Record the take, then subtract the arrangement
Today's lead is about trusting your hands over the mouse. There's a workflow in there for recording spontaneous takes and then building a DJ arrangement by subtraction — you play the good part, loop it, and delete everything else. It's the kind of move that gets a loop out of your head and onto the timeline.
▶ Stop drawing automation, start performance takes
When you draw automation you're in the planning part of your brain; when you play the macro live you get the happy accidents. This walks through recording a synth performance take, looping the best section to lock it, and subtracting clips to build a DJ arrangement.
◢ learn
▶ Group per song, disable the one you're not playing
CPU meter spikes when you switch songs in a live set? In Bitwig you can group each song and disable the one you're not using; plugins unload and playback keeps going.
Use the convolution side of Hybrid Reverb as a sound design tool
You've probably used Hybrid Reverb's algorithmic tail and called it a day. Instead, isolate the convolution engine, reshape the impulse with Size and Attack, and set pre-delay to Note mode so the space lands on the beat.
◢ free & gear
A 100% wet BBD chorus with no mix knob(free)
Free open-source BBD chorus modeled on the Roland Jazz Chorus circuit. It's 100% wet by design — no mix knob — so put it on a parallel channel to keep a dry path, and keep Mode near VIB if mono compatibility matters.
Native VST2 loading on first-gen MPC and Force(free)
For first-gen MPC Live, One, X, Key, and Force owners: this workaround loads native Linux ARM VST2 builds directly in the MPC OS host. You get q-link mapping and touchscreen UI, but only for plugins compiled for that architecture.
◢ the word
VocAlign 7 stacks your vocal takes in one window
The multi-track workspace lets you align an entire stack against one guide without stacking plugin instances. SmartPitch is Pro-only, but Visual Energy Analysis is in both tiers and shows you the balance between takes.
Todd Edwards on sampling hypocrisy and EPS tricks
He's not defending AI; he's pointing out that producers have sampled uncleared records forever. The real meat is his old EPS workflow — looping a sample with a fade to fake delay, low release for reverb, and collaging hundreds of fragments as instruments.
| ▲ #22 | Mark Funk — Get Up Get Down (Extended Mix) |
| ▼ #82 | Bryan Vera — All My ▼ 51 · 1d · ▶ hear |
| ▼ #97 | Sam Sonder — Slow Burn (Extended Mix) ▼ 50 · 1d · ▶ hear |
| ▲ #28 | Pinto (NYC) — With You (Original Mix) ▲ 56 · 7d · ▶ hear |
| ▲ #74 | Dompe — No Breaks (Extended Mix) |
- 1. Load Diva (or Vital). Set oscillator ranges: Osc 1 and 2 at 8', Osc 3 at 4'. In Vital: two oscs at base pitch, one up an octave. Detune slightly by ear.
- 2. Set voice stacking to duo unison: two voices per note, total six voices, for a thick, wide chord spread.
- 3. Add heavy filter feedback (Diva's Feedback) or a saturator/distortion (Vital) to blur the sound into a pillowy texture.
- 4. Shape amp envelope: add a bit of attack to round transients, lower sustain, shorten decay, enable release.
- 5. Route LFO2 to filter cutoff. Sync LFO2 to 1/8 dotted, restart mode random, for a loose, breathing wobble.
- 6. Apply plate reverb: more wet, larger size, shorter decay, less damping, less diffusion, add pre-delay. Then a touch of delay, low-cut to taste.
🔮 Producer Horoscope (for fun) — Your CPU will hold until the last bar, then spike exactly when you hit record. Blame the dog.
Go make something loud.
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for working house producers with a track already half-finished.
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