Alright, I currently don't use busses for much in Ableton.

Convince me on why I should start?

Just watched this short Ted talk and it was really appropriate for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MBaFL7sCb8&index=1&list=LL9mvsi7mnNANWXd-mXOQZkQ

A lot of times, I feel bound to find/capture that "one singular" passion, even though that sort of thing is a lie, and in most cases, very unhealthy.  Western culture is especially guilty of this, I think. We reward and idolize people with these singular pursuits (at the expense of everything else in their lives).  Who cares if the person is a terrible human being if the movie/music/art they make is wonderful? Who cares if they still live in their parents' basement if they know how to tweak Serum just right and spend 18 hours a day doing just that?  Who cares if the person is unhappy and unfulfilled and depressed...the music they're making sounds great!

I tend to see other people's lives, whether it's celebrities or even friends of mine in town, as better than they actually are. It's as if I see their lives through rose-colored glasses.  I idealize their lives, their marriages, their careers..  but the reality is we're all struggling. We're all imperfect. There is no perfect marriage, perfect life, or perfect passion.  There are warts and periods of uninspiration and our creative lives (and lives as a whole) are characterized by the struggle..the perseverance.

I suppose there's beauty in this.  Trials build character and serve as the makeup for our composition as human beings. It's precisely our imperfections that make us human.  So let's do ourselves a favor: Be nice to ourselves and enjoy the ride.

Passion is not a job a sport or a hobby. It is the full force of your attention and energy that you give to what is right in front of you.

Thanks Mussar! I'll check em out.

Alright, so I just love Seven Lions and have for quite a while.  I love his trance, dubstep, metal influences meshing together.  Specifically though, I'd love to know how he (and other artists) do their "growls" and stutter effects.  I've searched on youtube and found a few things, but nothing that yields the results I'm looking for.  I have both Zebra2 and Serum, and I believe a lot of this can be done by morphing wavetables, but beyond that, I'm not really sure. 

So: how do you make dem nasty growls AND that wonderful stutter-effect (some people call it a "Transformers" sound)?

Thanks for any advice.


Drop at 2:27
Growls: 2:28, 2:31
Stutter FX: 2:43

Nice! Thanks for sharing Thyristor.  Definitely exposed me to a diff. vibe and I enjoyed it.

Just an FYI, for those that didn't hear. Steve Duda released a Serum update recently with a Hall reverb.  Thank the heavens!  I HATED that plate reverb and it was one of (actually, THE) worst things about that beautiful plugin.

Log into your account on xferrecords.com to d/l the update.

Gates and limiters can be used in a variety of functional and creative ways.

Limiters are an extreme form of compression.  Any sound that goes over your set threshold will be cut off (eliminated).

Gates are sort of like the opposite of a limiter (although you can use a reverse gate to achieve the same effect).  Gates are functionally useful when trying to get rid of background/unwanted noise.  Typically, in a gate, you set your threshold so that any sound that is BELOW your threshold will be silenced.  This is particularly useful when recording vocals.  You don't want the sound of the room/background/ambience - you just want the singer's voice.  A gate can help eliminate the ambient buzz when the singer isn't singing.

Limiters can also add volume to your track (at the expense of dynamics).

Gates can be used creatively (google trancegate), too.

Hope this helps.

There's also Sundog Scale Studio, which I own: http://feelyoursound.com/sundog/