Cubase has some neutral, default colours already set up, but I find them a bit dull because personally, I like bright and bold colours on the screen as it makes it much easier to focus on various things. Most importantly the colours must have a good contrast to the darker shade of waveforms and midi notes, so a colour like navy blue won't work very well, but a nice turquoise blue will. Track colours might not bother most people so if you're one of them I guess this blog post is not for you. I create a few different variations of light blues, turquoise's, pink's, purple's orange and more bright colours, as well as the pastel shades of those colours. I like using similar shades because I may shade groups of channels in similar colours, or sometimes contrasting colours if I need to. To get started, click the arrow on the colourize tool at the top of the cubase window...

15: The Riser Price: $79.99 This is really an amazing tool for rising sounds. It comes with enough presets to give you idea's and it is really simple to record different variations. I love how simple it is to controll pitch, filter cutoff, volume and modulation through envelopes which can give you perfectly timed rising sounds. This synth costs $80, but keep a lookout at pluginbotique.com as they usually have specials on AIR Music plugins. Buy from Air Music 14: U-he Hive Price: $149 Up next we have The Hive. A great looking user Interface which is simple to use, capa...

I love trying new free plugins, so I've compiled a list of my favourite essential free VST effect plugins and summarised why I like them and what they are good for. 1. S(m)exescope. * Essential for waveform monitoring before mixdown * Identify problems early on in the mix, saving time later * Easily monitor compression output Download S(m)exescope 2. Molot Compressor * Molot "Hammer" in Russian * Sharp hammering, hard compression * Adds colour to...

I have bought myself a number of VST instruments, some cheap and some expensive and I love them all, but I also have a few free instruments in my collection. It's obvious that the paid for ones are really good and will do everything that the free ones will do, so why do I have the free ones in my collection? For starters, simplicity. I like the simplicity of the free ones. I find they are a lot easier to learn than the more complex VST's. Another factor would be CPU usage. As they are smaller, with less features built in, they require less CPU. Each synthesizer does more or less the same thing, depending on the type of synthesizer but they all have their differences and you can create a unique sound from any of them, so why not try out the free ones? Since upgrading to cubase 9 I have had to ditch all my 32bit VST's as Cubase 9 dropped support for it's internal 32 ...

Choosing an Audio Interface is one of the most important decisions I've made on purchasing hardware for my studio. I have been through 3 audio interfaces now and noticed the difference in sound quality in each one. All producers who are just starting out will have to make a decision of which audio interface to invest in, so I am going to share my experiences and advice on what to consider. The main things that come into consideration are budget, size, mobility and sound quality. If you are deciding what interface you should go for, the first thing to ask yourself is how far do you want to take your music productions. Maybe it starts out for fun and turns into something professional, or maybe you ...

For many years I have struggled with getting good, powerful sound quality in my productions but I have learned many techniques which have helped me improve my production process. Sound quality comes from experience, so I'd like to share some important things to help out any producers who want to take their tracks to the next level. If you are releasing top sellers, then I guess this article is not for you. 1. Creating & tuning the kick Some producers sample kicks from other tracks to save them time. I prefer to process my kicks (until I can't get my desired result, then I resort to finding a good quality sample). The problem with using a sample is that it ...