Category: Sampling
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A lot of musicians layer field recordings with their music. I’ve learned a few techniques to get the layering about right. Last Updated: 06-October-2026
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I like recording ambient sounds of nature, locations, equipment, and other assorted noises. When I play my recordings back, I want them to sound exactly like when I was there. Here is the technique, equipment, and settings I use. Last updated: 27-September-2026
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I use a variety of tools for post-processing my field recordings. Below are what I currently use. I will update this periodically as I change my workflow or learn new methods. Last updated: 25-September-2026
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Boards of Canada is a personal favorite of mine, and I have studied their music to learn how they achieved their distinctive sound. Here is what I think I have learned so far (I will continue to add to this page as I learn more). Last updated: 25-March-2026
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I like ambient music and would like to expand my expertise in making such music, so I’ve begun a study of some of what I consider the best ambient drone-type of music. This will be an ongoing collection of information, and you are welcome to check back when it has been updated. Last updated: 28-June-2024
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Here below is a selection of synth plugins that I have found have that nostalgic, lo-fi, vintage sound epitomized by Boards of Canada and others. Last updated: 27-August-2024.
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I like Biosphere’s (Geir Jenssen’s) music very much and one of my favorite albums is Shenzhou. The album is made up of repeated looping of Debussy orchestral track samples. The title song is particularly interesting to me as I like the depth and width of the sound. I was able to figure out how to…
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It may seem strange to want background noise in a recording, but it gives it a certain realism as opposed to the cleanliness of a digitally-mastered DAW creation. I like the sound I hear in the background of Susumu Yokota’s Saku from his Sakura album, so I was able to replicate it using common pink…
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Making music with loops is not a new process. However, after thinking about it, I was surprised at how many different ways there are to loop samples to make music. I’ll add to this as I discover more, but the list is long right now. Last updated: 26-December-2020
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I have been building presets for TAL Sampler for awhile and thought I would share some of them that I particularly like. These have a sound that reminds me of Boards of Canada. I even named a few with telling names based on Boards of Canada tracks and titles. They are free for you to…
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For the aspiring tape loopers out there, I’m sure I speak for us all when I say that we’d all like to have the time to play around with splicing tape into loops and recording through a four-track. But when this is not possible, here’s an easy alternative right in your DAW.
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Loop recording in FL Studio is one thing I would like to master because it means I can potentially create Eno-style tape loops. In the following months, I will be adding to this post with whatever I can find that can enable me to get some good loops going. I have put my method for…
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Pianobook is a site self-described as “Curated by one of the founders of SPITFIRE AUDIO pianobook is a collective sample project that aims to bring together a community of likeminded music makers to talk about their stories through the pianos they use, admire and are inspired by.”
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There’s not a manual with the Gwylim Simcock Felt Piano by Spitfire Audio, so here are my notes about the microphones used to record this wonderful piano. This piano is excellent and I highly recommend it. Microphones recorded the sound with Neve pre-amps and Cranesong AD converters at 96k. In the interface, the microphones can…
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Composing Electronic Music is a book that has proven invaluable in my equalization settings in my electronic music creations. I would highly recommend it! [click here for a link to it]