I am new here!
I have very little experience with Dubstep creation.
The most familiarity I’ve had with production was watching my little brother perfect sounds in Massive.
This thread is for clarification with the minimal requirements for Dubstep creation.
I have some gear in my sight:
~A Laptop with 8GB RAM size & DDR4 RAM type.
~Frutiy Loops Producer Edition
~Native Insturments Komplete Select 11
Extras:
~Korg Kaossilator Pro Plus
~Novation UltraNova Synthesizer
My aim is to have the software and plug-ins legit with the license key.
I prefer my creations with safety and reliability, I’ve just heard illegal downloads crash too much…
So DSF Community, I ask your help!
I would love to hear what works for you and your favorite methods.
I confess, i am a total n00b…
However, I am a devout listener.
My passion for this genre of music is religious to say the least…
You could start just with “Laptop with 8GB RAM size & DDR4 RAM type/Frutiy Loops Producer Edition” - go large on the laptop though, esp. the RAM. FLProducer is nice but you could use Reaper and learn more (imo) and have more routing flexibility to boot.
Also: a good soundcard and decent monitoring setup. Again - don’t skimp. Focusrite, Lexicon, Apogee are all p good brands generally speaking (but be sure to check reviews as well, including customer support). UAD is what I’d probably go with if I had the cash rn. Costs more than some of those other brands’ entry level models but you’re much less likely to replace it soon unless you start tracking live musicians and need more I/O or something.
Monitors - everyone around here tends to rate KRKs. I have an old pair of Alesis MkII’s that I love. There’s a newer version, not sure what it’s called. Headphones can work but are usually not ideal, even with pricy models. Again though everyone’s different here. I’ve had to mix down on cans for the last 7 years and am ready for real monitors again.
Komplete is awesome and super flexible; you might wanna cut your teeth on simpler VST plugs first though, because unless you’re laser-focused it’s really easy to get lost in its options.
Kaosillator P+ - looks like a fun toy, but what are you going to use it for? It lends itself more towards live/performed composition. I would almost recommend an iPad instead though - many more options for serious music making available. Just my opinion tho.
Hardware synths in general are great but for many not essential if they’re using a DAW. I would either get a hardware synth first and fuck around, get good on it THEN buy a DAW, or wait a bit til you understand the basics a bit (ADSR, etc.) and then buy one. You should get a MIDI controller keyboard though. They’re relatively cheap.
Buy your shit legit. Too many nasty creatures floating around in the wild now.
tl;dr
Start with a laptop and DAW software and go from there. If you’re serious and in a hurry, maybe check out Dubspot’s curriculum (note: costs $) - especially this one:
Serious note though, I agree with _ronzlo
I wouldn’t buy the Kaosilator or the Novation synth when starting out. To be honest I would say skip NI Komplete too, at least for now. You’re going to have so much stuff to work with inside FL that it would easily be overwhelming. Not even counting the thousands of quality free plugins and samples you can download. Put all that money toward a better computer, speakers and a decent audio interface instead.
Actually, NI used to offer a USB audio interface (Audio Kontrol) that came with a full license plugin like Absynth or Massive etc, so might want to check if they still do. It was a really nice deal.
After learning how to use FL in and out and more about synthesis would be a better time to drop cash on something bigger. But like many people you might just find that you don’t even need to.
Get a good clean signal chain goin first, get to know it, learn basics of sequencing, sampling, synthesis, MIDI routing, mixing in any order you want. Some would say you could skip either synthesis or sampling and save MIDI til the very end. Your mileage may vary.
The next level is general sound design and arranging/composition.
Once you’ve got all this stuff in the pocket, then maybe you start buying fancy toys.
One other note - Ableton is popular for a reason. I don’t use it (yet) but it’s pretty ubiquitous now. It integrates well with iOS stuff via Ableton Link. Good budget approach imo.
Re: music theory - I don’t know about theory, but musicianship never hurts. Playing an instrument is good, playing a keyboard well will absolutely set you apart if used wisely. Taking classes is also NEVER BAD. Local colleges often have recording arts courses with varying degrees of access to good gear like pro mixing consoles, outboard DSP, etc. The earlier you do it, the earlier you learn solid fundamentals and get to network and collab with like-minded fellow students.
It all depends on how far you want to take it. Lots of us are still at level 2 (like me… after 20 years ) because we have day jobs and never get or make the opportunity to make it pay - that’s not the point though. It’s love of music. We do this as much as we can when we get the time and if you’re lucky and talented enough then maybe things pan out into something more interesting than a regular day job, but if not you still get to make music - it’s own reward.
I haven’t really got musical training tbh. It’s just practice and learning off the web combines with some really shit self taught guitar skills. I think just get stuck in and grind away til u get good.
It’s taken me years to get where I am and I’m still not that good so be prepared for a long journey…
Some people are annoying and get good in like a year tho so good luck!
This thread has taught me the first priority is the comp, so I will go for that before any external instrument.
What I sense so far:
“Once you get a decent laptop and a DAW you can start to create songs that have a solid structure. After that the next step is to experient with plug-ins and different methods.”
