One Tells You About Music Production
1. Your first attempts at making music will not be that good! It’s ok! My first productions were atrocious! Knowing what I know now I wish I had created more songs and spent less time trying to perfect the ones…
Recording a song with 1 mic (LCT 441 Flex Giveaway)
a Rafflecopter giveaway Over the last 3 years of doing this channel, our good friends over at Lewitt have given us many microphones to try out and give away! Recently they have introduced a new microphone called the LCT 441…
Mixing Classic Rock for Charity With Dick Wagner
Normally on Friday’s we do our “Frequently Asked Questions” episode, but today we have something very special and important. We just released a brand-new Mixing Course for Charity. 100% of the profits are donated to support children in need. If…
Music Production With Phil Allen, Bob Horn & Erik Reichers
a Rafflecopter giveaway This week has been all about production. Recording the right parts, perfecting the arrangement and getting the sounds the way we want to hear them is huge! This channel is called PRODUCE Like A Pro after all!…
Rock Mix Bus Processing with Bob Marlette and Ulrich Wild
Mixing through plugins on your master bus is a widely debated topic. There are many approaches and methods but the best part is that there is no one way to go about it. Today I have a video for you…