Composing - The Home Recording Studio

27Sep 2023 by Jon

5 Best electric piano VST’s for producing lo-fi hip-hop

Blog, Composing, Home Recording Blogs, Recording, Recording & Mixing, Sound Effects, Techniques

Bedroom Music Studio Computer Music Equipment Lo-fi hip-hop is a genre of music that is characterized by its warm, mellow sound and its use of vintage and lo-fidelity samples. Electric pianos are a popular instrument in lo-fi hip-hop, as they can provide a rich and atmospheric sound that is perfect for the genre. In this post I'll discuss the 5 best electric piano VST's for Lo-fi Hip-Hop. Watch my latest video to hear 5 of the best VSTs for Lo-fi Hip-Hop. https://youtu.be/24xqw9ybE4g?si=VblGikEsBAH4qOnR If you are looking for the best electric piano virtual instruments for producing lo-fi hip-hop, here are a few of my recommendations: 1. Lounge Lizard.Lounge Lizard is a great sounding electric piano with both tine-based and reed-based presets. The tine-based are mainly Rhodes pianos and the reed-based are…

05Aug 2023 by Jon

Universal Audio PolyMAX Synth: Get It for Free

Blog, Composing, Home Recording Blogs, Mixing

Universal Audio are one of the leading developers of audio plugins and hardware. Their plugins are known for their high quality and authentic sound. Recently, Universal Audio have released some of their plug ins and instruments as native plug ins, including the PolyMAX Synth. So these will work with any audio interface and any DAW. In this blog post, we will take a look at UAD PolyMAX and show you how you can get it for free. What is Universal Audio PolyMAX Synth? PolyMAX is a vintage-inspired synth with fat analog tones from the golden age of poly-synthesis. PolyMAX is a subtractive synthesiser with two oscillators, a state-variable filter, and two envelopes. It also features a variety of modulation options, including FM, SYNC, and LFO. PolyMAX is inspired by classic…

14Sep 2022 by Jon

How to Produce High-Energy Hip-Hop (90s-Inspired, Sample-Based Workflow)

Blog, Composing, Home Recording Blogs, Mixing, Sampling, Stock Music, Techniques

High-energy hip-hop is a hugely popular style in sync licensing, stock music, and modern production, and it’s also one of the most fun genres to produce. In this tutorial, I break down one of my own high-energy hip-hop tracks, showing you the sounds, samples, and production techniques I use to capture that upbeat, vintage-inspired feel with a modern twist. 👉 Watch the full video breakdown here https://youtu.be/cin_4NJPx1c What Is High-Energy Hip-Hop? The style I’m focusing on here is heavily influenced by 90s hip-hop, particularly sample-driven records that blend funk, soul, spoken word, and turntable-style rhythms. Common Characteristics of High-Energy Hip-Hop Strong influence from 90s hip-hop Largely sample-based Vintage, dusty, or lo-fi flavour Funk and soul samples Tempos typically between 90–100 BPM Spoken-word and vocal phrase samples Scratch-style sounds Repetition balanced…

06Sep 2022 by Jon

How to create 60 second edits like a pro

Blog, Composing, Home Recording Blogs, Mixing, Sound Effects, Stock Music, Techniques

Do you compose Stock Music or Production music? Then you need to create edits of your tracks. In this guide, I show you how to create 60 second edits like a pro! Why do I need to create edits? So, you've created your track and you want to upload it to Stock Music Libraries like Pond5 and Audiojungle. However, if you want to maximise your chances of selling, you need to create some edits. Here's why: Edits add value for the customerCustomers may need longer than the track you have created - this is why we make Loop editsCustomers need short, concise edits for certain mediums30 or 60 seconds is a common length for TV or Radio commercialsYou can sell edits as separate tracks (on certain libraries), increasing the potential…

18Apr 2022 by Jon

The Ultimate Lo-Fi Plugins?

Blog, Composing, Home Recording Blogs, Mixing, Recording & Mixing, Sampling, Sound Effects, Techniques

Are these the ultimate Lo-Fi plugins? Introduction In this post I take a look at Vulf Compressor and Tupe by Goodhertz and ask the question: are these the ultimate lo-fi plugins? Whether you make lo-fi hip hop, chill-wave or vaporware there are a growing number of lo-fi tools. Tape emulations, vinyl emulation and vintage compression, for instance. Some of my personal favourites include:- Waves J37 & Lo-fi SpaceChow DSP Chow TapeArturia Tape Mello-fiCaelum Audio Flux Mini and Tape Cassette,Klevgrand DAW CassetteYum Audio Lo-fi Pitch Dropout I've had good results with these tools (many of them are free) but I have often wondered if there are better options. Read on to find out more, including a secret 50% discount! Goodhertz? I have heard good things about Goodhertz plugins for quite some…

24Mar 2022 by Jon

FREE Cinematic Piano by Heavyocity

Blog, Composing, Home Recording Blogs, Recording & Mixing, Sound Design, Virtual Instruments

Free Cinematic Piano This week, Heavyocity announced the release of a free cinematic piano. The piano is the first instrument from Heavyocity's 'Foundations' range and works with the free Kontakt Player. In this video, I give the new instrument a full test and demonstration. https://youtu.be/wBJi9OB-fZY Heavyocity Foundations - Free Cinematic Piano Demo Heavyocity Foundations Piano If you are familiar with Heavyocity you'll know they offer a fantastic range of high quality orchestral, cinematic and hybrid instruments. Personally, I love their range of percussion instruments and own the epic 'Ensemble Drums' collection. The Foundations Piano didn't disappoint me. The interface allows you to blend the soft dynamics of a grand piano with an expertly crafted sound design layer. The instrument is highly customisable although the presets provide a great starting point.…

26Feb 2022 by Jon

Novation Launchkey 37 Mk3 Keyboard Review

Blog, Composing, Home Recording Blogs, Recording & Mixing

If you’re looking for a compact MIDI controller keyboard that still gives you enough keys to play properly, the Novation Launchkey 37 Mk3 is a really interesting option. In this review, I’ll break down why I chose the Launchkey 37 Mk3, what you actually get for your money, how it works with Logic Pro X, and whether it’s the right MIDI keyboard for your studio setup. 👉 Watch the full video review for a hands-on walkthrough (unboxing, features, Logic setup, and final thoughts). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88sNldGF8M0&t=328s Why I Chose the Launchkey 37 Mk3 Up until now, I’d been using a 25-key MIDI controller. While that’s fine for basic ideas, I often found myself needing just a bit more range, especially when playing two-handed parts or sketching chord progressions. A 49-key keyboard felt…

26Feb 2022 by Jon

How to get your music on Pond5’s Subscription Service

Composing, Home Recording Blogs, Stock Music

****UPDATE**** As of June 2022 Pond5 automatically includes all your music in their subscription service. Watch MY LATEST video below for up-to-date information! https://youtu.be/d1VqqZFNIu0 For music composers who are already selling tracks on Pond5, you may be aware that customers can sign up for a subscription service. However, Pond5 don't make it obvious how to submit your music to sell through subscription. Here I explain in detail, the steps I took to contact Pond5, how to present your tracks for submission and how quickly I got accepted. Watch the video for more information. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnYUWbHxuRM Click here for more Blog posts.

01Oct 2021 by Jon

Free Tools for Composers

Blog, Composing, Home Recording Blogs, Sampling, Sound Design, Sound Effects, Stock Music, Techniques, Virtual Instruments

There are many free plugins and sample libraries available if you know where to look. But what might surprise you is just how good some of them sound! As a composer for production music libraries and I use these free tools in my own compositions. So please try them out for yourself and have fun! In addition, check out my latest video. I'll show you how to create a cinematic percussion track using an amazing FREE sample library. https://youtu.be/kurh2D9Qh3E https://youtu.be/kurh2D9Qh3E Spitfire Audio, Labs. Let’s start with Labs by Spitfire Audio. This huge collection of high-quality instruments has to be heard to be believed. Labs covers a vast range of instruments from mandolins to synthesizers. Furthermore, the collection is growing all the time. So why not check them out! Kontakt Player…

18Sep 2020 by Jon

5 Things that have improved my recording & mixing

Blog, Composing, Mixing, Recording, Recording & Mixing, Techniques

Lately I’ve been thinking about what has made the biggest difference to my home recording and mixing. Here, I’ve come up with a list of 5 things that I think have improved my recording and mixing at home and taken me to the next level. Audio InterfacePreampsMonitoringMicrophonesPlugins 1. Audio Interface. A few years ago, I decided to make an investment in a good quality audio interface. I had a budget interface but some technical issues with this interface, which almost ruined a recording session I was doing for a band, prompted me to reconsider. So, I wanted something that wouldn’t let me down. I also needed at least 8 inputs and the ability to connect my Focusrite Octopre ADAT interface to give me 16 inputs in total. This is a…

Category: Composing