Tag Archives: music production

PRODUCTION & TUTORIALS

Music Stuff: Digital Audio Workstations

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The Digital Audio Work Station is the core application for music producers and sound engineers. This is where you build songs, master them and do everything in between. Most of us can’t afford all of them, so this article will help you make some decisions on which ones work best for you.

 

Cubase

cubasePrice: $249.00

Trial: 30-day free, no restrictions.

 

 

 

 

Pros: Feels like Pro Tools and Logic pro. Very user-friendly and intuitive interface. Works great with most VSTs and third-party plugins. Scales well, meaning it can use SSD drives, load massive samples and other high-end things like that.

 

Cons: Cubase is a little dated, sometimes you’ll find it lacking in some newer features. Real exotic VSTs sometimes are not compatable as well. It’s also quite pricy if you want the version that comes with everything you need.

 

Cubbase has been around a long time and expanded from an Atari tracker released in 1989 up to a full blown digital audio workstation. It’s great for recording stuff live, running VSTis and is an overal stable and familiar environment.

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PRODUCTION & TUTORIALS, VIDEOS

Tutorial: Emulating the SNES Sound In Your Favorite DAWS

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The SNES definitely has its share of memorable tunes.
The SNES definitely has its share of memorable tunes.

The SNES definitely has a lot of memorable tunes. Amazing compositions in games like Legend of Zelda,  Secret of Mana, Donkey Kong Country, Final Fantasy 6, Chrono Trigger and many others have left 16-bit tunes running through our heads for years. This is where video game music started to take a turn toward the epic orchestral sounds we’re so used to today. However, you might have noticed that a lot more people are making NES, Genesis and Gameboy chiptunes and not SNES tunes. Why?

Well, the overall quality of SNES music isn’t really that great. It’s all samples. Many people will say it’s hardly any better than your standard MIDI. It is true that it doesn’t have as much character as 8-bit synths. However, there is some charm to be found in these degraded 16-bit samples of strings, flutes and guitars. I mean, the amazing, lush songs on some of the SNES’ RPGs just couldnt happen on the NES or Gameboy. I really love the snappy compressed drums in Secret of Mana too. Today, we’ll look at how to get these samples loaded up in your DAWs and also emulate the SNES’ classic reverb with a basic tape delay controller.

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