Dutch and American producer Mucky a.k.a Reynard Bargmann has been in the game for a while. Starting out at the tender age of fifteen, he quickly grew into one of Rotterdam's favorite producers.
Early on, he founded the grime collective NoizBoiz with XL and Don de Baron. Fast forward to today and Mucky is a multi-platinum artist. Not only is he Sevdaliza’s main collaborator but has produced for the likes of Wiley, Sean Paul, Black Eyed Peas, and many more. Production, for him, is “the hardest, most frustrating but also the most satisfying job.” After years of polishing his sound, he’s learned the ins and outs of music production and is here to share them with you. Read on to find out his favorite free tools and resources for producers who are just starting out.
1. Ableton Live Lite
An essential tool to learn production, but also great software to use during a show or stream. In my opinion, this is the best DAW to have as your main production tool. In time, the software will learn about your preferences, and workflow, all of which makes the process so much more enjoyable.
2. Melda Productions
Melda offers a ton of cool effect plugins, all for free. It's not as intuitive for the beginner producer, but it's really clever and high quality. Personally, I use the frequency shifter because it has this great glitch going for it. The MAutoEqualizer is an extremely versatile EQ, the MStereoProcessor is a top-notch stereo imager, MBassador is a good choice for treating your low ends, and finally, the MTurboReverb is one of the most powerful reverbs out there!
3. Tal-Chorus
This is a handy chorus plugin that will turn any synth into that classic ‘80s Juno Synth. I use it regularly and also add reverb on top to create a gloomy, Stranger Things-style sound to my music, and everybody loves it.
4. Reddit r/drumkits
On this thread, I stay up to date with the latest and trendiest drum samples. While it’s not a production tool per se, it is a great resource for you to keep your music sounding relevant and forward-thinking. It’s also a fantastic community that shares the best plugins in the game.
5. BitShiftGain by Airwindows
So this is for the real nerds out there, and I can’t even take credit for finding this. In my music, I use this for gain staging on every channel. It shifts the gain in bits instead of volume, which allows you to boost or pad your audio in the cleanest way.
Discover Mucky’s channel on Mixcloud
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