Production advice for a keen newbie

[JDS]

Hi there, im fairly new to production been doing it for a month or so. However, im keen so i feel as though i've learnt a great deal in a short space of time. My problem is that i feel overwhelmed and don't really have any direction in what im doing, id appreciate it if someone could point my in the right direction in terms of what to concentrate on learning.

[Críoch]

Well.. I'd say for starters man, read everything in "The Hole". I know I'm biased, but it's a really fantastic treasure trove.

You'll get so many ideas & probably find out about things in a lot more detail than we chance upon here. Feel free to comment on any of those treads if you have questions about something mate.

What are you using? What do you like? Have you made any tracks yet?

I'm John btw..

[JDS]

before i signed up i already did a bit of lurking in there, went through some the videos yesterday! seemed like a good resource which is why i signed up. I'm on ableton, i'm actually into all sorts, but in terms or production i guess i'd be interested in heading in the darker, more off kilter techno. Somewhere between Porc & shed, or something like that ha. I've not finished any tracks but i've made a fair amount of snipets.

and its josh!

[Críoch]

Hey Josh,

Nice to meet ya man!

I'd say if you are feeling overwhelmed - or spoiled for choice.. Concentrate on a couple of things first. First off, dont make the mistake of getting too many synths or plugin's to begin with. You wont be able to resist of course & will probably have to make the same mistake, but it's good if you can get some good stuff & stick with those & figure out how to use them.

I'm certianly not an expert of finishing tracks. I seem to enjoy trying to figure stuff out more that trying to stretch it out - but I would say that you have to do a little bit of experimenting. I'd focus on getting your kick sounding good.. then maybe basses.. etc.. etc..

Maybe get a couple of tracks that you like, and try and figure out whats happening with them? Start off with some foundations. Did you see those "subsekt sound design school" threads?

[rktic]

I'd say, set yourself a limit in the amount of gear you're using, just start throwing your stuff together and try to learn the gear you're dealing with inside out. And whenever you feel like "what the hell am i doing here" try to nail the topic you're stuck in, read something about it, see wether the information gets you further and keep going like that.

The best thing you could actually do is try to find somebody in your area who's producing music already and see wether you can hang out there while he's doing his stuff. Social learning is the fastest way of getting somewhere.

[Críoch]

100% agree with the meet-ups.

[JDS]

cheers for the advice guys, im about to get into the kick thread.

[ross-alexander]

Take things a bit at a time, read stuff absorb it. it's a really decent resource here learn how to use a sampler, learn ho to use a subtractive synth, delay, reverb. Get stuff like this first and how to mix before touching compression and dynamics. Be your own person!!

I also rate some of the dubspot / sonic academy stuff, audio tuts for finding practical examples and theoretical stuff for someone starting out

[JDS]

thanks for the advice, been reading up on fm synthesis covering a fair bit of ground!

[Wiu]

I'd also say read 'Computer Music' magazine. Always helpful stuff and free software/samples on the cover DVD each month.

[JDS]

http://soundcloud.com/em-kem/u-t/s-0gwNw here's a mark of my progress few things i've learnt over the last few days.

no mixdown, appreciate any criticism/pointers.

[endfindead]

First, limitations are your friend! Stick to what's built into Ableton, and work through the plugins, read the manual for that and then experiment, and while you're dicking around, record what you're doing! (set a channel input to resample and record a clip, it'll record everything you can hear, too handy!) You'll then get lots of interesting snippets & sections to play with the next time, and build up your own sample library. Just name everything as you go!
I would also recommend not using presets as far as you can. Now, reverb presets are useful, and as a starting point for your own sounds, maybe, but it's much better IMO to learn how to do it yourself, from scratch, so you really understand the instrument and what it's capable of.

[chrisso]

Good advice (above).

[Dirk L]

Less is more = Great advice.

[msl]

Your gonna need a decent pair of monitors at some point. You can't mix what you can't hear...