DREAM LAUCHERS
Wonderful family and friends have asked what they might gift to me to help push my music career forward. As I buff up my production chops, and build my home studio, I am always finding new tools and tricks of the trade that would be greatly beneficial.
However, it is difficult for me to ask for these items directly, as they often go on sale, and I would never want someone to pay full price for something for me. It is also tricky to gift things like software licenses.
So, if you would like to help me launch my music dreams, please consider a donation to my Gear Fund via the PayPal link below. That way I can ensure your dollars are stretched to the max as I am always watching for the best sales and discounts!
Thank you a million for your love and support!
Or:
SquareCash: $AlissaOberst
Zelle: alissaoberst@gmail.com
Below is a list of the tools that I am deal-hunting for.
I have carefully curated this collection after much of my own research, digesting reviews from my peers, and consulting with professionals in the industry.
Peruse and enjoy, if you like!
Ableton Live 11
Ableton Live is what I build all of my songs in. From programming synths, to sampling and manipulating sounds, it all lives within this program. This DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) is/was my first love in the music production world, and I can’t say enough good things about it.
As the video describes, the latest version of Ableton is packed with amazing new functions. What I am absolutely over the moon about is the vocal-comping. I currently use a different program to record my vocals, but with this upgrade, I can do it all “in-house”.
If I can catch it on sale, it will cost me about $185.
Vocalsynth 2
iZotope’s VocalSynth2 is an incredible tool for crafting high-impact, dynamic and modern vocals on today’s pop and indie music scene! Normally, you’d have to record through a vocoder that processes your vocals through a synth. It’s wicked time-consuming, I’ve done it.
This makes it almost too easy - I’m sure there are many who scoff upon the functionality of this program, as they remember “the good ol days” when it was impossible for someone like me to have their own home studio ;)
It’s normally $200, but I’ve seen it get down to maybe $70, or bundled in with other great plug-ins.
melodyne 5 assistant upgrade
Melodyne is industry-standard tuning software. Modern music-making means perfectly-tuned vocals on every song!
I already have the cheapest version of this, but I have demoed the upgrade. It has an awesome vibrato-editing tool that would save me hours of making painstakingly tiny adjustments, among other awesome features.
The upgrade normally costs $199, but I know I can get it for $159. Maybe less!
Auto-Tune
You probably noticed that I already have a tuning software, Melodyne. It sounds strange, but it is actually an industry-practice to run your vocals through both of these programs. Melodyne is like the surgery that has the power to re-shape your facial structure, and Auto-Tune is the makeup that smoothes out your skin. In modern music, all vocals are tuned. It might sound un-altered, but I guarantee you, it’s been pitch-corrected.
A bonus to Auto-Tune is that part of it is designed specifically for real-time performance. Although I don’t do anything like that currently, that would be a fantastic tool to have in my arsenal, should that scenario arise in the future.
There are several versions of this floating out there. I am looking for a deal on either the entry-level “Access” version ($99), or the fancier “Artist” version ($299).
soothe 2
This plugin is best known for taming harshness in all kinds of sounds, but especially vocals. I recently had to mix some female vocals (not my own) that were very harsh and bright. Even after carefully EQ-ing her voice by hand, there’s no way I could program the cuts to automatically tame the harsh frequencies when they occur. And of course I could not reduce all of the higher range at once, as it would just sound muffled.
This guy will read what is happening across the frequency range, and make adjustments in real time. It is incredibly good at doing exactly what its name implies: soothe.
It is normally $219, but I happen to know that a sale is coming up (it’s a rare occurrence!) to bring it down to $165.
Valhalla Vintage Verb
Another industry-standard. Ask a group of producers about reverb plugins, and they will mention this, guaranteed. This video is geared a bit towards propeller-heads, be warned.
Reverb is a surprisingly complex creature to wrangle into your mixes. This takes the guesswork out, but still leaves plenty of room to craft a custom response, if desired.
This is the one exception to discounts - it never goes on sale, as a company policy. $50 all the time, plain and simple.
Soundtoys little alter boy
At first glance, it’s a cool little toy that makes your voice sound weird. But it is actually a powerful mixing tool. I have been told several times by my mentor to acquire this in order to add texture to a group of background vocal tracks, or to create depth in a lead vocal that sounds too thin.
Regularly $99, I can get this for $39.