Dirtywave Tracker Tips from Red Means Recording

Setting Up Basic Templates

1. FE Chain: Blank "Spacer"

• Purpose: Creates four-bar rests or breaks. Essential for clean song arrangement and visual organization.

• How to:

  • Start a new song
  • Set Pattern 00 in the Song arrangement to pattern FE (FE in the song editor view)
  • Go to Edit > Chain FE.
  • Add FE in the first 4 rows of the chain's phrase selection. Each slot makes a bar.
  • Use these spacer chains to prevent musical information overlapping between segments

2. FD Chain: Mute Instrument Phrase (Kill Command)

• Purpose: Stops any lingering notes, effects, or parameter changes. Ensures tracks start cleanly when switching to new chains.

• How to:

  • Create a new Phrase FD
  • Go to Edit > Chain FD.
  • Add FD in the first row, followed by 3 rows of blank FE (for four bars)
    • Resulting chain setup: FD FE FE FE
  • Go to the first Phrase in that chain to apply additional properties. To make it a kill channel, choose Option > Edit on PHRASE FD

3. Applying Mute to Track (Kill Command)

• Purpose: To cut off any and all signal from a track at the selected step. This can be useful to add breaks to the music.

• How to:

  • In the Phrase you wish to use the kill channel, edit the FX1, FX2 and FX3 fields on the step you want to kill the signal.
  • Enter the KIL command for the 3 fields you want to apply it to. You must be in G (for global) S (for step) C(for chord) Pit(pitch) or M (for modulation) mode.

Tip: Initial Song Setup (Jeremy's workflow)

• Create both an FE (spacer) and FD (kill phrase) to start every song. Then add a "kill" channel phrase right before the start of a new segment to mute any runaway parameters.

Tip: Chain Numbering

• To keep organized, Jeremy numbers chains starting with the instrument # they will be most associated with. Thus, bass on track 1 would start with chain 1x.

Tables: Adding Portamento

• Enter the desired notes into your chain pattern
• Enter the effect command:
  • PSL: Number of Semitones To Move Slide Time in Ticks
• Each chain will have new ranges of notes that are all slid from beginning of step.

Mixing

• "Dry" Setting: On instrument pages, the DRY setting can be used to clean up the sound, especially when using distortion or other heavy effects. Use the cutoff (HP or LP). Don't sleep on tables- they are a useful way to do advanced routing or to control an instrument over time.

Effects

• Sidechain can be done within this instrument, and it can also be routed to affect other tracks.

Workflow Enhancement

• Audition While Creating: Hit play to get a better feel as to what's being placed within the song.
• Duplicate Patterns Quick: SHIFT + OPTION + Edit on Song view dupes to new, easy to fill block, that is perfect if a quick rhythm change is needed.
• Quickly Jump to Next Unused Chain: Edit > Edit jumps to the next available chain and can continue for easy note creation.

That's a quick start. Good luck! And remember to support RED MEANS RECORDING.

Based on Red Means Recording: Tips and Tricks for the M8 Tracker