The quarantine has been pretty difficult for most of us and while those difficulties don't seem to be going away anytime soon, it has provided an opportunity for us bedroom producers to settle down for long periods and focus on making music. For me personally, I've finished 6 tracks and gotten to learn new things about all of my gear.
Once again, this doesn't erase how difficult things are for most of us, but it has been strangely nice to have some time to focus on making music again. I'd like to believe we'll have a rash of inspired music here shortly.
Lucky, many companies have recognized this and pushed out some of their tools and plugins for free to keep us inspired to create during this time. Today, I'll be collecting the ones I've personally tried. Get some new tools and get to creating.
1. Ableton's Making Music - 74 Creative Strategies For Electronic Music Production
Not only has Ableton discounted their software suite, but they've made this excellent book available for free as well! I personally have owned a copy of this for years and constantly find myself referencing it in the studio to break free of creative blocks. Much like Brian Eno's Oblique Strategies, this is a constant source of inspiration.
Download in PDF here. https://cdn-resources.ableton.com/resources/uploads/makingmusic/MakingMusic_DennisDeSantis.pdf
2. Sonible's Balancer
Personally, I love tools like this that can help me with my mix downs that way I can focus on actually making music. While there are more full featured options out there (I'm looking at you Oaksound's Soothe 2), you aren't going to find one for a better price that free. Automated tonal balancing and control with a handy Wet/Dry knob to get the right flavor you are looking for. It's been a god send for taming the massive amounts of distortion that I like to paint my tracks with as I pursue a harder sound.
Download here: https://www.sonible.com/balancer/
3. Hainbach - Isolation Loops
Hainbach is the man behind one of my favorite Youtube channels that focuses on exploring sound design and ambient music making using military test equipment. Seriously, his exploration of sound and experimentation is incredibly entertaining for someone like me. Considering much of the equipment he uses is difficult to impossible to obtain, much less use in any effective way, getting a chance to tap into his creativity for sampling is inspiring in its own right. A free download on Bandcamp of loops to be inspired by in your own productions.
Download here: https://hainbach.bandcamp.com/album/isolation-loops-soundpack
4. Cherry Audio's Voltage Modular Nucleus
If you've ever been interested in the world of Eurorack modular then this is the perfect place to dip your toes in. I'll confess, I'm proficient enough with both Reaktor and VCV Rack to make this a little redundant in my system, but I'm still going to recommend it as it doesn't have the learning curve and cost of Reaktor and the same difficulty in audio routing and CPU usage that VCV Rack does. It's immediate, fun, and I found myself instantly inspired by it. Worth a download.
You can download here: https://cherryaudio.com/free
5. Audiomodern's Filterstep
I'm a big fan of using creative filtering to create movement in songs and this one just takes it to another level. Controllable step sequenced filters that can be used to take the most static drone into a sequenced rhythm. I've seen other versions of this idea, but none of them were this powerful and with this clean of a UI.
Download here: https://audiomodern.com/shop/plugins/filterstep
Well here you go. Hope you enjoyed this list and feel free to let me know if you made anything using these tools. I'd love to listen. Now get creating!
Thanks for sharing this with us! Incredibly helpful :)
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Hey, this is great. Unfortunately i am stuck doing all my work on an ipad so i can’t use the software, but I’ll definitely check out that book you recommended. I’ve enjoyed Eno’s oblique strategies so it seems like a good bet :)
Thanks.
No problem. I omitted iPad apps, but just know that Moog's Minimoog Model D was made free recently. Definitely worth the download.
Awesome! I just grabbed that. Man that will give me hours of fun.
Definitely going to incorporate that into some new tracks.