Guides
Short answers to the questions that come up in the middle of a session, each with a free tool to try it in.
Serum and presets
Serum 2 presets folder: where it is and how to fix "not found" →Where Serum 2 keeps its presets on Windows and macOS, how to install .SerumPreset files, and what to do when the folder is missing.Serum presets folder: where Serum 1 keeps its sounds →Where Serum 1 keeps its presets, wavetables and noises on Windows and macOS, how to install .fxp presets, and how Serum 1 and Serum 2 presets differ.How to import your own wavetables into Serum →How to load your own audio as a wavetable in Serum: drag and drop, the 2048-sample frame size, import modes, and where to save wavetables so they show up.Serum 2 not showing up in your DAW: how to fix it →Serum 2 missing in Ableton, FL Studio or Logic? Where the plugin is installed on Windows and Mac, how to rescan in each DAW, and the installer option most people miss.How to make a reese bass in Serum 2 →A reese bass in Serum 2: two detuned saws, a 24 dB low-pass, slow movement, distortion and OTT. Starting values for every step and what to listen for.How to make a supersaw in Serum 2 →The big trance and EDM supersaw in Serum 2: how many unison voices, how much detune, the octave layer, the filter and the effects. Step by step with starting values.How to make an acid (303) bass in Serum 2 →A TB-303 style acid bass in Serum 2: mono, legato and glide, a resonant 24 dB low-pass, a short filter envelope and distortion. Starting values and how to program the pattern.How to make an 808 in Serum 2 →Make an 808 bass in Serum 2 from a sine: a fast pitch envelope for the punch, a long decay, glide for slides and distortion so it is heard on small speakers.How to make a pluck in Serum 2 →A pluck in Serum 2 is all envelope: zero attack, a short decay, no sustain, and a filter that closes with it. Starting values, plus delay and reverb to make it sing.How to make a pad in Serum 2 →A warm, moving pad in Serum 2: slow attack and release, unison, slow LFOs on the wavetable and filter, chorus and a big reverb. Step by step with starting values.How to make a wobble bass in Serum 2 →A wobble bass in Serum 2: a saw and a sub, a 24 dB low-pass, an LFO on the cutoff synced to the beat, and distortion. How to change the wobble rate with a macro.How to make a donk bass in Serum 2 →The bouncy donk bass from hard house and bassline in Serum 2: a square through a resonant band-pass, a very short envelope and an off-beat octave pattern.How to save a preset in Serum 2 →Save a preset in Serum 2: the Save button, the ARTIST and DESC fields, overwriting with Alt-click, where the file goes, and embedding wavetables and samples before you share it.
Your DAW and samples
How to add samples to FL Studio →Add a sample pack to the FL Studio browser in under a minute: drag and drop the folder, or add it under extra search folders. Plus where FL Studio keeps your files.How to add samples to Ableton Live →Add a sample pack to Ableton Live: add the folder to Places, or put it in the User Library. Where the User Library is on Windows and Mac, and how to move it.How to import a MIDI file into your DAW →Drag a .mid file into Ableton Live, FL Studio or Logic Pro and play it with any instrument. Step by step, plus what to do when the MIDI plays at the wrong tempo.Royalty-free samples: what it actually means →What royalty-free means for sample packs and presets, how it differs from clearing a sample from a record, and the usual limits in a sample licence.
Drums and arrangement
BPM by genre: a tempo chart for dance music →The usual tempo of house, tech house, techno, trance, drum and bass, dubstep, garage, lo-fi and more, in one chart, with a drum pattern to hear for most of them.How to tune your kick to the key of your track →Why and how to tune a kick to the key: find its pitch, pick the root or the fifth, and the frequency of every note in the kick range, from E1 to E2.How to make tech house drums →How to make tech house drums: the kick, clap, hats and percussion, where each one goes in the bar, swing, fills and the sounds to use. With a pattern you can play.House track structure: how to arrange a club track →How a house or tech house track is arranged: intro, build, breakdown, drop and outro in bars, why DJs need 8-bar phrases, and a template you can copy.How to make a beat, step by step →Make your first beat in five steps: kick, snare or clap, hi-hats, percussion and groove. Try every step in a free drum machine in your browser, no download.
Keys, notes and theory
Camelot wheel: every key and what mixes with it →Every Camelot code from 1A to 12B with its musical key, which keys mix together, and the chords for each key, playable in your browser with MIDI.Note frequency chart: every note in Hz →The frequency in Hz of every note from C0 to B8 at A4 = 440 Hz, the formula behind it, and what the numbers mean for kicks, bass and EQ.Circle of fifths: the chart and how to use it →The circle of fifths as a chart: every major key with its relative minor and number of sharps or flats, and how producers use it to pick chords and change key.
Mixing and mastering
LUFS for Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube →How loud to master for Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Tidal and more: each service's loudness level in LUFS, what normalization does, and the true peak to aim for.How to export stems for mixing →How to export stems for a mixing engineer: same start point, WAV at 24 bit, no master bus processing, effects, naming and headroom. Works in any DAW.How to sidechain: Ableton, FL Studio and Logic →Sidechain compression step by step in Ableton Live, FL Studio and Logic Pro, the settings that make bass and pads pump with the kick, and how to time the release.EQ frequency chart: where every sound sits →An EQ cheat sheet for producers: the frequency ranges of kick, bass, snare, hats, vocals, synths and more, what each band sounds like, and where to cut and boost.How to mix kick and bass →Make kick and bass work together: tune the kick, split the low end, sidechain, keep it mono, and check it on small speakers. A step-by-step guide for dance music.