This is my 2nd Drum and Bass production, and it started with a little experimentation using lo-fi samples. As the track progressed, it took on a life of its own. It sounds less like a lo-fi Wu-Tang track and more like fun rhythmic stroll down the Midway of your local county fair.
I used a few new plugins on this track to bring out the kick drum, enhance the drum bus, and bring about the volume that we have all come to expect of commercially available music.
PhasePlant by Kilohearts
This is generally more of a synthesizer, but it’s capable of producing kicks, snares, and almost anything you can dream up. In this track, I needed an additional kick to sit on top of an otherwise boring kick drum. The two of them together is Dyn-o-mite!
ACME Audio Opticom XLA-3
Next up, we have this gem from Plugin Alliance, and if you have never heard this compressor on a drum bus, I highly recommend it. This brings about the compression you need while adding additional harmonics. If you read the short description of the plugin, you will see two words that stand out; “grit” and “attitude.” That is exactly what you get with this plug!
Brainworx bx_Masterdesk
I’ll be the first to say that nothing, and I mean NOTHING, takes the place of a mastering engineer. This plug is not even a close second, but it does a good job raising the overall loudness of the track while preserving the dynamic range. There are several compression modes to choose from, and you have control of the tonality of the mix. It’s simple and effective!
Midway
Purchase as Single (Coming Soon!): iTunes, Amazon Music, Google Play
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