What’s up everybody? ‘Tool here back with another post. Today is all about producer hacks, systems to help you guys get the best out of your beats. I’ll show you a few things I do religiously. Feel free to chime in anything not mentioned. It’s always great to hear different strategies. 1] Backup Your Files! There’s no worse feeling than not having access to a file when you really need it, or even a computer crashing. Find a “set it and forget” system that will have your back in any crazy scenario. I use Carbon Copy Cloner [Mac only] for my local backups. The #1 reason I love this software is that it can create a bootable copy of the drive it backs up in case of a fail. It actually saved me a few years ago and I was able to continue working with no downtime. The CCC backup is then backed up to a cloud service I love; Backblaze. It’s only $5/month, so it’s fairly reasonable. And with it being in the cloud, even when I’m away from my machines I can still access my files if need be. The choice is yours: would you rather pay around $60 and have your files backed up securely or 5x that to try and attempt to recover lost data? In closing my backup system looks like: iMac internal drive > CCC Bootable Drive > Backblaze 2] Make A Template In Your DAW How many times have you started making a beat and find yourself reaching for the same plugins, drums, etc.? I'm definitely guilty. So I decided to create a bare bones template that would shave that time down and help me stay creative. Now I’m not making the same beat over and over but I have some basic sounds and plugins to get me started. Once I lay an idea down I can then go back and fine tune to my heart’s content. Some things to consider when making a template:
3] Export The Files To Your Beats Once you’re finished mixing a beat that’s it right? Wrong! Export the WAV, MP3 and trackouts to a folder and back them up. [Step 1 sound familiar?] By doing this you’re killing 2 birds with one stone: One, you’ll have files ready to show potential clients [I’d hope you’d want to make some money from your music.] Two, in the case of software upgrades or it discontinues, etc. you’ll have a printed version of your creation instead of relying on MIDI or that one drum sample you deleted that you thought you’d never need. 4] RTFM!!! Read the f***king manual young king. Reading manuals can be boring, but sometimes it becomes a necessary evil. Learn more about your DAW, whether it be keyboard shortcuts, certain functions, or hidden features that you’ll never find out about otherwise. If you’re not using any of these tips I advise you to. Your peace of mind will thank you. Until next time, it’s ‘Tool.
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instrumentoolI have a passion for teaching and writing. Some of my many thoughts are here. Archives
November 2020
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