Adam Schneider

music, production, & sound design

Excited to announce that the Akai Advance controllers and accompanying VIP software are now available!

I provided sound design support on these products by programming the arpeggiator presets on the hardware and creating plugin-maps for Akai’s VIP software.

The Advance keyboards have already won a number of awards including being voted “Best In Show” at NAMM 2015 by both Keyboard Magazine and NAMM U.  Check out the review below from Keyboard Magazine.

http://www.keyboardmag.com/gear/1183/akai-advance-midi-controller-reviewed-one-board-to-rule-them-all/53396

 

For the last two years I’ve been working with Providence based rapper B. Dolan on his third full length album Kill The Wolf.  The album was in development for five years and features over 30 collaborators including Aesop Rock, Buck 65, Dave Lamb of Brown Bird, and Kathleen Stubelek of Circle Takes the Square.

I’m very proud to have contributed guitar, synth, and programming to many of the tracks on this powerhouse of an album.  Some of my favorite contributions include the Moog lead on the chorus of “Stay Inspired” and the fuzzed out gritty guitar featured in “Graffiti Busters”.

The album really speaks for itself, so check it out below.

https://strangefamousrecords.bandcamp.com/album/kill-the-wolf

 

SONiVOX has released Tony Coleman Drums, a virtual instrument that simulates the drum set for renowned drummer Tony Coleman.  I served as the Senior Sound Designer for this project and was in charge of editing, programming, and mixing the drum samples.

Check out this great product review from Bedroom Producers Blog.  The gave the sound a 10/10!

Tony Coleman Drums Review

Can’t believe it’s been almost a whole year since I posted an update here!  Between work, starting a new band, parenting, and trying to squeeze in some free time, updating the blog took a bit of a backseat.

So what have I been doing? Most of my time has been spent working on a number of music projects for inMusic (unfortunately most of them haven’t been announced yet so I can’t discuss them).  One thing that has been announced however is the highly anticipated Akai Advance keyboard series which I did some arpeggiator programming and software support for. http://www.akaipro.com/microsites/advance/index.php

I’ve continued to work with Rhode Island based rapper B Dolan recording synths and guitar for his upcoming LP which will finally see daylight this summer after being in production for 5 years. I also contributed some synths and orchestral arrangements for his latest mixtape ‘House of Bees Vol 3’ on the tracks Seat at the Table and The Devil & Jack McCarthy. https://bdolan.bandcamp.com/album/house-of-bees-vol-3

Finally, I got my electro-rock band Big Time Kill off the ground in August and have been gigging steadily around the New England area  The project features a lot of ‘guitar sound design’ where I use my laptop to process my guitar sounds in unique ways, and I’m excited to share it with the world finally.

So that’s everything in a nutshell.  I plan on updating this section of the website more regularly with free content and tutorials, so make sure to check back!

Adam

 

 

My fourth week in a row of doing free patches for Native Instrument’s Massive.  This time I focus on sequenced tempo locked synth patches and make good use of Massive’s performer and stepper modulators.

Click here to download Electro Sequencers Vol. 1!

Take a listen to all 8 of the new patches here:

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/138447320″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=false” width=”100%” height=”200″ iframe=”true” /]

 

For this week I’ve created 11 synth riser patches for Massive.  All the patches have variable rise rates and have some built in tempo-synced modulation.  Perfect for electronic dance music, sci-fi sound design, or any other scenario that needs an uplifting transition.

Click here to download High Risers Vol. 1!

And while I’m at it, here’s a track that demonstrates all of the patches.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/136680551″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=false” width=”100%” height=”200″ iframe=”true” /]

 

This week’s free patch bundle is Monolothic Basses Vol. 1 for NI’s Massive.

It features 10 bass sounds focusing on fat, gnarly, and retro inspired timbres.

Click here to download Monolithic Basses Vol. 1!

Here’s a track demonstrating 7 of the new patches.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/135335164″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=false” width=”100%” height=”200″ iframe=”true” /]

Going to be trying something out called ‘Synth Patch Monday’ where every week I release a new synth patch bundle.

To get things going, I’ve created a bank of 12 groove-based patches for Native Instrument’s Massive.

Click here to download Mutated Grooves Vol. 1!

Here’s a demo of me tweaking out 6 of the new patches. No effects other than Massive were used.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/134084917″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=false” width=”100%” height=”200″ iframe=”true” /]

What I do

  • Composition Icon

    Composition

    Original scoring and background music in a variety of styles and genres: Rock, Pop, Electronic, & more.

  • Sound Design Icon

    Sound Design

    Custom sound effects, ambiences, and foley for video games, television, and film.

  • Music Production Icon

    Music Production

    Mixing, editing, recording, arranging, and synthesizer programming.

  • Post-production Icon

    Post Production

    Audio editing, file cleaning, and voice-over direction, recording and mixing.

About Adam

Adam is a professional sound designer, composer, and producer based in the Boston area.

After graduating from the Berklee College of Music in 2007 with degrees in both Music Production and Engineering and Music Synthesis, he began to work alongside professional keyboardist David Rosenthal on projects including the broadway musical A Tale of Two Cities and the Billy Joel : Last Play at Shea concerts.

Adam landed his first video game role as an audio designer for Activision’s Guitar Hero handheld titles, and has worked both as a sound designer and composer for video game franchises that include XCOM 2, Marvel, Skylanders, and Transformers.

A self described ‘synthesizer geek’ with a passion for music technology, Adam has also worked in the music instrument industry doing sound design for products by Sonivox, Akai, and Alesis. He writes and performs music with his electronic rock band Big Time Kill and plays a wide variety of instruments including guitar, bass, keyboards, vibraphone, and mandolin.

Contact Me

I’d love to hear from you. If you have any questions or would like to discuss a project, you can contact me by email or use the form and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.