trax.house archive

issue 96 · 2026-10-12 · for people who make house

When piano and vocal collide: Kooldrink's fix

Kooldrink's breakdown gets into a mix problem you've probably hit: the piano and vocal both want the same space. The fix is one plugin and a sidechain, and once you see it you'll reach for it.

◆ start here

▶ Piano ducks the vocal with Trackspacer

Piano and vocal share the same midrange, so Kooldrink sidechains the piano bus to the vocal with Trackspacer and lets the piano bow out.

watch →

◢ learn

▶ Why narrow EQ on vocals sounds wrong

Human ears catch narrow EQ moves on a voice faster than any other source, so this video argues for gentle shelves and fixing the room instead of fighting it with filters.

watch →

▶ Your vocal chain belongs to someone else's voice

The vocal chain you saved from a video was built for someone else's voice, so this walkthrough covers de-essing before compression, choosing compressor character, and parallel crush.

watch →

◢ free & gear

SQ8L is back as a 64-bit synth(free)

The SQ-80 emulation is back, free, and now runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux without a bridge. Old SQ8L patches load unchanged.

2 min read · grab it →

Variety of Sound's edgeRunner brings stateful analog saturation(free)

This free Windows processor models tube and tape stages with history-dependent clipping, so the drive responds differently depending on what just played. Three controls: Drive, Warmth, Scoop.

2 min read · grab it →

◢ the word

Neumann updates the KH 310 and adds the KH 350

Both new three-way monitors share a 585W amp platform and MA 1 room correction; the KH 350 extends to 27 Hz in a bass-reflex cabinet.

4 min read · read →

Squarp Core: a module with no CV outs until you add one

Core is 190 EUR and doesn't output CV until you add an XP32; once you do, you get 32 outputs and all 14 generative engines run without a computer.

6 min read · read →
♫ In Rotation
 
— LarryLuxe's pick
📊 The Charts
 
▲ #05 Franky Rizardo — Shinjuku (Extended Mix)
▲ 1 · 7d · ▶ hear · profile →
▼ #03 DE SOFFER — Smalltown Boy (Extended Mix)
▼ 1 · 7d · ▶ hear · profile →
▼ #93 Abaze, Juan Hinrichsen, Kiko Schuler — Kusa (Original Mix)
▼ 89 · 1d · ▶ hear · profile →
▼ #100 Adri Block, Casablanca Edits — Love FSTVL (Casablanca Edits Redubb) (Casablanca Edits ReDubb)
▼ 60 · 1d · profile →
▲ #16 Masaki Morii — Untitled Dub 2
▲ 72 · 7d · profile →
Glossary
transient shaping — Transient shaping is turning a sound's attack and tail up or down directly — punchier kick, tighter decay so the bass has room — no compressor attack/release math. Grab Kilohearts Transient Shaper (free in Kilohearts Essentials) or Ableton's Drum Buss Transients knob, park it on your kick, and push the attack until the hit actually cuts through. — seen in PUNCHDUST is a FREE transient shaper with lo-fi dust and upward compression
🎯 Tonight's Move
Breathe life into static pads with VolumeShaper’s ramp-up and half-note rate
Your synth pads swell in sync with the groove, turning a flat sustain into a living, breathing texture.
  1. 1. Group the pad and string synths onto a single bus.
  2. 2. Insert VolumeShaper (ShaperBox) on that bus.
  3. 3. Load the Ramp Up wave preset.
  4. 4. Set the plugin Mix knob to 50% for subtle movement.
  5. 5. Change the LFO rate to 1/2 note so the volume rises every two beats.
  6. 6. Bend the curve: steeper at the start for urgency, dragged down for a lazier feel.
Stock path: No VolumeShaper: map an LFO (e.g., Live’s LFO or MIDI Shaper) to a Utility Gain, shape a ramp-up, set rate to half-note, and lower the modulation depth until the swell is barely audible.
Why it works: Slow volume ramps create perceived movement without altering tone, making static pads feel like they breathe with the track’s rhythm.

🔮 Producer Horoscope (for fun) — Your reverb will get suspiciously wide today; blame the spring tank.

Back to the session.

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covered in this issue: sq8l