140 beats per minute

theartfulbadger · Post by **theartfulbadger** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 9:47 pm

Does 'dubstep' really need to have 140bpm?

I urge anyone who makes music (who normally uses 140) to try playing around with stuff at about the 125bpm mark - I've experimented; it's slower (obviously), and perhaps more meditative. Could you still call it 'dubstep' or is it some other genre (or are these just needless labels?) Can dubstep be defined by a bpm figure, or is it characterised more by the sentiment it conveys?

By the by, if anyone has the 'Frogs on Acid' and 'Weed Smokers' by Cluekid on vinyl, try playing these at 33rpm - it really illustrates my point about the merits of slowing stuff down. The bass might shake your house down though.

ST100 · Post by **ST100** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 9:50 pm

140 is nice-nice.

125 is way too slow.

Province · Post by **Province** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 10:00 pm

Mattron wrote:140 is nice-nice.

125 is way too slow.

too slow for dubstep atleast.

ST100 · Post by **ST100** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 10:24 pm

Province wrote:
Mattron wrote:140 is nice-nice.

125 is way too slow.
too slow for dubstep atleast.

yeah thats what I meant.

_boring · Post by **_boring** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 10:30 pm

i play with dnb acts mostly (always) and i tend to crank it to at least +2 which is like 143

NilsFG · Post by **NilsFG** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 10:32 pm

Urgh this thread again.

Caski · Post by **Caski** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 10:34 pm

it is wot it is

lynn mc · Post by **lynn mc** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 10:36 pm

who cares?

maksim · Post by **maksim** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 10:43 pm

i was messing about today doing a mix at -40% so the tunes were around 80bpm, some tunes worked really well that slow. Roots Dyed Dark (Skream Remix) - Marc Ashken for example sounded bassy as fuck and i liked Doors Of Perception - Data & Cell, that little string bit that comes in at about 1:50 sounded sweet, the only thing really is that everything sounded so depressing at that tempo haha

rbnc · Post by **rbnc** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 10:44 pm

Tunes that are made around 125 mark like Tom Pooks - Trouble for example do have a lot of energy. Also Ramadanman - Justify, the tech rework by Will Saul/Mike Monday sounds better than the original too in my opinion. They are both great though.

On the whole though dubstep is around 140 and a halfstep 125...it just don't work.

spire · Post by **spire** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 11:13 pm

i find that going down to 138-137 is enough for a totally different vibe.

ammo · Post by **ammo** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 12:48 am

some of shackletons tracks are around that speed n theyr pretty sick

mattrelton · Post by **mattrelton** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 1:33 am

spire wrote:i find that going down to 138-137 is enough for a totally different vibe.

True. I've always found it gives it more energy strangely enough

gwa · Post by **gwa** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 7:55 am

when djn dubstep. The fastest it'll ever be is around 135-138.

notez_ · Post by **notez_** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 8:03 am

-boring wrote:i play with dnb acts mostly (always) and i tend to crank it to at least +2 which is like 143

I always seem to end up around the +5/+6 pitch mark if im being honest. I find a lot of stuff actually sounds so much better if your playing out, especially stuff like warp 9 or 3kout

SKINDAD · Post by **SKINDAD** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 8:18 am

maksim wrote:i was messing about today doing a mix at -40% so the tunes were around 80bpm, some tunes worked really well that slow. Roots Dyed Dark (Skream Remix) - Marc Ashken for example sounded bassy as fuck and i liked Doors Of Perception - Data & Cell, that little string bit that comes in at about 1:50 sounded sweet, the only thing really is that everything sounded so depressing at that tempo haha

If and when you decide to sell this vinyl, please let me be the first to know! Love that shit...

cosmic revenge · Post by **cosmic revenge** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 9:27 am

there's nothing wrong with making music at bpms of 120 to 125 obviously, but if you're doing halfstep type dubstep, that means your taking the tempo down to 60 which is really really slow if you mean to play this stuff in a club. nothing wrong with experimenting, but most bass music at 120 to 125 in my opinion is too slow at half time. like someone mentioned in this thread, if you're referring to artists associated with dubstep, shackleton has some really good stuff around this bpm, but its not half timed - he fills the spaces with percussive elements to keep a steady beat going.

keep experimenting though!

fractal · Post by **fractal** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 9:46 am

gwa wrote:when djn dubstep. The fastest it'll ever be is around 135-138.

agreed! let the track breathe for groove! most of the kids i know who switched from dnb like to push the pitch way up tho... agro heads i suppose

wooda916 · Post by **wooda916** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 9:47 am

deamonds · Post by **deamonds** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 9:53 am

140 - 145 tunes now sound like drum & waste, big leadup, a whoosh, bear saws....

the 130-135 stuff is miles better, much more spacious, plodding and has the oppertunity to be more experimental imo

Distance - Feel Me - perfect bpm...as well as d1 - sorrow.....go with most other genres

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