Dubstepforum.com

Hi I'm relatively new so hello to everyone! I've been producing for about a month and a half now and use Ableton Live 8 suite and I use a Mac( it's outdated so I cant get vsts like massive). I'm just wondering what some tips are to make your tune sound more professional and modern. I'm a big n00b so any advice you guys can give me is helpful. Also, I'm aware that this is very wide and opinionated topic so please don't waste space by posting that.

mixdown

tbh mate when i first started producing i didnt give a shit about gain structure, proper use of plugins etc. (even though i knew about all that stuff)
i think that with time your music just sounds more professional as you learn what to do and what not to do
but yeah, the main thing is the mixdown, and making sure everything is gelling together how you want it

good luck mate

Pay attention to each individual sound whilst constructing the first few bars. Otherwise you loose track of all
the elements and you won't be able to make it sound like a whole.

I don't have that much experiments with creating a good mixdown but as jrisreal said, that's also key.

Learn to EQ, learn dynamics, learn stereo width and how to fill up the entire frequencyspectrum. Learn gain staging, learn to use delay and reverb to control the space of the mix and remember to have fun.

Whats mixing down?

read this thread:
http://dubstepforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=74832

crapton of info on mixdowns

Ok thanks guys! I'm just trying to learn as much as I can and master those skills while I'm still a beginner so I can just get those sounds in my head down as fast as possible and be a competent producer.

Don't rush it. Production is a long game, there are no quick wins.

Patience + practice = talent

listen to wub. i would say key is a big issue if ur unfortunate enough not to have been classically trained, over everything else, firstly recognising parts of the track that are out of tune and then knowing what to do to correct is, is a common misunderstanding that i see thread after thread.

all the mixdown shit, can come last, dont get get me wrong its important, but really its the icing on the cake.

Alistairr wrote:listen to wub. i would say key is a big issue if ur unfortunate enough not to have been classically trained, over everything else, firstly recognising parts of the track that are out of tune and then knowing what to do to correct is, is a common misunderstanding that i see thread after thread.

all the mixdown shit, can come last, dont get get me wrong its important, but really its the icing on the cake.

despite that I'm the one who suggested mixing down...I agree completely with this guy. Mixing down is pretty important though if you want your tunes to be as clear as possible and sound clean.

I use the izowaves professionalizer.

I was classically trained and know all my theory . So for the musical aspect of everything I feel like I'm catching on quickly (I've only really been into electronic for about a year now though so im still trying to figure some of the basics. I'm trying not to rush it, I'm just kinda looking for some basic tips and pointers in sound design and mixing to help me on my way

Practice practice practice. Listen to music in and out of your genre, and try to emulate the stuff you hear. I agree with Alistairr--in that you definitely need to know what actually sounds good and in key/tune --but mixdown matters a LOT as well for getting a more professional-sounding end product, and you'll definitely need to practice getting your mixdowns perfect.

Practice, make tunes.

The more time you spend producing the more professional your sounds will become. It's just like learning any other traditional instrument. It's all about practice

oh thats good, it helps unbelievably to have a classical background, not just in practical terms with the theory but also instinctively it helps build ur natural ear for a sound, hook or melody, which is fundamental to music production.

Pedro Sánchez wrote:I use the izowaves professionalizer.

who googled this

um4mi wrote:

Pedro Sánchez wrote:I use the izowaves professionalizer.

who googled this

Je

You get better at making tunes and your tunes start sounding better...

ChrisCrossbreed wrote:Whats mixing down?

Mixing down is when you make things the correct volume, you EQ them, you compress instruments if you need to, you put reverb on things to give them depth if you need to, you compress if necessary, etc.

Putting things at their right volume is also called Gain Staging. EQ means Equalize.

Look that shit up, it's the most important things ever. Gain staging, EQing, and Compression. Top three things of music production besides the actual composition.