Sometimes when you are recording a new track it is good to turn off the metronome and auto-quantize using your software, just hit record, and play from the heart. A spontaneity and more human quality can be captured in the performance. This works particularly well with solo guitar or piano.

Or maybe you want to use some audio from a live recording or a studio session where no click track was used. When it comes to adding other sequenced parts to audio that has been recorded in this way it can be difficult to get the timing of the midi notes right. The metronome and auto-quantize will be out of sync with the audio.

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Hey, you know that post-Marxist-afro-cuban-experimental-Wiicore band you always reference when you’re trying to impress people with your obscure taste in music? Cut it out, everybody knows it doesn’t really exist. Maybe next time, try referencing one of these hilariously obscure (and real) genres instead.

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It’s a bit of a shame that the abstract electronica genre isn’t thriving commercially the way it used to be. The heyday of labels like Warp Records and Planet Mu has long gone, and very few experimental electronica producers are making a living from their music.

That said, there’s a great wealth of absolutely amazing free electronica out there. I’d recommend any fan of electronic music to take a listen to the brilliant Bleepshow podcast for many fantastic examples. It’s a highly creative area, and one which needs a constant supply of fresh talent, so it’s a good time to get started!

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One of the most important aspects in hip-hop and popular music is the drumbeat. What makes it sound so big? The drum patterns appear so simple, so why are they so hard to create? Well, in this tutorial, we’re going to break down the fundamental elements of a hip-hop beat.

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As much as people like to deny it, there is something about a negative album review that can sway the public consciousness. A bad review in the right publication can seal an album’s fate as a bargain bin throwaway before it even has a chance. Often times, the harsh criticism is more than warranted. Not everything can be a gem. But every once in awhile, the critics get it wrong. Horribly, horribly wrong. For example…

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It’s been four months since AUDIOTUTS hit the ol’ interweb and I’m happy today to announce it now has a new skin, inline with our updated TUTS theme that you might have spotted on sister sites PSDTUTS, NETTUTS and VECTORTUTS. Though four months doesn’t seem like a long time, AUDIOTUTS has been making great progress as a site with over 100 articles and tutorials, 10 appearances on the Digg homepage and a good three quarters of a million visitors since its inception! Continue Reading

When it comes to electronic production, filtering is an essential process. Luckily for the beginners amongst you, it’s an area of production that’s pretty easy to grasp. With so many products on the market capable of excellent results, the hardest part of filtering your audio may be picking the right plug-in.

A lot of you will have your favorite pieces of software in this area, so without trying compile a definitive collection of filter plug-ins, the following round up should give you an idea of the different methods and processors available to you when it comes to filtering your sounds.

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Recording drums is a bit of a lost art. Engineers used to spend a year experimenting with mics before they were allowed near a Fairlight or a Synclavia (old school samplers for the young among you).

There was no Logic Pro, plug-ins or even very good effects, so it was all down to clever mic techniques and improvisation. Here’s a few tricks I picked up over the years—tips and tricks which come in handy time and time again.

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Thank God for DRM. Without it, the internet would be a cesspool of illegally pirated music, movies and software. Oh, wait, the internet totally is that, because DRM is, quite possibly, the most pointless innovation of the digital age. Companies spend millions of dollars each year coming up with new ways to protect their online content just to see some fifteen year old kid figure out how to circumvent it. Repeat as needed.

But DRM isn’t just an exercise in futility. When you absolutely, positively, must anger every customer you have, few weapons are better than DRM. Take these shenanigans, for example…

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Each month we like to remind the community of what is happening on the other three sites in our TUTS network. This month we have some great Adobe illlustrator tutorials, some ace web development tips, and some excellent Photoshop techniques from other TUTS family members.

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