Dubstep Skrillex-esque growls and bass completely overpower my drums and other instruments.

Nikkins

New Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2011
I play many instruments, and I'm college trained in theory and such. (music major) But this electronic music is a love of mine and well....it's no guitar or drumkit and I'm having a hell of a time getting it to sound professional. The drums can't seem to keep up with the songs and the songs can't seem to keep up with the bass. Help please?

I'm running Massive and Zebra2 on FL9, thinking about upgrading to FL10 or maybe even trying out Ableton Live.
 
Re: Skrillex-esque growls and bass completely overpower my drums and other instrument

Before thinking about getting new software you need to learn the basics of Electronic production. There's no point buying new software as they all work in a similar way.

If you bass is overpowering everything else in the track, there's a few things you can do to sort this out. 1st is probably the simplest solution, just turn the volume of the bass down. 2nd, you can try and sort the EQ out, by taking out certain frequencies of the bass and letting the other elements of your track breath. 3rd, compression and sidechaining. These are more advanced techniques that you will learn over time, but generally you link your bass to the kick, and when the kick hits, the bass ducks out for a second letting the kick come through more prominently.

If any of this confuses you just type these words into youtube and there'll be plenty of tutorials on how to do this stuff.

Finally, once you have experimented, and learnt more, I suggest moving onto Ableton....it's a fantastic piece of kit, I too recently made the switch from Fl Studio and really glad I did. Although, that being said, everyone prefers different software, I dont think one is singularly better than the other!
 
Re: Skrillex-esque growls and bass completely overpower my drums and other instrument

Thanks SO much guys. If you're interested in hearing my stuff (If I grow to like it more and think it should even be shared) You two can be the first to hear it :)
 
Re: Skrillex-esque growls and bass completely overpower my drums and other instrument

Cool, like I say I used to use FL so I know my way around that if you need any help. And both me and Miszt here use Ableton too, so if you do ever switch to that then we can help you there too. But they are all fairly similar. Definately read up on ( and watch tuorials) on EQ and mixdown techniques.

It wont happen overnight, but if you are into production, you will get better with time, and all this stuff will get easier....
 
Re: Skrillex-esque growls and bass completely overpower my drums and other instrument

It wont happen overnight, but if you are into production, you will get better with time, and all this stuff will get easier....

I've been producing on and off for about a year, and every step of the way was, in my opinion, a challenge. Production is for those who are willing to read, learn, and practice for hours on end simply for the love of making music. 8)
However, if you do decide to stick it out, know it can be very rewarding, both professionally and personally.

There is a huge thread on DSF about the importance of gain structure in the mixdown as well techniques to help you learn how to mix properly. Find it here.
It wont happen overnight, but if you are into production, you will get better with time, and all this stuff will get easier....

I've been producing on and off for about a year, and every step of the way was, in my opinion, a challenge. Production is for those who are willing to read, learn, and practice for hours on end simply for the love of making music. 8)
However, if you do decide to stick it out, know it can be very rewarding, both professionally and personally.

There is a huge thread on DSF about the importance of gain structure in the mixdown as well techniques to help you learn how to mix properly. Find it here. http://dubstepforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=74832
 
Re: Skrillex-esque growls and bass completely overpower my drums and other instrument

Thanks SO much guys. If you're interested in hearing my stuff (If I grow to like it more and think it should even be shared) You two can be the first to hear it :)

Yer Id be keen to listen to your tracks once they are done, you could post them in the new talent forum http://dnbforum.com/forumdisplay.php?21-New-Talent-and-Track-Reviews although not alot of people lurk there :O haha

My tips are the same as these guys, compression and eq, and learning how to mix, theres a reason people studio audio engineering :P
 
Re: Skrillex-esque growls and bass completely overpower my drums and other instrument

Before thinking about getting new software you need to learn the basics of Electronic production. There's no point buying new software as they all work in a similar way.

If you bass is overpowering everything else in the track, there's a few things you can do to sort this out. 1st is probably the simplest solution, just turn the volume of the bass down. 2nd, you can try and sort the EQ out, by taking out certain frequencies of the bass and letting the other elements of your track breath. 3rd, compression and sidechaining. These are more advanced techniques that you will learn over time, but generally you link your bass to the kick, and when the kick hits, the bass ducks out for a second letting the kick come through more prominently.

If any of this confuses you just type these words into youtube and there'll be plenty of tutorials on how to do this stuff.

Finally, once you have experimented, and learnt more, I suggest moving onto Ableton....it's a fantastic piece of kit, I too recently made the switch from Fl Studio and really glad I did. Although, that being said, everyone prefers different software, I dont think one is singularly better than the other!

This^

Also, might wanna check out anything you can on mixdown techniques. Again, as Fletch says, it won't happen over night. I've been producing for nearly 3 years and I still have SO much to learn. It get's more fun as you progress though. The feeling of acheivment and acomplishment are pretty much second to none when you finally crack some mixdown flaw that's been bugging you for ages! Learn about EQ, Mixdown, Buses, Audio Files and then when you have that down, start to get to grips with compression. That should get you on your way!
 
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