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.

Pumping Reverb

This next little trick is so fresh, it's still hot from the oven. I've only just started using this one on some very recent tunes.

So, you've got a nice little synth stab, a clean guitar riff or maybe just a little plink sound like the one just here:

Bland, boring and doesn't have any character whatsoever. The first thing you then think of is "Hey, I'll put some reverb on it just like I learnt last week. It will then have it's own space and maybe even a bit more character." Let's see how that sounds...

Yeah not bad. It certainly sounds a lot better but it is still not quite enough, is it?. The technique that I've been using to make it more interesting involves setting the original sound to trigger the pumping of the reverb using a sidechain compressor. Sound complicated? It's not really. Have a look at this picture.

You can see that from the input sound (ie. your synth stab, guitar etc.), the unchanged signal goes directly to the master output. However, this sound is also routed to a reverb that is set to 100% wet. Before we sum this with the unchanged signal, however, it is run through the compressor which, with the sidechain, lowers the signal each time the stab hits or the guitar is strummed. Think of it as the reverb only being heard when the original signal is not.

This is what it sounds like:

See how the reverb has now got it's own rhythm? And in the context of the song, it sounds like this:

Much more interesting than the bland plinking sound we had originally. Can you hear the reverb pump?

The easiest way to set this signal path up is to use your returns (sends) with the reverb and compressor sitting on one return. In Ableton Live, however, you can utilise the racks by having one chain for the dry signal and one chain for the reverb and compressor. You may even want to save this rack for use in future projects.

In this song I have even used a similar technique on the bassline but instead of the sidechain compressor, I used the sidechain fakey to keep a constant pump. Can you hear it here?

For those of you who were paying attention you may have noticed that I have an EQ in front of the reverb in the chain above. Now you don't have to EQ the reverb chain every time (and you could even use the EQ in the reverb itself) but it can be useful to throw a high pass filter on it. This cuts out the low end of the reverb and gives the reverb more of an air-like wooshing sound.

Things to try at home

- Adjust the levels of the dry signal and the compressed reverb signal to taste. Sometimes less reverb is more.

- Adjust the EQ of the reverb signal. Sometimes you want that rumble in your reverb

- Try out the compressor settings above but also try different thresholds and attack and release times.

- Why not sidechain fakey if you want a constant rhythmic pump.

Mix Gel

Okay this is a quick and easy one.

You’re kick and bass are now awesome and you’ve decided to throw a few more elements into the mix: some percussion, a few synths, maybe a chopped up vocal or two. Nutting away for a few hours you get everything in the right place. The rhythm and beats work well with each other but you just can’t get it to gel. The time has come for you to throw some pants on, walk down to your local chemist and get yourself some Mix Gel®.

Unfortunately, Mix Gel® is expensive S#!$ and most chemists don’t stock it due to it’s unsightly side effects. Fortunately, however, I’m going to write up the procedure so you can make your own mix gel at home.

The technique that I am referring to involves using a single reverb to blanket all (or select) elements in your mix to bring them into the same space. For example, if you were to throw a band into a room and put one stereo mic in the middle and then listen to the playback, what would you hear? Apart from a hell of a lot of noise, you would hear each instrument of the band and the reverb that has now flooded the room. This reverb would be unique to the room and would be a product of the instruments that the band is using. When writing electronic music or any music where you are pulling sounds from different sources, (synths, recordings, sample packs etc.) however, you start writing without reverb. You’re gonna want to throw it back into the mix when you can.

Okay have a listen to this first sample:

A kick, some shakers, and a couple of synths. Easy. It doesn’t sound too bad if I may say so myself but it just doesn’t quite mesh. It’s sounds a bit stagnant and a bit stale, right?

The first thing that I do is put a reverb on a return track. I often do this before I have even written any of the parts. Set the Dry/Wet mix to 100%. Then set the Decay Time and Predelay to suit your track and the sound that you are going for ie. big and boomy, light and spacey. I also tend to activate the filter and set it to a high pass filter. I don’t usually want the low end of my bass booming through a reverb and muddying up my mix after I’ve been especially careful EQing it.

So now you’ve got the reverb set up, you are going to want to send something to it. I send all of my percussion over to this reverb and most of the synths that I work with. It’s not often that I send my kick or my bass but give it a go. It might work for you. There are a few things to consider though:
- Always have the track Audio To set to Master – this will ensure that your sounds are sent to your return track and your master simultaneously.
- Don’t send 100% of each element to the return track – experiment with how much you send but I tend to not send any more than -10dB. This is effectively controlling your dry/wet mix.

Now how does it sound?

It finally sticks together! Woo. You might have noticed that I have sent more synth to the reverb than percussion. I wanted to keep the reverb on the percussion rather subtle with this track but the synths just sounded so good with a good dose of reverb. So you understand what I am talking about, here is a sample of the reverb on its own.

It is amazing how subtle the reverb is. It’s volume here is relative to the total mix so you might want to turn your speakers up.

There we go. Here are some things to try out at home:
- Throw a Sidechain Fakey on your reverb track to get it pumping.
- Automate how much of each track you send to the reverb over each phrase. This will keep your track moving and works great for subtle build-ups when you ramp up the reverb.

By the way the track that you have been hearing is going to be released on Kitschy Records (UK) on the 26^th of June. Keep an eye out for it in your favourite online store. In the meantime, have a listen…