Amethyst Star (Dubstep) Thread

[Amethyst Star 73]

Hello everypony, as some of you may know, I make music in my spare time. I usually do it when I have nothing else to do. I have 2 up which are merely samples. Take a look and feedback is appreciated.

https://soundcloud.com/britney-star

[Bitcrush 8]

Ha, sounds pretty good. Your early WIP sounds kinda like boss music in the beginning. Somewhat Kirby-esque, actually. Decent build up for the drop, as well.

 

(If I may ask, what do you use to make your music?)

[Milk Wave 454]

Listened to the WIP one, was both shocked a bit but didnt move me too much. In dubstep, you at least would need a noticeable beat which in that song never really caught on, at all.

When people say dubstep is just sounds, it really is just sounds put together and played right. This doesnt have the 'put together and played right' part in yet, but hey, I cant blame you. I mean you only make this in your spare time anyways :3

Edited November 7, 2013 by Sirius Crescent

[Amethyst Star 73]

Listened to the WIP one, was both shocked a bit but didnt move me too much. In dubstep, you at least would need a noticeable beat which in that song never really caught on, at all.

When people say dubstep is just sounds, it really is just sounds put together and played right. This doesnt have the 'put together and played right' part in yet, but hey, I cant blame you. I mean you only make this in your spare time anyways :3

Remember its an early wip. I just layed the base of what I want. I will changed it massively in the future. But thanks anyway for the feedback...

I have been working the untitled song a bit more.Here is my progress as of now.Please leave feedback and take a listen.I will probably finish it in a few weeks so I will keep this thread up to date.https://soundcloud.com/britney-star/untitled-later-wip

[Amethyst Star 73]

https://soundcloud.com/britney-star/grime-time-forthcoming-wip

This is another WIP that will be released right after Untitled. So, please tell me how it is and feedback is appreciated! Thanks!

[RubyVesper 100]

Hmm... Amethyst, I may have incidentally stumbled upon you on the Dreamviews forums... 

 

 

Anyways, here is some very important knowledge:

 

 

Not everything that sounds electronic is Dubstep, there are many electronic genres and the entire range is called "EDM". Here are some of the most prominent genres:

 

-Dubstep: 140 BPM, beats at 2 beats per measure (2X as slow as BPM). Second drum hit is nearly always a snare. Rhythym and pattern is very important. While the genre provides large amounts of freedom, you do need to put a pattern in your track, everything needs to sound logical and needs to make sense. It's not about cool sounds, it's about arranging the sounds in a beautiful way. In the next spoiler will be some examples of good Dubstep:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiNzRpjNMko

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30ScfAfEBJg

 

(two embedded themselves and I can't do anything about it, sorry.)

 

 

Drumstep: 174 BPM Dubstep. This genre came into existence with the mixing of Drum and Bass and Dubstep. The higher tempo allows for melodies that cling more to the beats, making the song flow more. The downside is that there is less freedom in between the beats because it needs to be clingy to sound good. Here are some good examples of Drumstep:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYMj1vxsehY&t=44 (I linked to the intro, since the part before is unbearable)

 

 

House: 128 BPM electronic music. Usually very melodic, not so intense and mostly aimed at party crowds. Most of the time House uses only kicks and no snares. Here are a couple:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zexVS8nUMFc

 

 

Electro House: A very popular side-genre of House. Also called Electro. A lot more intense than house, less melodic, more aggressive and generally more "dubstep-like". Uses a "kick, snare" pattern most of the time, unlike House. Some good examples:

 

 

 

Drum and Bass: 174 BPM electronic music. This genre separated itself from the rest of the EDM scene and is potentially the most popular of all of them. The music emphasises a lot on the drums, often using exotic patterns in them. The melodies tend to cling a lot to the drums. There is both liquid and solid DnB. Liquid is smooth and calm while solid is a lot more intense and dirty. A couple good examples of Drum and Bass:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajrre6BHdh8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGryXdWP3oI

 

 

Glitch Hop: 100-110 BPM glitchy electronic music. Uses glitchy sounds and is often very funky compared to the other genres. Line between this genre and Moombahcore is a bit blurred. Examples:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGvdvT_XWWI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kg8LDvLyXs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1qO2pxzHNE

 

 

Moombahcore: 100-110 BPM urban electronic music. A lot like Glitch Hop, but often a bit more of a headbanger. Lines between this genre and Glitch Hop are a bit blurred. Examples:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EErJpK_k-D8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJVmu6yttiw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzgKzT5PRdM

 

 

In order to produce good music, you need to have listened extensively to the kind of stuff you want to produce. Get inspired by what you hear and make stuff like it with your own twist to it. You will also need a Digital Audio Workstation, a DAW. Among the most popular are:

 

Logic Pro X

Reason 6.0

Ableton Live

FL Studio (underrated)

 

These DAW's give you an extremely wide variety of options. It doesn't matter too much which one you pick. Logic and Live and both run most VST synths, which you need for making your sounds. FL and Reason have ReWire, which allows you to run the others inside of them in order to use elements of them. More complicated, but could pay off.

 

Some of the most prominent upsides of them are:

Logic: Ultrabeat drum sampler, Drummer, the easy UI, easy voice sample manipulation, logical workspace, second cheapest of the lot.

Reason: Good built in synths, ReWire.

Live: Live mixing possibilities, decent built in synths.

FL: Simple and low latency, ReWire, cheapest of the lot.

 

As for VST Synths, the most used worldwide is MASSIVE by Native Instruments, an easy to learn, hard to master and heavy to run synth. The LFO's, Envelopes and Performer allow for easy and dynamic sound morphing, making it extremely popular for EDM.

 

Once you have this, all you need is experience. Keep producing and feel free to tell yourself if something sounds like crap. Self-criticism is key in producing. I personally cannot produce yet because MASSIVE is overloading my sound card and I most likely won't have a new computer in 10 months time. When I do get a new computer, I will be producing like mad.