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Tips & Tricks

How To Chain Your Guitar Effects Pedals – Part 1

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Rule Number 1 — There are No Rules

BOSS effects pedals

Free BOSS mobile phone wallpaper—choose from 10.

So you decided to play electric guitar. Once you get a guitar and an amp, the next step is to explore effects. Effects pedals can be separated into groups based on their functions. Understanding the different pedal groups is the key to getting the best sound when chaining them together. The largest pedal group is probably overdrives and distortions, and BOSS currently makes 16 different pedals in this category. More

See What’s New In SONAR X2 Producer

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Take an in-depth tour of the powerful features of SONAR X2 Producer including R-MIX SONAR, Console Emulation, Matrix, BREVERB and Take Lanes.

Cakewalk recently released SONAR X2a, an update adding touch support and other improvements to this already impressive DAW. Brandon Ryan and Seth Perlstein gave a live demonstration of SONAR X2 a few weeks before it was released last fall. This 1.5 hour demonstration is packed with useful tips, tricks and feature explanations. Whether you already own SONAR X2 or are looking to add this powerful DAW to your studio, this video is a must watch. More

Synth Basics with Ed: How to Make a Synth Lead

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In this edition of Synth Basics with Ed, Ed describes how to program a lead on the GAIA SH-01. This knowledge could be applied to any synthesizer regardless of make or model by using basic synth components and effects.

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Synth Basics with Ed: Making a Synth Bass

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In this edition of Synth Basics with Ed, Ed describes how to program a bass tone on the GAIA SH-01. This knowledge could be applied to any synthesizer regardless of make or model by using the basic synth components of oscillators, filters, and low-frequency oscillators. Aside from making a simple bass tone, Ed goes further by showing us how to fatten up the tone by layering another bass tone over it. Finally, making bass wobbles for Dubstep and Electro music couldn’t be easier. According to Ed, you don’t have to be a synth ninja to follow along.

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What are Drum Triggers?

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When it comes to drumming, acoustic drum triggers are the gateway to a sound palette limited only by your imagination. If you can think it, acoustic triggers can make it happen.

The Source of Sound

Contemplate for a moment, the nature of sound. No matter what you play… a guitar, a piano, a wind instrument, even tapping your desk, the sound you hear comes as a result of striking something, like a piano key, a string, or even by hitting the instrument itself (like a drum head). Sound transmits  by vibration, which resonates  at a given frequency, which is then picked up by your ear and interpreted as sound. Even when you speak, your vocal chords vibrate at a frequency that your ears pick up, which your brain interprets as speech and words. The surface or interface you strike becomes the ‘trigger’ – the source of the sound. More

Synth Basics with Ed – Creating Strings

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Published by Ed Diaz

In this Synth Basics with Ed video, Ed explains how to create synth strings on a GAIA SH-01. Although this video is demonstrated on a GAIA, the fundamentals could be applied to any keyboard synthesizer regardless of make and model. According to Ed, these video tutorials are designed to strengthen your understanding of sound design via oscillators, wave forms, filters, and arpeggios.

Do you have a synth related topic that you would like Ed to demonstrate? Leave us a comment!

Related links and articles:

  1. Back to Basics with Ed Diaz
  2. How to Create Dubstep Wobbles On The GAIA SH-01
  3. Arpeggios On The GAIA SH-01

Back to Basics with Ed Diaz

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Published by Ed Diaz

This is the first in a series of videos on the basics of keyboard synthesis. Our very own Ed Diaz shares these fundamentals on a GAIA SH-01. This basic knowledge could be applied to any keyboard synthesizer from any make and model and will overall better your understanding of sound design via oscillators, wave forms, filters, and arpeggios. More

Omar Tavarez Explains Production Technique – MIDI Mapping Samples

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Like all members of the Agents (Pitbull’s band), Omar Tavarez wears many hats. When Pitbull is not touring, Omar is in the studio with Pitbull working on new songs and productions. Omar explains how using MIDI mapping of samples helps brainstorm ideas and significantly expedites production. (This is a common technique used in dance music. Omar’s example in this video is from Justice‘s 2007 hit D.A.N.C.E.) More

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