Hip Hop & Beat Making
Course 8: Effects Processing

Effects processing is the act of intentionally altering a signal by sending it through an effects unit. Traditionally, this was done by routing the signal through racks of outboard gear or guitar pedals and then into the system to record. Today, a large portion of effects processing is done “in the box” with high-powered digital audio workstations.

In course 8, you’ll look into creating space and sonic interest using reverbs, delays, and modulation effects inside of an effects processing tool. Because there are literally millions of effects on the market, you’ll first zero in on the various types of effects so that you can get a firmer grasp of how to differentiate your choices. From there, you go into the proper plug-in format and explore the various capabilities within the DAW.

At the end of the course, you should be able to describe effects processing, different processing parameters, and when you’d use effects processing and dynamic processing. You’ll also know how to troubleshoot issues when using effects and how to solve issues.

Course staples include looking over the social platforms of your favorite artists and seeing what you can emulate in Market Time and you’ll spend an hour with Yesterday’s Gone, Loyle Carner’s introspective mix of low-range vocals and incredible dexterity. You’ll also investigate the SM57 from Shure and why it’s such a popular mic.