Starting Production

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DJHarri

New Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2011
Hi guys,

After debating the idea for a while I have decided I really want to get into making my own tunes. Problem is I have no idea where to start?! Was thinking about taking a course in electronic music production but I really don't have the time or money to do so. I imagine I will mainly be making Drum and Bass although I am a massive breakbeat fan so maybe a bit of that too.

So, any suggestions on a program I should get? My PC will run any program so theres no worries about software being too much for it to handle. Also, is getting a midi keyboard advisable? From the short time I've had messing around on production software not having a keyboard SUCKED. Thanks for any help given!

Harry

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Also any sites, videos, posts, articles etc on advice for newbies would be gretly appriciated.
 
You're brave. I love dnb but don't think I could produce, not creative enough (i think) and too lazy to learn
 
Personally i recommend you start with reason mate. It's May seem complicated but it's great for teaching the basics of production and sequencing

Then when you got the hang of it I would reccomend moving on to cubase or logic. It all depends on what you prefer.

Taking a course is a good idea because it will really speed up the learning process, also just read loads about it online, in books and watch video tutorials.

But the best way to learn is practice practice practice.

Hope this helped
 
which ever daw you pick, read the entire manual and play with changing existing tutorials/experiment with the project environment as you go along. (if i recall abelton comes with very easy to follow tutorials)

and fwiw, my midi keyboard is good for collecting dust and stacking mail on. all about your own personal work flow. find what is enjoyable and it will be much easier.
 
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as everyone says when someone makes this exact thread again.. download and have a play with the trial versions of all the DAWs out there, then choose which one YOU like the best.

and i dont use a midi keyboard either.. sold mine..
 
read tutorials on the net about everything. get a few good quality sample packs. get ONE or maybe two (one is better...) really good synths eg. massive etc and absolutely destroy the manual and experiment for hours and begin to master the ins and outs of it. decide what sounds you like weather it be drums or synths or whatever and do your best to emulate them. at first, you will intake huge amounts of information and it can be daunting but eventually it pans out and you begin to focus more on the actual production.
 
It helps to get a good idea about general terminology before you start producing. Look up about what compressors, Eq's, Limiters, Synthesisers, Samplers etc etc all do.

When I first started producing (Logic), it took me ages to get anything done as I was so baffled by all the terminology, and even once I "understood" it, it still took me a while to realise how to use it effectively.

For example, it was only yesterday that I found out what a compressor was actually for. Other than that, just fuck around. Also, there was like a year where I "debated" producing, and finally i realised that I was the only one holding me back - the quicker you get on a program and spend a few hours just trying to figure out what the fuck it all means, the better.
 
With whatever software you start the key is, time. You need a hell of a lot time to get into production. Read/ Watch tons uf tutorials in the world wide web and youll be on the safe side. A producing course will help for sure, but I wouldnt do it because of the money. hehe lol x)

Midi Keyboards are cool and cheap.
If think you should have one, get one.
 
Nice one for all our comments guys, really helpful :)

Downloaded a copy of reason 4 yesterday and am now in the process of reading through the entire manual (408 pages!!!!!). Looks like it is going to be a steep learning curve but I am excited on getting starting and making my first tune. Gonna get watching some video tutorials on youtube aswell.

Think I might pick up a cheap MIDI keyboard just to have a mess around on
 
I'd advise getting Acid pro7 and a load of samples as many as you can find, and go that way, no manual needed, by far the easiest most creative way to start making music, I got a copy of the first acid programme in 1999, cool edit pro and rebirth, the easiest and most creative programmes, reason is good but needs some learning and is unable to use external samples, but you can with reason 5, sample based music production is the easiest and gets fastest results, otherwise you get bogged down in technology, and that ain't fun,

so reason or acid pro
 
TetraEleven said:
I'm not saying that I'm a professional producer, but if you want some advice, it's RTFM: Read The Fracking Manual.

When I first started producing, I just went straight into it, without any guidance or knowledge on what I was doing or how to do it. I regret that so much now, because I wasted so much time trying to figuring out how to do something, or just never figuring it out at all, when all I had to do was open the manual and BAM there it was.

I assume you will be producing DNB, so I recommend getting some drum loop packs, that will help you tremendously while just learning basic song structure and production methods.

One last thing: COMMITMENT!! Sometimes you may feel like you are going nowhere, or that you are wasting time, or that you won't have time to finish something. Stick with it. Another thing that I myself am guilty of is getting halfway through a project, then getting bored with it, then starting a new one, then repeating that process. Don't do this, it is an awful habit.

Good luck, and have fun!
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Pretty much what I would say.

You definatley have to make time to read the manual, I am guilty of not doing this, and thus it has taken me about 2 years to figure out something that would have taken me about 5 minutes to read up in the manual (I only fully read the manual all the way through about 2 months ago, considering I have been on & off producing for about 3 years) It took me about 2 days just to get a beat from redrum onto the sequencer page, and I didnt even realise you could flip the rack and rewire for about 2 years lol. But the excitement of just getting straight into can be somewhat overwhelming.

Reason is a good choice. Most pro drum and bass producers will use cubase or logic, and dont use reason, and a lot of the small time ones will usually say its not a good program to use. Dont listen to them. Reason is a great tool for music production, some of the patches within that program are quality. Thor and Malstrom for instance. I would recommend looking this up on youtube so you can use the whole program to its strengths. The only downside about Reason is that you cant use seperate VST's such as massive, but hey, fuck that. Once you get used to Reason and its capabilities you will not need this.

It may seem hard to learn at first, as with every newcomer using programs like cubase, logic and reason can be quite daunting, but if you keep at it then you will find yourself to be sidechaining and eq'in without even thinking.

Most importantly, if your tracks are sounding soggy, dont throw in the towel !

---------- Post added at 21:16 ---------- Previous post was at 21:13 ----------

And as for the keyboard, I know many low level producers with a few releases to their names who have never even touched one. It is not essential, every program has a keyboard on the sequencer. I guess its a case of whether you want to feel like a real musician at work, or whether you'd rather spend the money on a sweet pair of monitors...
 
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