I just can't seem to get that sound!

[Kandicaine]

Hey guys.

So I'm now into my 5th month producing. I've made some pretty cool sounds and what not.

Lately I've just been trying to stick with a more simplistic approach. That "Brostep" shit is really hard to make. I can make some tight old school sounding dubstep but I just can not wrap my head around the shit thats being produced now.

Like I have the sounds but it seems like a modern dubstep bassline is so bloody complex that I can't even begin to start to craft one.

Is there any way I can think of it differently? I dunno. Maybe I'm just not at that advanced level lol.

I listen to a shit ton of dubstep but I seem to be unable to create anything similar to what I hear. (When it comes into the really heavy shit).

Any help/advice?

https://soundcloud.com/kandicaine-vybz/umbrella

Here's a sample of what I've been working on lately. It can kind of give you an idea of what I can / can't do. To me, this bit here sounds like some really cool old school shit but its not modern... or what I want.

[Kandicaine]

I almost feel like I've been at a standstill for the past month all I've really learned or improved on is side chaining, making better drum loops and some harmonics.

[wub]

It's not something you'll master in 5 months, you just need to practice more. Personally, if you've only been at it 5 months I wouldn't recommend switching DAWs, it won't suddenly make you amazing. Just learn more about the one you got and keep practicing.

It'll come.

[Kandicaine]

I really hope its just a matter of continually practicing.

I just wish I could find a tutorial video of someone crafting a bassline from start to finish so I can really see everything thats happening in it.

The best I can think of would be to try to replicate someone elses song to see how its put together. Like playing a guitar lol.

It's like there was some kind of fucking quantum leap in dubstep from 2010 to present. Lmao... and I'm playing catch up.

[wub]

YouTube there are some videos on music production, have a search on there for something like "Dubstep Bassline" and watch as many as you want, then practice what you've seen and try to replicate it.

[BrainSick]

I've been producing like 6 months and I understand what you mean. You listen to shit like KDrew, Adventure Club, Helicopter SHowdown etc., and the shit is all over the place? Well, one thing I suggest is to find a mentor. Someone who uses the same DAW and can show you the ins and outs. Secondly, research which plug-in synths are being used and try demos. Find one you like and if you have the means to do so, buy it. When you do, spend as much time watching videos on YouTube and just learning how it's used. I'm still learning about NI Massive right now. It's a pretty badass interface and it's simple but REALLY powerful. Lastly, understand that one instrument won't give you kick ass results. Most of the time what youre hearing is an instrumebnt with multiple effects and a bunch of production work done to it like EQing, Compressing, Effects, etc. And there's usually background stuff going on, too.

Basically, if you haven't done so yet, you need to check out the Dubstep Production giude "dubstep bible" on here and just go through different threads and listen to what these guys have to offer. They may not all share your views on production or may not all have the same opinion, but you can usually see which ones offer valuable info and know their shit and which ones don't. Just try their suggestions and if they don't fit what you want, move on or ask questions. Also, research, research, research... And practice, practice, practice... 5 months is a speck in time. There's lots to learn and this stuff isn't simple! Pracice on your synth just like you would any other instrument and it'll come together. (As I am currently learning) Good luck!!!

[Crimsonghost]

Switching DAWs?

Anyways, with only 5 months down, just be happy you can make something that even sounds remotely good to you. Its going to take a long time.

The bro sound is a difficult thing to do right. Its basically a ton of different bass patches al played in a sequence. Thats not that hard. Just get some nasty shit and play em all in a row. The hard part is trying to make them all flow together without sounding shit. And once you get more advanced with it you can start adding automation to all those individual bass tracks to make them even more interesting. After that, resample em. Repeat that untill your Skrillex

Just keep focusing on the basics for now though. Im not gonna listen to your track because theres a thread for that, but just work on getting a good sound with what your doing now. Eventually youll be to the point where you can make what you really want to. It just takes time.

[Crimsonghost]

These are a couple of users that focus more on the bro sound. The both have a bunch of videos that will really help someone whos just starting out.

https://www.youtube.com/user/BassGorillaTV

https://www.youtube.com/user/MrRevatic

http://www.youtube.com/user/MetiriDubstep

https://www.youtube.com/TriphosphateLP

[wub]

As an aside, if you're really interested in the brostep sound, somewhere like http://forum.boyinaband.com/ would be a better place to ask that sort of question. They're more sympathetic to the sound and generally won't insult you quite as much for asking about something that isn't especially 'dubstep-y' on a Dubstep forum.

You listen to shit like KDrew, Adventure Club, Helicopter SHowdown etc.

[Kandicaine]

Thanks for all the posts. I'll check out the links for sure.

One other thing.

Right now I have absolutely no hardware i.e midi controllers. Would having a pad or keyboard help out much for making my synths flow better? Id have one anyways but right now I'm a pretty broke ass DJ and my mixer+CDJ just got shit on by nature (flood).

[wub]

You'll be able to use your computer keyboard as a 'music' keyboard in FL Studio, a MIDI controller is by no means essential.

[BrainSick]

You'll be able to use your computer keyboard as a 'music' keyboard in FL Studio, a MIDI controller is by no means essential.

Not essential, I am using keyboard right now. But it's SO nice having an actual keyboard rather than having to deal with not knowing which keys are a "note". Having those black and whites in front of you WILL make a difference. But you can still make sound with a keyboard. It's just not ideal at all.

[Crimsonghost]

*Edited post for more links.

[SloppySeconds]

i learnt to use my computer keyboard as a keyboard from using fruity for years... plus ur not gonna become the next bro in 6 months of making tunes, get real.

[Crimsonghost]

You'll be able to use your computer keyboard as a 'music' keyboard in FL Studio, a MIDI controller is by no means essential.

Not essential, I am using keyboard right now. But it's SO nice having an actual keyboard rather than having to deal with not knowing which keys are a "note". Having those black and whites in front of you WILL make a difference. But you can still make sound with a keyboard. It's just not ideal at all.

Honestly, if you can get a keyboard, do so. But if not, its not going to kill you. I still haven't gotten one and its been a couple years.

[BrainSick]

You'll be able to use your computer keyboard as a 'music' keyboard in FL Studio, a MIDI controller is by no means essential.

Not essential, I am using keyboard right now. But it's SO nice having an actual keyboard rather than having to deal with not knowing which keys are a "note". Having those black and whites in front of you WILL make a difference. But you can still make sound with a keyboard. It's just not ideal at all.

Honestly, if you can get a keyboard, do so. But if not, its not going to kill you. I still haven't gotten one and its been a couple years.

NICE! But Like I said, it's easier to sit down and play a melody on a keyboard and usually much easier to make it a little more complex than a stupid ol' keyboard. But if you're banging one key at a time and not getting too crazy with your melodies then you're fine without one. Like I said, mine crashed so I'm using keyboard, too. So far, it's been fairly managable.

[Kandicaine]

is there a good VST to use my keyboard as a pad and how do I record when I use it? My computer doesnt support ASIO. Also, how do I take away the delay from when I push the key to when the sound comes out?

I have the asio for all driver thing that came with FL studio but when I use it for some reason it turns on my mic as well and I can't turn the mic off so all the sound around me goes in through it and ends up on my recordings as well.

Even when I have my mic disabled in sound settings.

[Triphosphate]

is there a good VST to use my keyboard as a pad and how do I record when I use it? My computer doesnt support ASIO. Also, how do I take away the delay from when I push the key to when the sound comes out?

I have the asio for all driver thing that came with FL studio but when I use it for some reason it turns on my mic as well and I can't turn the mic off so all the sound around me goes in through it and ends up on my recordings as well.

Even when I have my mic disabled in sound settings.

By pad do you mean like drum pads? FPC can do this quite well. The midi lag you are experiencing has to do with the buffer size in ASIO and the fact that you're using USB instead of a proper midi interface. Try plugging into a USB 2.0 slot and see if this helps. As far as your mic being on, try going to the input selector in your mixer and changing it to none. Thats # 6 in this image:

[SloppySeconds]

read the fucking manual lol ermagherd i dunno wot latency is hurrrrrrrrrrr jesus christ i figured latency out the first time i used fruity..seems pretty dense that your computer doesn't support asio?

[titchbit]

Honestly, if you can get a keyboard, do so. But if not, its not going to kill you. I still haven't gotten one and its been a couple years.

Yeah. There are serious misconceptions about MIDI keyboards. I've had multiple people tell me "you can't really use Ableton without a MIDI keyboard". I didn't have a MIDI keyboard for most of my production career and didn't even get one until a few months ago. And to be honest I don't really use it as much as I thought I would. I tend to just draw notes in rather than record them.