Recent posts: Tutorials

Not everyone can sit through hours and hours of online video tutorials. In fact, it’s been proven that most people learn best through real-world, hands-on experience with teachers who are not only sensitive to the delicate nuances of individual personalities, but can also tailor their approach according to their student’s specific needs and goals.

Check out “Up and Running With Omnisphere 2” with J. Scott G., on lynda.com.

Spectrasonics’ Omnisphere is a synthesizer of enormous power, with a library of over 12,000 sounds. Its versatility makes it valuable for any kind of music production, including film scoring. In this Omnisphere training course, J. Scott Giaquinta explains what makes this amazing synth work, including the concepts behind headers, multis, parts, and layers, and shows how to find sounds in its extensive libraries. He also demonstrates how to use the Orb, a unique circular controller, and the granular engine to modify sounds, and build your own sounds with features such as the Modulation Matrix and FX modules. In the final chapters, J. Scott G. shows how to create two completely new sounds (a bass sound and pad) from scratch with Omnisphere.

Check out “Up and Running with Universal Audio UAD2/Apollo” with J. Scott G., on lynda.com.

Learn how to use the powerful UAD-2 and Apollo software/hardware combo from Universal Audio to mix down songs and emulate classic analog sounds. J. Scott Giaquinta shows how to connect the Apollo system to a computer and DAW, navigate around the UAD interface, and work with features such as the UAD Meter, Unison tracking, and wordclocking. Then he digs deep into the core plugins, including the 1176 and LA-2A amplifiers, as well as the compressors, equalizers, delay and modulation effects, special processing units, and reverbs that make Universal Audio’s classic sounds some of the best in today’s digital audio world.

Check out DJing with Ableton Live with J. Scott G., on lynda.com.

DJing is a growing profession. Ableton Live takes your live performances beyond anything achievable with turntables or CD players, making your sets powerful and unique. In this course, author J. Scott Giaquinta demonstrates the techniques DJs around the world use with Ableton Live. He starts with setting up your software and hardware controllers, and importing, warping, and keying tracks in Ableton. Next he discusses cueing and playing tracks, and using fades and the crossfader to mix tracks. Then learn when you should use a DJ mixer as opposed to Ableton’s internal mixer, and how to incorporate a microphone into the setup.

Scott next introduces some performance tricks to wow your audience, by integrating loops, samples, and FX. He also provides a demo of alternative controllers that can make your performances more dynamic, including a Wiimote, joystick, MIDI keyboard, and live vocoder. Finally, he discusses methods to record your live DJ set and fine-tune it after the fact.

Check out J. Scott G.’s “Up and Running” series on Native Instruments Komplete audio software on lynda.com.

Up and Running With Reaktor

REAKTOR is another of the powerful sound-making tools packaged with Native Instruments’ KOMPLETE. In this quick Up and Running course, author J. Scott Giaquinta demonstrates the power of REAKTOR, giving a brief overview of its uses as a synth, a drum machine, a sampler, a sound generator, and a multi-effects processor. Start watching to learn how to incorporate this essential virtual instrument into your sound arsenal.

Up and Running With Absynth

In this quick Up and Running course, author J. Scott Giaquinta covers another of Native Instruments KOMPLETE components, ABSYNTH. ABYSYNTH is a powerful synthesizer that allows for almost unlimited combinations of oscillators, modulations controls, and filters—leading to some truly unique sounds. Here J. Scott G. gives a brief overview of ABSYNTH’s features and main sound making components, including its modules, oscillators, filters, modulation controls, effects, and automation. Then he puts its features and sound-making abilities to work, so you can see how ABSYNTH fits into a real musician’s workflow.

Up and Running with FM8

In this quick Up and Running course, author J. Scott Giaquinta demonstrates the power of FM8, giving a brief overview of its features and main sound-making components, including the Browser, Master, Effects, Arpeggiator, and Easy/Morph windows. He also dives deep into the Expert window, LFOs and envelopes, and automation in FM8. By creating a range of sounds—clean and dirty, sweet and sour—he helps producers and engineers understand the extent of FM8’s many features and sound-making abilities.

Up and Running with Kontakt

This quick Up and Running course demonstrates the power of KONTAKT, arguably the world’s best software sampler. KONTAKT’s lush sample libraries, powerful routing, and intuitive UI make creating sophisticated sounds and performance setups a breeze. Here, J. Scott Giaquinta provides a brief overview of the features, signal routing, and effects, and shows how to chop up loops and utilize time stretching, pitch shifting, and scripting. Then he’ll demonstrate some creative ways to make sounds with KONTAKT’s FX modules and automation.

Up and Running with Guitar Rig

Join author J. Scott Giaquinta as he demonstrates the power of GUITAR RIG, a powerful effects processor from Native Instruments, and provides a brief overview of its main sound-making components, including effects, tools, and modifiers. He also digs into using containers and using macro knobs to control containers. Plus, learn how to to create unique sounds by using GUITAR RIG on drums, synths, vocals, and other audio sources.

Up and Running with Battery

In this quick Up and Running course, author and producer J. Scott G. demonstrates the power of BATTERY, Native Instruments’s drum sampler for drum sculpting, signal routing, and effects. He provides a brief overview of BATTERY’s built-in kits, and then shows how to create your own kits from scratch. Then he demonstrates how to edit cells, route audio in BATTERY or into another DAW, create automation, and utilize effects like reverb and delay.

Up and Running with Massive

In this quick Up and Running course, author/producer J. Scott Giaquinta demonstrates the power of MASSIVE, Native Instrument’s popular and flexible soft synth. He provides an overview of the main sound-making components, including MASSIVE’s filters, modulation controls, effects, macro knobs, envelopes and LFOs, and Performer and Stepper functions.

Check out “Extreme Sound Mangling” with J. ScottG., on lynda.com.

Make your EDM tracks stand out. Ditch the canned sounds and learn how to add texture, sheen, and movement to your productions with these extreme sound-mangling techniques, which are based on J. Scott G’s production and remix experience with artists like Adam Lambert, Shiny Toy Guns, Madonna, and David Bowie. He’ll show you how to create and tweak sounds with vocoders; faders, flangers, and chorus effects; reverb and delay; EQ and filters; distortion; time stretching; and glitches and granular synthesis. The final bonus chapter digs into the loops included with J. Scott’s Twisted System sample pack, which comes free with the exercise files for this course. These techniques are both practical and inspirational, providing tools for creating new sounds and ideas for making electronic dance music that sounds even more creative and unique.

Note: This course was recorded in Ableton Live, but the tutorials can be used with any digital audio workstation.

Check out “EDM Production Techniques – Basslines” with J. ScottG. on lynda.com!

Electronic dance music has exploded in popularity the last couple years. Knowing how to create dynamic EDM bass lines can make your tracks stand out. In this course, author J. Scott Giaquinta showcases his techniques for EDM basslines—the same techniques he’s used on productions and remixes with such artists as Madonna, Seal, David Bowie, Paul Oakenfold, and Johnny Cash. The course focuses on creating bass lines for four different genres: dubstep, electro house, progressive/trance, and drum and bass. Scott also touches on layering, automation, and sub-basses, and finishing techniques like bussing, tape saturation, and limiters that can give your EDM tracks a distinctive sound. Note: this course features Ableton Live and Native Instruments MASSIVE, but you can follow along with these tutorials in the DAW of your choice.

Check out “EDM Production Techniques – Drums” with J. Scott G. on lynda.com!

In this course, author J. Scott Giaquinta showcases his techniques for electronic dance music production that he’s used on productions and remixes with such artists as Madonna, Seal, David Bowie, Paul Oakenfold, and Johnny Cash. He’ll focus on drum sounds, demonstrating his techniques for layering kick and snare samples, compressing the sounds, using drum loops, adding a human feel and groove, creating drum transitions, using FX and automation, and other drum mixing techniques.

This course features Ableton Live and Native Instruments’ Battery drum sampler, but you can use these techniques in any DAW of your choice.