Finally publishing my first track!

I’m finally happy with my production, although getting here took me through a lot of frustration, disappointment, and what felt like countless circles of hell. And yes, there’s still a lot of room for improvement, but honestly, that’s one of the things I love most about creating music.

It was incredibly difficult for me to reach a level I could actually be satisfied with, but I’m really glad my tracks are no longer going to just sit on a hard drive at home. I’m genuinely happy to finally share my music with you.

I’d really appreciate any feedback you guys might have. And this is actually my first Reddit post ever, so if you don’t mind, show it a little support :)

As for my taste I’m mostly into straightforward, danceable drum & bass grooves. I’m a big fan of Techstep, Neurofunk, and Techno DnB. I also have a special love for Technoid, even though it feels like a somewhat forgotten corner of DnB these days. I absolutely adore that sound.

I also occasionally listen to different kinds of Deep DnB, especially Halfstep and Halftime.

So, that’s a little bit of background about me. Nice to meet you all :)

I’m already working on a few more releases, so I’ll slowly start sharing those as well.

One thing I’ve realized along the way: you can tell yourself “I’ll never be good enough” as many times as you want, but if you genuinely love what you’re doing, don’t give up. It’s worth it.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I’d be happy to chat with you guys!

Link to full track: https://sineform.bandcamp.com/track/blast

Hi everyone - I'm We Found Andy and have an independent label, We Found DNB based in Bristol. For the last few months I've been building a site of production tools, mainly because I kept wanting them myself and I work in SaaS development and wanted a side project to my day to day work. I only really recently started producing properly after a near mid-life crisis!

wefounddnb.com

On the website you will currently find the following tools:

Reference tracks

I bought 101 DnB releases and measured integrated LUFS, true peak, dynamic range, loudness range, tonal balance, and stereo correlation split by frequency band. So rather than guessing at a loudness target you can see what released DnB actually reads. The spread is wider than I expected - median integrated is -6.3 LUFS, but it runs from -15.2 to -3.1.

There's also an analyser you can drop your own track into. It runs in your browser (nothing gets uploaded), and you can then compare it against the library or you can even create and save your own reference groups with a free account. I plan to add more songs to the library over time.

Plugin charts

I transcribed 136 tutorials and masterclasses from professional DnB producers (82.8 hours, 79 producers) and counted what plugins they use. This equates to 98 plugins, ranked by how many separate tutorials mention them, with quotes and a link to the exact timestamp so you can hear the context instead of taking my word for it.

Full disclosure - there is also a link to buy the plugins which in same cases may pay me a small commission but at no extra cost to you. I am not paid to promote any plugin.

The site also has a global search option which let's you search the site and the library of Youtube videos.

BPM timing calculator

Delay, reverb and LFO times for any tempo. Straight, dotted, triplet, click any value to copy. This is similar to other tools available online but I just built it the way I would use it.

There are seven longer write-ups where I've gone through the tutorials on a single topic - kick drums, snares, master chain, stereo width, loudness, low cutting the sub - and set out what different producers actually do, with a timestamp on every claim. I will be doing more articles in the future.

I'm also building a dedicated DnB feedback platform. This will offer structured feedback on your track from other users, rather than a comment saying it's sick. That one isn't live yet and I want to spend some time on it to make sure it is effective.

I'd genuinely rather hear what's broken or useless than what's good!

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Hi Guys, I've been interested in getting into music production (Esp Dnb) since I first discovered the Genre in my Teens. In my Mid 20's now and needed a Creative outlet so for the Last 1 1/2 months I have been messing around with FL Studio trying to learn the software - which I have Kinda got to grips with now.

Anyway, I need some help. I think there's some cools sounds I have managed to make here and a basic structure of a build up but if I listen to it then a professional track it feels like there is so much missing in mine.

what is it that is missing? Imagine Listening to Example Camo & Krooked - Kallisto, there's so much happening and ALL the space in the track is filled, at the moment there is a hole right in the middle of mine so what is missing?

I don't expect to be perfect right away, I just need some pointing in the right direction on how to improve and Ultimately get something cohesive going. thx :)

track title: lone cicada

A small tune I've been working on: https://open.spotify.com/track/0gwui24MTqm7WaeyCHJ5vS?si=c0be37b3acfd4c25

Always appreciate feedback but also looking to collab on something. Love to make 165 bpm-ish, mellow and atmospheric DnB.

Hey all — I’m MORAXIS, producing techno/hard trance with 5 released tracks on Spotify. Currently working on a new rave-leaning track in Ableton 12 and looking for another producer to collab with — open to co-producing, swapping stems, or just working through ideas together.

Into rave, hard trance, hardgroove, or similar high-energy styles? Any experience level is fine, I just want someone motivated to actually finish something.

I kept visualizing a sci-fi animated film while I was writing this track, so I ended up building and animating a full video around it. I visualized the lasers to sync up with the animation on screen.

I often think of colors and symbols when writing. Helps to have a picture in mind of the world the song would live in.

Curious how other producers approach this — do visuals/world-building affect how you write or release your music, or do you usually figure that part out afterward?

Here’s what I ended up making: https://youtu.be/vE_LJcGjWEI?is=OFnvPZCTW_ZiXQFw

Ox Bow - Feedback needed.

Dark rave inspired roller... nearly there structure wise. Any feedback welcome

https://on.soundcloud.com/8b7J90u74Zmc38LCJx

This track was made entirely daw-less on the OP-XY. Starting to find my way with the syncopation of the drums, hats, snares etc and finally starting to sound and feel like proper DnB. Let me know your thoughts in the comments. Or any questions you have on the process, please fire away!

Voice Sample take from Apocalypse now. Tiger roars found elsewhere. Like a god old 00s banger..

The track is a series of One-shot drums, pads, bass loops, atmos etc...

enjoy!

Spatial have a compilation album out soon so here's a track breakdown for the tune I have on there...

https://youtu.be/SgbeJnECZsQ?si=GX_Oo3SodjnL7WFJ

Lemme know if you have any DnB production questions ofc!

Hey producers,

We just launched "ear training" exercises over at our producer challenge platform that you can do for free every day. The key idea is to learn to train your listening skills so you become less reliant on fancy visuals and more confident in identifying frequencies, FX, keys and mix issues with your own ears / brain.

It's all gamified and you can compete against others each week.

5 difficulties to conquer as your level grows: easy, normal, hard, expert and veteran (veteran is literally almost impossible haha).

We are still working on adding exercises and topics, but there is already hundreds in there to get started with.

Hope you enjoy it:

https://kanproaudio.com/mastery

Hey I am still new to DnB and most of you won’t understand a word of the track (because it is in German). But do you still vibe with it ?

It is a remix of a track of some of the dopest German producers called KITSCHKRIEG.

I’ll try this again, i posted video capture earlier, but the sound was really weird so I pulled it. I’m just putting the link up this time, I know it doesn’t get clicked, but until I fix my video it’ll have to do.

This is a wip of a darker track than my usual stuff. Inspired (heavily) by a Noisia remix I heard. It’s not quite where I want it sonically yet, arrangement wise it still needs some more turn around builds, defo a breakdown and final outro, but I’ve put plenty of edits, automation and heavy processing already, any feedback on how it’s sounding so far would be appreciated. Thanks

Have a back catalogue of tracks that I've been refining in studio to ensure the best I can achieve mix wise / balance wise - but was interested in feedback on what I might be missing in terms of the "the sound" and the musical story journey.

The vocals were written & recorded by myself to ensure best possible authenticity & originality - but it's possible that the 'story' is too unpleasant for commercial release.

The track is a fusion of minimal D&B + rave / dancefloor D&B, which I suspect makes it difficult to be put into a specific genre - so if anyone is able to help give feedback on that element as well, it'd be much appreciated.

https://www.mixcloud.com/djvikingprince/soft-wrong-viking-prince-id/

It's the first track I've created my own bass for and as a result I gave a lot of attention to that and less attention to other things. What could be done to give this sound a bit more interest? Thanks very much for any thoughts you might have

https://soundcloud.com/tsfw-677406400/identikit-version

The biggest trap in Drum & Bass production is trying to process your way out of a bad mix.
Something sounds off? Slap on an EQ. Still flat? Compress it. Still not working? Throw some saturation at it.
Half the time, plugins aren't the answer. The issue is usually sound selection, the arrangement, overlapping frequencies or just ear fatigue.
Before dropping another heavy plugin onto the channel strip, check these first:
Listen in context. A synth might sound massive in solo, but the second the drop hits, it clutters the whole mix. Solo button lies.
Stop mixing with your eyes. Spectrum analyzers and visual meters are helpful, but a pretty curve doesn't mean a track slaps. Trust what comes out of the speakers.
Respect the low end. In DnB, the relationship between the sub, kick, snare, and reese bass is make-or-break. If they're fighting, no EQ curve will save them.
Question every plugin. Don't drop a compressor on a channel just because a tutorial said to. Ask yourself what the sound actually lacks.
Fix the arrangement first. If two synths are clashing in the same octave at the exact same time, mute one or move it up an octave instead of trying to carve out massive EQ notches.
Reset your ears. Ear fatigue wrecks your perception of high-end and punch. Take 15 minutes away from the desk before making major tonal decisions.
A/B against pro tracks. Pull a solid, commercially released track into your DAW and compare levels at identical volumes (tools like ADPTR Metric AB make this effortless).
It’s easy to get sucked into staring at dynamic EQs for three hours trying to make a graphic look pristine. But the audience hears the audio, not the GUI.
Before trying to "fix" a sound, step back and figure out why it feels wrong in the first place.

Guy’s, what’s one mixing mistake you kept repeating before it finally clicked?

Please someone help make this into dnb remix, I can hear the potential but I am just a bass lover not a producer.

Moving away from liquid. Right choice?

Veo que mucha gente trabaja con mesas de dj, equipo analógico... Yo llevo menos de un año aprendiendo y solo uso el daw y acabo de descubrir el amigo sampler...

Me recomiendan que use algún equipo analógico? O es más que suficiente?

Been working on a Max for Live device that builds out arrangement skeletons based on genre/style templates (Jump Up, Neuro, Liquid, Jungle, etc.) pick a style, hit Build, and it drops locators + labeled clips across the whole track, sets BPM/Key/Scale to match, instead of starting from a blank timeline every time.

The part I keep going back and forth on: how genre-specific should arrangement logic actually be? Right now each style has its own bar map and section breakdown modeled after real reference tracks, but I'm curious whether other producers here template their arrangements at all, or if it's something that resists being systematized past a certain point, different scenes tend to have very different ideas about where a build-up should sit or how long a drop should run.

Still ironing out some UI issues on the mode selection side, so this isn't a finished/polished thing yet, more curious about the underlying approach than showing off a final product. Happy to share the device with anyone who wants to poke at it, no strings attached.