Field Manuals
Reference guides on production, sound design, and the tools. Long, opinionated, and built to be useful mid-session.
Gain Staging & Headroom
When levels are right, every plugin in the chain behaves as it should. Covers the −18 dBFS target, headroom, unity gain, and how to stage levels from first track to master bus.
The Frequency Spectrum, Mapped
An interactive map of 20Hz–20kHz. Why subs must be mono, how masking works, stereo width by frequency range, and a practical guide to every problem zone in the mix.
Compression, Actually Explained
Every parameter covered with no filler. Threshold, ratio, attack, release, knee, RMS vs peak detection, parallel compression, and real settings for drum bus, bass, and master bus.
Sidechain Techniques
Every sidechain method that matters: compressor sidechain, LFO-based pumping, ghost sidechain, frequency-selective ducking, and how to tune the parameters that define the groove.
Reverb & Delay, Demystified
Every parameter you'll actually use. Pre-delay, decay, diffusion, algorithmic vs convolution reverb. BPM-sync delay, feedback, ping-pong, dub filtering, and how to use both without washing out a mix.
Mix Bus Architecture
Group buses, parallel chains, send/return effects, gain structure across the session. Get the routing right before you touch a fader.
Clipping, Limiting & Loudness
LUFS, true peak, streaming normalization targets, hard vs soft clipping, brickwall limiting, and a complete mastering chain walkthrough for electronic music.
Sound Design with Serum 2
Signal flow, oscillators, warp modes, filters, modulation, and the FX chain — then step-by-step recipes for supersaw leads, Reese basses, plucks, and evolving pads.
FM Synthesis, Properly Explained
Operators, C:M ratios, modulation index, algorithms. Why integer ratios make tonal sounds and non-integer ratios make metallic ones. DX7-style patching and practical recipes.
Max for Live, in JavaScript
The Live Object Model, inlets and outlets, js vs v8, and a full walkthrough device. For developers who know JavaScript but are new to the M4L runtime.