Creating The Sounds Of Tyler The Creator | Part 02

by Richard Meller

Introduction

In Part 02 of our 'Creating The Sounds Of Tyler The Creator' series Rich digs deep into some new production tips and tricks!  Give that video a spin and have a read below.  All shall be revealed!

 

 

Layer Live Bass For Clarity

When combining dense sections with huge drums and deep bass it's often difficult to get your bass notes to shine through.  For this reason we've decided to combine a live bass playing higher notes with the lower subs.  By balancing these two we are able to provide more top end material without losing the sub frequencies or weight.

 

Note: When layering bass always check the phase. 

 

Below you'll see we've processed our MODO Bass with an Ampeg emulation.  The Ampeg brings the bass sound into the 'real world' as well as offering more weight and top.

As the track progresses you'll also notice that we chose higher notes that compliment the bottom end.  The synth in this example handles the weight and the live bass adds clarity and vibe.

 

Creating The Sounds Of Tyler The Creator_LayerElec+SubBass

 

Combing Velocities With Swing 

When programming realistic sounding percussion parts we always try and embrace the two main variable:

  • Velocity - How hard the drum is hit
  • Swing - The timing of the hits.  In a DAW that would be how close they are to the appropriate grid lines.

By manipulating these two variables we're able to start making our drum and percussion lines feel more real.  In the example below you can see that we employed a Hard, Soft, Hard, Soft approach to the rolling pattern.  This mimics the left and right hand of a drummer.

For more info on this check our article where we reveal tips on programming realistic drum parts.

 

Creating The Sounds Of Tyler The Creator_Percussion&Swing

 

 

 

 

 

Incredible 'Tyler Style' Room Pianos

In creating the sounds of Tyler The Creator we couldn't carry on without addressing his iconic piano tones found on the track 'Where This Flower Blooms'.    This is our effort.

 

The Piano - We chose Piano V2 by Arturia.  This was a great choice as it has numerous options and is flexible.   If you're after a free upright check out Spitfires free multi-sampled uprights HERE.

  • We chose to use an upright for it's intimate feel that's not too grand (literally).
  • Next up we wanted to place the piano in a 'space' so we chose a plate reverb.  Our reverb of choice is Slate's take on the classic Lexicon 480 but any plate will do a great job.  Wet/dry at 50% and a time of 1.32 seconds.
  • Next up we reached for the lovely Super VHS by Baby Audio.  This hidden gem adds a touch of saturation, some more space and a little wash of chorus / flanger / pitch wobble.  Timeless!

 

Creating The Sounds Of Tyler The Creator_Room Piano Tones

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