SHAPE YOUR SOUNDS LIKE A PRO! LEARN WHAT EVERY FILTER IN MASSIVE DOES
When it comes to electronic music production, filters are a powerful way to shape your sound.
In Filters 101, our new video course, Deadly Habit gives you a hands-on overview of Massive filters. You’ll review the general concept of filters, each type, and gain a deeper understanding of what they are and what they do.
Each Filters 101 video segment presents one filter type. Using advanced spectrum analyzers, Deadly shows you a clear visual representation of what each filter actually looks like.
After these videos I clearly have a great sense of what filters in Massive are all about – something I just toyed around with, not learning it. With this 101 course I can safely say I feel confident in making new and better sounds!
LEARN WHEN AND HOW TO USE FILTERS THE FAST WAY.
LAYING THE GROUNDWORK
In video 1 of Filters 101, “Overview and Basic Operation,” Deadly Habit goes over the general concept of filters, and how they can be applied to a variety of production situations. You’ll discover:
- Basic definitions: A filter is an “electronic circuit designed to emphasize or attenuaten a specific range of frequencies.” (And bandwidth is defined as a “means of specifying the range of frequencies passed by an electronic circuit such as an amplifier mixer or filter.”)
- What Q is and how it affects the range of range of frequencies that are allowed to pass.
- How to adjust the cutoff and resonance to make a bandwidth narrow or wide.
- How to find the best audio glossary on the Internet, whether you are a newbie or grizzled veteran.
- The difference between parallel filters and serial filters and when to choose which one.
- How to use amplitude to help mix filters and adjust feedback.
- How to use feedback to reroute signals from any point back into the signal routing.
- When to use Massive’s unique filter types like Scream, Daft, Comb and Acid.
- How to use filters from outside Massive. There are some other filters out there like Wow VST which have format or vowel-specific filters that are a great addition to your Massive production.
UNDERSTANDING LOW PASS FILTERS
Video 2 of Filters 101, “Low Pass 2/ Low Pass 4,” Deadly takes a close-up look at low pass filters. You’ll learn:
- What “poles” are, the difference between Low pass 2 and Low Pass 4, and when to use them.
- How to visually determine the changes in resonance frequencies and how they affect the sound.
- How to modify Massive’s basic patches with resonance LFOs to get a wide variety of modern sounds like the wobble bass.
- A new way to add sub layers by sending sine waves to the bypass.
- How to use the LFO to modulate the volume. (This strategy gets the full frequency content instead of just cutting it back and forth which is really good for sine waves and subs.)
- A secret trick to use an envelope to open up the filter and give it a bit of resonance to get that cool wub-wub-wub sound.
- How to use white noise to create backing effects, risers, or outros.
- A little known method to use low pass filters on drums. (You can filter them in instead of just fading them in with a volume fade-in. It gives it a more dramatic sound, especially if you boost the resonance.)
TOUGH BUT SENSITIVE
Music production has multiple layers and angles of attack. There are a thousand ways to get to your final destination.
That’s a big reason audio production is so fun.
It can also be a problem.
Have you ever created a production that was so complicated and twisted even you couldn’t figure out how to do it again? You are not alone.
That’s the beauty of filters. They are simple to use and wicked fast to implement.
More than that, they have infinite possibilities.
You can sculpt a wave with razor-like precision.
And paint it with unlimited colors of sound.
Massive offers you the opportunity to cut off frequencies so that nothing beyond your hard limits gets through.
Or you can blend two different routings to gently change the filtering specification, depending on what it is going on in each track.
This flexibility means you can shape the overall production well before you start to worry about EQing and final mixdown.
Need some more headroom? Done.
Want to add some color to your bottom end? Two clicks and you are there.
Very few production techniques offer this blend of speed, power and sensitivity.
HIGH PASS FILTERS ADD COLOR
The next type of filter we will be taking a look at is High Pass 2 and High Pass 4. High frequencies are allowed through–low frequencies are cut off. You will be using high pass filters a lot in mixing, EQing and sound design. In Video 4 of Filters 101, you’ll find out:
- How to create extreme rolloff between the different pole options.
- The best way to get exact clock positions.
- Hidden tricks on how to use white noise to create risers, pads, and more.
- How to modulate the wavetable position with an LFO.
- The best way to create arpeggiator-like patterns by varying amplitude. (And how to use stereo delay that is synchronized so you get a bit of panning effect in headphones and speakers.)
- How to use a pulse-width modulation oscillator to create stabs.
- Ways to use high pass and low pass cutoffs on drums, risers, whooshes, background noise and much more.
- How to rapidly adjust color and variation in tone using the stepper.
- How low pass and high pass filters are the mirror images of each other (And easy ways to transfer ideas you use in one to the other seamlessly).
BANDPASS FILTERS- SURGICAL PRECISION
A band pass filer is just a combination of a low pass and a high pass, only allowing a certain band of frequencies to pass through. In this Filters 101 video, you’ll discover:
- A neat way to do a full sweep of the bandwidth to make it as narrow as it can get.
- How to crank the resonance all the way up so that it resonates the band and narrows it even more.
- A sneaky method to take out a lot of low end content, and roll off some of the high end at the same time.
- How to use a synchronized delay to add flavor (Make it extra spicy by adding stereo panning with reverb at the end.)
- A little known way to create a super-saw trance stab with simple oscillator and unison tweaks.
- How to use bandpasses to create white-noise inverse risers, background frequency sweeps and much more.
- How to use bandpasses on drums, allowing certain frequencies through and moving them around.
- A new method to use bandpass filters for pads. (Say you have a specific frequency that you want to fill in your mix. Maybe you already have your high end filled in, or your mids filled in, or just a certain subset in your frequency band that needs to be filled. You could add a pad to that and use a bandpass filter to handle it.)
LAYING THE GROUNDWORK FOR GREATNESS
As Deadly Habit says in Video 1 of Filters 101, “Overview and Basic Operation,” one of the biggest benefits of this video course is that you can use the concepts on ANY audio platform, not just Massive.
Your investment in furthering your audio education will pay off with every production you work on, no matter what the program, for the rest of your life.
You learn fast because not only does Deadly indicate the exact knobs to tweak and routings to create, he uses a powerful spectrum analyzer to SHOW you how each change affects the sound wave.
It’s much easier to grasp the concepts when you can see immediate changes in the waveform as he works through various concepts in Filters 101.
You simply duplicate exactly what he is doing, and apply it to your tracks immediately.
It’s like having a master producer working on your music for a fraction of what it would cost to bring him in the studio.
Filters are basic building blocks that must be mastered before taking on more complex audio techniques. Filters 101 gives you the skills you need.
” I continue to be amazed at the possibilities that these instruments are capable of. I have learned some incredible knowledge through these video tutorials.
BAND REJECT, ALLPASS AND COMB FILTERS
In Video 5, you’ll discover the inverse of the Bandpass Filter, the Band Reject Filter. Also known as the Notch Filter, it’s a great tool to target exact frequency ranges:
- An inside trick that notches out just a little space on a full pad to make it easier to mix and reduce headroom.
- How to add the Performer to make a track more interesting than using an LFO.
- Discover how to use it on noise sweeps for incidentals like drums.
- In Video 6, the Allpass Filter, Deadly Habit explains how this flat filter flips the phase:
- Learn how to use it for time alignment and time displacement.
- When to use it to tame transients on things like drum tracks, spoken vocals or high- end reverbs.
- Sneaky ways to save plenty of DBs on high, short transients without trying to squash it with a compressor.
In Video 7, get a closer look at the Comb Filter, named after the distinctive peaks on the frequency band that look like the teeth of a comb:
- Why Massive’s Comb Filter is additive while other products may use subtractive filtering.
- Explore the two major types: the Feedback Comb Filter and the Feed Forward Comb Filter and their differences. (Massive uses the Feedback model.)
- How to use the different options available including pitch, damping and feedback.
BRINGING IT ALL HOME
In Video 8, you’ll see how the Double Notch Filter functions like a Bandpass but with a little rollover:
- Find out how to save time by avoiding wasting a filter slot. (For example, when you use two Band Rejects in sequence.)
- Tricky ways to utilize the Double Notch for amazing “moving” bass lines.
In Video 9, you’ll discover three awesome modified Lowpass filters called Scream, Daft, and Acid:
- The Scream Filter lets you add lots of feedback. (Hint: use the Feedback Oscillators to add even more.)
- The Daft filter is modeled after analog hardware. (It produces a pleasant sound and is often used instead of a standard Lowpass filter).
- Learn a fast way to get a classic 303 sound with the Acid Filter.
In Video 10, Bringing It All Together, Deadly Habit wraps up the video series by teaching you some advanced sounds:
- Learn how to modify a basic Reese bass with a feedback loop to add dirt and distortion.
Discover how to use the Stepper to bounce between set filter settings. - You’ll see how to assign an LFO to a sine wave with an eighth-note and straight drop to get a kick drum sound.
- Deadly shows you when to use a synchronized delay over the entire mix except drums. (And how to create a killer bass line and drum line using limited oscillators! )
- You’ll learn how to tell what sounds better in parallel and what sounds better in serial.
THE POWER OF VIDEO
Is video the right way to learn the filters in Massive? It’s a good question. Here’s why video is the perfect way to understand and implement filters correctly in your productions:
Anywhere, Anytime
Take your videos on the go with you. Load them on to your laptop or mobile device. Your education goes with you. Play them on a plane or in your hotel room—perfect for traveling producers and musicians.
Visual Learning
It’s great to learn from a book or manual. Video takes it to the next level because you can clearly see how Deadly Habit tweaks each routing matrix or filter setup. You can play the video over and over as you mimic his teaching until you begin to blend his expertise into your own understanding and knowledge.
Expertise
With Filters 101, you get the expertise a real producer. Deadly Habit has refined his techniques and tips over years of in-studio and live performances. Unlike some video courses, you are not learning from an amateur. You get professional expertise from the front lines of audio production.
We know video is the perfect vehicle for learning Massive’s filters. You benefit from our experience producing some of the most popular Massive training courses in the industry.
“Love the pace of this stuff, so fast and straight to the point, great tutorial even for practiced users.
Reviews of this product
Reviews require cookies, click here to change cookie settings.
