Three minute reads for artists and producers
who want to make better records

By Thomas Dulin

Hey Reader, here's this week's Take Three email.

TAKE ONE: QUICK LINKS

• This new string instrument plugin looks really awesome and it's only $14. PocketStrings​
• SoundToys have announced version 5.5 of their bundle which brings a new plugin and resizeable windows.
• A pro drummer friend and I are discussing a possible "recording drums masterclass" in Nashville. Click here if you're interested, and I'll keep you posted?

TAKE TWO: RECENT RELEASES

Please note that these Spotify embedded players may not sound very good...

Love Potion • Grace Annabell... Love Potion • Grace Annabell... PREVIEW   ​

"Love Potion" by Grace Annabelle Anderson (produced, engineered)

Little Bit Of Gold Adam Simons PREVIEW   ​

"Little Bit of Gold" by Adam Simons (mixed)

Like You're Mine Auburn McCormick PREVIEW   ​

"Like You're Mine" by Auburn McCormick (engineered)

TAKE THREE: You should be using Relative Grid

Pro Tools users: You have a clip that you want to move or copy/paste to another place in your session, but the beginning of the clip is not on a downbeat.

What do you do?

I've seen some pretty interesting ways to do this, but the easiest way is to use Relative Grid. And often it's faster than doing the same task with Absolute Grid even when you theoretically could.

Here's 3 ways I use Relative Grid all the time.

Ex. 1: Fix a weak or missed snare hit

Maybe the drummer missed a rimshot somewhere but all the other snare hits in that section sound great.

• Find a snare hit that you like in another bar.
• Make sure your drum channels are grouped together.
• Use the selector tool to highlight the snare you like, and hit 'b' to break that hit into its own clip.
• In Relative Grid mode, hold Option (on mac) and use the grabber tool to click and drag a copy of that hit over to the weak one.

Ex. 2: Fly the BGVs from chorus 1 to chorus 2

You recorded a ton of harmonies for chorus 1, but all of them start on beat 2 of the chorus.

• Make sure all your BGVs are grouped together.
• Use the selector tool to highlight all the clips you want to duplicate.
• Again -- in Relative Grid, hold Option + drag the clips over to Chorus 2. So fast.

Ex. 3: Loop 2 bars of a live percussion instrument

If you find yourself working with a shaker with really great feel, it probably does not start on a grid value. Use Relative Grid to maintain the feel but loop it however long you'd like.

• In Relative Grid, option+drag the two bar loop to create a copy of those two bars. Adjust the edit and crossfade.
• Now option+drag those four bars to create an eight-bar phrase. Repair the edit at bar 5 and crossfade.
• Repeat for as long as you like.

You can get into Relative Grid by hitting F4 twice (once puts you in Absolute Grid, subsequent F4's toggle between Absolute/Relative) or clicking the Grid button twice in the top left corner.

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Until next week, happy music making, Reader.

Thomas Dulin Producer / Engineer / Mixer