Dubstepforum.com

in terms of the quality of sound but also transitions and small little things that add to the overall production value


i realize this is a broad question but am hoping to get some general pointers. because there are literally thousands of different techniques you can use for all sorts of different things , such as transitions etc.. i was thinking of starting a little production notebook to keep track of all the different types of techniques. this way i can keep transitions fresh and once i have a tune pretty much structured how i want i can go back and spice it up with various techniques here and there if you know what i mean.

but my problem is i know of very few techniques and want to learn more. where is a good place to start? just googling and browsing around i suppose is what most of you will say, though im sure there is something out there geared more specificly to what im talking about.


Another thing im interested in, that i dont know mucha bout is getting all my sounds to be the highest quality possible. im using FL with massive, albino 3, and blue . all really good synth vst's. but what i dont know is if these vst's are producing the highest quality sounds possible. i also heard the FL is 24-bit or somethin worse then other daws. does this mean that the sound quality coming from FL is worse then that of other daws?

Sry for so many questions there is just so much i want to learn and i dont really know where to start :p so im on this subject for now

Doesn't really matter what program you use in the end... quality comes from a good mixdown.

As for transitions and what not, listen to a producer you like and pay close attention to what/how they do things. Not saying to rip them off, but when I'm stuck I'll listen to something I like for inspiration.

What helped me is working on a two bar loop. Until my ears bled and the loop sounded spot on. Though you might want to listen to my tunes before listening to my advice haha.

Ez

Assassin wrote:What helped me is working on a two bar loop. Until my ears bled and the loop sounded spot on. Though you might want to listen to my tunes before listening to my advice haha.

Ez

just peeped signing off, really liked the sound, that being said your drum beat had no energy, couldve been an amazing tune if the drums kicked ass..

24 bit worse off sounds a bit drastic,

If we are dealing with bit depth? you will usually be running your project in 16/24 (there's a few others out there like 32)
but that comes down to how you want to work, if it is 24 bits less than a 24 bit project then you are running on 0 bits, that's not a nice number to be working in,

Try out different daws, see how they sound (import some audio and bounce from each one to see if theres any difference)

Some people claim to hear it, others can't, all that matters is that you're happy with your daw,

think most of your post was about maximizing the sonic potential from the daw side?

Practice.

You mention all the 'thousands of little things' - well, get practicing Eventually they will just come out when they need to. THEN you're on a winner.

FL studio doesn't work at a lower rate than anything else, that's nonsense. Work at 24 bit over 16 as it messes with your sound less when you are applying processing.

macc beat me to it.
there is no quick fix, just practice, reading, experimenting and loads of hard work. though with the internet there is a wealth of information available if you search right rather than having to hunt in libraries, books and trade mags.

tavravlavish wrote:

Assassin wrote:What helped me is working on a two bar loop. Until my ears bled and the loop sounded spot on. Though you might want to listen to my tunes before listening to my advice haha.

Ez

just peeped signing off, really liked the sound, that being said your drum beat had no energy, couldve been an amazing tune if the drums kicked ass..

To be honest it's only a small clip. The full thin is 9 mins and needs alot of trimming. Me being lazy meant I just cut the first bit out haha.

It does have alot more going on further into it. I'll have to redo it properly I think.

Ez

macc wrote:Practice.

You mention all the 'thousands of little things' - well, get practicing Eventually they will just come out when they need to. THEN you're on a winner.

FL studio doesn't work at a lower rate than anything else, that's nonsense. Work at 24 bit over 16 as it messes with your sound less when you are applying processing.

I don't like all this DAW wars crap. It's all about work flow, I honestly don't think there's any difference between sounds in different DAWs. You can get the sound you like in any. I use ableton because I like the workflow but it could be easier for you in any DAW.

The only DAW with limitations is Reason in my opinion. But limitations aren't necessarily a bad thing.

Each to their own.

whats the best way to increase production value?


stop smoking weed and/or playing videogames in your free alone time

get the arrangement of your tune banging-- that's the biggest step.

mix wise, learn when to draw for dynamic control vs. when to draw for equalization. getting a sense of what the different frequency ranges sound like-- ie, 400hz vs. 800hz, 1k vs 2k, etc-- can make a big difference in terms of working fast.

but really it comes down to having a good song idea that's presented well and flows well. after that it's just mix bits-- eq here, dynamics here, reverb there, etc.

best advice i can give is there is no substitute for having a good ear, natural talent and patience
last is key
took me 10+ years to see a vinyl and learned an assload over the years
there is no substitute or quick fix for experimenting and experience

As has been said before, there is not one single trick to turn your tune into a banger. But imo there is like an arsenal of common techniques you can learn and use when appropriate. This has made my workflow much quicker. So to get the ball rolling I might add one to your list:
There is one simple thing that is heard often in terms of transitions. Though its rinsed if done nicely I find its really good. Place it one bar before a breakdown or a drop. Take a crash cymbal that fits to the sound of your tune (important). Put a _very_ long reverb on it. Bounce it with the reverb and reverse the sample, so that it ends at the end of the part. If done good, it makes a really nice transition to the next one, because it creates a kind of swell that pushes forward into it. One thing i want to a add: though its totally ok to use things like this that other people use, too, to make your tunes interesting and unique, you have to add your own personal tricks and "special features". Whatever that is.

And this is also a really good one:

Sharmaji wrote: getting a sense of what the different frequency ranges sound like-- ie, 400hz vs. 800hz, 1k vs 2k, etc-- can make a big difference in terms of working fast.