I’ve been getting a lot of questions about how I create those emotional string layers that bring so much depth and cinematic energy into my tracks — so I put together a full guide breaking down my exact process.
Serum is seriously overflowing with cool features, many of which often overlooked, and some features not even documented. This is what made me decide to make an advanced sound-design course, focussing just on Serum. And indeed, it turned out to be the most in-depth course ever created by me, or on Serum in general. At first I just wanted to focus on the Serum Guru’s, those of you that already know and love the synth, and are enthusiastic about diving even deeper. But then I realised, since it was going to be a big course anyway, I might as well include the basics, so that everyone who owns Serum can follow along. Because of this, the course is separated into three different levels, over 9 hours of content:
The bassline is the bridge between rhythm and harmony — it anchors the groove and defines the emotional weight of a track. In this course, you’ll learn how to design, perform, and mix effective bass parts using both synthesized and sampled instruments. We’ll begin by exploring genre fit — how to choose the right instrument type and tone for your production. You’ll learn when to reach for Serum or Massive for electronic styles, and when a sampled electric or upright bass is a better match for rock, pop, or jazz contexts. From there, we’ll dive into the musical science behind strong basslines: octaves, fifths, and tritones; outlining chord tones like roots and thirds; and using passing notes (both diatonic and chromatic) to create flow between harmonies. We’ll also study articulation — how short vs. sustained notes can dramatically change the character of a groove.
Getting tired of trying to record great-sounding drum tracks at home? It’s certainly not an easy task. In this Cubase video course, Cubase expert Gary Hiebner walks you through the process of building a virtual drum track that sounds 100% authentic and mix-ready professional. From selecting and tweaking sounds to programming, editing, quantizing, creating multiple outputs, and more, you’ll learn all you need to know to get awesome results. By the time you’re through with this Cubase course, you’ll be completely ready to start programming your next drum track right away! These Cubase videos are designed for Cubase users who’d like to start using virtual drums. Gary begins by showing you how to add drum instrument tracks with a MIDI part or pattern. You’ll also see how to set up your MIDI devices properly and learn the difference between instrument tracks and drum tracks. Then Gary illustrates the differences between the Key Editor and the Drum Editor, showing why and how the Drum Editor is often a better choice when working with drum tracks.
If you’ve ever wondered how to take your Cubase mixes from “pretty good” to “release ready,” this comprehensive video course with Gary Hiebner walks you through the entire mastering process step by step. Using only Cubase’s stock tools (plus a few optional third-party plug-ins), Gary demonstrates exactly how to turn your finished mix into a polished, balanced, and professional-sounding master. By the end of the course, you’ll be ready to start using these ideas right away. These videos are designed for Cubase users new to the mastering process. You’ll start by preparing your mix for mastering, setting up your Cubase project, and learning best practices for exporting your final mixdown. Then, Gary guides you through building an effective mastering session — routing your tracks, using reference mixes, and applying essential processors like EQ, compression, saturation, stereo imaging, and limiting. Next, you’ll see how to apply subtle EQ correction with Frequency 2, use single-band and multiband compression to control dynamics, and add warmth, color, and width using tools like Quadrafuzz, Magneto II, and Imager.
In this in-depth Alkane video tutorial series, production guru Alberto will take you on a detailed exploration of the plug-in, explaining each parameter and component fully and providing plenty of real-world examples so you can hear it in action. You’ll see that, regardless of genre, Alkane can help impart punch, clarity, and character in your mixes with an unparalleled level of control over saturation while still remaining intuitive and easy to use. By the time you’re through with this Alkane course, you’ll be ready to start using Alkane like a pro on your very next project! These Alkane videos are designed for new Alkane users. Alberto begins with a quick overview of the series, explaining what Alkane is/does and discussing the piece (an original video game score) he’ll be using for demonstration purposes in this course. He then provides a thorough tour of the interface so you can understand the signal flow through the plug-in as well as the location of all the various sections and components. Once you’re familiar with the basic layout, Alberto pulls out the magnifying glass and gets into the nitty-gritty a bit, analyzing the various controls and parameters and demonstrating what they do and how they affect the sound.
This course is designed for anyone who wants to learn how to produce a funky disco house track using the core techniques of a blend of jackin house and classic disco house. Using filtering and other arrangement methods to create a funky track in Ableton. In this course you will learn how to arrange a track in this musical style. You will learn how to select the best samples from a batch of loops in order to start the production process. You will learn how to produce a breakdown and use filters delays and other effect units and develop the skills to bring the track back up into the main body. You will also learn how to mix down the drums and the loops and group th sounds into each category so you end up with a final polished mix ready for mastering.
