12.01.2008 | WOMP | That Daft Punk Pumping Sidechain

OK! So what the hell is Daft Punk doing to get that “pumping” sound in their songs? That’s what we’re going to tackle here in this Weapon of Mass Production… and frankly, you’ll be surprised at how simple it really is to setup this sound. It’s a compression effect called ducking and what it does is compress one audio signal using the amplitude of another. Rather than spend a bunch of time writing out the details, what I’ve decided to do is give you an ableton live session of a new track I’m working on that has the ducking setup properly. So download the session, open it up and mess with the compressor on the synth track. Turn it on and off and mess with the attack and release to fine tune that pumping sound. For those of you who’d like more info on ducking, there’s a great tutorial here as well as sound examples. Next WOMP there’ll be something very special for you Access Virus users…

How to install and use:

  1. - Download Ableton Live Daft Ducking Project (10)
  2. - Unzip and open session in Ableton Live
  3. - On the Synth track, locate the compressor and turn it on and off and listen to the change
  4. - Suggested: Mess w/ attack and release on the compressor
  5. - TIP: Try compressing the Synth audio with the Bass signal

And here’s a sample of a new VTG song with the ducking in action:

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10.19.2008 | Weapon of Mass Production

Dirty synth baby - We all want it. Well then, here’s a prime specimen from “Dance Floor Game”. This little bitch of a synth preset requires Vanguard, Camel Phat and Ableton Live 6+ to fire up. Preset comes as a Live Instrument Rack file. Recommended for Hard Dance, Breaks or Electro. Check out a snippet of “Dance Floor Game” below to hear this dirty synth in action.

How to install and use:

  1. - Download: VTG Dance Floor Game Arp (110)
  2. - Unzip and double click to install into Ableton Live
  3. - Layer with super distorted Arp synth sounds.

And here’s a sample of “Dance Floor Game”…

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08.25.2008 | Weapon of Mass Production

This week I’m pleased to introduce to you VTG Prolific Electro Breakbeat Drum Kit, an Instrument Rack for Ableton Live. This second Weapon of Mass Production came about during the writing of “Prolific”, a new VTG track. It’s best used when mixed w/ an acoustic drum loop that has a hi-pass filter on it set around 400hz to add some cymbal work to the drums. Check out a snippet of “Prolific” below to hear the kit in action.
How to install and use:

  1. - Download: VTG Prolific Electro Drum Set (196)
  2. - Unzip and double click to install into Ableton Live
  3. - Layer kit w/ existing acoustic loops and rock some beats

And here’s a sample of “Prolific”…

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08.17.2008 | Weapon of Mass Production

weapons of mass production #1This is the first post in a series that I’m going to start called “Weapons of Mass Production”. I’ll post one weapon a week that I’ve created for a new VTG song. Today’s weapon comes to you in the form of a nasty Dubstep Bass patch I’ve created that harnesses Novation’s VStation (VST), Camel Audio’s Camel Phat (VST) and Ableton Live 7.

How to install and use:

  1. - Download VTG Dubstep Bass Patch (231)
  2. - Unzip and double click to install into Ableton Live
  3. - Change the rate of the bass “wobble” by turning the LFO 1 Rate knob in Camel Phat
  4. - Suggested: Mess w/ settings on both LFO Depth and Rate on each LFO
  5. - Layer on top of a sub bass sound to shake the floor

And here’s a sample of a new VTG song I’m finishing up that it’s used on….

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