Templates For The Win

I often visit different forums to learn new tricks, keep up to date with new technology and techniques and sometimes just to hang out and talk trash amongst other fellow producers and studio junkies.

A few days ago a user posed the question "Which part of the song do you write first?". Now after a few responses it was clear that there was no one way to start a song. Some people start with a bassline. Some people start with drums or a groove. Some people start with a synth riff. I've even heard in an interview with the french producer, Martin Solveig, that he would start by sitting in front of a microphone and make random sounds and noises until he found one he liked.

So that's all well and good; everyone is different and we each work in different ways. Eventually one user mentioned that they load up their basic template and go from there. This made me think about my own template and how I use it. I know that it has saved me a lot of time in the studio. After starting a few songs I realised that I would be grabbing for the same effects and presets for different tracks. So, why not turn that base set into a template?

I'll take the time to tell you about my template, how I have everything set up and why. Once again, this isn't the only way to put together a template but it helps me and it may help you.

My base template consists of 8 tracks (Kick, Bass, Snare, Hats, Percussion, Synth 1, Synth 2, and Vocals) and 3 return tracks (Reverb, Delay, Perc).

1 - Kick

This audio track is solely for my main kick drum. On this track I've got a high pass filter to cut out all the muddy frequencies below around 25Hz. I've also got a frequency analyser to help me EQ the bass to get it with sit with the kick.

2 - Bass

This midi track is for my main Bass synth; Blue, Bassline, Elek7ro etc. As with the Kick track I've got a high pass filter to cut out all the muddy frequencies below around 25Hz. Using a frequency analyser and an EQ I can then EQ the bass to get it to sit with the kick. See my previous post on Kick and Bass EQ.

3 - Snare

As I tend to write my drums first the next audio track is for the snare drum. There are no effects on this channel but it is routed only to the C Perc return. More about this later.

4 - Hats

This midi track is loaded with an Impulse to look after all my hat samples. There are no effects on this channel but it is routed only to the C Perc return.

5 - Percussion

This audio track is ready for chopped up percussion styles. Sometimes I'll even duplicate this track depending on how many layers I end up working with. There are no effects on this channel but it is routed only to the C Perc return.

6 - Synth 1

This midi track is ready for my main synth line. On this track I've got a high pass filter to roll-off frequencies below about 150-350Hz. This gives the kick and bass room in the mix. Send A is then set to send the track to both the Master and the A Reverb return. I'll then adjust this send to raise or lower the amount of reverb I want.

7 - Synth 2

Same as above.

8 - Vocals/Samples

This audio track is for the vocals or any melodic samples that I end up using. On this track I've got a high pass filter to roll-off frequencies below about 150-350Hz. This gives the kick and bass room in the mix and also removes those popping sounds that you get in some vocals. Send A is then set to send the track to both the Master and the A Reverb return. I'll then adjust this send to raise or lower the amount of reverb I want.

A - Reverb

This return generally has Reverb with the Ambience Medium preset. I'll generally follow it up with a Side Chain Fakey to get it to pump a bit with the mix.

B - Delay

This return generally has a Filter Delay with the Go Mid preset. You could always use a Grain Delay or even a Ping Pong delay for something different.

C - Perc

This is where all of my drum sounds are sent (except for the kick). First and foremost this return has a high pass filter to roll-off frequencies below about 150-350Hz. This gives the kick and bass room in the mix. I may also apply some compression to get the percussive parts to gel nicely. Send A is then set to send the track to both the Master and the A Reverb return. I'll then adjust this send to raise or lower the amount of reverb I want on the percussion.

So once you've got you template setup you are going to want to save it such that it loads everytime you start up your DAW. Now I am not completely sure about other DAWs but in Live you can save your template quickly and easily. Just click on that top button in the File/Folder Preferences. Do it!

So give the template a go. It might work for you, get you writing songs quicker or you might totally hate it and the way it might makes you write. I must admit that sometimes I don't use the template. I'll start up Live, delete every track and start from scratch. This is completely healthy too. It gives you the chance to try out new things. new routing strategies and new techniques. Hey, sometimes I'll even just start up one synth on one track and tweak sounds for hours and hours on end. Enjoy it.

Things to try at home

- Pay attention to what you consistently pull into your sets when you start a new one. Are there some things you always do? Why not throw them into a template to help get you writing quicker.

- Try my template. Download it here and give it a go. If you like it, just save it as your own template in Live. It will work on Live 7 and above.

Kick & Bass EQ

Now some of you might be sitting there, thinking “I read your last post on faking the sidechain effect but I absolutely loath that sound and I want it (and anyone who uses it) to die a long and painful death”. That may be a little harsh but you still want your kick and your bass to play nice right? EQ is the next tool that you are going to need in your tool box.

I know that I have often started work on a tune; I have found the perfect kick drum that works so well with the rest of my percussion and I have created the most mind-bending bass patch known to man (well maybe not every time). The problem, however, comes when I try to put the two together. The frequencies of the kick start fighting with the frequencies of the bass and suddenly my master is in the red and I’ve got mud everywhere.

Time to EQ.

The process starts by finding out what frequencies are dominant in both the kick and the bass. Now, I use the Spectrum analyser that comes with Ableton Live but there are some other plugins out there such as Voxengo SPAN that can also be used. Live’s Spectrum, however has a great “Bass Analyser” preset that takes out the hard work of setting up.

As soon as you load it up on your kick track you may want to adjust the settings to make it easier to read. Try increasing the Avg up to 8 and reducing the Refresh rate. You can also double click on the graph to get a larger view of the waveform.

So here is what my kick looks like:

From this graph we can see that the loudest part of the kick is between 50 and 60Hz with not much audio power below 50Hz.

The same graph for the bass looks like this:

The loudest part of the bass is at about 50Hz with the next harmonic at about 100Hz and there is heaps more sound below 50Hz too. We can immediately tell that we’re going to have issues.

So the first decision I need to make is whether to EQ the bass or the kick. I tend to stick to the rule “If it moves, EQ it”. In this case, my bassline is moving up and down octaves. If I EQ it, it can dance around as much as it wants, (above, below or across the main frequencies of the kick) and still leave a space for the kick to sit in.

If you’ve got one of those basslines that drone along on the one note (I too am guilty of these) then you could EQ either the bass or the kick. However, you’ll probable want to EQ the element that has the least power in the mix. Make sure you experiment.

So, back to it then. I’ve dropped an EQ Eight onto my bass track (just before the Spectrum).

I then pulled the little “1” around until it looked something like this.

So with the loudest frequencies of the kick being between 50 and 60Hz, I then want to cut those frequencies from the bass. You can dial in the exact frequency with the Freq dial and make sure you experiment with the Q. Remember that with a lower Q value, the cut in frequencies will be wider and you will lose more of your bassline.

After a bit of tweaking, the kick and bass now sound like this:

And in the context of the song:

Note:
- It may be difficult to EQ if both the kick and the bass share the exact same frequency band. You may want to try re-pitching the kick or bassline or even syncopating your bassline so it doesn’t strike on the same beat as your bass.

The sounds in this tutorial belong to a remix that I just did for the Damn Arms Bang Gang Remix Competition. Check it out!

If you like what I've done with this track, click on "Share" on the player above and let your friends know about it.