brand new to music production...help pls

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DJ Redfive

Member
Joined
May 15, 2011
ok so hi to all and this is my first post.

I used to do jungle/drumnbass pirate radio /raves, had one record out in 1998.
been off and had kids/got married.
just over 10 years later i now wish to reignite myself and return to music production, specifically DNB, also like the dubstep sound which i only found out about in the past few weeks which shows you how long i have been out the game!
the record released in 1998 was all made with a sound engineer co-ordinating the sounds we wanted, so i had no hands on experience with the software, etc.

i have a pc and have been dabbling with DAW demos like reason/acid(sony).

i am keen to go apple on this as ive heard that most of the drum n bass producers are using this format? apple are leaders in simple easy to use kit so i trust they are going to be good for me - i simply dont have the time to go reading through manuals for hours on end.
other than that i understand cubase is still up there(i know it was cubase used in the studio in 1998)
luckily i am soon to be given a powermac g5. i see from forums the g5 can handle logic 9despite apples recommendations against it.

what with the cost difference between logic 9 and cubase 6 i am looking to go the logic route.

i have a very small box room/man space that i will be starting out on. i also have thin walls and young child so constantly blasting it aint gonna be an option. if i find i enjoy what im doing then i may look at hiring a garage/lockup to continue things and to pump up the sound.
i have m audio av40's.

am i going the right way with logic?

anyone got any pointers for me in my first few stages of getting set up? websites i should look at? things i should be reading up on?

thanks for listening,

Ben
 
Welcome to the forum mate, And welcome back to production too.

I used to be well into the jungle / drum and bass scene back in the mid 90's, spending alot of my time going to Helter Skelter at The Sanctuary in Milton Keynes! Drum and bass has changed quite dramatically since back then, but the fundamentals are pretty much the same. There are sooooo many different sub genres to D&B now it's a little crazy......Neurofunk, Minimal , Liquid, Jump up, Drumstep, technoid etc etc etc etc etc etc.............

Also, production techniques have advanced quite alot too, if you just throw an amen break in the track, and leave it as it is, with no processing, no changes etc, alot of peeps will rip you apart as they are the new breed that have high expectations in the music now. Everything has to sound really clear and clean, unlike the gritty vinyl'esque sounds of the 90's!

As far as the DAW you use, I dont think it really matters, it's what you do with it that counts. I'd suggest before jumping in on one DAW, try as many demo's as you possibly can, the main ones now days are indeed Logic, and Ableton Live. That being said, you can do pretty much anything, in any DAW, it's just a case of what works best for you.

I'd also suggest taking your time getting back into it, theres no need to worry about renting garage space etc yet, just play around with your music on your monitors, then, when its late, just plug some headphones in. Sure, headphones arent great for producing, but who cares when you're having fun re-igniting your passion for production?

Best advice I can give to you is this........Stick around here on this forum, there's alot of great talent here, almost all of which are good guys and gals, willing to give advice and tips on almost anything you need. I learnt so much over the last few years hanging around here, and my productions wouldnt be anywhere near where they are now if it wasnt for this place.
 
Logic and Cubase are basically the same. Neither are "easy to use" too, they both require a wealth of production knowledge, so I wouldn't look too much into making it easy for yourself, and instead start learning!

People will post tutorial links soon I guess. Following them is a good starting point, but they're far from the "be all end all." Just use them to gain technique!

Other than that just grab some basic kit (a drum vst, a decent synthesizer - Massive, z3ta+ and Sylenth are nice and versatile, and sound great) - a few sample packs, and see what you can string together.
 
^this, and i think u might find these threads useful http://dnbforum.com/showthread.php?108682-Tips-n-Tricks-for-the-most-used-DAWs-inside , http://dnbforum.com/showthread.php?120686-Mixdown-Tips , also u will find loads of tutorials(for all of the DAWs) on youtube. And yes, u r going the right way with Logic. Its not the easiest to use so u should start learning right away :lol:. If u decide to try something bit more begginer friendly FL Studio is a good choice. Reading the whole production section of the forum is recommended too.

Cheers !
 
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StrifeII said:
Other than that just grab some basic kit (a drum vst, a decent synthesizer - Massive, z3ta+ and Sylenth are nice and versatile, and sound great) - a few sample packs, and see what you can string together.
Click to expand...

cheers strife. pointers at basic set up is definitely what i was looking for. i will however have to google these things now - a drum WHAT? lol! #freshoutthebox
 
sorry a cheeky add-on if i could....

would you recommend musictech, futuremusic, computermusic or soundonsound mag?

this for someone likely to be producing dnb/dubstep with logic in their quite small manspace

i was going to go for musictech as i see you get a free mic if you sucscribe and i expect there will be big things coming out of the upcoming issue 100.

thoughts pls......?
 
I use FL Studio, it's relatively easy to learn compared to other DAW's but has just as much power as the most popular ones. Plus it has lifetime free updates so if you purchase it now (which is v10) in the next year or so when v 11 comes out you get a free upgrade to it =) and 5 -6 years down the road when v 15 or 16 is released you get that free too...
 
DJ Redfive said:
sorry a cheeky add-on if i could....

would you recommend musictech, futuremusic, computermusic or soundonsound mag?

this for someone likely to be producing dnb/dubstep with logic in their quite small manspace

i was going to go for musictech as i see you get a free mic if you sucscribe and i expect there will be big things coming out of the upcoming issue 100.

thoughts pls......?
Click to expand...

Computer Music imo, lotsa useful tutorials(sometimes from the big names of electronic music) in there.
 
Yeah I'd go with CM mag too. Been around for an eternity, and they know what they're talking about. Lots of good reviews for hardware /software, shed loads of good tutorials and every month you get a cd crammed with good stuff from video masterclass tuts, to samples and free plugins!
 
Computer Music is fucking awful aside from the tutorials by decent names. Every article in there will get you into bad habits and sounding the same as everybody else, and give you the most extremely basic knowledge of studio production you could ever ask for. SoS is where it's at. Written by industry professionals, nothing more. Sweet.
 
StrifeII said:
Computer Music is fucking awful aside from the tutorials by decent names. Every article in there will get you into bad habits and sounding the same as everybody else, and give you the most extremely basic knowledge of studio production you could ever ask for. SoS is where it's at. Written by industry professionals, nothing more. Sweet.
Click to expand...

But maybe thats what alot of people require, not everyone can jump straight into production and know everything, you gotta build up your knowledge, learn to walk before you can run huh?

Also on that point, the amount of threads I see around this place that are requests on how to create certain artists sounds is unbelievable, to the point where I honestly believe that there are more people out there that would rather recreate someone elses sounds than create their own, so clearly CM are doing something right...as a business anyway.
 
Mr Fletch said:
Also on that point, the amount of threads I see around this place that are requests on how to create certain artists sounds is unbelievable.
Click to expand...

Off topic but I'm pretty sure that the desire to replicate the sound of another artist is what gets most people into music, from the beginning of time, so I have no problem with that (initially)

On topic, you can try some different demos but pretty much you'll just have to jump in a bit to work out what it's all about.
vst (virtual studio technology) is just what used to be done with hardware but now gets done by your pc, can be fx, synths or samplers etc.

You mentioned choosing one mag because of a mic, not sure how much use you'll have for a mic necessarily.

Get a decent pair of headphones , they'll keep you going after the kid's gone to bed, even if it's not ideal, been there.

There's info on samples around but I'd recommend musicradar.com, good quality stuff, not all dnb, but still usable and free
 
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got a pair of senn hd400's - about 15 years old approx, doubt if they will cut it for producing, id imagine closed cup is gonna be essential?
 
Definately go with Computer Music. I subscribed to them about half a year ago. Some of the issues can be a bit cack but most of the stuff in there is good. It beats Future Music by a long shot. FM generally deals with studio tech stuff gear towards recording bands and such. If you're into that then go for it but I'd stick with CM for now.

In terms of a studio set up, get some VSTs(virtual instruments basically) get some drum sample packs and get going.

The things I'd try and learn straight away are:

EQ - What it is and what it's used for and when and where to apply it.
Compressors - ^^

They are your very basic mixdown tools (channel levels aside) You learn these and things will get a lot easier to understand.

Play around with the modulators to:

Flanger
Chorus
Distortion
Filters
Phaser
Delay

These are what help you shape the sounds you're trying to create.

Delay, Phaser, Flanger and Chorus are very easy to use as they are basically different variations on the same thing. (FYI delay is the technical term for what people would normally call an ech effect) Use them to see what each does.

Logic is a good start. It might not be too beginner friendly but as you say you are getting a G5 (I'd give a leg for one of them right now...) just get Logic and learn from there. You won't need to learn any other music making software. It can do basically anything you want it to if you know how to do it!

I've garbled now but you get the idea...

Like everyone else says... if you get stuck, get on here. There will always be someone who can help you out. If not... talk to Kama
 
Hey, if you want to learn basics, get one of these for your chosen topic;

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/i.html?_nkw=...h+focus&_osacat=0&_trksid=p3286.c0.m270.l1313

easy to follow and plenty of decent advice. and yes, people here definitely want to sound like others do. good music is influenced from all over the place, not by sounding the same as them, but by drawing ideas from them...it's all evolutionary - be a first rate version of yourself, not a second rate version of somebody else. think dave skywalker said that, so not trying to claim any credit here. :p
 
Nah, the reliable source is the owner of the record label that signed me! UKDNB. He told me Freek (one of the guys round here) can vouch for them too!
 
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