Is it reccomended to mix before you produce?

[acrap]

Hey guys i wanna be a dj. haha i know you guys have probably heard this a million times and yes im extremely new to the whole production and dj scene. Im trying to jump straight into producing. I know absolutely nothing about the terms and to be honest glance at the HUGE GUIDE TO PRODUCTION thread is extemely overwhelming to me due to the fact that i dont know most of the terms discussed. I have fl10 which i heard is the most newb user friendly DAWS but i feel like i dont know anywhere near enough information to even think about producing. Should i start by mixing tracks? most of the local DJ's here in miami where i'm from do alot of mixing and no producing. did i jump the gun? if so are there tutorials on how to mix?

[jrisreal]

I can't DJ for crap haha, I'm trying to learn how to do that now. I'd say it doesn't matter, many great producers on this forum were DJs before they produced and many great producers on this forum can't DJ to save their life.

[acrap]

i always thought dj'ing or mixing tracks was like the pre requisite for making your own tracks and DJ'ing THOSE. I feel like i have no direction i have fruityloops, the massive vst and a couple drum samples hah and i know the basic structure of a dubstep song but is it okay to suck this much? i dont know what to read first and i feel like i need to know and understand everything before attempting to produce. is it okay to just put a couple of drums, a melody and a bassline and learn the technical shit later? or how should i go about it

[Shum]

Fun first, technicals later I say. That advice applies to both DJ'ing and producing.

[benjam]

Read that huge guide in the stickies, google anything you dont understand, read this forum everyday, buy books on music theory and production, watch every youtube tutorial you can and most importantly get in your DAW and make some sounds. Everyone starts off like you mate just be patient keep learning and youll pick things up in no time.

[Mammoth]

Read the manual, learn your daw, tinker.

[acrap]

just making sure it was okay to feel helpless and overwhelmed at first. at times i feel like there are some technical courses i havent attended to understand some of this stuff.

[wizeguy]

i started dj'in first then started producing and sucked at both for a long time...well still do actually haha, just gotta stick at it whatever you decide!

[SLASH]

I say dj first.. once you start producing you won't want to dj because you'll want to spend your studio time on your trax not on learning on how to dj other peoples. If you already have a strong dj foundation then you can always jump back on it when your tracks are ready to display to the massess

[wizeguy]

^yea if you get good at production to the point of seeing your tracks getting released and not being able mix it would be a bit shit

[mks]

I doesn't really matter what you do first. I know a lot of people in EDM start dj'ing first and then decide they want to produce but not everybody. I was a musician first, then started producing and then started DJ'ing because it was a part of the culture. Either way, you are going to have to practice. Producing and DJ'ing are two entirely different disciplines although there is some overlap. A lot of DJ's don't produce and a lot of producers don't DJ.

[acrap]

i thought mixing was like the baby step into production for some reason. i guess cause in mixes people add little tweeks to the songs while transitioning from one to another. i felt like it was mini production as opposed to producing where you entirely make a song. i'm looking at all these fl tutorials on how to make dubstep songs. they sounds so ridiculous i wanna throw down hard like calvertron, telmini, biometrix, and all the big guys but i dont put into account that it took them years to sound like that haha

[wizeguy]

nah i think the only thing mixing helps with is to get an understanding of the structure of a beat plus a feel for what the standards are for the music you would be making

[acrap]

thanks alot for the responses guys. i figured i was in way over my head trying to jump into production but now i know i can start here and be completely lost as long as i stick to it. cheers

[pandy]

it takes a while, but it's fun to learn (sometimes) and it's incredibly rewarding (sometimes). Stick with it

[sketchyderek]

My thinking is DJ first.

Many years ago I wanted to start making music, so I decided to get into DJing first so I could understand the music I was making better. Glad I did that, my tastes kind of progressed from back then aha

[mitchAUS]

i produced for a long time before i started djing
Don't regret it at all.
From producing i got a fair idea of the ins and outs of most tracks so it didnt take long to get to grips with djing.
I get what people are saying about doing first but it definitely isn't a pre requisite and djing is a lot more expensive to get started in....unless u want to sit in front of virtual dj with a mouse for hours controlling 1 parameter at a time which is freeee

[[asterisk]]

i produced for a long time before i started djing
Don't regret it at all.
From producing i got a fair idea of the ins and outs of most tracks so it didnt take long to get to grips with djing.
I get what people are saying about doing first but it definitely isn't a pre requisite and djing is a lot more expensive to get started in....unless u want to sit in front of virtual dj with a mouse for hours controlling 1 parameter at a time which is freeee

^this. Exactly what I did. I had a music background for years before (guitar, drums, some piano) so I wasn't too interested in mixing other peoples music together. I know there are amazing dj's out there that do tons more than this, but it used to piss me off when at an event and hearing people talk about how amazing this or that dj was when really all they were doing was beat matching and track selection (which does take so me skill but nothing compared to writing and executing a solid track IMHO). So it erked me that they thought the dj was actually making the music they heard through the PA. All that being said djing is really quite fun, and the basic beat matched mix is not difficult to conquer if you have a decent ear, rhythm, and understanding of a songs structure, which will all be strengthened through production. So I guess I'm saying it doesn't really matter depending on the person.

Note: at least until you release tracks and/or get to play them "live" you won't get as much attention from the ladies who don't the difference between the two. But I'm sure you're not doing it for the ladies anyways