One of the great stuggles when it comes to learning to produce music is trying to work out exactly why it is that your tracks don’t sound as polished and professional as releases from your favourite artists. It can be easy to get downhearted and assume the problem must lie in the expensive studios and vintage gear that top producers use – things many of us can’t afford to access.
In reality though, given the quality of modern plugins and home studio gear, it’s perfectly possible to capture a ‘pro sound’ at home, whatever your budget may be. All it takes is a little know-how.
To help you crack that ‘pro sound’, this issue we’ve sat down with producers and engineers behind some of the world’s biggest artists, to get mixing and mastering that you can translate to your productions, whatever your budget and wherever your studio is.
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Interviews
Ride – Ride frontman Mark Gardener chats about the shoegaze tag and the driving force behind their seventh album, Interplay
Kelly Moran – The New York-based composer tells us about her latest project, which places the Yamaha Disklavier front and centre.
Naum Gabo – 20 years after first starting, Jonnie Wilkes and James Savage finally release their debut Naum Gabo LP, F. Lux
Classic Album – Orbital on their classic self-titled 'green album'
Pioneers – We explore the evolution and many reinventions of Brian Eno
Technique
Mix Like The Pros! – We gather some of the best studio minds to come up with some incredible insider tips on all aspects of music production, from getting prepped for a session, to finishing a mix, with some invaluable advice from start to finish
Masterclass – Explore the functions of Native Instruments' refreshed Komplete Kontrol keyboards
Producer's Guide – Learn the ins and outs of sequencing modular drums
Reviews
UDO Audio Super Gemini
Oeksound Bloom
ALM Busy Circuits Powered Case
PreSonus Eris Pro 8
t.bone HD 815
Røde NT-1 Signature
IK Multimedia ARC Studio
Klevgrand OneShot
& more
Samples
Bleeps, tones, glitch – Forget chords and melodies – our latest pack is crammed full of esoteric bleeps, glitchy tones and oddball synth noises.
Odd mics – We get creative with contact mics, piezo pickups and unusual recording tools to create a pack of characterful FX and loops.
Access the FM sample archive – UPDATE FOR 2024! Download the ‘Archive’ packs and get over 20GB of loops, hits and instruments from our back catalogue of high-quality and royalty-free samples. From vintage synths and drum machines to esoteric instruments and FX – think of it as our best of. All the samples you need to create great music!
