- Use Multiple Trackers
Divide your songs into elements and parts. Each machine has its own
patterns therefore you can - and should - divide your song into different
elements. Instead of playing all samples through one tracker, use several
trackers, one for drums, another one for pads / chords, etc. The fun
point is that each one of these can have its own different dsp effects
(reverb, chorus, distortion, etc.). This also allows console style mixing
with the Jekola Mixer.
Arranging the song is also easier this way. You don't need to duplicate
an entire pattern just to change the drum loop while everything else
remains the same.
- Use the Synths!
You don't even NEED to use samples, thanks to the wide variety of software
synthesis machines available. They produce clean sound, a lot cleaner
that could be obtained with samples, because resampling always loses
some information.
Also, you can change the synthesizers' parameters on the fly. You
can give the sounds much more variety than would be attained with samples
(unless you go through the trouble of creating multiple samples).
- Don't Bother With Creating Extra Notes for Delays
Buzz has a nice variety of different Delay effects to suit your needs.
The basic Delay machine actually uses less CPU time than the extra tracker
channels used for "artificial" delays as they are only simple
delay buffers, while tracker-made note delays involve resampling and
mixing extra channels with possible effect commands.
To create a tracker-like multi-tap delay (with a specified panning for
each tap), perform the actions listed
in the Getting Started section.
- Sequence Editor vs. Order List
While Impulse Tracker has just a single-column order list, the Sequence
Editor in Buzz is a different world. This is where all the separate
elements you've created come together. It may seem confusing at first,
but after you got used to it, you wouldn't go back to normal order
lists.
Remember that the Sequence Editor's accuracy is one tick (=pattern row).
You can zoom in / out by changing the Step value, either from the menu,
or by pressing Shift + and Shift -.
This allows you to place your patterns with one-tick accuracy if needed.
Mind you, if you offset the patterns by an uneven amount of ticks, they
may disappear when you zoom out. However, they are still there.
Playing new patterns in a track always interrupts the previous one.
You can also interrupt a pattern on purpose with the Break or Mute command (press
comma or period in the sequence editor).
- Effects and Master can have their own tracks.
While only Generators get tracks automatically created for them in the
sequence editor, you can actually create tracks and patterns for any
machine, including the Master output.
The Master patterns can control master volume, BPM/TPB and the volume
/ panning of each input separately. This allows you to fade in and fade
out different machines. You can also do groove quantizing through the
Master, by alternating the TPB or BPM between two values. Be warned,
though, that Delays that are synchronized to ticks will go out of sync
if the TPB keeps changing.
All other machines, for example filters, can have their parameters changed
during the song. This allows you to control the amount of reverb or
create interesting filter sweeps that are fully controllable, for instance.
It is also possible to create two or more tracks for one machine. One
of them can play a pattern which contains a short note arpeggio, while
another one can play a long pattern that has an interpolated parameter
sweep. This way you can use the same parameter sweeps for any note sequences
you create.
- F2, F3, F4. Use Them.
In Impulse Tracker, you jumped between the main windows with F1 .. F4.
In Buzz, you use F2, F3, F4 for Pattern Editor,
Machine Layout and Sequence Editor, which are the main windows.
Use them every time you can and refrain from using the mouse, and you'll
learn them in no time.
- Only Machines Connected to the Master May be Panned
This may be confusing, and seem limiting at first (as Impulse Tracker
allows you to pan every track or even every instrument and note separately),
but it is not such a drawback. Most "instruments" you create
with Buzz are chains of machines anyway, handled as one whole signal.
Some effects produce stereo output (examples: Stereo Reverb, X-Delay).
If these machines are connected to Master, the Pan control acts as a
Balance control. If you try to connect a stereo output to a mono input
effect (not all effects support stereo input, which is up to the developers
of the effects), Buzz will ask you which channel (left or right) you want to
connect.
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