Sound Design Archives

Making EDM Tracks that STAND OUT

If there is one thing that a lot of EDM producers and DJs have been accused of at one time or another, it is “sounding like everyone else”.

Now, if this is something you have noticed yourself, it isn’t your ears playing tricks on you: Most people are more interested in being popular rather than unique.

Once the general public falls in love with a particular sound or style, it is easy to keep them happy, so producers will tweak these tracks and then keep churning them out. Copycat producers will also try and replicate the popular sounds, too.

If this is not something you are interested in doing and want to make a real name for yourself, here are a few tips for you…

Popular EDM Sounds (Every Producer NEEDS to Know These!)

These are the most common EDM instruments and sounds from across the decades! Sound selection and sound design is one of the key parts of electronic music production – and knowing some great sounds to use in your own electronic music will save you years of guesswork.

I’ve put together a list of the most common EDM instruments and sounds from the last 40 years – that are still used in modern tracks today – that you can use in your own music.

I’ve also included examples of existing music where these sounds are used, so you can hear them in context.

13 Sound Design Techniques to Develop Your Signature Sound!

Developing your signature sound is the coveted holy grail that all producers strive for – and that’s what I’m going to show you how to develop in this sound design tutorial!

Your signature sound is actually a combination of several elements – from vibe, composition, and sound design. It develops over time, so the more tracks you write – the faster you’ll find your signature sound.

How to Produce Trance in Ableton 10

This in-depth tutorial will show you how to produce trance music using Ableton Live, but the techniques can be applied in ANY genre of electronic dance music, and in ANY DAW.

If you’ve ever wondered how to make trance music like Armin Van Buuren, Ferry Corsten, or Tiesto, in this trance tutorial I show you some techniques you can use in your own music.

How to Sound Like Yotto

In this tutorial, we go through how to sound like Yotto…The Finnish producer who’s taken the progressive scene by storm in the last couple of years. We specifically create a synth brass bass sound like in his track “Aviate”.

How to Layer Leads (Properly) in 5 Minutes!

Learning how to layer leads properly is one of the most important aspects of producing current-sounding, huge, rich dance and pop music.

Ok, ok….I know the title sounds a little “click bait-ey”, but I’m serious: Layering leads is something I’m asked about often, and it’s really not that complicated. If you want to know how to layer leads properly, there are just a few factors to consider…

How to Autotune (Properly!)

Learn how to get your vocals sound amazing in just 3 minutes. In this video tutorial, we go through how to use autotune to get your vocals in-tune with your music.

Autotune is often mis-used (in my opinion), but it’s still an essential tool if you are making music that you hope to compete with other modern styles of pop and EDM.

Layering Sounds in EDM (Properly!)

One of the most important skills to learning music production is the art of layering different sounds. In fact, one could say that this is THE skill – regardless of genre.

An orchestra involves layer complimentary sounds, as does a band, and it’s certainly the case when it comes to Electronic Dance Music production. Think about it for a second, the kick layers under the snare, the synth on the bass, and the effects on top of everything else…

Top 10 Stereo Widening Tips

We all want wide, clear, punchy mixes. Here are my top 10 ways for achieving super-wide stereo width in an easy to understand, step-by-step tutorial.

Stereo width is super-important when it comes to a pro-sounding mix, and there are a few tools at our disposal. This video goes through my ten favourite techniques, and how to use them. In this video, we cover…

How to Use Compression (Properly)

Audio compression is ESSENTIAL in producing and mixing world-class music (of any genre, but particularly EDM genres), and alongside volume and equalisation (and our ears), compressors are arguably one of the most important mixing tools we have at our disposal.

In this post, I explain all the core controls that decent compressors have (Threshold, Ratio, Attack, Release, Output Gain and Knee), and how they work, and then go through 4 examples of why, where and how you might want to compress…

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