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Essential Production Techniques for Lo-Fi Hip Hop

  Give your tracks some nostalgic warp and warble with these essential lo-fi hip hop techniques When it comes to lo-fi hip hop, aesthetic is everything. Be it visual or sonic, the general vibe of the music is almost more important than the melodic elements – although strong chords and melodies are, of course, essential. In this article, we’ll take you through a few techniques that you can use in your lo-fi hip hop productions to elevate your music to the next level. All of these met

5 Pro Tips for Mixing Reverb

Essential Reverb Tips and Techniques Learn how to use reverb like a professional mixing engineer with these useful tips When it comes to music production, we tend to situate the elements of a track in their own space to add depth and dimension to the mix. Treating a sound with reverb is an excellent way of giving it space, but it requires a careful balancing act that should take into account the character of the source sound, and how it relates to both the other elements in the track a

iZotope Neutron 4: Everything You Need To Know

iZotope’s mixing package keeps getting bigger and better. While version 3 brought us the Mix Assistant, Visual Mixer and Balance Assistant (which was three years ago), there’s been plenty of time for the Massachusetts AI-fanciers to develop a stunning follow-up. Neutron 4 contains a few new additions, some quality-of-life tweaks, and even a couple of complete overhauls. The Mix Assistant is transformed into Assistant View, a whole eco screen that helps you define and reach a spectral target,

The Best MIDI & Music Theory Plugins

Our Guide To The Best MIDI & Music Theory VST Plugins We’ve compiled the best MIDI and music theory VST plugins for producers available on Plugin Boutique. The world’s most famous plugins are usually instruments and effects, helping with Mixing Skills and providing Easy Methods for Synthesis. From the likes of super synths like Pigments 5 and Diva, through FabFilter and Soundtoys effects, there’s a lot of love for audio plugins. But there’s a third category of plugin that can be infini

Sampleson on Stage54

Sampleson on Stage54, and How We Made our New Collaborative Plugin Together Model citizens Augusto Filamino and Lucia Tkach use spectral modelling to summon rare instruments to life  Thanks to continuous innovation in the field of virtual instrument development, music producers today can arm their tracks with authentic sounds they could only have ever dreamed of owning previously. Fancy a string section? Check. What about a church organ? Check. Sampleson, the developers behind our new e

Ten Years of Plugins

Relive the past decade of twists and turns in the world of music software with this trip down memory lane It’s hard to imagine a life where we couldn’t reach for our favourite synth, EQ, compressor, or barometric visual spline compander without a simple click and drag of a mouse, but there truly was a time when plugins didn’t exist. At the time that Plugin Boutique was founded, though, plugins had become an accepted part of most producers’ lives. Soft synths like Massive had been so influe

Ten Years of Music Tech

11 things that have changed the way we make music in the past decade In the ever changing world of music tech, if you’re standing still, you’re going backwards. Technological innovation directly impacts how music is made. For example, when CDs came along (remember them?) their increased data storage meant longer songs and more tracks per album; that is until streaming services saturated the music market and compelled artists to get to the point. Since Plugin Boutique landed in your laps

Ten Years of Plugin Boutique

Ten Years of Plugin Boutique After a decade of service under the awnings of the plugin marketplace, our ability to serve our customers is the strongest it's been yet. We’re not ones to toot our own horns, but Plugin Boutique exists today as the place where the best music software companies come to sell their wares to producers, musicians and DJs worldwide.  Nowadays, we host over 6000 plugins from nearly 200 developers, from the Best Synths Out There, at All Budgets, to the Strangest I

Carl Craig's Plugin Picks

  From his early days as a pioneer of the burgeoning sound of Detroit techno to his Grammy nomination in 2008 for his remix of Junior Boys’ ‘Like A Child’, Carl Craig has ensured that his signature sound has remained not only distinct, but gradually evolved in new directions. As the subject of producer focus for Loopcloud this month, subscribers can get closer than ever. Alongside an exclusive Planet E Breaks pack hand-crafted in his Detroit studio, Carl is also judging an exciting

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Artist Insight: Marius de Vries on Creativity & Collaboration

In between producing for the likes of Bjork and Brian Eno, Marius de Vries has played pretty much every role there is to play in creating world-renowned music. We caught up with the grammy-award winning composer to find out about his latest work on the film CODA, directed by Sian Heder (Orange is the New Black, Little America), his approach to film scoring, and the gear he uses to keep him creative. Congratulations on your score for CODA (dir. Sian Heder). Can you tell us how that came ab

Why Studio One by Presonus is the Perfect DAW for ALL Types of Producers

Why Studio One 5 might be the Perfect DAW for You! Learn more about PreSonus Studio One 5 Choosing the right DAW is fundamental in any modern producers’ journey and with there being so many to choose from, each with their own fervent community of users championing reasons why each one is the best, it might seem impossible to choose one over the other. Well, in this video I’m going to tell you why Studio One might be the right choice for you.  Presonus have created a DAW that

Reason Lite Rack Plugin | Tutorials

Reason Rack Plugin Tutorial #1 | Basic Introduction Reason Rack Plugin Tutorial #2 | Matrix Sequencer - Control Internal & External Instruments Reason Rack Plugin Tutorial #3 | MClass Compressor Sidechain - Internal & External Routing Reason Rack Plugin Tutorial #4 | Scales & Chords Player Reason Rack Plugin Tutorial #5 | Combinator Basics - Rotary & Button Macro Routing  

Best EDM VST Plugins

If you want to get that polished, highly professional EDM sound, you’re going to need to use the right tools, and at Plugin Boutique, you can find some of the most helpful VST plugins out there. But which are the best plugins for EDM? In this rundown, we’ll shed some light on the top VSTs in 2022 for crafting tearing leads and solid basslines.       5. XLN Audio XO An innovative new way to get the right drum sounds, XO analyzes your one-shots and groups th

Top 5 Friday | Best Beatmaking VST Plugins

Top 5 Friday - Best Beatmaking VST Plugins When it comes to beat making VSTs, which are the essential selections that’ll get you slick, professional and vibey beats? From drum machine plugins to instant retro-ising effects, here we’ll take you through the best beat making plugins for getting that professional edge on your beats. Far from the abilities of your DAW’s stock plugin collection, these are the best beatmaking VST instruments and effects out there… 5. XLN Audio RC-20 Retro Col

Top 5 Friday | Best Drum & Bass VST Plugins

Top Five Friday - Best Drum & Bass VST Plugins Sure, technology is important in all forms of music, but in the super-tight DnB community, the need for a great drum and bass plugin is huge, with almost as many opinions on what’s the best drum and bass plugin as there are producers. So what are the best VSTs for drum and bass, really – and what’s the best drum and bass VST that you can get yourself on Plugin Boutique? In this rundown of DnB VST plugins, we’ll let you know the answers.