MsTrisMusic.Com

Happy Friday! ..Much to do today before a fun weekend….beats, beats, and more beats..:)

I have everything connected to my pc now. All my hardware and software are synced fairly well. I am still fiddling with a few things. I have been using Native Instruments Maschine for 85% of my beats this year. I absolutely love it, and the work flow is a breeze. The thing is, I also love Fl Studio. The mixer in Fl Studio is my favorite. What I’d eventually like to do is use both Maschine and Fl Studio together. This way I can do a better mix of my Maschine beats using Fl Studio’s mixer.

The first problem I ran into was getting Fl Studio to detect Maschine as a plugin. On My Windows 7 system the file path to Fl Studio plugins looks like this:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Image-Line\FL Studio 10\Plugins\VST

I had to copy the Maschine.dll file into the Fl Studio 10\Plugins\VST Folder.(NOTE: I did not move the original Maschine.dll but I just made a COPY)

Once Fl Studio detected Maschine, I added a Machine Channel. I used the plug in wrapper to automap Maschine’s outputs. I got to Maschine’s wrapper by clicking the left hand menu and selecting “PROCESSING”;

Next I set up “Group A” outs from Maschine to 15 Fl Studio Mixer Channels.( NOTE:”OUT 1″ on Maschine will be assigned to Fl Studio’s Master Channel in the mixer)
This means I will have to assign my Maschine”outs” starting at “OUT 2″.

For example, in my Maschine Group A, I loaded the 808 Southern Kit. I send the 1st Instrument to “OUT 2″:

I continue to assign the other Maschine outs to 14 mixer channels in Fl Studio…Snare808= OUT 3…ClosedHH= OUT 4 and so on.

It took a few steps, and I’ve set up a template (.FLP file) if you’d like to have it:

Right Click to download:

Fl Studio Maschine Template Zip
Fl Studio Maschine 808kit Template

Keep in mind this is a basic template for 16 outs. I am still trying to figure out assigning channels manually. This way I’d be able to add more than one Maschine instance, which would allow more outs. (If you know how to do this please help …)

Happy Beat Making To All..
Pz Til Later!~

Extended Patterns Across Two Screens

Popularity: 13% [?]

Hey you ..I haven’t heard form you all in a lonnng lonng time..lol this time it’s not me, it’s you… remember your comments give me ideas for post. I’m not insisting that you leave them, but you really do help me with the site. It’s also good to know what you like and don’t like, that way I can continue to help you with specifics. MsTrisMusic is coming up on 3 years. The past one has actually been fairly smooth outside one host issue. I thank all who do keep in contact, comment, and make suggestions, it means a lot to me honestly ….

I have been diving deeply into music theory. I took some time this weekend to check a few of Tee’s videos over at www.todaysbeats.com. I noticed that he started with melodies in all the videos I watched. I am getting better at that, but it still takes me longer to make a beat that way.

Today, I really need to figure this out so I went on the google hunt. All this time it seems I’ve been making the “melodies 1st technique” a little harder than it had to be. Check out this wikihow article if you have a tough time starting with melodies like me. It basically explains breaking down the melody into notes, finding the key, and building your chords from there… Nice!

How To Add Piano Chords To Any Melody
www.wikihow.com/add-piano-chords-to-any-melody

Happy Beat Making To All..
Pz Til Later!~

Popularity: 8% [?]

Just a quick post to let you know the FREE public access at Todays Beats/ HipHop In Session will expire very soon. What a better way to preview what the site has to offer. Remember this is usually only available to PAID VIP subscribers…hurry hurry..and if you like sign up for VIP….so much great info!

WWW.TODAYSBEATS.COM

Happy Beat Making To All..
Pz Til later!~

Popularity: 6% [?]

What’s up my great people? I’m sort of off to the musical races this morning. I have sessions later and I must get two tracks done before. I’m loving Presonous Studio One right now. It’s drag and drop work flow are out of this world. I will surely update to Pro later on this spring or early summer.

Another feature which Studio One makes easy is sidechaining. There is not much routing to do at all. Basically you drag a compressor onto a track and select a few settings, next send the track that needs ducking to it. Here is a video by Tim McMahon Vids which explains:

If your asking why would she need to sidechain? Imagine having a bass and kick drum in the same frequency. You would surely have to cut some frequencies in order to hear them both as clearly as possible. With sidechaining, you can have one sound “ducking” behind the other. This means when the kick plays the bass will stop or vice versa, depending on how you set up your compressor.

Here’s a link to an easy read tutorial all about sidechaining and ducking. You’ll also find a link to a free side chain compressor as well…

sonictransfer.com/side-chain-compression-tutorial

Remember the same concept can be used with most DAWS. You may have to read how to set up each track in your specific program manual. I’m off to try this right away..and wish you luck as well..

Happy Beat Making To All..
Pz Til Later!~

Popularity: 5% [?]

Great Morning To You! I am in serious mix mode this morning. All the projects I’ve been posting about are in the final stages. I’ve got 4 beats to mix today, and I plan on making them bang! I needed to look at an Eq Frequency Chart. I know I have one somewhere on a hard drive,but I couldn’t find it quickly. I googled, and found a very helpful site for musicians and engineers.

http://www.independentrecording.net

Jackpot! There is an interactive EQ Frequency Chart, and many more resources for us newbies…

freqchart

Another thing that really caught my eye is an applet all about Metering Structure:

image from independentrecording.net

I know I have not understood all the meters I look at inside Reapers Mixer. There are a few sets of numbers to see db, rms, and peaks levels. I have only been focusing on the db and peak so far. I know that’s not the correct way to monitor sound. I also know I needed to learn exactly what the levels mean. Today’s find is an “in your face’ reminder.

Remember, I had such a hard time setting my metering on my Edirol digital mixer. After a quick read, and use of the applet, I did a little test. What a difference! I love fixing mixing problems, and what better time to study this, as artists are getting close to mastering songs which Ive produced.

I’m going to spend at least an hour studying this, and get to work. Be sure to click around, there are plenty goodies in the resources section

Happy Mixing To All…
Pz Til Later!`

Popularity: 5% [?]

Hey Hey Hey! What’s up with ya?… I’m preparing for a session this afternoon. I’ve been really into mixing and engineering lately. I had the time to read, while waiting for software to instal on my pc, which takes quite a while.

On Thursdays I usually rent my lab for producers sessions. Today I’m excited because the producer is bringing a guitarist. I am also happy because I have been practicing my guitar lessons regularly. Funny how things just fall into place sometimes.

Before they arrive, I definitely need to catch up on some recording techniques for guitar. I found a few good tips on youtube. Maybe I’ll practice recording myself playing the three chords I know 1st… lol…enjoy

Best Recording Guitar tips with Amp on computer in the Studio at home by DavidCamposComposer

Recording guitar with computer by DanielWaves

This is very useful for me because I don’t have a stand alone hardware guitar amp yet. This shows an example of a software guitar amp, almost exactly what I’ll use

Happy Beat Making To All…
Pz Til Later!~

Popularity: 4% [?]

Well..Well.. and Well ..! I am finally smiling and doing many mental cartwheels over here. Remember I told you I was getting an Alienware?..Well I did:

…And was it a beauty inside…unfortunately I started loading all my programs and the pc wouldn’t start after 3 days. I was very upset. By the 4th day I got a blue screen!.. I sent the thing right back but had to wait an entire month for a replacement.

I know Alienware pc’s are super reliable over all; but, after my bad experience, I decided against ordering another. I wanted a maxed out G5 ..lol doesn’t every producer want a MAC …To build a custom G5 with all the specs I wanted would have cost me around 5,000$. WOW..too much for my budget indeed.

I looked around for a few deals and settled on a Dell9100.

I love it so far! Whisper quiet,super fast, plenty RAM, and great for handling several task at once. My transition to this pc has been flawless. Many of you may be upgrading so here is a quick check list for making pc set up easy and breezy..

1.Back up all your work.
2.Purchase or use an external drive
3.Add all your antivirus/anti malware programs to a folder on the external drive
4.Download all latest drivers for your software and hardware into a folder on the external drive. (Pay close attention if you need 32bit or 64 bit)
5.Gather all installation cd’s and dvd’s
6.Save an HTML file of your internet bookmarks and download to a folder on the external drive.
7.Download latest version of your browser ie;firefox etc. Download all toolbars you use for your browser

Double check that you have all the LATEST programs, drivers, toolbars, serial #’s, and software for your new pc. If your old pc is functional you can make a list of installed programs etc. before trashing it.

When your new pc arrives:
8.Install all antivirus/anti malware software and be sure your firewall is turned on.
9.Begin to install your drivers, browsers, bookmarks, and programs as instructed by manufacturer.

If you have tons of software,plug ins and other programs…CHECK CHECK CHECK that your new pc will shut down and start up properly after loading a few.
Do this throughout your installation process. This will make it very easy to track down any problematic installs.
10. Make a recovery disk.

This little check list helped me so much. It usually takes a full day to get things set up properly, so be sure you have the time to really get technical. Another important thing to remember if you have several external drives.Rename the drive letters on your new pc to whatever they were on your old pc. This way your new pc will have the same drive paths as your old one.

I’ll be spending a few days fine tuning things as well. I should be back to regular post by this Thurs.

Happy Beat Making To All!
Pz Til Later~

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