>Step by step
Making a trip-hop loop with free plugins
1 I’ve started by loading up Dope VST’s Beat Machine CM. This plugin is perfect for hip-hop or other genres where you want to program your own groove with fat-sounding single hits. I’ve played MIDI hits in a hip-hop pattern with a 16thE swing groove in Logic, and I’ve used the plugin’s The Projectz preset.
2 Dope VST Bass Engine CM is basically Beat Machine CM’s partner in crime, with presets featuring double bass and sine subs, with a similar hip-hop angle. The presets span three eras, and I’m using 1990’s Mo’Blues for a syncopated bassline to accompany the beat. Applying the same 16th-E swing quantisation on the bass keeps it grooving with the drums.
3 On the beat, I’ve used Snap, part of the Plugins collection. The two knobs Hit and Body allow you to treat attack and sustain for precise dynamic sculpting, essentially being able to brighten or dull transients independently of the signal’s sustain. About +15% on each knob adds a nice crisp punch to the beat. The sound of the filter is reassuringly analogue.
4 On the bass sound, I’ve loaded the free Nova EQ by Tokyo Dawn. This is a great free plugin – not only does it have an intuitive four-band EQ section with additional HP and LP sections activated with a single click, but each band can be turned into a dynamic EQ by pressing the Threshold button. I’ve just scooped 6dB at 440Hz from the bass sound.
5 At this point, I’ve decided to work into a limiter on the master bus. I’ve used Tone Boosters’ Barricade CM. Boosting the Input Gain activates limiting, and this can be shaped with the Attack and Release settings located on the right. I’ve changed the Input Gain to 6dB and brought the Attack to 0.032s, which seems to nicely hold and glue the loop together.
6 To add atmosphere, I’ve loaded Cumulus, a granular sampler (from Plugins) that radically transforms sample content by breaking it into tiny slivers of audio and reorganising them. I like the sound of the Aqua Dream preset, and I’ve modified a few of its eight scenes. Each scene has its own Pitch, Speed, Shape and Jitter to mangle the sample.
7 The sequencer lets you add triggers to the grid, but disabling it means each scene is triggered via MIDI, enabling me to jam a new pattern and capture the take I liked most. It doesn’t play back quite the same every time, so bouncing 16 bars of the loop and then picking the best loop from the audio is the best solution to get a tight loop of the groove.
8 Next, I flick through presets from Zebra CM by u-he – this synth has a lot of sections to modify so would probably need a whole tutorial on its own! Going through the presets is a quick way to hear a synth’s sonic potential, and I’ve settled on one called Slow dope that I’ll use as an FX hit. I play it on alternating octaves, boosting the delay mix level.
9 For a lead sound, I’ve loaded Enzyme CM, which features great presets with performance macro controls. I’ve used a lead preset – Hungry Hippo – which has a cool effect on the release of the MIDI note. As before, bouncing it to audio helps me to pick the desired takes.
10 I’ve loaded TAL-Reverb 2 onto the Enzyme channel to give it a sense of space. For an airy tail on the lead sound, I low-cut the reverb with a -18dB shelf at 2300Hz, before automating the wet signal on the reverb to flick up on the second note of the loop, with some grooved automation pumping the reverb tail in time with the loop.
11 For a final layer to roll out the groove, I’ve used Audio Realism’s ADM CM. This drum machine has an authentic emulation of the classic Roland TR-606 drum sound, as well as built-in presets using specially selected samples. To get a quick bongo into the song, I load the sample-based Tribal preset and then mute the hits I don’t want.
12 With Sync selected, the loop plays in time with the track and can be triggered by MIDI. I’ve pitched the HT up by 1.2 semitones and the MT up by 4 semitones, reduced the Decay and boosted Mangle. With the Shuffle at 35%, the bongo pattern grooves along with the drums and bass. A TAL-Reverb 2 blends in with the whole track nicely.