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  • Recording guitar at home: DI, amp mics and acoustic placement

    Home guitar recording comes down to three routes: plug straight into the interface (DI), put a microphone on an amp, or mic an acoustic. This guide covers each one in practical steps, with mic positions from Shure's SM57 user guide and the case for always keeping a clean DI track from Sound On Sound, read on 25 Oct 2026.

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  • A sampling and chopping workflow: from source to playable kit

    A practical, step-by-step workflow for sampling and chopping: pick a source, trim and tidy it, choose how to slice it, map the chops to pads or keys, and replay them as a new part. Slicing options are described from the Ableton Live manual, read on 25 Oct 2026; the method works in any DAW or sampler.

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  • Saturation and distortion basics for mixing

    Saturation is gentle distortion: it adds harmonics that can make a sound feel fuller or more present. This guide explains what saturation and distortion are, why soft and hard clipping sound different, what aliasing is and when oversampling helps, with practical habits for using it in a mix. Sources read on 24 Oct 2026.

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  • Scales and modes for producers: a practical guide for the piano roll

    A scale is a palette of notes and a mode is the same palette with a different home note. This guide shows how to find a key, build major and minor scales by counting semitones, hear what Dorian, Lydian and Mixolydian add, and use the scale tools in Ableton Live and Bitwig without letting them write for you. Sources are Ableton Learning Music, the Ableton Live manual and Bitwig release notes, read on 25 Oct 2026.

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  • Selling beats: leases, exclusives and what each licence actually gives away

    A practical guide for producers selling beats online: the difference between a non-exclusive lease and an exclusive licence, what to put in each tier, why leased beats cannot go into Content ID, why an exclusive needs a signed contract, and how to price a ladder without boxing yourself in. Sources read on 25 Oct 2026.

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