2019-07-01_Computer_Music

1.20.14

MiseryGuts’ awesome,
endlessly shifting bassline is
a composite of many Massive and Serum
synth parts, including patches originally
programmed for other tracks altogether.
The goal in all this is to resolve every loop of
the bass differently, as Jim explains.“It’s
always a process of finding resolves to make
it loop, then finding another resolve at the

endof,say, 16 barstomakeitloopagain.And

when it carriesonpastthere,thenit’sjust

copying andrepeating.

“There’s enoughtheretokeepme

interested. WhenI’mmakinga tune,I have

to feel like I’veputthateffortinthere– it

didn’t just takemefiveminutestogetall

those soundstowork.Butit’squitea

satisfying aspectwhenyoudoachieveit.”

40.10

“Ialwayssayitinmylessons:
peoplesteptothebeatbut
theymovetothegroove.Sothegroovehas
beencreatedfroma loadofdifferentone-
shotsfromMaschine.IfI solothemand
don’tplayanythingelse...That’sthelittle
groove,andalready,eventhoughI’veheard

ita milliontimes,I’mmoving.I’vegotlittle

bitsofpanninggoingon– someareinthe

middle,somearegoingleftandsomeare

goingright.Justdoingthatlittlebitofleft

andrightliterallyspreadsthemixouta little

bit.That’snota drum’n’bassthing– that’s

beenhappeningonrecordsforyears.”

Toppercussionandhi-hatgroove

36.35

Unusually,Jimdeploystwo

differenttransientshaping

plugins on thesnaredrum.“I’musinga

Transient MasterpluginbyNative

Instruments.It’ssubtlebutdefinitelymakea

difference. Then,afterthat,I’maddingthe

[Waves] Trans-X,which,again,isa transient

designer, buta multibandone.Youcouldsay

I’m going overthetopwithanotherplugin

that does thesamething,butthisoneallows

you to manipulatecertainfrequencybands,

rather than doingthewholesound,whichis

what that TransientMasterisdoing.”

Transientshapingonthe

snare drum

Constantly resolving basses

UADLittleLabsVoiceOfGod

£115

“TheVoiceOfGod,otherwiseknownasVOG,is

anabsolutelyamazingplugin.Withbassand

low-endtextures,it willreallygiveyouan

almostanaloguefeel,likeit’sbeenrecorded

fromananaloguesource– that’stheonlywayI

canreallydescribeit.”

uaudio.com

NativeInstrumentsMassive

107 > 9/10> £129

“I’ma bigMassiveuser,definitely.Eventhough

therehavebeenothersynths– likeSerumand

variousothers– andevenmyhardwaresynths,

I loveusingMassive,justasthere’sa certain

workflowI havewithit thatgetsa result.”

native-instruments.com

UADPultecPassiveEQCollection

197 > 9/10> £229

“ThisismyfavouriteEQforkicksandsnares.It

hasa generalwarmththatyourunanything

throughandit getsa bitofcolourisation[from],

if youEQoryoudon’t,whichisverycool.It’s

gota desirablesoundtoit.”

uaudio.com

JSTSideWidener

Freewith Plugins

“ThisisfromComputerMusic– youcangrab

thatpluginforfreewhenyoubuythe

magazine.I’vebeenusingit foryears,cosI love

ComputerMusic. AllI’musingit forisa littlebit

ofstereoimage.”

joeysturgistones.com

XferRecordsSerum

213 > 10/10 > $189

“Serum is basically like Massive – wavetable

synthesis with a whole load of other features.

It’s one of the flagship VSTs in my production,

and I’ve designed some awesome presets for it

that I’m looking forward to releasing soon.”

xferercords.com

Five of Heist’s

favourite plugins

producer masterclass / make music now <

July 2019 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 47