| trip-hop/downtempo production and album resource | |
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what
is trip-hop? |
Trip-hop essentials (for producers/musicians) 01 pianos 02 virtual pianos 03 synths 04 VSTs 05 sequencers 06 sample CDs 07 mics/efx
Microphones If you're wanting to record quality music with vocals you can actually understand, you're going to need a real mic. There are a lot of good mics out there, but you'll need a condenser microphone (not a "live" mic, also known as cardioid). You can invest in one of those high-end Neumann mics ($1000+), or you can get basically the same quality (for $300 or less) with the following mics: Rode NT1A (one of the best studio mics ever, and one of the most popular - only $199) AKG C1000S Behringer B-2 Pro AKG C3000B AKG C2000B (I use this mic for every vocal I record). MCA SP2 (self-powered condenser, doesn't require phantom power as most condenser mics do) Audio-Technica AT-3032
Common Effects Used In Trip-Hop Delay. You can never go wrong with delay (aka echo), on vocals, on piano parts, on beats, on guitars.... trip-hop is dreamy, trippy, abstract. Delay breathes LIFE into a boring sound or riff. Tremolo. Tremolo is basically an effect that cuts volume in and out at various degrees. You can clearly hear a solid tremolo effect on the Rhodes piano that begins Portishead's "Roads." You can also hear it clearly on the guitar riff in Hooverphonic's "2Wicky." Most commonly used on guitars, Rhodes, and Wurlitzer 200A electric pianos (the tremolo effect is built-in to the actual Wurly 200A piano). Bit-Crushing. Bit-crusher effects degrade the sound quality by various degrees. You can hear a ton of bit-crushing in basically every beat in every song by underground Canadian hip-hop artist Buck 65. He always degrades the sound quality of his beats, and it's his trademark. Bit-crushing is an excellent effect and can give you that lo-fi sound that is needed on certain parts. Lo-Fi. Similar to bit-crushing, but a little more "pleasant"-sounding, lo-fi effects are completely useful on ANY instrument, ESPECIALLY drumbeats. Something that Portishead basically pioneered, lo-fi effects on drums always sound great. And, lo-fi is an already-applied effect if you grab a drum break from an old vinyl recording. Bonus. Reverb. The most common effect in most styles of music. A little reverb goes a long way, and a lot of reverb goes in a way that can be deliberately interesting. Too much of it can be bad, or it could be good. Depending on what your goal is with the song. A touch of reverb is perfect for vocals, drums, and most everything else. Makes it sound "live", even if you programmed everything.
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