*N.B. I am no big boy producer, nor am I claiming to be. This is a guide not a definitive set of rules to follow; I cannot guarantee the information is correct; this is just the way I do things. I also use an older version of FL so I may be oblivious to some of the new features available. I don’t think dubstep is something that can be taught I think the best way to learn is to tinker with everything until you know it inside and out. With that being said hopefully at least someone can pick up something useful!!!
Getting Started
I personally think the roots to a good track, start with planning the tone and direction you want the song to follow, a good producer should be able to mould and redevelop some points of the track when necessary. It is important to set the direction of the track so the instruments you use flow well together.
Drum Patterns
Drums are arguably the most important part of a track; they lay down the framework for the rest of the song. I usually start a track by making my drum patterns first.
In dubstep the kick drum is on the first beat and the snare is usually on the third beat. Dubstep drum patterns are in half time, to achieve this I will explain the difference on the step sequencer. Imagine each dash (-) is a step in the step sequencer, in total there are sixteen steps…
|- - - -| - - - -| - - - -| - - - -|
Normal drum patterns have beats on the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th, 13th and 15th steps, if you applied the usual dubstep drum formula you would have a kick on the 1st step and the snare on the 5th step, which would continue with another kick on the 9th step and another snare on the 13th step. This creates two drum patterns on one bar.
Half timed drums have beats on the 1st, 5th, 9th and 13th steps. To create the half time effect, you would place the kick drum on the 1st step and the snare drum on the 9th step, thus creating one drum pattern on one bar.
It is important to remember to use several different samples to create one sound, for example I usually use three different snare samples and two different kick drums that I equalize (I’ll get to this later) used at the same time to create one sound.
Aside from the kick on the first and the snare on the third you are pretty much free to do what you like. I usually use a combination of hi hats and/or shakers to fill in my patterns with the odd cymbal thrown in for good measure.
The hi hats in dubstep are often syncopated. This means they are shuffled and beats are sometimes skipped. for a better definition look up syncopation on Wikipedia.
Drum mix down
The mix down is what separates the men from the boys (or the women from the girls
).I am going to explain some of the useful effects that come standard with fruity loops that will make your drum patterns sound cleaner and polished. I usually choose my effects, and then select a preset that sounds closest to the sound I want then tweak the knobs until I get the sound I want
Equalizers
Sounds occur on three different levels highs, mids and lows. Equalizers allow you to remove certain sounds and boost others.
Band EQ
The band equalizer is very good at removing and boosting sounds. If you select the preset “cut high” you will get a low sound as the high parts of the sound have been removed, opposed to “cut low” which will give you a high sound. The band eq is probably my most commonly used effect as it applies to mostly all of the instruments you will use. Here are some tips on what instruments you can apply it to…
Kick Drums
I usually have two kick drum sounds I usually “cut high” eq one of them and “cut middle” eq the other. I find this gives me a nice low but defined kick drum.
Snare Drums
I try to have snare drums spanning the entire range of the sound range. This involves having a high, mid and low snare drum appropriately equalized this is commonly referred to as layering.
Hi Hats and Cymbals
These usually sound good when either cut low or cut middle equalized.
Parametric EQ
The parametric equalizer is good for controlling the frequency level of sounds. It has some nice presets that can be tweaked such as “bass drum punch”, “hi hat sizzle” and “snare drum enhance” no prizes for guessing what instruments you would use these on though
Filters
Fl has two filters but in my opinion the “free filter” is far better. Filters are a good way of tweaking the frequency of sounds; this is an excellent way to make your samples sound a lot different (in a good way)
Delay and Reverb
Delay and reverb are somewhat similar they both produce an effect that is almost like echo. Delay and reverb sound great on snares, hi hats and cymbals. However reverb and delay should be used sparingly as too much can sound unpleasant.
Compressor
Compression evens out your tracks making the loud parts quieter and the quiet parts louder when the monitor is excessively red (peaking) you should think about using compression (usually on loud sounds such as bass drums). Or panning other instruments to create space within the track.
Other Effects and VST’s
There are several other effects available on fruity loops you may want to explore using, for your drum mix downs depending on the sound you want. I have chosen to ignore them from this section mainly for time reasons. VST’s are also available to download (check the production bible for some good links) these are standalone effects and synthesizers you can use to great effects.
Bass lines
Bass is hard to summarize because of the versatility of dubstep. However the bass line will probably be the most distinctive part of your song. Fl comes equipped with the TS404 and the 3x Osc. Personally I think the TS404 is a piece of crap I would always use the 3x Osc over it. 3x Osc means 3 oscillations (I think???) this means you can choose 3 different shapes for the sound wave and combine them into one sound. If you click the question mark you can load a sample as one oscillation. Playing around with the coarse adjusts the pitch of each oscillation. Also try playing around with the stereo phase and stereo detune for some cool effects.
To achieve a wobbly bass line go to instruments properties (INS) on the 3x Osc, you want to use cut to make the sound wobble. If you tweak the amount and speed you will get different results also changing the shape of the LFO will also give you different results. You should also layer your bass lines by having a low end and mid range bass line.
Bass Line Mix Down
You will use some of the same effects as the drum mix down. Equalizers and filters are essential. You can bass boost your bass lines but you shouldn’t bass boost too much to avoid your bass line overpowering the rest of the song. Phasers and flangers can also produce some sick sounds. You should also compress your bass line so it is not excessively peaking.
Other Instruments
Unless you are going for an extreme minimalist vibe you will probably be using other instruments. Filters and eq’s are pretty essential. You should tinker around with the other effects to see what does what.
Conclusion
So I’ve gone over the basics, hopefully you learnt something. When your producing music, knowledge is power so always try to keep learning however I said I don’t think dubstep is something that cant be taught so experimentation is the key. If you follow this guide to the word you will probably make the most generic sounding dubstep song ever, so don’t be afraid to try new things, some of the things I think that sound the best on my songs often happen completely by accident. You never know, you can be completely surprised by the results.
Chuuur!!!!
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