Greetings, I'm brand new here, and I have always wanted to make electronic
music but it hasn't been until recently that I have had the money to get
started. I familiar with the basic concepts behind the production of
electronic music, but I do not have much practical experience at all. My
goal is to make uplifting or anthem trance, and I have listened to those
genres for a long time, and I'm not sure if I have the resources I need
to produce that kind of a sound, or if developing my skill alone will get
me the sound I want. I currently have the fruity edition of FL Studio
and synth1. Do I have enough or do I need to save my money and by some
better synths and effects? I don't want to be one of those people that
pirates software or spends a ton of money thinking that its the only way
to sound good, hence my question. Thanks.
What do I *actually* need to sound good?
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- KVRer
- 8 posts since 6 Jul, 2013
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- KVRAF
- 15135 posts since 7 Sep, 2008
Talent. Creativity. Drive. Passion. Time (lots of).
Last edited by Mushy Mushy on Sat Jul 06, 2013 10:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"I was wondering if you'd like to try Magic Mushrooms"
"Oooh I dont know. Sounds a bit scary"
"It's not scary. You just lose a sense of who you are and all that sh!t"
"Oooh I dont know. Sounds a bit scary"
"It's not scary. You just lose a sense of who you are and all that sh!t"
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- KVRian
- 535 posts since 25 Nov, 2010
on this moment I use transient master first after sound then compression and I compress too with bus compressor(bus for groups) whole song.... and that sounds good.. everything from native instruments....
trust analog.... (owner of digital)
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- KVRAF
- 16136 posts since 13 Nov, 2012
Time and passion.
Like anything, the more you do it the better you get (so my wife says).
So many people start something and give up to quickly.
Those who dont give up get better-ALWAYS.
Like anything, the more you do it the better you get (so my wife says).
So many people start something and give up to quickly.
Those who dont give up get better-ALWAYS.
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- Banned
- 10196 posts since 12 Mar, 2012 from the Bavarian Alps to my feet and the globe around my head
Mushy Mushy wrote:Talent. Creativity. Drive. Passion. Time (lots of).
+ life-long learning & practicing & experimenting!
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- KVRAF
- 1794 posts since 9 Apr, 2011
In terms of tools, what you have is an excellent starting point. Maybe some free samples to get some drum sounds - the ones from the online "Attack Magazine" are stellar. But beyond simply acquiring stuff, it's all about capturing moments of inspiration and being open to trying new things. I use 99% freeware and DAW-included plugs. The included plugs are very high quality, and the best thing you can do is learn how to use them effectively before deciding you need anything else. Experiment. Get to know what you already have, because it's more than you'd think.
"musician."
http://soundcloud.com/nine-of-kings
http://soundcloud.com/nine-of-kings
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- KVRer
- 28 posts since 29 Nov, 2011
And for killer sound, good (not much) monitors, a nice room (not a cubic bedroom) and acoustic treatment (basstraps, panels and more).
When you get more money, a subwoofer to complete this.
I don't speak about learning, because you can learn on any material.
But i speak about killer production for final work.
About learning, you already get everything you need.
Take a look at Sytrus, Toxic Biohazard later as you are on FL Studio.
There are so much tutorials everywhere (start with Youtube).
I fell in love with TWO daws in my life : FL Studio and Reason.
I totally left Reason, but i still love FL Studio
Very powerful when you know it.There are a lot of hidden features.
Start learning your DAW before anything else. There are advanced tutorials on Youtube for FL Studio on Image Line channel
Welcome to this beautiful world !
PS : if you don't want to waste your precious time, avoid all crappy hardware vs digital, numeric vs analog, sylenth vs the world... useless discussions
PPS : i talked about acoustic/monitoring because you said "sound good". If you can't hear the sound correctly, you can't mix right and "sound good" Try to paint without your eyes open and you will understand 
When you get more money, a subwoofer to complete this.
I don't speak about learning, because you can learn on any material.
But i speak about killer production for final work.
About learning, you already get everything you need.
Take a look at Sytrus, Toxic Biohazard later as you are on FL Studio.
There are so much tutorials everywhere (start with Youtube).
I fell in love with TWO daws in my life : FL Studio and Reason.
I totally left Reason, but i still love FL Studio
Very powerful when you know it.There are a lot of hidden features.
Start learning your DAW before anything else. There are advanced tutorials on Youtube for FL Studio on Image Line channel
Welcome to this beautiful world !
PS : if you don't want to waste your precious time, avoid all crappy hardware vs digital, numeric vs analog, sylenth vs the world... useless discussions
PPS : i talked about acoustic/monitoring because you said "sound good". If you can't hear the sound correctly, you can't mix right and "sound good"
Try to paint without your eyes open and you will understand -
- Banned
- 10196 posts since 12 Mar, 2012 from the Bavarian Alps to my feet and the globe around my head
...and don't burn yourself out in HPC! It will be deleted, anyway...gLOW-x wrote:PS : if you don't want to waste your precious time, avoid all crappy hardware vs digital, numeric vs analog, sylenth vs the world... useless discussions
And be careful not to get in Music Theory battles without suit of armor!
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- KVRAF
- 5564 posts since 13 Jan, 2005 from the bottom of my heart
really great! i needed a few years to understand that. if you're always that fast you'll be on top in well.. .."no time"!TimTheAncient wrote: I don't want to be one of those people that pirates software or spends a ton of money thinking that its the only way to sound good, hence my question. Thanks.
Whoever wants music instead of noise, joy instead of pleasure, soul instead of gold, creative work instead of business, passion instead of foolery, finds no home in this trivial world of ours.
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- KVRAF
- 5703 posts since 8 Dec, 2004 from The Twin Cities
I can't give any genre specific advice, but I severely doubt that you need to spend any more money to get close to the sound you are looking for.TimTheAncient wrote: My
goal is to make uplifting or anthem trance, and I have listened to those
genres for a long time, and I'm not sure if I have the resources I need
to produce that kind of a sound, or if developing my skill alone will get
me the sound I want.
In the first place, developing the relevant skills is the hard part. You would probably be astonished to hear what some people can do with the most basic of tools.
In the second place, there is a ton of first class freeware available. If you haven't looked at them yet, try Crystal, Podolski, and TAL NoiseMaker. They are all first rate, and analyzing the many presets for them (especially Crystal) is an education in itself.
Above all, learn to have fun. Practice makes perfect, and practicing tends to get done more often when it is fun.
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- KVRAF
- 4287 posts since 6 Nov, 2009
I agree... Listen to any old tracker mod song. They would mix down to like 8-bit samples sometimes and it still sounded good.Mushy Mushy wrote:Talent. Creativity. Drive. Passion. Time (lots of).
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- KVRAF
- 8413 posts since 4 Jul, 2012 from Alesia
Im a self-taught computer musician. My best advice is patience and practice!
Here are a few things I would recommend if you want to go the route of a electronic music producer. This is all coming from at least 10 years of personal experience. I am not doing this stuff to get famous, i do it because I love to do it.
Ok lets get onto the list of stuff I thought of. I pretty much spewed these out and typed them up as fast as i could think.
1. Be patient with yourself above all else! You will make lots of crappy sounding stuff, but once you learn the concepts behind the various elements of producing on a computer it gets easier.
2. As far as sound synthesis goes, you will need to understand the concepts behind the various types of synthesis to understand how to make Sound A or B that you often hear. Also take the time to understand Sampling too since it is extremely important in electronic music production.
3. DO not rely on presets for everything! Buy a product for the features and what it can do for your production! Learn your instrument before moving on to a new one! Lots of people will buy products like synthsquad and get overwhelmed with it and sell it for something simpler. Sure having instant gratification is nice, but learning how to make the tool DO what you want is the most important!
4. IF you want a very easy entry into learning the idea behind music gear and you are a visual style learner then definitely check out what Propellerheads Reason can offer you. I learned ALOT about modular synthesis and production from this and still use it alongside Komplete and all my other fancy plugins.
5. Pick a DAW suited to your goals! If you want to produce live electronic music then maybe check out Ableton Live! One amazing and very complete package for live music in my opinion is to buy both Ableton Live 9 and Propellerheads Reason 7 and use them in a Rewire Duo! It will cover EVERYTHING you need to learn for starting out. It is a bit of an investment but you will get all the tools you need and have a good sounding set of tools with very little CPU usage.
6. A good set of monitors and headphones are essential in learning to hear the nuances and subtle changes in mixing. At first you might not notice the small things but really take the time to "LISTEN" and learn about the changes. Once you do notice the tiny details it will make all the difference.
7. Don't mix a song with your speakers or headphones cranked up to full. You don't want to focus on loudness at first and it is very important to also protect your hearing! Loss of your hearing is a very real danger that will threaten your ability to mix properly and your career in making music.
8. Don't let criticism get you down. Everyone is a PRO these days, and everyone also has subjective opinions on what is "Good". What is most important is you strive towards your own idea of "Good" and not someone else. Don't go to someone who produces classic 70s rock to give you feedback on your dub-step track because you will be disappointed. Also Try to develop your own sound if you can instead of taking a by numbers course to produce "Trance"!
Try hard to avoid elitist snob types who think having 30+ years of music theory make them some kind of music god. Instead let their music speak for them before taking their opinion seriously. I know that sounds bad but its true and you will find tons of people like this on internet forums.
9. Piano Lessons and Music Theory are very very essential for working with production. At least when it comes to synthesized music or anything similar.
10. This is a rule I am just starting to work on myself. Schedule a SET number of hours to work on a song and commit to it for a week before deciding to delete it. Don't produce a song in 2 days then think its crap and feel bad. GIVE it a real good effort! LOTS of professional producers can spend up to a month on a pro song before releasing it.
Here are a few things I would recommend if you want to go the route of a electronic music producer. This is all coming from at least 10 years of personal experience. I am not doing this stuff to get famous, i do it because I love to do it.
Ok lets get onto the list of stuff I thought of. I pretty much spewed these out and typed them up as fast as i could think.
1. Be patient with yourself above all else! You will make lots of crappy sounding stuff, but once you learn the concepts behind the various elements of producing on a computer it gets easier.
2. As far as sound synthesis goes, you will need to understand the concepts behind the various types of synthesis to understand how to make Sound A or B that you often hear. Also take the time to understand Sampling too since it is extremely important in electronic music production.
3. DO not rely on presets for everything! Buy a product for the features and what it can do for your production! Learn your instrument before moving on to a new one! Lots of people will buy products like synthsquad and get overwhelmed with it and sell it for something simpler. Sure having instant gratification is nice, but learning how to make the tool DO what you want is the most important!
4. IF you want a very easy entry into learning the idea behind music gear and you are a visual style learner then definitely check out what Propellerheads Reason can offer you. I learned ALOT about modular synthesis and production from this and still use it alongside Komplete and all my other fancy plugins.
5. Pick a DAW suited to your goals! If you want to produce live electronic music then maybe check out Ableton Live! One amazing and very complete package for live music in my opinion is to buy both Ableton Live 9 and Propellerheads Reason 7 and use them in a Rewire Duo! It will cover EVERYTHING you need to learn for starting out. It is a bit of an investment but you will get all the tools you need and have a good sounding set of tools with very little CPU usage.
6. A good set of monitors and headphones are essential in learning to hear the nuances and subtle changes in mixing. At first you might not notice the small things but really take the time to "LISTEN" and learn about the changes. Once you do notice the tiny details it will make all the difference.
7. Don't mix a song with your speakers or headphones cranked up to full. You don't want to focus on loudness at first and it is very important to also protect your hearing! Loss of your hearing is a very real danger that will threaten your ability to mix properly and your career in making music.
8. Don't let criticism get you down. Everyone is a PRO these days, and everyone also has subjective opinions on what is "Good". What is most important is you strive towards your own idea of "Good" and not someone else. Don't go to someone who produces classic 70s rock to give you feedback on your dub-step track because you will be disappointed. Also Try to develop your own sound if you can instead of taking a by numbers course to produce "Trance"!
Try hard to avoid elitist snob types who think having 30+ years of music theory make them some kind of music god. Instead let their music speak for them before taking their opinion seriously. I know that sounds bad but its true and you will find tons of people like this on internet forums.
9. Piano Lessons and Music Theory are very very essential for working with production. At least when it comes to synthesized music or anything similar.
10. This is a rule I am just starting to work on myself. Schedule a SET number of hours to work on a song and commit to it for a week before deciding to delete it. Don't produce a song in 2 days then think its crap and feel bad. GIVE it a real good effort! LOTS of professional producers can spend up to a month on a pro song before releasing it.
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- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 8 posts since 6 Jul, 2013
Thanks to all, for your words of wisdom! And keep the advice flowing! Could not
of hoped for better respones.
of hoped for better respones.
