Linear phase EQ and where your parallel bus falls apart
Parallel processing sounds big until it doesn't—phase shifts can hollow out the exact weight you added. Today's opener walks through the linear-phase fix, and why you'd skip it on a kick. Plus: a stock Ableton vocoder patch, wide bass with zero mono collapse, and a channel strip update that V1 owners get free.
published today
▶ What Linear Phase EQ Actually Fixes
Parallel chains, multi-mic drums, mastering—linear phase EQ avoids the phase shifts that make summed signals thin. On individual hits, stick to minimum phase or you'll soften transients.
◢ learn
▶ Your Stock Vocoder Patch Is Only 4 Racks Away
A modulator vocal, a Wavetable pad as carrier, and 16 bands with a fast release give you robot leads you can still understand. Blend wet 55–65% and automate for movement.
▶ Mono-Wide Bass: The Two-Sound Trick No One Explains
Serum 2 lets you split oscillators to separate outputs—pan two tonal sounds hard left and right, kill the fundamental on the side layer so it never cancels. Filter the sub at 100 Hz to keep it locked center.
◢ the word
Harrison 32Classic Channel Strip V2 Loads Straight Into SSL 360°
The update lands for free if you own V1, and the native SSL 360° integration means you can finally grab the channel fader and width from a UC1 surface without extra routing.
- synth: Korg M1 (Organ 2 preset) — Heller & Farley used the factory preset 'Organ 2' from the Korg M1, playing a simple root‑fifth off‑beat pattern. The patch’s subby attack and percussive transient sit right in the pocket of a garage beat — no EQ sculpting required. Why it matters: It proved a workstation preset could carry a whole track when placed in the right rhythmic context.
- sample: MFSB – 'Love Is the Message' string loop — The main loop is a pitched‑down, filtered snippet of the string section from MFSB’s 'Love Is the Message' (1973). Those soaring disco strings are instantly recognizable even after being mangled. Why it matters: It demonstrated that a few bars from a well‑known record, heavily processed, could become an entirely new musical hook without needing a full sample clearance minefield at the time.
- technique: Manual low‑pass filter sweep as arrangement — The arrangement lives and breathes through a low‑pass filter being manually swept open over 16 bars. The filter starts mostly closed (dull, muted strings) and gradually opens, letting the high frequencies through until the full sparkle of the disco sample hits. The movement creates the track’s signature tension‑and‑release. Why it matters: It turned a simple filter knob into a structural device, teaching a generation that automation is arrangement.
🔮 Producer Horoscope (for fun) — Your hi-hats are plotting a rhythm coup; let the swing grid talk them down.
Go make the meter move.
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