14th May 2013
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I been meaning to do this for a while after I get so many questions about production and how I do things etc. One of the most important things when making a track is workflow - ie making things easier ! Ill post a shot of my template that I load up every time Ableton automatically loads. But first - why do a template? We must answer this question first.
So … why do a template? Well in the past (pre 2010) I used to just load up Ableton with the stock standard template of two audio tracks. I would write my track adding the various elements as I go, then at the end of the track (before grouping was introduced) I would painstakingly put each track near each other and label them as their various elements eg, Sub bass, growl bass, womp bass, woosh, riser, fx,drums, beats/hats, etc etc. This used to take ages as back then I would have anywhere between 40 -60 different elements melded together. Nowdays I have a lot more as I got a better computer that could handle it. I personally prefer to have each element on its own channel , even if its just a small fx sound used once in the tune - it means I can treat it individually as needed. So .. this process used to take me between 1 and 2 hours just to label them and group them up (even before the group feature was introduced by ableton which was around version 7 I think) . Then to mix down the track took even longer as I had to add everything I needed to make the mix meld together. The remix I did for Empathy Records of AMB’s Bangers & Mash took me something like 10 hours from the moment I started the process of mixing down to the end. There was lots of fart assing around waiting for the computer to freeze tracks etc - this is what inspired me to make my own template to speed things up!
I read lots of interviews with producers over the years and lots of them said to get your workflow faster - Vespers from Canada (glitch hop producer) had some great tips and he basically said to make your workflow as easy as possible. That is where I came up with a template of my own from my own experiences on what I needed. Here it is , and ill explain it below. Now there is no hard and fast rules, this is just what works for me and im 100% sure that others out there can do things better. 
So what I have done, I have set up all my groups with a couple of channels in there as default - all the yellow groups are drum based groups. Anything drum wise, beats, hats, fills , main kick, snare and percussion are all in those groups - I have then routed the audio from all these drum bassed groups to a main DRUM MIX buss at the top of the mix , on this channel I have automatically loaded a compressor that can treat all the drum based parts as one. I treat each individual channel as needed - then treat the group as needed - before the main drum mix brings all my beats together getting them sounding nice.
The red groups are the other parts of the track. I have Sub Bass, Mid Bass, FX, Leads and Atmospherics.
Sub Bass: This where anything below 50-30hz is. Sub bass is more a “Feeling” rather than a hook or tonal aspect of the song , I will have a utility plug in from ableton making the buss mono (bring width down to 0%) - one of the crucial aspects of sub bass is that is should always be in mono - 1) because you want it heard all over the club on a track 2) you can really muddy up your mix if you have any stereo frequencies on the lower range.
Mid Bass: This is where all the main bass parts or the ones you want heard as a prominant part of the track. I put a high pass filter on this group and bring it back to around 100hz (or to taste) then put a stereo imager or effect like chorus on there to give the mid bass stuff width - when you have it combined with a sub bass you get the phat sub sounds coming down the centre with the mid stuff on the sides in a stereo field. Also use of panning on certain elements of a mid bass line can give a nice trippy feel and make the bassline interesting.
FX - this is where I put all the little blips, blops, glitches, and anything “effe-y”. Again a stereo imager or chorus is on the main bus to give the fx and space.
Leads: pretty self explanatory - any lead bassed hooks or arpeggiators are in here. Again - stereo imager or chorus on the main buss (this is optional sometimes I dont as I want certain parts to come through the centre or side)
Atmospherics Buss - this is all the pads, wooshes, white noise anything atmospheric on there. I again have an imager on the buss as paddy sounds sound great when pushed far wide in a mix.
So how has this sped things up for me? For a start I now am grouping the elements in the track as I go so no more grouping at the end , that has saved me about 1 hour at the end of a track. I am also mixing the track as I go (-6db for premaster) so its sounding good as I go along. Then at the end there is a bit of adjusting needed but it no longer takes me hours to mixdown a track - (I also mixdown a track after a few days to rest my ears) .
Hope this helps some of you create your own template , again there is no hard and fast rules - what ever works for you is right - but I am always adding to my template regularly!
Don’t forget to check out my soundcloud page and like my music page on facebook (there is free tracks in the free download section on my facebook page):
Just found a little remix that myself and Lee from Diverted knocked out near the end of 2009 when he was touring Australia - just a nice little proggy number . So cool finding stuff when you thought you had lost it!
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24th April 2013
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Out now on Beatport and Trackitdown - currently sitting #33 on Trackitdown!
Evgeny Minin - Gravitation (Karl Sav Psygressive Remix) [RUNE RECORDINGS]
11th April 2013
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Gonna give this away when i reach 1000 likes on my facebook music page . Florida breaks heads will know this .
http://soundcloud.com/karlsav/unknown-skullduggery-karl-sav/s-G937E
Forthcoming on Scarcity Records
Abdomen Burst - Shine (Karl Sav Remix)
Guest Mix I did for Mile High World Wide show on the Electro Station.
www.di.fm
This mix will be up for a short time only - not downloadable from here.
Tracklist is available at :
www.mixcrate.com/karlsav to download or
www.mixcloud.com/karlsav2 to stream.
Don’t forget check out my music page www.facebook.com/karlsavmusic loads of free downloads available once you like the page.
***updated*** here is the proper version of the AeroSoul remix done with the proper parts used…..
Breaks version of Aerosoul - Time is By Your Side. Updated with the proper parts used!
Shoutouts to JesSouls who asked me to make this also big shoutouts to AeroSoul who were fully supportive of the first version I made of this!
Check out their stuff at https://soundcloud.com/aerosoulmusic also go and like their facebook music page http://www.facebook.com/AerosoulOfficial
