Dubstep drum programming

jackieboi · Post by **jackieboi** » Tue May 27, 2008 5:46 pm

Right, i've decided to go for it and make my first dubstep tune, ive got a good amount of cool samples that ive been fucking about with. My problem seems to lie in my drum programming skills.

I'm just using the redrum at the moment, with my own samples. Problem is i have no rhythm, and every time i try and make a drum loop in a dubstep style it just sounds shit, chances are i only need to shift a couple of my snares about and i'll have it sorted, I just dont know which way to shift them about. To all the "just experiment and youll get it right" heads, i have experimented, and experimenting sounds shit, i'm just wanting a little basic guidance on programming dubstep drums. Once i know the basics then i know what i can experiment with.

EZ

Jak The lad · Post by **Jak The lad** » Tue May 27, 2008 5:53 pm

jackieboi wrote: Problem is i have no rhythm

Right, best thing to do is start with hi hats, leave them running in the background. Place them in sets 2's 3's etc.. leaving small gaps, then take out and put in as u see fit.

Then take a snare and add a couple of hits in, using the other snare samples to fill in gaps or to create patterns.
Then kick on the first bar maybe double that up if needed.

Tbh, it really is down to just messing around and putting stuff in places and listening back, then moving it around, listening back etc...

Kick on 1st, Snare on 3rd too

legend4ry · Post by **legend4ry** » Tue May 27, 2008 7:23 pm

Don't be scared to be rocking 4-5 different hats in your tunes man..Even if they're really subtle to give it some rhythm to work with WHILE making the track, personally I do drums last

Layering is key.. I always start with the same 909 kick, snare and 4 sets of 909 hats...Then once I got a good groove I work from that getting the right sounds, I mean nothing to me, in my tunes sounds 100% right..

Personally I do quite moving kicks, like kicks you can listen to on there own but thats me personally... I know you're using Reason but heres what a typical drum from one of my tunes on FL looks like...

Play about with ideas, depends what you like, if you like that 'half step' stuff or 4x4 drums or really offbeat stuff where the snares in some crazy-offkey place whatever, just do what feels right for that tune, hope it helps anyways..

drifterman_ · Post by **drifterman_** » Tue May 27, 2008 7:35 pm

Just sit at ur pc

and do stuff that makes ur head nod

there are no rules

experiment and come with new rhythms

as long as ur head moves and its roughly in time it dosent matter

shibboleth · Post by **shibboleth** » Tue May 27, 2008 7:59 pm

best thing IMO is to tap out some stuff on a drum kit or just with ur hands to find a good beat with some groove and THEN program - theres a reason drummers dont use keyboards.

legend4ry · Post by **legend4ry** » Tue May 27, 2008 8:01 pm

SHIBBOLETH wrote:best thing IMO is to tap out some stuff on a drum kit or just with ur hands to find a good beat with some groove and THEN program - theres a reason drummers dont use keyboards.

I usually beat-box my beats before I do them.. Although I am alright at it so it works for me, not saying I am amazing at beat boxing though

bdotodotx · Post by **bdotodotx** » Wed May 28, 2008 8:16 am

What version of Reason do you have?

Perhaps program the beat suggested by as a start? Then copy that to the sequencer.

If you have Reason 3 or earlier:

Finda dubstep beat you like. Bring a measure or two into Recycle and make a rex file. Bring that into the Dr. Rex and apply the "groove" to the sequence. This should give you a better feel due to the quantization pulled from the rex file.

If you have Reason 4 then use the new groove tool for he same purpose.

Also, what really worked for me was to get a bunch of dubstep songs you like, find beats within the songs that you want to progam, loop those sections (also at a slow tempo to hear it better) and program the Redrum to make that sound.

Jak The lad · Post by **Jak The lad** » Wed May 28, 2008 9:22 am

I'm using Reason 4, so i'll try and upload a .rns file with a pattern in redrum. Although u wont have the samples, just put ur own samples in and voila!

Failing that, ill screen shot it at lunchtime

thesis · Post by **thesis** » Wed May 28, 2008 10:13 am

Listen to other producers work. As its playing, imagine the "1, 2, 3, 4" on the step sequencer, running in time to what you're listening to. Try to visualize where the producer put their hits. Not to say you should copy peoples drum patterns, but learn from them.

Jak The lad · Post by **Jak The lad** » Wed May 28, 2008 2:05 pm

Here's something I knocked up at lunch. Bare in mind the hats are a bit clashy, but you'll get the idea.

Sound like this
http://www.zshare.net/audio/1271754990a57a79/

psilovibe · Post by **psilovibe** » Wed May 28, 2008 2:54 pm

thesis wrote:Listen to other producers work. As its playing, imagine the "1, 2, 3, 4" on the step sequencer, running in time to what you're listening to.

Im wank at drum programming, its taking me months to get a clue, but now when i listen to tunes i try to do. Its helped me to get a few beats down even if they are dead simple.

jackieboi · Post by **jackieboi** » Wed May 28, 2008 7:35 pm

cheers to everyone for their advice. I've been working on a tune n its sounding pretty sweet, more breakbeat than dubstep but thats just the way things go sometimes. I'll definitely be returning here when i make my next tune, you stnuc are just too good for squeezing information out of!

EZ

grube master flex · Post by **grube master flex** » Thu May 29, 2008 6:22 am

Anybody using an electronic drum kit these days? i get really irritable using a keyboard for drumlines they just make less sense in the aftermath.

edwin katzer · Post by **edwin katzer** » Thu May 29, 2008 2:31 pm

Grube Master Flex wrote:Anybody using an electronic drum kit these days? i get really irritable using a keyboard for drumlines they just make less sense in the aftermath.

No I am not, currently using a korg electribe es1 to sequence beats into either ableton or reason, but I am thinking about getting an akai mpd-16 or the newer one - but as I have to buy some new monitors before that is not going to happen very soon...

Jak The lad · Post by **Jak The lad** » Thu May 29, 2008 2:40 pm

Edwin Katzer wrote:
Grube Master Flex wrote:Anybody using an electronic drum kit these days? i get really irritable using a keyboard for drumlines they just make less sense in the aftermath.
No I am not, currently using a korg electribe es1 to sequence beats into either ableton or reason, but I am thinking about getting an akai mpd-16 or the newer one - but as I have to buy some new monitors before that is not going to happen very soon...

Iv got the Akai24 and its def worth the money.

elbe · Post by **elbe** » Thu May 29, 2008 2:43 pm

JTL wrote:
Edwin Katzer wrote:
Grube Master Flex wrote:Anybody using an electronic drum kit these days? i get really irritable using a keyboard for drumlines they just make less sense in the aftermath.
No I am not, currently using a korg electribe es1 to sequence beats into either ableton or reason, but I am thinking about getting an akai mpd-16 or the newer one - but as I have to buy some new monitors before that is not going to happen very soon...
Iv got the Akai24 and its def worth the money.

just got the MPK-49, and Im in love.

edwin katzer · Post by **edwin katzer** » Thu May 29, 2008 2:51 pm

eLBe wrote: just got the MPK-49, and Im in love.

the specs definitely look but it's madly expensive isn´t it?

elbe · Post by **elbe** » Thu May 29, 2008 3:04 pm

yeah, £249, but I've been dribbling over it for a while, then it was there in the shop widow I could just see it begging me to take it home and I had the mulla

Jak The lad · Post by **Jak The lad** » Thu May 29, 2008 4:07 pm

eLBe wrote:yeah, £249, but I've been dribbling over it for a while, then it was there in the shop widow I could just see it begging me to take it home and I had the mulla

That the keyboard and midi pads? I wanted that one but room is a problem for me. Im gonna downscale my keyboard caus at the moment, iv got a full size and have to get it out everytime I want to use. I want a small keyboard that I can just readily use. I tend to find myself using the pads for, drums, bass, fx, chords lol

oregon1 · Post by **oregon1** » Thu May 29, 2008 4:49 pm

hear it in your head, then figure out where each sound goes through trial and error and following the blinking light . you should be able to hear what sounds wrong.

When making your beat use multiple redrums.

one with a little reverb
one with delay
one with a lot of reverb

however you like it.

play around using multiple different redrums all set at 64 steps with changes in them here and there. start simple then keep adding. also copy and paste your pattern into different slots? a1, a2, a3, etc...

a1 being a simple pattern, a2 same but different, a3 ... then you can write them in throught the song so the beat changes often.

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