3 Tips to Improve Your Workflow | Swift Series

Whether you’re in a bedroom or a state of the art recording studio, having an established workflow is paramount to working efficiently when you’re producing music. By defining what techniques work for you and developing a reliable set of tools, you can streamline the music production process to help you finish more tracks, quicker.
Workflow in the Digital Domain
When creating music in the digital domain, it is common to be recording, producing, mixing and mastering entire tracks by yourself. This can make the process of writing and finishing music seem long and daunting, especially when it is difficult to establish where the production stops and the mixing begins.
1. Separate the Stages
At the production stage, it’s always tempting to return to a synth patch for that final tweak or to swap out a drum sample because it just doesn’t seem to fit perfectly. Instead, when you’re happy with a sound, bounce it to audio and leave it. The same applies to when you come to begin the mixing process - actively move through your session track by track, bouncing each track. Then you can import all of your tracks into an entirely new session, clearly establishing the start of your mix. Some producers even like to mix their tracks in an entirely different DAW!
2. Create Your Own Templates
Setting up your DAW for a session can be time-consuming - it interrupts your workflow and can drastically hinder your creativity. Creating templates for the separate stages of music creation can help alleviate this issue. Once each stage of the process has been separated, create a template that contains your common processes. This can include anything from tracks with your go-to instruments and FX plugins loaded up, right through to your busses and auxiliary track routing. By removing the need to build a session from scratch, you can jump straight into your session and continue creating music.
3. A Solid Set of Tools
Finally, it is important to remember that establishing a strong workflow can take time. The more music you create, the more you will be able to establish which plugins work for you and which tools suit your production style. Take time to hone in on a distinct set of software and be sure to thoroughly learn the plugins you are using inside out. In the long run, this will help you work quicker and, ultimately, finish more tracks...
Introducing the Swift Series
Here at Plugin Boutique, we have designed the Swift Series with one goal in mind - to improve your workflow. Focusing on Audio Restoration, Vocal Production, Mixing and Mastering, each bundle combines bespoke plugins into succinct packages, providing three fundamental tools for each stage of the music creation process.
Within each bundle, you can find one of iZotope’s flagship Elements products, RX 7, Nectar, Neutron 3 and Ozone 8, each of which integrates iZotope’s groundbreaking assistive audio technology. Using the latest advances in machine learning, iZotope’s assistant removes the guesswork by automatically setting accurate plugin parameters at the click of a button, streamlining your workflow in the process.

If you are looking to improve your workflow, the Swift Series takes the key plugins for music creation and puts them right at your fingertips, allowing you to acquire a tailored set of tools that will streamline your music production process, all for a price that isn’t available anywhere else in the world.
Find out more about the following bundles in the Swift Series:
Other articles
From Dry to Alive: Giving Drums a Studio Room Feel
Drums in particular are one of the hardest instruments to make feel convincingly “real”. Straight out of the box, loops can sound clean and punchy, but they often lack the space and depth that comes from a live recording. Achieving that realism can be the make or break between a loop that works and a tightly mixed record. We’ve teamed up with Like It Or Not for a video about placing drums into a believable environment using the UAD Sound City Studios Plugin! This video explores the relationsh
The Best Music Software Deals This Week [Live List]
As the music production landscape evolves week by week, so does the opportunity to save on powerful creative tools. New plugin releases, flash sales on VSTs and limited-time deals on music software can appear from any angle, making it harder than ever to keep track of what’s worth your attention. Whether you're looking for the latest bundles on offer, or even deals on exciting virtual instruments, it's as important as ever to stay up to date on what we have to offer. That’s where our live g
DW and Roland get “Inside The Modern Mix” for Band Month
This year at Plugin Boutique, we’ve been busier than ever, hosting real-world events to celebrate various niches within the music industry. Recent times have seen us celebrate Women’s Month, and discuss Keeping Creative with artists and plugin developers alike. Aside from celebration, these events serve as a testament of successful growth of the ever-changing and expanding range of diverse music sectors across the globe. Panels of specialists, as well as dedicated enthusiasts meet up in the r
Your Essential Guide to: AI Mastering and Online Mastering
Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels In this article, we'll inform you on all things AI-mastering, gloss over the best solutions on the market, explore the most popular online AI mastering services/plugins, and give you an honest overview on how to incorporate all of this into your workflow to make your life easier—and save you lots of time (and money) on mastering. So, without further ado, here we have it: a no-nonsense, full guide to AI mastering and online mastering, with no stone left u