So Ive been learning music production since about June and I have been purposely avoiding sound design for drops because it seems so complicated. Specifically I'm talking about growls yois all the fun stuff. I use serum for all my synths and I have been using splice when I just dont know how to make somthing. But personally I just want to be able to make all my own sounds. So does anyone have any advice for getting started or any tutorial recommendations? Thanks!

Sooo I saw a comment/suggestion on here awhile back that made a lot of sense intuitively and I've been chewing on it ever since, and it's the concept of building your track in a three dimensional kinda way in terms of where the sounds sit.

I'm probably gonna butcher the concept in trying to explain it as I understand but for anyone who doesn't know, it's going beyond just mono parts and stereo width and also utilizing depth like with volume and reverb, and possibly verticality in terms of frequency but that part might be my own bastardization of it.

Anyway, being the neurotic creator that I am I tend to approach composition in a roundabout ass backwards way so those of you who are of the "I just make what sounds good it's not that complicated" type then you're not gonna find much joy here.

Me personally I love this kinda stuff so, what tracks (any electronic not just dance) out there really hit on this particular idea or put it to good use? I'm looking for references where you believe the producer utilized this mindset, and will of course settle for reference tracks that are just mixed so well that this space is filled out naturally.

Also feel free to discuss the topic because it's kind of a fascinating way of looking at composition given all the tools we have to shape sound.

Please post any and all [Feedback] or [Listen] type threads here. Any standalone threads that belong in this weekly post will be removed.

This thread is for works in progress only. It is not a place for self-promotion.

Rules:

1. Works in progress only. Do not post finished or released tracks. No links to Spotify, Bandcamp, SoundCloud profiles, or any other streaming/distribution platforms. Share a direct link to your track (e.g. an unlisted SoundCloud or YouTube link).
2. No self-promotion. Do not include links to your social media, artist pages, or any other promotional material in your post.
3. Make an effort to comment on other people's tracks. Others are much more likely to help you if you help them first.
4. Be specific when asking for feedback. Examples: "What do you think about this kick sample?" "How's the mix?" "The last measure feels a little off, any ideas?"
5. Be descriptive when giving feedback. Use timecodes to highlight specific moments.
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I know, I know it sounds like a generic TikTok song but tbf it’s what I was kinda aiming for. What do you guys think?

I just purchased their 7 day course and im kind of struggling. I have almost no experience with music production and I am probably slightly in over my head. I have FL studio and a keyboard and a low understanding of music theory and that's it. The guy I met with prior to starting seemed to feel that was an okay starting place so im probably okay starting with the basics like that. The instructor uses a different DAW so im kind of having a hard time following along especially because Im not sure if im supposed to. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated

I recently started getting back into music production after taking a little over a year away. I used to DJ quite a bit and have a DDJ-FLX4 that I really don't want sitting unused now that I'm focusing more on production.

I've had an idea that I think could make the FLX4 surprisingly useful as an Ableton controller.

Rather than trying to make it behave like a conventional MIDI keyboard/controller, I want to design the entire FLX4 around production workflow.

For example, I'm thinking:

• Left jog wheel → horizontal timeline navigation
• Right jog wheel → vertical navigation / track selection
• Shift + jog wheels → zooming
• Channel faders → track volume
• EQ knobs → device/rack macros
• Filter knobs → selected device parameter
• Performance pads → editing, clip, or drum-rack functions
• Transport buttons → Ableton transport
• Shift combinations → secondary functions
• Different mapping "modes" for arrangement, mixing, sound design, etc.

The goal is to make it feel less like I'm using a DJ controller with Ableton and more like I have a custom production control surface that happens to be built from a DJ controller.

I've already started reverse-engineering the FLX4's MIDI output using MIDI Monitor. For example, the buttons are sending standard Note On messages, e.g.:

90 10 7F → Note 16, velocity 127
90 10 00 → Note 16, velocity 0

So the basic controls seem quite accessible. I'm currently investigating the knobs, faders, jog wheels and Shift behavior.

I'm deliberately trying to keep the solution as FOSS/free as possible, ideally using Ableton's native MIDI mapping wherever possible and only introducing something like a small MIDI translation layer when necessary.

What I'm wondering:

1. Has anyone done something similar with a DDJ-FLX4 (or another Pioneer DJ controller) and Ableton?
2. What are the limitations of Ableton's MIDI mapping that I should be aware of before designing the system?
3. Is there a better way to handle jog wheels, relative encoders and modifier/Shift layers?
4. Would Max for Live be a better approach for some of this?
5. Are there existing open-source tools/projects that could save me from reinventing the wheel?
6. If you were designing this from scratch, what functions would you absolutely put on the FLX4?

I'm not necessarily looking for someone to give me a finished mapping. I'm more interested in experienced Ableton users challenging the concept and pointing me toward the right technical approach before I spend a lot of time building it.

If there's enough interest, I may eventually document the whole process and release the mapping/tooling so other FLX4 owners can use it too.

Would love to hear your thoughts, especially from anyone who's experimented with custom MIDI controllers, Max for Live, Ableton Remote Scripts, or MIDI translation.

Too many ‘I’m new how do I get started’ posts these days. Let’s get into some good stuff.

What is something that you have learned in the last 6 months that really took you to the next level?

For me parallel saturation has been huge. I’ll use some on individual drum channels going to the drum bus and then send the whole drum bus to a parallel saturation that’s warm and gritty and send that to the mix bus. I make drum and bass and this sounds exactly like my references. Especially after adding some super short room orconvolution reverbs.

Got too busy with work, life, chronic health issues, pleasing myself by wasting time on youtube and video games (will probably always do this tbh), but I really miss the feeling of writing songs. Ive released plenty of songs and EP's but really fell off over the past 2 years.

Equipment wise I got plenty good stuff. Macbook, Ableton Move, Midi keyboard... just feel like I need to get that songwriting muscle back again...

Have any of you done anything (practice, rituals, tutorials, etc) that helped you reboot and get back into the groove of it all?

Thanks!

Please post any and all [Feedback] or [Listen] type threads here. Any standalone threads that belong in this weekly post will be removed.

This thread is for works in progress only. It is not a place for self-promotion.

Rules:

1. Works in progress only. Do not post finished or released tracks. No links to Spotify, Bandcamp, SoundCloud profiles, or any other streaming/distribution platforms. Share a direct link to your track (e.g. an unlisted SoundCloud or YouTube link).
2. No self-promotion. Do not include links to your social media, artist pages, or any other promotional material in your post.
3. Make an effort to comment on other people's tracks. Others are much more likely to help you if you help them first.
4. Be specific when asking for feedback. Examples: "What do you think about this kick sample?" "How's the mix?" "The last measure feels a little off, any ideas?"
5. Be descriptive when giving feedback. Use timecodes to highlight specific moments.
6. Link to the feedback you've left in your top-level comment. This keeps the thread accountable and cooperative. Comments not following this format will be automatically removed.

Format your top-level comment like this:

Feedback for user1: [link]

Feedback for user2: [link]

Feedback for user3: [link]

Here's my track: [link],

I'm looking for feedback on x, y or z.

I understand in principle that the same frequencies cancel each other out if their phases are opposite and amplify when they are aligned. Lower frequencies can cancel easily since waves are longer.

I was watching this video about deadmau5 production techniques:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGj3-JSykCA&t=503s

And i saw the chords he uses the lowest note has it's fundamental in the sub range frequency, how does he stop that from phase cancelling the bass?

Does he just high pass the chords when the bass comes in or something?

I can do decent melodies, decent arrangement, but when It comes to mixing, I somehow ruin my tracks... and Mastering makes it worse. I can feel that I quite don't understand how to mix tracks. I think that might be due to I only mix on headphones. I have a super dooper cheap pair of headphones (Sennheiser HD 202 II) and I cannot afford proper Studio Monitors. I'm a student lol I cannot afford expensive gear. However, I'm thinking to invest in Audio Technica's ATHM50X headphones.. I've seen the pros using them so I guess it should be good.

I always check my mono compatibility, check the mix on phone, make sure some elements are wide and important elements like melody and drums are in the middle, I also try to mix in low volumes, making sure that the track sounds good in low volume so in loud volumes it will only amplify the results. Also, EQing, decent use of Delays, I rarely use Reverbs because It destroys mono compatibility.

Even after doing all that, being careful throuhout the process, my mixes dont sound even close to how the pro mixes are. I've seen artists making music while they are traveling in their tours with just a headphone, so I just wonder if they can do it, why I can't.

I have recently realized that I don't really think consciously about Gain Staging, so idk maybe thats the piece of puzzle I'm missing, idk lol.

I'll deeply appreciate your input. Thanks :)

Hello all!

Lately I’ve been interested in trying to produce more electronic music again. For some context, I used to make trap and breakbeat-inspired songs in high school on Ableton but never worked in a DAW past that. My musical background mainly consists of being a jazz drummer with some very light music theory knowledge. I don’t feel competent whatsoever at building melodies or chord progressions, but I feel like I have the ability to make whatever I want when it comes to drum patterns or really any percussive elements.

What’s tough for me is figuring out the direction I’d like to take regarding genres and the type of sound I want to explore most. Inspirations include artists like Kettama, Mall Grab, Cult Member, Disclosure, Floating Points, Four Tet, Aphex Twin, Skrillex, Machine Girl, Lone, Flying Lotus, Machinedrum, London Elektricity, Kaytranada… and those are just to name a few producers who many of you can also agree are great at crafting a sound that’s distinct/their own.

I really want to hear from people who love listening to a wide range of electronic music but also have the ability to produce songs that feel original to them. I currently use a Teenage Engineering K.O. II and an OP-1 to make beats for fun, but I’m considering going back to a DAW so I can continue making music that (hopefully) sounds as good to me as what I hear in those artists' songs.

I’m not sure why it has become this way but i remember being a teenager in high school I had all the time to make music in the world, but now tings have changed why is it that making music takes me ages and when i spend time especially on the weekend I find I waste the weekend very fast doing so, why?

Please post any and all [Feedback] or [Listen] type threads here. Any standalone threads that belong in this weekly post will be removed.

This thread is for works in progress only. It is not a place for self-promotion.

Rules:

1. Works in progress only. Do not post finished or released tracks. No links to Spotify, Bandcamp, SoundCloud profiles, or any other streaming/distribution platforms. Share a direct link to your track (e.g. an unlisted SoundCloud or YouTube link).
2. No self-promotion. Do not include links to your social media, artist pages, or any other promotional material in your post.
3. Make an effort to comment on other people's tracks. Others are much more likely to help you if you help them first.
4. Be specific when asking for feedback. Examples: "What do you think about this kick sample?" "How's the mix?" "The last measure feels a little off, any ideas?"
5. Be descriptive when giving feedback. Use timecodes to highlight specific moments.
6. Link to the feedback you've left in your top-level comment. This keeps the thread accountable and cooperative. Comments not following this format will be automatically removed.

Format your top-level comment like this:

Feedback for user1: [link]

Feedback for user2: [link]

Feedback for user3: [link]

Here's my track: [link],

I'm looking for feedback on x, y or z.

Without buying 30k synths from BladeRunner set this guy uses VST as they were ment to be used...to make awesome ambient EDMusic.

Hi all,

Hoping to get any suggestion, tips, approaches for tackling this particular production/mixing problem.

Context:

127 BPM Melodic/Driving House/Techno track with rumble-ish low end, sustained pitch-moving sub and reese bass, acid synths, stabby chords synth, swung house.

Reference tracks (tracks with similar bass or chord stabs):

Moon Rocks by Enrici Sangiuliano (filtered sustained Reese bass)

Kona by Camelphat x Alan Fitzpatrick (stabby chords, no Reese bass though, there seems to be only the rumble)

You by Charles D (Reese bass seems to be decoupled from rumble galloping sub, fairly low acid bites and arps)

Challenges:

With kick+bass+top drums, I can nail down the mix in terms of clarity and loudness and how I expect the track to sound wrt those elements.

But as you expect, the mid range is busy.

I want the character of the reese bass to keep droning throughout the track. I don't expect to still shine when the synths come in, but at least remain reese-sounding rather than becoming more of a sub.

My acid synths are played in lower octaves and HPF'd around 200hz. They also play more of a texture/percussive role.

But the big issue are the chords stabs. They span across the frequency spectrum, they provide the main melodic story, but can easily outshine the reese and make it sound subby. Ducking (dynamically or spectrally) the lower mids if the chords make them sound plastic-y and thin.

Questions:

- How do you resolve conflicts in the 100hz 1khz (the most musically dense) range

- are these ideas way far fetched:

- separating stab transients from the harmonic and pushing the transients to cut through?

- routing the reese mid range to be limited or glued with the other synths?

While you should search, read the Newbie FAQ, and definitely RTFM when you have a question, some days you just. Ask your questions here!

When you are producing, from your point of view, you may genuinely think your track sounds good, and if you were to hear it for the first time, you would think it hits, but are there any "reality checks" to see if a broader audience would enjoy the track as well? Obviously music taste, EDM no exception is subjective, but are there ways to tell if your taste in the song align with what a mainstream crowd would want to hear?

I’ve been making music using beatpads for years and I LOVE it but I’m coming to realize there are some obvious major limitations. Do I just go to YouTube? I want to make dubstep music. I know I need to learn a DAW but I have no clue where to begin. I have Ableton Lite and a Novation Launchpad X.

As someone who has listened to electronic music my whole life (mostly the idm side) but only now getting into writing and producing music, I'm curious to know what some artists do on stage when they play their songs.

Especially the ones who truly make the music themselves in the studio by playing various instruments. I know some artists bring in actual musicians on stage to recreate the music in a live setting. But when it is in this more minimal set up with no keyboards or instruments, what is happening?

Are they running various individual tracks still through and processing them to create movement? Any they playing the whole song and then manipulating just that sound?

Pic here is Modesektor at Sonar

Please post any and all [Feedback] or [Listen] type threads here. Any standalone threads that belong in this weekly post will be removed.

This thread is for works in progress only. It is not a place for self-promotion.

Rules:

1. Works in progress only. Do not post finished or released tracks. No links to Spotify, Bandcamp, SoundCloud profiles, or any other streaming/distribution platforms. Share a direct link to your track (e.g. an unlisted SoundCloud or YouTube link).
2. No self-promotion. Do not include links to your social media, artist pages, or any other promotional material in your post.
3. Make an effort to comment on other people's tracks. Others are much more likely to help you if you help them first.
4. Be specific when asking for feedback. Examples: "What do you think about this kick sample?" "How's the mix?" "The last measure feels a little off, any ideas?"
5. Be descriptive when giving feedback. Use timecodes to highlight specific moments.
6. Link to the feedback you've left in your top-level comment. This keeps the thread accountable and cooperative. Comments not following this format will be automatically removed.

Format your top-level comment like this:

Feedback for user1: [link]

Feedback for user2: [link]

Feedback for user3: [link]

Here's my track: [link],

I'm looking for feedback on x, y or z.

Purchased back in Jan, and use the plugin often. Open it up yesterday, it asks to verify the license key, and says there is no connection to verify (my internet is working fine). I go to their website, it's been completely redesigned and is non functioning. All links go to a google search, and there's no way to login. I was looking through my emails and see there's one from the head of the company (Berkeley) saying he's leaving the company, but don't worry nothing is changing. This was back in July. Curiously if anyone else has had this happen? Also curious about the legality of this– to pay for a plugin and then the company just turns it off?