Journal
Plain guides to the tones people spend years hunting: the shoegaze wall, the doom low end, one bass that fills a whole room. Written by a working composer, not a marketer. Where a Siesta plugin gets you there in two knobs, I'll say so. Where a free one does it better, I'll say that too.
The shoegaze wall, doom that doesn't collapse, one bass that fills a room, and 2000s lo-fi haze. What actually makes each sound, and how to get there in two knobs.
Read → Bass · Sound likeThe short answer up top, then the history, Mike Kerr's split-bass gear, and the exact plugin chain. One bass, two rigs, a whole band.
Read → Shoegaze · Sound likeGlide guitar, reverse reverb, and reverb before the fuzz. How to get convincingly close to Loveless.
Read → Grunge · Sound likeThe grunge tone is a dynamic and a fuzz, not a secret pedal. The history, the gear, and the chain.
Read → Doom · Sound likeDowntuning and stacked fuzz that stays crushing when you turn it up. Keep the floor under the filth.
Read → Lo-fi · Sound likeTape wobble, filtered warmth and nostalgic haze. Turning a clean recording into a memory.
Read → Lo-fi hip hop · Genre guideJazzy chops, swung drums, vinyl crackle and tape. The dusty study-beats sound, step by step.
Read → Dream pop · Sound likeCascading reverbs, long delays and shimmer over fuzz. The dream-pop wash, explained.
Read →