Archive for November, 2009
After putting my stomach and liver through "The Grinder" (aka Thanksgiving), I figured it would only be fair to do the same with my loops. Digging into some of the other new features in Logic 9, I discovered just what I was looking for: a virtual distortion pedal appropriately named "Grinder".
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Loop #110
Today's loop takes what was once a pristinely recorded, 16th note-heavy funk groo...
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No, not the Bon Jovi album. The room sound.
My current drum tracking room is on the smaller side. While its modest dimensions provide certain sonic benefits (tons of attack, very focused etc), it can also make it difficult to naturally get the big and wet, Hit Factory Studio 1 type vibe on my drum tracks.
This is when I often turn to my good friend, the space designer. With a few tweaks of the decay time and EQ (the presets can be a little much), this plugin instantly transforms my 12...
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Via synthopia.com:
Special Secret Groove Sauce: Gruss’s RSS feed has MP3 enclosures – which means it’s a podcast and you can subscribe to it with iTunes and get the free loops delivered to your ears automatically.
In iTunes, navigate to Advanced – Subscribe to Podcast and paste in his feed URL: http://feeds2.feedburner.com/ryangrusscom
[caption id="attachment_4701" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Feed me loops"][/caption]
Note I had no idea this was possible but I ...
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I can't tell you how sick I am of hearing tired, canned dance beats. I don't even like dance music. But if I have to hear it while out in public, away from the safe confines of my iPod, I might as well try to improve the quality of the drum sounds. The world has been overrun by shitty producers with their 808 samples and re-mixed Ableton Live schlock. And don't even get me started about the kitten DJs who spin said schlock.
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Loop #107
Here's my loop response from the following request:
"I'd like something that can go behind a slow acoustic guitar without taking over."
[caption id="attachment_4651" align="aligncenter" width="276" caption="Brushes - Russ Kunkel Style"][/caption]
I immediately thought of Russ Kunkel's brush-ballad playing from those early 1970's James Taylor records. I tuned the snare down nice and low, kept the groove nice and simple and rounded things out with a bit of reverb.
Pre...
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Loop #106
For today's first loop request, I make my foray into the grimey world of Dubstep. A half time feel with some extra thick bass and a crunchy, gated snare, it sits right in the 139 BPM sweet spot of your garage. I'll be including the rest of the loops from this session in Volume 7.
Preview Here:
[audio:139_DubStepB.mp3]
Get the .wav file here.
Get the .rx2 file here.
Get the .aiff file here.
139 BPM...
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I've decided to try a little experiment today. I'm going to lock myself in my studio, with nothing but Logic 9 and my Twitter feed running, taking loop requests and producing/posting them live, every hour. It all starts at 2pm EST. Just tweet your request to @ryangruss with #looprequest in the message. Name any style, tempo, genre, artist etc. Anything goes. Polka to punk. Yanni to Yngwie. Let's do this.
[caption id="attachment_4631" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="You think ...
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Maybe that fourth cup of coffee was a bad idea? Today's caffeine overdose has pushed me to the limit, causing my palms to sweat, my heart to palpitate and my drumming to be completely obnoxious.
[caption id="attachment_4615" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Today's Target Audience"][/caption]
Loop #105
A two measure loop with enough ghost notes to fill eight measures, this groove is short on restraint and heavy on bass. Get your glow sticks and lollipops out, the kids are goin...
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Every winter, when I travel home to West Des Moines, Iowa to celebrate Christmas with my family, I also take part in a "reunion concert" of sorts with some old friends from high school. Fourteen years ago, just before packing up my bags and heading to Berklee, I teamed up with some other members of my high school jazz band to find a way to get into bars without a fake ID. The solution? Start a funk band. And give it a really bad name.
At first we were called Pushin' Chunky. Then we were ...
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As a card carrying member of The CAC, I feel as if it is my duty to wish you all a happy 11/11! And if you live within a 111 mile radius of NYC, I hope you will be attending the big event tonight.
In honor of such a grand occasion, I figured I would link back to my 111 BPM loop. The first and last loop I'll ever play at that tempo. Hail the wale! Hail the wale!
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