Just A Little Help Needed

[ljk32]

Ok, I've been producing for about 1.5 years nows, not too familiar with producing Dubstep, but do love a lot of it. So now I have wanted to start producing it because I am really starting to enjoy it so much. I may be a noob when it comes to my knowledge on Dubstep, but not when it comes to producing. I also know there are probably a lot of topics with the same questions and stuff, but I am not hoping for too much of an extended answer, just a little help. With previous knowledge on production forums, I do understand that when someone asks questions like this, it may get annoying, so sorry if I make anybody here frustrated. Basically, I don't want you guys to help me with my sound design or anything like that, I just need some advice on what to do in the first place. I will give an example of what I mean, Seven Lion's Remix of Above And Beyond is amazing imo. The riff is really awesome, and there are a hell of a lot of sounds in the drop at once. So with that as the example, how exactly do you approach drops like these(once again, I'm not a douche, I understand it takes time and effort). I mean like, since there are a range of sounds, where do you start, and is there the smallest bit of advice you can give for structuring and creating this riffs? If it helps, I'm more of a fan of uplifting Dubstep like that^^, with big emotional drops that usually have long extended notes, but also have heaps of sounds within them, once again, like the song I have mentioned. So, I hope I am not asking for too much, just something to help me approach these drops. Also, sorry if I have bothered anybody with a post like this, it isn't exactly a logical idea, but I hope somebody can help anyway.

Thanks in advance

[outbound]

Ouch, first lesson in asking for advice.. no "wall of text"

I'd say if you ware looking to recreate sounds it makes sense to start with the things that matter most in a track (the things that you notice first of all) for the drop naturally it's going to be kick,snare,bass (not necessarily in that order)

For intro's I'd imagine it would be maybe the pad or the parts that sounds the most musical, in which case you are probably going to want to know how it's played (learn the notes/chords on a piano or something)

Experiment with using reverb/delay on random sounds to create atmosphere as a starting point.

[Team Americuh]

When going for "Emotional drops" I usually use some major arps, a airy pad, energetic percussion, and some background noise to make it feel full. I can't hear the specific song your talking about, but i'm imagining Cracks, and other flux pavilion sounding stuff. If you're looking on how to make those big melodic basses, it's all about tuning an osc or two like 4 or 7 semitones up. Give's you a real happy euphoric sound. I hope this helps.

[ljk32]

Thanks a lot guys, I made myself look much worse than I am, I don't need help wth the sound design part of it exactly. I've just never approached riffs like these before, there are so many sounds, and usually your drum and snare would be what you base it off, but I just wasn't sure how to go about making and structuring this riff. I'll post the song I was talking about.
At about 1:48, it's just the coolest atmosphere. I've noticed that arps help a lot, and the panned effects and sounds in the background play a massive role.

[ZankUSA]

First learn basic synthesis, sound design, etc.. find a nice synth you feel comfy with.. such as Massive, Albino, FM8, Subtractor, Malstrom, Thor.. etc..

Experiment a lot throughout dubstep.. there is no rule on making music.. express your feeling through bass!

[ljk32]

First learn basic synthesis, sound design, etc.. find a nice synth you feel comfy with.. such as Massive, Albino, FM8, Subtractor, Malstrom, Thor.. etc..

Experiment a lot throughout dubstep.. there is no rule on making music.. express your feeling through bass!

Yeah I know basic synthesis ahah, I've been producing for 1.5 years now(still not much at all, but enough to know a fair amount of stuff), but I do honestly appreciate the help. Team Americuh probably got closest to what I was referring to, so thanks a lot for that . It was basically how you went about creating a drop like this with a lot of sounds. Not exactly the sound design aspect of it, but just what you would do. I understand that there are no rules, but I was just looking for maybe a small guideline to follow in terms of making these emotional drops like the one I posted.

But anyway, thank you to everybody who has helped so far, and thanks in advance if anybody else is to offer advice .

[Sonika]

I like to make emotional sort of "drops"

I'd say advice is be careful when arranging your percussion, concentrate on pad and airy synth use, and make the sub bass harmonize with the melody.


Also, in a lot of cases, less is more

[ljk32]

I like to make emotional sort of "drops"

I'd say advice is be careful when arranging your percussion, concentrate on pad and airy synth use, and make the sub bass harmonize with the melody.


Also, in a lot of cases, less is more

Thank you very much, this helps me a lot. Umm, I took a listen to the drop really carefully, it seems that they don't overdo it with percussion, only occasionally will I hear some rides or closed hi hats(they don't sound too different) that play for a bit. Umm, with the sub bass, it would be better to create a separate sub bass for every bassline right? Because if you were to make only one sub bass to play with everything, if two basslines were to play together, one sub bass won't create enough power for the two.
Also, how do you guys start to create these to get the theme/idea behind the drop? Like, besides having the drum and snare there, do you first create a bassline and get the basic idea or melody for the drop, then fill it in with other sounds and synths, or do you do it a different way?

Anyway, thanks a lot people, these questions really don't need to be answered if you don't want to at all, because you have helped enough and I don't want to seem like a nuisance.

[filtersnake]

big ups to the OP coz i love that track! been trying to create a similar feel with some of my tracks. need to learn to recreate that really awesome paddy bass synth that people like seven lions, Rameses B etc use that always normally plays first when the drop hits.

Always emphasize the importance of the first bass you hear. Make it sound huge (Layering/Freq split/Distortion etc) . Then maybe glitch it up for the second part of the riff. Could also use a formant type bass in there if you feel like it. then I would end that section with maybe a melody part from the intro to keep the listener familiar and not lost with a sea of random sounds.
Also its always cool to bring in an arp once the drop starts flowing. maybe after 8/16 bars.
Hope that helps a bit?

[ljk32]

big ups to the OP coz i love that track! been trying to create a similar feel with some of my tracks. need to learn to recreate that really awesome paddy bass synth that people like seven lions, Rameses B etc use that always normally plays first when the drop hits.

Always emphasize the importance of the first bass you hear. Make it sound huge (Layering/Freq split/Distortion etc) . Then maybe glitch it up for the second part of the riff. Could also use a formant type bass in there if you feel like it. then I would end that section with maybe a melody part from the intro to keep the listener familiar and not lost with a sea of random sounds.
Also its always cool to bring in an arp once the drop starts flowing. maybe after 8/16 bars.
Hope that helps a bit?

Thank you very much, I really really appreciate this. And yes, his drops are fucking amazing, the arps fucking sound awesome when they just quickly rise or drop(which is essentially what an arp does ahah). The first bass that comes in is what really gets to me, it just flows so well and creates the emotional theme. I think I may make just one main bassline that plays straight away before anything else, and make a basic melody with that, then fill in the gaps with other basslines and sounds. Also, in Dubstep, does the sub bass pitch with the bassline, or does it stay on a root note? I'm not sure, in Hardstyle it always pitches with the kick. What I was gonna ask was, if freq splitting just splitting the bass into low, mids and highs? Sorry, in Hardstyle I didn't hear much of this. And, I'm not good enough to make a track at the moment, I get frustrated at times with my lack of ability to structure a track and get ideas. I know the way in which a track should go, and I know the styles I like, but I can never get this in my own productions(haven't even made one track yet). But this is besides the point, no need to start having a cry.
Thank you very much guys. So much respect for all of you.

[filtersnake]

I like the sub to pitch with the bass so it sounds like one coherent sound. Though I normally have the sub as a separate track and not part of the synth to give it more power.
yeah you are spot on with freq splitting.
I presume as you're experienced you know how to replicate to some degree the sounds that seven lions use? If so would love to know how you start with creating an epic synth like that!

Start with one bassline of say 8/16 bars so it flows nicely, then start picking away at that and replace parts of it with different sounds. Just see what happens. There's no harm in trying to copy how a drop is structured in other songs (i doubt your version would ever come out the same) Experiment and have fun with it!

Don't give up. When I started I was like what the hell is going on in these drops they a flipping crazy! but if you break things down into small 2/4 bar sections it becomes way more manageable then looking at the overall picture straightaway.