Studio Survival : Disrupta

Hi guys, Disrupta here 

I’m going to start by saying my favourite and most important studio gear seems to change depending on the type of music I’m making at the time. Those that listen to my music know I’m often switching between making really filthy tunes and then also soulful tunes too. With these two production approaches being so different, it definitely affects the type of plugins I use. 

I’ve just come back from my Australia and New Zealand tour and I’m feeling very inspired by the heavier tunes. At the moment, I’ve really been enjoying the Kiloheartz plugins bundle, more specifically the ‘Formant Filter’. I’d say my approach to ‘in the box’ sound design is actually very minimal – I use basic wavetables, movement and minimal effects etc. However, post processing is where I have a lot of fun bringing out the weird and resonant tones in sounds that I’ve made. 

My approach usually consists of using multiple different instances of the Kiloheartz ‘Formant Filter’ as well as careful EQing to exaggerate certain tones to shape the sound to taste. For example, in my latest single ‘Heartstrings’ I have used the formant filter very subtly on the main bass riff to add additional harmonics that helps compliment the melody. 

Similarly, myself and Sota used a similar approach in our track ‘Round + Round’ on the main frog bass. I find the formant filter brings out different resonant ‘froggy’ tones that cut through well on a club sound system and evoke a good crowd reaction. One of the best ways to get a powerful tone in this way is to use the formant filter on a mid bass and once you have found the right tone, cut the low end out of the sound and then layer with a separate sub that has 3rd and 5th harmonics. This allows the sub bass to be heard on speakers with less low end capacity such as a phone or laptop.