The Intro

  • I start of with VG IRON, and went with the factory preset: Alternative & Punk, the preset: casket base and the sound: basket day.
  • The main chord change I am using is D min, D sus 2, D sus 4 and a quick back andforth between Cmaj, C sus 2 and Cmaj.
  • The second part of the chord change starts again with D min but leads to D sus 4 and concludes with Cmaj.
  • I put an automation on the THRUST function at the end of every 8th bar.
  • I pick an instance of VD HEAVY, chose the preset: SLOW ROCK and use the drum fill on D#3 to lead into the verse.
  • For the sound I chose the kit DEEP and put the SLAM-function on 9 o’clock.

Verse:

  • I open a second instance of VD HEAVY and select the preset: EAT THE DUST.
  • I am skipping the drum pattern between verse-pattern 1 on C3 and verse-pattern 2 on D3.
  • Before the track leads into the chorus, I chose the drum-fill on the key D#3.
  • The guitar part and sound of the verse remains the same as in the intro.

Chorus:

  • In the chorus I doubled the guitar tracks using two instances of VG IRON.
  • The first guitar track plays the same chord changes from the intro and verse.
  • The variations change with every harmony from D3, G3, D3 and A3.
  • I switched on the doubling function of the first guitar track to create more width in the sound spectrum.
  • In the second instance of VG Iron I used the preset SLUGGISH with the same named style.
  • The second guitar only remains on the style phrase D3
  • To get the sound, I put the DRIVE on 9.30, the REVERB on 3 o’clock and the CHORUS on 12 o’clock.
  • In the drum section of VD HEAVY I play around with a variety of chorus preset patterns (A3, B3 and G3) and to loosen them up with a couple of powerful drum fills on the keys (G#3, A#3 and D#3)
  • In the second part of this drum track I finish the chorus part by using an ending- fill on the key A#4.
  • For the overall mix I increased the mixing channel of the kick drum to 2 o’clock.

Outro:

  • I chose a third instance of VG IRON and opted for the PRESET: Leader of the Peck and the style Low Down.
  • The chords remain the same as we already used for the intro and verse. This time I play only the note G#2 in the common phrases of the instrument.

Downloads:

BassStem.wav

 

PianoStem.wav

 

Heavy_Intro-mid

 

Iron_Intro_Verse.mid

 

Heavy_Verse.mid

 

Iron_Chorus1.mid

 

Iron_Chorus2.mid

 

Heavy_Chorus.mid

 

Iron_Outro.mid

 

We hope you enjoyed this tutorial on how to create a progressive Rock Ballad with Virtual Guitarist IRON and Virtual Drummer HEAVY!

 

About the Author or Article

Martin Seyer is a composer, sound designer and music educator who works for the music and media industry in close collaboration with artists, directors and theatre productions.

 

Visit Martin’s Website!