noob at edm looking for advice

shane9689

so i decided to invest in trying to produce edm music kinda like deadmau5 and bloody beat roots..along those lines. :cool:

ive invested in a micro korg, korg kontrol pad, ableton live software, an m-audio interface yoke for going from the midi keyboard into the computer (i forget its full name), and a badass custom computer.
now ive messed around with music producing software before and im also a musician (keyboard violin and guitar) so i know my theory and music and all that, but when it comes to producing i get abit lost.

any advice for a noobie, what other stuff should i get? and how should i start off? thanks
also, if this was ever to be done live, what would be the next step in live performance?

cheers :pac:

frozenfrozen

Listen to everything. Every single thing.

Try to recreate sounds you hear, and try to cover a few edm tracks.

Get all of the tech stuff sorted so that you've nothing between you and your ideas for tracks, then just go for it.

Forget performance for the moment. You're on the very bottom step so don't worry about anything else until you're actually making tracks which sound good. Then you can worry about making tracks that sound good that people want to hear

shane9689

frozenfrozen wrote: »

Listen to everything. Every single thing.

Try to recreate sounds you hear, and try to cover a few edm tracks.

Get all of the tech stuff sorted so that you've nothing between you and your ideas for tracks, then just go for it.

Forget performance for the moment. You're on the very bottom step so don't worry about anything else until you're actually making tracks which sound good. Then you can worry about making tracks that sound good that people want to hear

cheers for the reply. i know that, its what im planning on doing exactly! i hope to try make a cover of some stuff.

im a seasoned musician, i know the ins and outs of making music but its the technical side that gets me with the edm, all the tech stuff and the detail, abit of general advice would help alot. like what equipment would be handy and software and what to use and not use in general.

eg is a midi keyboard and a kontrol pad a good place to start? or stick with just software, or what? ill be starting in 2 weeks once my kontrol pad arrives.

cheers

FensterDJ

stop calling it EDM for a start

shane9689

FensterDJ wrote: »

stop calling it EDM for a start

why should i?

ironclaw

shane9689 wrote: »

why should i?

Its kinda of a marketing umbrella term that the likes of Guetta etc used to promote the image. I don't have a problem with it personally.

Best of luck producing by the way. Post up any decent tutorials you find and I'd be interested in them.

shane9689

well i heard artists like deadmau5 say it, so i assumed it was ok to use, besides its just a word.
i will

FensterDJ

shane9689 wrote: »

why should i?

you'll learn

VinylJunkie

My advise would be to watch a few tutorials an give it a go first before you buy any equipment. You skipped that step so I suggest putting the equipment back in the boxes, sit down with Ableton and learn the basics.

kunst nugget

Did you know everytime someone says 'EDM' an orphan kid gets AIDS?

I'd got with what VinylJunkie says. Learn what your software does first and try and get to grips with synthesis. There's a good thread over in the Dance Music Production section on subtractive synthesis. Learn how different filters affect the sounds your making and what their functions are and what is the best way to set them up to get the sound you want to achieve.

shane9689

jeez, ye guys really dont like the word edm haha.

thanks kunst nugget, ill definitly go through the software and its ins and outs. i have all the hardware mostly because i had it from years ago. ill get started next week and let ye guys know how i get on

VinylJunkie

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056062057

shane9689

VinylJunkie wrote: »

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056062057

thanks so much, that explains alot, exaclty waht i was looking for. ill do abit more of my own exploring too. cheers for the help guys

shane9689

btw guys, what daw do you recommend? i was going to get abelton live because i used it before and it looks ok, but im after looking at reason and it looks quite good too? i know this is an age old discussion but just a quick pro and con of both would be really helpful thanks

kunst nugget

I use Reason and I'd recommend Ableton. It's quick and easy starting off with Reason and pretty intuitive to use but finishing off and mastering a track is a load of poo tbh. Reason isn't strictly a daw either.

shane9689

ok so i made my first track a few weeks ago, not perfect, but im proud of it

thanks for the help guys https://soundcloud.com/shanemoloneys/re-start

mordeith

shane9689 wrote: »

ok so i made my first track a few weeks ago, not perfect, but im proud of it

thanks for the help guys https://soundcloud.com/shanemoloneys/re-start

You can post your tracks to this forum for feedback http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055583801

Regarding the track above I would say that it's not a bad start. There seems to be some clipping on the track at the very start so you might want to wacth that. Also the synth line that comes in towards the middle of the track is quite harsh sounding. I think a little bit of filter cutoff would improve it.
The main thing though is mastering. I'm nowhere near getting my tracks to have that warm, full sound but it's a great learning experience and you'll find yourself spending more time tweaking your tracks with compression, EQing and all that good stuff which in the end make your productions more polished.