Overdo it… on purpose! – Breaking the rules and limits…

Hey guys, it’s Andre.

Today, I’m going to overuse some plugin effects and features of Pro Tools as Sound Design techniques to create some more extreme effects. We all learned to avoid red meters and heavy overuse of plugins, but this time, we’re going for extremes and create some cool FX with that.

Check out how to overuse EQ settings, reverbs and destruction of sounds to create some soft, big or heavy distorted FX.

In the Edit window bellow, you can see a combination of kicks sent to a big reverb and a crash sent to a delay, which results in a big and powerful reverb kick.

Big reverbs are more an 80’s thing, I know, but this time it’s used to power up our normal kick drum sound. The kick reverb is pretty big and boosts the lower frequencies. If your reverb has no integrated EQ, just use both an EQ and a reverb as chain. To make the kick even bigger, I used AIR’s Pro Tools integrated Stereo Plugin.

The crash is layered with a simple delay to create a tempo synced effect.

Hear that big starter below.

The next session features a high frequency reverse sound, which I’m going to give some more air.

The original signal is sent to both a reverb as well as a delay aux track. This time, the reverb is boosting the higher sounds, to create an airy, ice wind like breathing sound.

To add some little spice, I also used a simple delay to make the sound bigger. If you’re feeling, that your sound isn’t airy enough, try using an exciter, an additional EQ and try compressing the high frequencies a bit more.

Get some icy sounds below.

Now it’s getting rough! Elastic audio is one of Pro Tools’ greatest features and most of you might know that real evil and destroyed sound, you hear when you’re stretching audio too heavy. Now, we gonna use it for heavy FX! Below is a session of two reversed and heavy time-stretched crash sounds and the reverb kick from above.

To make it completely rough, I add some distortion to the whole sound, the reversed crashes and the reverb kick. The result will blow your speakers!

Check below to hear that impact!

You’ve read long enough, now hear the three effects, the reverb kick, the icy reverse and the distorted impact.

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These FX are pretty basic and I guess, most of you guys know these already, but I think you got my point. It’s no bad thing to follow certain rules and established techniques when it comes to production, but from time to time you got to try new things, break out and TURN UP ALL THE KNOBS. Maybe you’re creating that new sound you’ve been looking for.

Cheers and have a great weekend.