MJ’s “Beat It” - Hidden Machine Gun Sound

video upload by Anthony Marinelli Music

"In this Video I’ll show you how I made the 'Machine Gun Sound' in MJ’s 'Beat It'. It’s kind of a hidden sound, but it serves an important purpose in the orchestration of the song to create tension and energy just before Eddie Van Halen’s iconic guitar solo. This is one of many examples of the nuances that can be found in the arrangements of the songs on the album.

We’ll also shine the spotlight on Thriller engineer Bruce Swedien’s ability to know when and how to use a sound like this and when to get it out of the picture to create space for other sounds. This concepts can be applied to any style of music you are creating.

I made the original sound using an ARP 2600 & Dr. Click but you can re-create this sound on your VST with less effort.

00:00 Music Example of The Hidden 'Machine Gun Sound' on 'Beat It'
00:08 Intro
00:15 History of the "Machine Gun Sound"
00:46 Working with Michael Jackson on "Beat It"
02:14 Syncing the 16th note "Machine Gun Sound" to the drum beat
03:51 How to set the waveforms (VCO's)
05:02 How to set the Sample & Hold Generator (S&H)
05:19 How to set the Voltage Controlled Filter (VCF)
05:58 how to set the Voltage Controlled Amplifier (VCA)
07:35
07:49 How Bruce Swedien created Arrangements & Orchestrations when Mixing Thriller
09:57 understanding the concept of the "Machine Gun Sound" to re-create it on VST's
11:25 Full Music Example"

https://www.anthonymarinellimusic.com

See the Garfield Electronics label beloww for additional posts featuring the Doctor Click.