Fanu/FatGyver

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Fanu/FatGyver posts

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What's up! (and ahead)

Hey hey, really just wanted to say first, how's everybody doing? How's summer treating you?The winter was the longest ever here, I feel, and spring wasn't amazing, and summer is starting, finally.I took this week off just to recharge a bit, be able to go out more and enjoy the outdoor life, and also reconnect again with my very old hobby, skateboarding, and man, it's been fun...that will always make me enjoy life.Everybody that knows me knows that I work an absolute ton, often gi...

A few grrreat free plugins! (Part 2)

Yo yo everybody!Hope it's been a good month.Me, took this week off to chill, as it's been mad with work, and the weather has finally shown some signs of warmth and spring.Just recorded a new Breaks & Beats podcast episode (ep. 27) today – it'll be out on Friday (June 3) and on my podcasts page.Also, in June month I want to do another song exclusive walkthrough video, and it'll be about my recent remix that I did for Make Or Break – let's talk a bit about breaks soon!That ...

Most common mix issues

I mix music every single day as my living.I was recently asked what I fix the most in my work, and that was actually a very good question.Without any further foreword, let me just get into the facts!📢 LACK OF MONO POWERMy recent Patreon-exclusive video post actually shows this, and that's why I won't write that long about this one.But in a nutshell, having a hecking nice, clear, wide stereo mix doesn't necessarily guarantee that the mix is as good in mono. It's super common th...

Let's find and tackle resonances! [video]

I hate resonances.But I love taking them out. It's part of my daily living, literally.In this video, I show my favorite four tools and how I fight resonances.All for the smooth-as-possible sound!https://www.dropbox.com/s/zfsowrru0v6hstp/fight%20the%20rez.mp4?dl=0(I do admit some of the cuts I do on the video are too deep, but they're just so you can hear what is being taken out)

Bass punch makes a huge difference in the mix [video]

PEEP IT: https://www.dropbox.com/s/xo4x4oqmojbdh3c/bass%20punch%20PATREON.mp4?dl=0Hear how much a simple bass punch energizes the mix – it changes from sleepy to more energetic.The synth is u-He's free ZebraCM, but any synth can do this (quick envelope -> osc pitch).So even if you like to use sinewave basses, do consider adding a bit of punch!

Sub bass tip 3: how loud should the sub be in your song?

Alright, time for sub bass tip number three!I'm not always big into teaching numbers when it comes to mixing and mastering, but there are scenarios where they can be massively helpful. This is especially useful if you don't have a system that offers great sub bass reproduction.One question I get often is "How loud should the subs be in my mix/master?" and I'm here to address this today.Every now and then I get premasters where the sub is sometimes way too loud (if I mix the s...

Sub bass tip 2: getting sub frequencies right in your mix

Here’s a thought relating to sub bass frequencies in bass music – i.e., music where the sub bass usually sits below the kick on the frequency range (e.g., drum and bass) or fairly close to it (tech house etc). This doesn’t apply to genres such as rock or house, for example, for there you may have your kick lower than your bass in general.Also in genres like tech house, sometimes the bass *may* live a little higher than the kick, but there definitely has to be sub frequencies for the song t...

Sub bass tip 1: check for cleanliness

Oi peeps! Hope everyone's doing good.Me, writing that long mixing issues post.But in the meantime: a tip relating to bassline / sub content in bass music.You should be able to hum or sing the melody of it, ideally.What do I mean by this? Every now and then I receive songs for mastering that have a really messy low end – boxy, rumbly, undefined – and it’s genuinely hard to tell what the sub is doing or hear it properly.Sometimes it’s because the sub of the kick and bassline are clashi...

Hardest things in mixing music?

📝 I'm doing a Patreon-exclusive post about the most common mix issues (I mix music every single workday), why I think they occur, and how producers could learn to address them, and I'll publish that in April 📖But I wanted to ask YOU at this point for your input, as I'm very interested in how producers perceive their mixing and the possible struggles at this point.Simply put: what's the hardest part for you to get right in mixing?Let me know!

Classic "Think" break from original pressing [download .wav]

Download the break here.It's my birthday today and I thought I'd give something back to the community, people that support me and so on.I'm taking the whole week off to work on some music, and one of the things I'm doing is work on a remix that uses the classic Think break by Lyn Collins.I haven't used that break that much in spite of the fact that I own the very original pressing (Polydor 1972).I got the 7" record ca. 15 years ago from Jukka Sarapää, the drummer of The...

Fix your mono mix! [video, 15 mins]

Another exclusive video for ya'll dear patrons:https://www.dropbox.com/s/55d1abvg501ppzn/mono.mp4?dl=0Now this one's something I should've done a long time ago: a video on how to make sure that the mono of your mix works.In mixing music for others, this is something I fix all the time, every single day.The good news is it's very easy to find out about mono issues AND fix them with free tools.But a lot of producers don't do it, and when they play their music in clubs (or any m...

Do this for that great natural high-freq sheen in your tracks/master (nope, not an exciter)

One of the things that home masters often lack is this brilliance, "sheen" in the very high frequencies. Producers often use exciters to bring that up.Well, let me tell you that you don't need to pay for an exciter – your basic decent EQ can probably get that energy up, as long as it's there.Ever since I started doing this, I've barely touched my fave exciter (Revival by Slate Digital).Get an EQ that can give you a really steep curve: see pic for an example.There, I'm u...

A quick Ableton bass harmonics tip

Quick Ableton bass mixing tip:Vinyl Distortion can add some really good harmonics and grit to your bassline – without hurting the sub at all.Start with a pure sine, add vinyl distortion, then add a bit of Saturator after that, and you get a really beefy bass with amazing harmonics that'll cut thru any mix.Saturator makes it kind of "round" and that's sort of old news, but I've recently realised that Vinyl Distortion can add nice sawtooth-style vibe ("non-round") to ...

☀️ 🎹 So nice and springy outside…so let's sit down, make a hip hop beat and go thru some Ableton stuff! [video, 23 mins] 🎥

I sit down, get my FatGyver alias and to make a hip hop beat, and drop some Ableton Live tips. and techniques.I check out strumming, chords, midi humanization, why audio input signal matters, etc.• Check FatGyver hip hop stuff on Spotify: http://tinyurl.com/fatgyverspotify• DENPA Humanizer for Max For Live (free download):https://maxforlive.com/library/device/3687/humanizer• Ableton Electric “Rhodes” preset download:https://www.dropbox.com/s/fpjhisq8qnt4dba/rhodesy%20electric.adv?dl=0�...

How to make "forbidden" plugins work with an M1 Mac

Hey everybody!Hope everybody had a great week...how did it go? Let me hear of ya'll!I had quite a sick one, literally, as some flu-type thing kicked me for 3 days, and, being a freelancer with tons of work, I barely took some time off to heal (I juggle a ton of work for my biz on my own), so now, at the end of the week, I'm OK, but drained.I'm working on new content – btw, new video stuff SOON 🎥 [e.g., been getting lots of Qs about Renoise, there's some cool Ableton stuff to...

The nicest way to do wobbly basses may be a bit unobvious! (any synth / DAW) [video]

In all simplicity, this is how I often create wobbly basses...this is a decent starting point for anyone to create jungle/dubstep style wobble.It goes against common sense to play two bass notes at the same time…but you'll find it works! The most musical results often happen if the notes aren't more than 3-4 semitones apart.You can get some fairly mad tones when pushing things hard into a saturator.Note that it HAS to be a sinewave for things to work.

Let's play breaks with Renoise…it's tracker time! (video)

VIDEO HERE! (no sharing link pls)Today on my Patreon, the class is in session, and the topic is how to play breaks with a tracker.I'm showing FOUR different ways to do it.Trackers and jungle are in vogue, and trackers are really conducive to playing jungle breaks.How to use Renoise is probably the most-requested videos, and I finally took my time to show and explain how it's done.Video duration is 40+ mins.Exclusive only here on Patreon.Get stoked and play the breaks!There will be more P...

Let's learn bass sound design with Ableton Collision, Photek style (video + presets download)

Alright guys!I've been getting into doing basses with Ableton Collision, which is a much less covered instrument.Video will teach you how it sounds and sworks, so you'll be on your way designing basses with it.VIDEO HEREI actually uploaded the project used in the video – it contains the three variations of (Live 11).Download the project here if you want the bass sounds I'm doing on the video.WHAT'S NEXT? 🎥I've got quite a few requests regarding tracker action, so the nex...

“Firemind” stems (download)

I have a new tune, Firemind, out on Straight Up Breakbeat’s new compilation.(The label owns the recording, so I respect that, and unlike with my own releases, I can't give the song away)I've uploaded the stems of the song for anyone who wants to get some drums, bass, and samples!• DOWNLOAD HERE •Earlier, I also created a video on how to create that bass sound.Here's:• the Serum preset used for the bass in the song• the complete Ableton Live bass rack w/ Serum & Erosion📽 ...

Generative notes and melodies with Ableton Live [video]

• VIDEO HERE • I got a good question from a patron: how to create some melodies with Ableton Live that'd be sort of generative, so it wouldn't be looping the same notes, but it'd be adding things and keeping it lively?So, I did session using a certain tool in Live that should get you going.Video will show and tell all you need to know and get you going with some generative ideas!

I found a new – best – sample extraction service…much better than Izotope RX or RipX! Here's the proof

Before I'll say anything: THANKS to everybody for supporting me here.It means a lot! It does give me energy and good vibes, and it's very encouraging in terms of creating content…so big love to all you!I found what I think is literally the best sample extraction service so far.And I’ve tried out quite a few.This one seems to do the best job by far, and the results are impressive!This is the one I'll be using, TBH.TRY IT OUT:https://www.lalal.ai/?utm_source=fanusamurai&utm_medium=...

Let's chop some beats with Polyend Tracker and do some jungle rhythms

Let’s get busy slicing a breakbeat with the Polyend Tracker.I got it recently and immediately got some requests to do a chopping tutorial and show how beats are laid down.I’ll show my best practice for slicing and do a drumloop with the chops.Checking FX real quick, too.This should get you going, too!

All-Fanu Mix Vol. 11 (download)

(while this mix is streamable on Soundcloud, it can only be downloaded by Patrons)DOWNLOAD mp3 / wav(stream on Soundcloud)The time has come once again to make a potpourri of my productions.Every time I make a new one, it’s a small proud moment of still being able to make music that I can stand behind – it’s now been three decades since I started, and it’s not always easy!It’s all it is: nerdy jungle of the highest order, celebrating the power of breakbeats.Also, this is more a music sh...

End-of-year thoughts and tips for creatives (music, art, creativity, plugins, socials, etc)

(I was struggling to find a good opening for this post, so here we go…)Hi! I’m Fanu.I care about making music, making it sound good, helping people make music, being out there as a creative person, and that sort of stuff…it’s pretty much what’s my life 24/7 and it also pays for my living (and keeps me happy).That’s why I wanted to lash out some related thoughts that have been brewing in my brain recently. It'll be a bit of a mixed bag.It can often feel good to look back on the pa...

One cool thing: FX automation with MPC One incoming audio

Wanted to start this new mini-series, “Cool Little Thing”, where I present some cool features and tricks of devices, plugins, and gear I like to use.Here, looking at how you can do FX automation for incoming audio (i.e., the audio you monitor through) with the new line of MPCs. Using MPC One here, but will work with any new MPC.

Great free plugin tip + a preset (free download for a limited time)

Hey ya'll!I noticed you can download Izotope's hecking nice Trash 2 for free for a limited time.A good reason to try it out – in addition to trashing the signal – is that it can actually act as a 4-band gate!The fourth band has to be activated from the prefs.Or, you can download this Trash 2 preset I created, which'll give you those 4 bands and will get you gating.I love gating drums for a tighter feel (you can suck out a lot of reverb)!

Emulating the classic acid 303 bass with a stock synth

Let’s take a look at how one can try and emulate the classic 303 acid sound.There’s a few considerations: filter resonance filter envelope glide oscillator shapeUsing Ableton Analog here, but if once you understand the basics, you can chase this classic acid sound with ANY synth, as after all this sound is fairly easy to do.

Spotify Wrapped thoughts

I know I usually don't use Patreon for this type of content, but every year when I see artist getting all stats-crazy, I can't help feeling something…so here's a few thoughts. I wanted to put them somewhere. I'm fully in the music industry myself, and this is as much about music industry as it gets.So, screw your Spotify Wrapped stats.Give me stats of an actually healthy service any day over that. Give me actually healthy music-industry metrics.It’s disheartening so many arti...

Let's make Ableton Analog chords nice and lush!

Let’s make Analog chord way more lush and lively than its bland default sound

[video] Ableton Live: follow actions + Legato + FX for some randomization / Amen shredding! (and something else)

Shredding here with variations of Amen loop, using Follow Actions + Legato + effects to create intense randomisation for a Session clip group.Hop to 8:00 in the video to get the idea quickly.