For this tutorial, we joined pointblank lecturer Danny Linton aka Funk Ethics at his home studio in East London to explore how you can transform your drum grooves into exciting and professional-sounding patterns. Additionally, you’ll learn how to turn a simple drum loop into a full song idea using just a few simple steps.
Producing under the alias Funk Ethics, Danny has contributed to the UK bass scene releasing music on Pitch Black, Boka and Brownswood Recordings. He’s gained support over the years from big hitters such as Scuba, Skream, Mary Anne Hobbs and Giles Peterson as well as DJ’d alongside the likes of Goldie and Pendulum. Danny is a programme leader for our Foundation year at pointblank, teaching courses such as Production Portfolio, the Final Major Project, Intro to Production and more – so if you’re interested in learning more techniques first hand from Danny Linton, check out our line of London courses.
During the video, Danny demonstrates some of the top techniques he likes to teach pointblank students. He delves into the art of parallel processing using Logic Pro’s drum buss tools and shows how you can supercharge your loops to create a stand-out and more interesting mix. To do this, he uses a combination of EQ, compression and creative modulation across his different drum channels adding unique flavours to the mix. When brought together, all of these subtle tweaks can make a track with just a few elements sound fuller. Although Danny demonstrates drum parallels on a shuffling UK garage-style beat, this technique can be applied to almost any genre imaginable. When producing music, experimentation is key so be sure to watch to the end to see him demonstrate how to create melodies from your drum pattern using his go-to plugins to do so.
If you’re looking for some new drum one-shots to test out your drum mixing techniques with we have a range of free sample packs. Download 5 of them for free here. If you’re looking to brush up your skills in other fields of music production and DJing, check out our courses in London, Los Angeles, China, Ibiza, Mumbai, and Online.
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