Complextro basics/tips

[Dj Rephlex]

Lastnight I made a full complextro bible that went into insane detail with pictures table of contents etc... but When I was trying to backspace my wonderful laptop went back so I lost the whole thing. So for now I'm just going to explain a couple things that should help get you started.

Basically complextro is as it sounds. It's a mixture between electro house and dubstep. The bpm can range from 128-140+ it's all what you want. I usually go with 128 bpm because thers so many synths involved using a lower bpm helps keep clutter to a minimum.
Before even considering making complextro you should have sounds structure/design on lock for both house and dubstep since complextro is a pretty even mix of the 2.
You should also know your way around a fair amount of distortion/glitch VST plugins. Glitch and distortion play a huge part in complextro.
Good vst's to use:
Dblue glitch - free (If you don't have this already I don't know what the hell's wrong with you.) NOTE: Use this wisely! over using it not only dominates your CPU usage but is also like reverb, even slightly over using it could ruin your whole song. (http://illformed.org/plugins/glitch/) < DL here
Camel crusher - free (can be used for distortion but I mainly use it to beef up the drums and a couple synths) (http://www.camelaudio.com/camelcrusher.php) < DL here
Peach nes synthezier v1.3 extremely helpful for melodies within the drop - free (http://tweakbench.com/peach) < DL here
Sylenth1 (purchased) since this VST is not free and is not essential I will not go into great detail but if you do have this and know how to use it, it can play a pretty major roll in complextro.
(for FL studio users) Gross beat works magic for complextro as far as sound glitch/diversity goes.
N.I. Massive (purchased) a ton of people already use massive. Massive is perfect for complextro. Note: Take advantage of performer. Instead of following a specific melody like dubstep, complextro follows more with rhythm so you don't typically here alot of basic wobbles.

As for intros, a pretty good amount of complextro starts as a house song and gradually builds into more of a dubstep type melody. You'll also want to put more stress on the build since complextro uses so many synths a heavier build helps add to the "mindblowing" hype of the drop.
For drop structure, you're going to want more than or around 8 different synths (massive/synth leads like peach) You're going to want a couple of synths that sound similar just with different distortions/glitch so it doesn't just sound like a bunch of unorganized shit sounds. Glitchy vocals help add a ton of feel to the drop and also fill in blank spaces.
Usually you want 8 different synths per 2 bar loop but again it all depends on what direction you want to take your song.
My best advice on how to get a feel for when synths should be shifted is listening to alot of complextro and especially paying attention to how many different sounds are used where. (this is how I learned)

I'm going to leave it at that for now since this is primarily a tips thread but I will be working on another Complextro bible or a youtube series if I can find the time.
Hopefully you got something out of this since there aren't a ton of tutorials out there. If anyone else has any good tips feel free to share I'm down with learning new shit anyday. If you have any further questions or would like for me to explain something in more detail feel free to message me.

[Attila]

Basically complextro is as it sounds. It's a mixture between electro house and dubstep.

idk where this came from.

Producing complextro is really just a long exercise in fucking around though. Make a good chord progression/drums, then start dropping melodies and one shots everywhere until it starts to make sense.

[Dj Rephlex]

Ah shit. I didn't mean dubstep and house play into the name I mean complextro is as it sounds, as in complex

[Sechah]

Are you thinking of rewriting or re-explaining this whole bible you made?

I would love to read more, as long as it isn't tediously long hours of typing and such. (Which I assume it is haha)

[NinjaEdit]

Less is more though.

[Dj Rephlex]

Ill probably just remake the full bible but I'll make videos to go with it so i can show some helpful vst tips aswell etc..

[Dj Rephlex]

And plus I enjoy typing out long tutorials. It gives me a break from writing music.

[Dj Rephlex]

And plus I enjoy typing out long tutorials. It gives me a break from writing music.

[Fbac]

I prefer a good text over a video, as long as the text says "why" things are done , so that the same techniques can be applied on other synths.

[Sechah]

I prefer a good text over a video, as long as the text says "why" things are done , so that the same techniques can be applied on other synths.

He's saying he'll do both, which is amazing.

[Njamimars]

Isn't Complextro something that Skrillex makes most of the time?

[Augment]

Isn't Complextro something that Skrillex makes most of the time?

Nah man, I believe the term complextro and the style is from Porter Robinson.

[wub]

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.p ... Complextro

Complextro

Deriving its influences from Heavy basslines of dubstep, electro house, and fidget house, Complextro is a genre that rose during the latter half of 2010 and is usually credited to SebastiAn. The word form comes from complex, and electro, combining to form "complextro". Typically the tempo is a faster 140+ BPM, and the beats may or may not be syncopated, appearing almost as a break-style. Along with that, this genre is typified by heavy basslines and glitchy vocal, and or synth samples, but also by complex additive synthesis(usually 8+ synth patterns per bar count).

This style of music is almost always confused with dubstep, mostly in the case of Skrillex, and Porter Robinson who are two artists currently raping the shit out the genre. Along with them is Wolfgang Gartner, and the aforementioned SebastiAn, and while there are new artists rising, the complexity and difficulty of producing complextro tracks usually makes this genre only fit for the select few.

It's also good at parties

People will also probably not believe that it even exists.

[Fbac]

I prefer a good text over a video, as long as the text says "why" things are done , so that the same techniques can be applied on other synths.

He's saying he'll do both, which is amazing.

oh yea >__< and he says it right above my post haha!
Might have a go at making some complex sounding synth sounds and seeing if i can contribute.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.p ... Complextro

Complextro

This style of music is almost always confused with dubstep, mostly in the case of Skrillex, and Porter Robinson who are two artists currently raping the shit out the genre. .

[arktrix45hz]

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.p ... Complextro

Complextro

Deriving its influences from Heavy basslines of dubstep, electro house, and fidget house, Complextro is a genre that rose during the latter half of 2010 and is usually credited to SebastiAn. The word form comes from complex, and electro, combining to form "complextro". Typically the tempo is a faster 140+ BPM, and the beats may or may not be syncopated, appearing almost as a break-style. Along with that, this genre is typified by heavy basslines and glitchy vocal, and or synth samples, but also by complex additive synthesis(usually 8+ synth patterns per bar count).

This style of music is almost always confused with dubstep, mostly in the case of Skrillex, and Porter Robinson who are two artists currently raping the shit out the genre. Along with them is Wolfgang Gartner, and the aforementioned SebastiAn, and while there are new artists rising, the complexity and difficulty of producing complextro tracks usually makes this genre only fit for the select few.

It's also good at parties

People will also probably not believe that it even exists.

So its actually the same shit Justice/Ed Banger have been pushing since day?

[elyhess]

Ah shit. I didn't mean dubstep and house play into the name I mean complextro is as it sounds, as in complex

Sounds easy nuff!