Some really cool samples and midi groove files available here for anyone looking for more of the retro flavor.

http://www.goldbaby.co.nz/freestuff.html

I love listening to something I'm working on the first time in a day. I always get such a better perception of what I have been working. Especially with the flow and the arrangement of the track.

After I work on something for a little while, I find I can loose sight of the overall picture. Does anyone else go through this? I try and take breaks and I find a good shower always give me a little bit of a fresh piece of mind.

So does anyone have any tricks they use to keep their ears and perception fresh?

I have been paying more attention to reverbs lately, mostly cause I felt my music was sounding flat and lacking depth. I started to experiment with Logic's reverbs and Sonnox Reverb. I honestly cant get that natural sound I hear in lots of commercial dance records. I am struggling mostly with adding reverb to percussion sounds , Cant get good results with Logic or Sonnox.
I have installed the Ik CSR demo and it feels more natural and better sounding for my needs.
Question is: should I get the CSR reverb or I would be wasting money since I have Logic's and Sonnox reverbs?
if using the Logic and or Sonnox reverbs....anyone mind to share which presets would work good as starting point for dance music?
opinions about CSR?

For those that haven't seen the post going around, another music distribution outfit bites the dust with a large impact on some major labels. Blame has been put on the illegal downloading and file sharing of music.

I do think that is part of it, but the other cause is the weak economy.

Here is a list of some of the affected:

http://www.pinnacle-entertainment.co.uk/labels_list.php

Not fully understanding what he is getting here. Is there a logic equivalent?

Source: http://www.beatportal.com/feed/item/prod...utomation/

Josh Gabriel
Automation is the key element in telling a good story with your tracks.

Since I switched to Live for my productions, the biggest change has been the use of macros in the instrument and effect racks.

By assigning multiple synth and effect parameters, like reverb, filter cutoff - or exotic stuff in Operator, like modulator amount or tuning - you can make a sound completely transform over time.

The idea behind my automation techniques is to set up a sound so that it goes from one extreme to another.

When the macro knob is set to zero, the sound is small and restrained, but at maximum it’s huge.

By continuously varying the value of one or more macro knobs, I can play with the sound over the course of a track, making it build all the way to the peak via automation.

Another great thing about macros is that if you want to add an effect to an already automated track, it’s just a matter of tying the new effect to the range of the macro so it follows the feel of the existing automation.

Seems good portion, if not all of the loops in this popular sample cd series are rips from already produced songs. Explains why everything sounds pre-eq'd and ready to go.

Attached is a few examples of the loops and the songs they came from.

http://www.medwaystudios.com/Vengeance_rips.rar

Did anyone else check this out yet, got a mail for the it the other day but haven't had time to install it yet.

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What are some techniques when it comes to time stretching for the purposes of remixes. I hear all these remixes of pop songs that may not have a tempo close to a dance track but the samples sound just like the original.

I can get a track loaded into ableton and set the markers and change the setting complex but it can still sound really hurried. Is there more to the process?

I am just looking to learn a little more about time stretching, remixing, sampling...

I am trying to find a good site that has Bass sounds only, not loops or sets, just Bass sounds... Any help?:eek: