7 music production tips I wish I'd known earlier, feat. ShaperBox!
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- Опубліковано 27 чер 2024
- Here are some less commonly discussed techniques that are useful in tons of genres! I’m using ShaperBox to demo everything because they wanted to sponsor a video but if you don’t have the plugin you can of course do automation and gating in lots of different ways. ShaperBox just makes a lot of it easier :) Check them out www.cableguys.com/
Topics in this video:
0:24 Automate volume to reinforce a groove
1:48 Automate volume to sculpt transients
3:28 Chop audio into unique percussion
4:40 Gate a texture to add an interesting drum layer
5:58 Draw your sidechains by hand
7:31 Subtle modulation on pads goes a long way
9:12 Automate distortion for interest and dynamics
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Shaperbox is one of those plugins that I initially purchased because I found the idea cool, set it aside for some specific tasks, and is now making it's way into almost every aspect of my production and mixing lol. It just makes many things so much quicker and easier.
honestly, I often find myself with 4 or 5 mixed in very lightly on every element because it's such a convenient way to get some cool movement
@@1998Cebola same! I'm loving making presets with so many combinations of all the modules
Hi, I have a question. Do you agree that music is infinite? Given that there is a finite amount of notes and finite amount of hearing ranges, is it possible that we can still come with endless ideas of music. And to be clear, I'm not talking about adding a single note and calling it a new song, are changing a pitch very slightly that's inaudible to the human ear and calling it a new song, but is it really possible to create endless new songs with the limitations of notes and keys on an 88 key piano? Please let me know your thoughts.
@@jessebell8328 No way. Human consciousness is quantifiable, and so must be our music. Even if we are conscious of infinity, the awareness is limited by our existence and is therefore itself finite. The good news is that human consciousness is so imperfect that there is infinite variability from our limited perspective. So... also yes?
@@jessebell8328 I would say at this point, with the amount of tools available and the nature of creating sound, music is definitely infinite. You can hit a rock on the ground in a repeating pattern forever and every strike will have a slightly different loudness and frequency response. So yes, music is infinite
Another tip: use a muted track to trigger your sidechains. I use the "blip attack" preset in Operator and just draw in 4 on the floor pattern. That way if you ever change your kick drum later, you won't have to go back and redial all the compressor settings for each sidechained instruments.
Hi everyone, I have a question. Do you agree that music is infinite? Given that there is a finite amount of notes and finite amount of hearing ranges, is it possible that we can still come with endless ideas of music. And to be clear, I'm not talking about adding a single note and calling it a new song, are changing a pitch very slightly that's inaudible to the human ear and calling it a new song, but is it really possible to create endless new songs with the limitations of notes and keys on an 88 key piano? Please let me know your thoughts.
@@jessebell8328 there is an article out there on the web that is titled something like "every melody ever possible to be written is on this hard drive" - and you are technically correct as are the hard drive owners. Every possible combination of notes and order is finite and while large, still finite in number. That accounted for, the potential for differences in note lengths, rests between them, and combinations (chords and progressions) while still finite, take us into the realm of the perceivable as infinite, because its a very very very very large number. One all humans in all lifetimes probably couldn't ever complete creating. A computer could, hence the hard drive of just the note order combos called "melodies" (which are really just note sequences and probably not all very interesting musically) but then you add "swing" and "feel" and other nuances, like breath in singing and portamentos (I think thats word, Im talking about bends between notes, the microtonal stuff) on and on and its a big unwieldy number of combinations fast. So... infinite? Technically... no. But... practically, in practice, to the human concept of time and getting them all created to the very end of the list? Improbable in the span of human existence. Make sense?
That's my guess.
You could do the same thing with an External Instrument send to a Serum, Duck Buddy, LFO Tool, etc. Cept with those, all you have to do is change the LFO shape. With the muted trigger method, you have to reshape the muted hit to suit the new noise.
@@baronvonbeandip The trigger sound is always the same though. It's just a tiny click sound. All the shaping is done within the compressors. That's just the method that's always worked for me.
@@BeTheAeroplane I do the same thing with a short white noise from operator, so I can control the decay time. Though I might pick up volume shaperbox just because it’s cool
Great vid man, I NEED this plugin now
roomie
Love your videos, Roomie!
Rami
Andrew makes Plugin Porn 😂 also need to have it.
It´s the time, they have 5 most used for 70 and all 12 for 170 .
Honestly, you should've named this video "How I use ShaperBox"
ive been subscribed here years and yah this is literally just an ad
@@khangarraty727 it’s a pretty good ad though. now I just have to reverse engineer these tips to use with stock Reaper plugins 😁
If I haven't explained the principles of each technique clearly enough then that's on me, but I did all of these things before owning ShaperBox and they aren't difficult to do without the plugin
we've all got to get paid, and you really should be able to take the ideas behind all of these tips and apply them with almost whatever setup you have. i'm losing count of the ways i can do most of these in my tiny studio alone.
Or maybe it should be titled "How I use ShaperBox while workin on an ad for Target." Full disclosure: After watching this ad, I will probably buy the plugin. LOL
that time shaper/ gating element is a lot like the gross beat vst that usually comes stocked into fl studio
maybe not as complex as shaper box, but still fun to toy around with!
yeah you can definitely do all the volume/gating along with time warping/cutting. It's just missing the noise and some filtering but there are plenty of other tools to accomplish that in FL. Gross beat is such a great tool.
love gross beat..fr
yup, the time part is practically the same, except the syncing works MUCH better than with gross beat. initially i’ve bought only the time module because i was sick of gross beat getting messed up if you didn’t start playback from first bar.
Hi everyone, I have a question. Do you agree that music is infinite? Given that there is a finite amount of notes and finite amount of hearing ranges, is it possible that we can still come with endless ideas of music. And to be clear, I'm not talking about adding a single note and calling it a new song, are changing a pitch very slightly that's inaudible to the human ear and calling it a new song, but is it really possible to create endless new songs with the limitations of notes and keys on an 88 key piano? Please let me know your thoughts.
@@jessebell8328 depends how you are defining a new song. I can play the same song with different dynamics or rhythmic accents or even just a different orchestration, say bass piano trumpet vs tuba violin and guitar. Then is it the same? If we are all just using the same exact piano then no there are probably limits but there is a very very large amount of options before repeating that it might as well be considered infinite in the ability to express the same notes in a different way. To find all combination of notes it is something like 88 to the power of 88 but the reality is music is a lot more complex than just what notes you pick so there is more to the equation than just that number.
Apart from the sound, the editing on this video is really on point. Really nice.
yes! these transitions of one part into another = next level!
I got Shaperbox free with Focusrite’s Plugin Collective a while back and have been letting it rot on my drive. Thanks for the inspiration to pull it out 🤩
Just picked up Shaperbox 3.....I'm blown away with how much flavor it adds to tracks!! 😳
This is pure genius! And I can build all of this with Ableton’s stock plugins as Effect racks, for 0 money. Sure, it’s not exactly the same but I get 90% of the convenience without adding any new plugins! I am so happy right now 😃
How would you do the time shaper one in ableton? I'd love to utilize abletons stock effects for that!
@@notyetaladie in your audio clip automations mess with transposition and sample offset
@@notyetaladie Haha, hadn’t gotten that far when I made the comment. Good point. You can do some of it with looper and some M4L devices but to be honest, it’s not one I’d use so I’m not too focused on that. I have Manipulator that I use when I do a lot of pitch / formant shifting and I do time effects manually because it’s a rarity for me.
@@andrewhuang Thanks for sharing Andrew. I really hope you can please 🙏respond to my message about how you compose when you can. It would mean a lot. Thanks very much.
@@notyetaladie u can set the simple delay plug in to repitch mode by right clicking and selecting repitch on the drop down menu and then clicking link in the top right corner and changing the delay mode to time. then u can just automate the delay time and it gets kinda a similar effect, just not as much precision
I love Shaperbox! Be sure to use the MIDI Trigger option to work around Ableton's shortcomings in plug-in delay compensation, especially when Shaperbox is used towards the end of the plug-in chain.
Could you recommend a tutorial for the midi trigger function?
@@reflexin5150 also interested in this
Hi everyone, I have a question. Do you agree that music is infinite? Given that there is a finite amount of notes and finite amount of hearing ranges, is it possible that we can still come with endless ideas of music. And to be clear, I'm not talking about adding a single note and calling it a new song, are changing a pitch very slightly that's inaudible to the human ear and calling it a new song, but is it really possible to create endless new songs with the limitations of notes and keys on an 88 key piano? Please let me know your thoughts.
@@jessebell8328 it's not infinite, but given the different tempos, time signatures, grooves, harmonys and genres there is plenty to go around. Though you do have to factor in that some combinations just sound bad. In theory if you programmed AI to write all songs at a certain bitrate given a certain song length you could hear every possible song given those parameters.
I think the snare layering trick is really cool and underutilized!
Okay!
Okay!
mr. bill does that everytime
Okay!
Okay!
I love the sound tip 4 (layering gated sounds on drums) makes especially when you switched to the sound after white noise. Very inspiring. I feel I’ve heard similar stuff in music and didn’t know how it was done. It really pulls you in as a listener.
Another way to achieve that kind of transient shaping takes advantage of Ableton's warp function. Set the warp mode to "Beats" and preserve setting to transients. This puts a little envelope right at the start of every transient in the loop. Right under that dropdown, there's the loop mode. Set that to the top option which is "loop off" and has the single arrow. The value to the right of that determines how long each of the little envelopes last for. If you turn down that value you can essentially shorten each transient in a sample right in the clip. Different samples in the same track can be treated differently and you don't need to worry about moving any automation around or adjusting an external tool to match the timing of the loop. It all happens automatically. I do this in almost all of my productions to preserve the groove of a loop or breakbeat I like while freeing up some space sonically for other stuff to slot in. It's not perfect as it effects every sound in the loop and more soft sounds will get lost but it super useful when you're making percussion and loop heavy music!
Shaperbox is honestly my favorite plugin ever, so many useful features it's almost endless. From mixing to sound design.
infilterator is better
I'm hooked on these transitions with the little reverb.
This (micro volume automation) reminds me a lot of my early experiments with the (very simple) Mac-based protools system I owned around 1996. That thing could only play a maximum of 4 simultaneous tracks and had extremely limited support for plugins. Precise volume and panorama automation combined with a very simple outboard effect helped create the illusion of many more sources.
This is a brilliant video. Excellent tips that are very well demonstrated and explained, and an excellent ad that manages to not be annoying at the same time. You have a perfect blend of humility and knowledge to just be awesome.
I love this channel so much
Love it when 2 guys I follow comment on each others' videos!
So do I! :)
I vote for Title change to: 7 "ShaperBox 2" tips I wish I'd known earlier!
Lest take a moment to appreciate these musicians on youtube just giving out game
These tips are great! Thanks for taking a deep dive 🙏
Love your content Andrew, have done so for years
Always enjoy watching andrew nerding over music production, so inspiring
"Yeah just that target commercial I did for Target." Man really on the next level
Exactly what I needed! Been having this vst but using it just for sidechains, I love how you can literally draw a sidechain in it, but always wanted to do more with it someday, that's the sign to do it then
I recently got Shaperbox and I love it! It's my new favorite plugin. Not only does it make things easier, but I it's great for coming up with new ideas!
I use shaper box in every project as well, I have mine built into a sidechain bus with a midi trigger. My favorite way I've found to sidechain so far. Thanks for showing me a few new ways to use it!
This channel is so important to me! All this great information. I will have a laptop and Ableton soon too and need all your tips!
I have also built my PC this month, can't wait to get into this
Have much fun bro!
I’m fairly sure I heard that target commercial. Super cool to know that Andrew did that.
What a solid plugin. Thanks Andrew and Happy Holidays!
Manual side chaning !!! Thank you ! It was soo obvious ! I need that !
Your videos have some of the best editing and transitions around!
Now that's the kind ad I like and watch more than one time! 🔥🔥🔥
Using the volume to shape the transient of a snare is something I've never thought of. Thanks so much.
Very nice tool to add to the box! Thank you Andrew
I use Shaperbox a lot but this is the best tutorial I’ve seen in terms of showing how versatile it is. Love your work.
Really interesting shaping! Thanks for sharing!
Just bought it! Super valuable recommendation, I'm loving it thank you!
I also love those cableguys plugins! Thanks for those tips Andrew!
i'm just happy you came back to earth to give us your awesome tips :D
Great tips, Andrew, thanks!
this is great I just bought shaper box the other day!! knew you would have a great tutorial
Thank great tutorial I have been looking for this kind of tool for a long time, very musical approach!
Great video, Andrew!😊🙏. And WHAT a great track🙏👌
These tips are super useful, thanks Andrew!
Im impressed he's still able to make videos with a new baby! Total dedication!
Very helpful information, thanks Andrew!
Man Thank you as always!!! always super helpful and super cool!!
superb video - great tips!!
Great, purchased it directly after your presentation.
Thank you very much ANDREW...😍😍😍❣
appreciate you a ton, andrew!
Thanks for the Shaperbox pitch. Totally went and got it!
As always.
Solid.
💪🏽🤘🏽
love this plugin too
I LOVE automating distortion and used to really overuse it in some of my older crunchier songs lmao. Love these other ideas and applications to diversify and add life
Andrew rocks as usual!!!!!!!
I picked up the idea of shaping the volume from trying to replicate aphex twin. So fun to take a reverb and then cut/chop the volume after, something software makes so much easier.
I’ve been totally happy with their free trial. Like it’s been good enough I don’t feel the need to upgrade lol
Great stuff bro!!!
I LOVE these kinds of videos.
Midi triggered oneshot mode in Shaperbox is fantastic for drum sound design. Love a quick envelope on Driveshaper’s drive to give bite to transients.
I'm a Shaperbox user and can confirm it's usefulness. Yes, you can achieve the similar effect by manually automating and panning on the channels in your DAW of choice but this is faster and convenient without sacrificing quality, while you work. If you play with the pan and width sections you can get great results fast. The GUI is responsive and it takes little to get use to it and start using it comfortably.
This video was perfect timing! I'm currently editing sounds for a metronome app I'm developing and for one sound in particular there was a spike in the middle of the waveform that I wasn't able to target with compression or clipping without affecting the rest of the waveform around it in a negative way. I added Shaperbox at the end of my effects chain and drew in a volume envelope to dial that one spike back in perfectly without touching the rest of it. I don't normally do sound design and I never would have thought of using Shaperbox like this. This is like waveform editing, but you can insert it anywhere in your effects chain. Simply brilliant!
Side note: I'm also using the free version of Psyscope by FX23 (oscilloscope plugin) to analyze the waveform while editing it with Shaperbox. I like Psyscope better than the waveform view in Shaperbox.
I've been working on my own modular synthesis code and it's cool to start having those "hey, I could do that!" moments.
Shaperbox is an amazing plugin. It's not perfect but it makes experimenting so quick and easy. The envelope follower on every module gives it a spot on almost every section in my production recently. Its just so easy to get a clean sound with it compared to doing everything outside of the plugin.
Have this plugin, super useful. Thx for the protips yo 🙏🏿
Sharing tips like this is beneficial for all music lovers and audiophiles cuz it keeps audio production from getting stale and redundant
Great video ty Andrew
So good. Great ideas. And you sold a plug-in. Nice job working with Andrew, sponsor!
That initial snare on 5:46 is sooo much the kickoff at the start of Sultans Of Swing 🙂
You rock man! Thanks for ths one!
Great tips dude love the sidechain one!
On behalf of the people from Brazil I hereby declare you the most prolific non-brazilian musician/producer in the style of "tupperware samba". Really beautiful stuff. Congratulations!
Yes! I love my Shaper Box plugins! Sometimes it feels like having an additional synth engine to modulate whatever synth/sound I'm using. So quick & easy to use, and it's my favorite tool for turning something a little flat into something fun & dynamic.
What a fascinating way of creating music, cool!!!!!!!!
Andrew is the king of doing the “wrong” thing with the right tool for the sickest effect! 👑
That Instrumental at 08:50 is beautiful loving the bass line ♥
Love shaper box! I’d re-buy again. Great vid man
Great video, thanks!
A video like this for every plug-in in existence would be great - good place to start to get ideas on how to use them!
Absolutely gonna try these tips 💥💥👊👊
This tune turned into an absolute bang bro! AMAZING great video! I wasn’t going to shop plug-ins this weekend but now I’m convinced 🙌🏻🗣🙌🏻😭❤️ GOATED
LiteraLly take hours automating lol
Great one mate. I love my Shaperbox ! My best buy :)
been sleeping on this one. thx
Love ShaperBox! It’s a great multi-tool with a ton of depth.
It's beennn a looonng time since I last watched Andrew
That commercial beat stuck in my head lol good job 👏
I'm so happy you're back with more frequent videos nowadays. Very useful tips, I especially liked this one with using one inpact to create different percussive sounds. This loop there sounded really like hihat being opened and closed, maybe with some kind of filter on it. As a drummer I like some of your recent videos especially for these, lets call it, drummer's content. 😀
Thank you Andrew
That time setting is CRAZY!
Shaperbox is by far one of my most used plugins. Highly recommended!
Some good little workflow timesavers. Saves a bunch of steps if you're consistently in production 👍
LOVE the track you're building up here, any chance of a release / extended version? 🤞🏻
Just bought the bundle 🤟🏻
this is very helpful thank you
Love your content ❤️
This is awesome!
Great ideas, that’s a cool looking plugin. I’ve been really digging Tracktion Waveform Racks lately for that kind of fun stuff. You can add LFOs, step sequencers, transient shapers and more to pretty much anything. Really interesting possibilities when automating volume and pan, or doing complex parallel stuff. Also, routing random LFOs to bitcrusher parameters is a beautiful thing!
Final Sound So Good Man!