Production Methods?

[fatcollective]

just wondering which methods you use when producing a track.

i.e.

get all the percussion in order, then work on synth, bass etc?

work on synth first?

try to finish in one session?

come back a week later and finialise things?

etc... etc...

i seem to layout the main body of percussion first, then work on bass and then work on all the details, i.e. synth, filters, other fxs, fills, edits etc..

how do you do it?

[rhythmtech]

usually come up with a synth or bassline first then start working everything else around that..

normally like to finish the composition in 1 or 2 days then work on the mixdown after a days rest.. prefer to get everything done when its fresh in my head

[Electrictribe]

usually come up with a synth or bassline first then start working everything else around that..

normally like to finish the composition in 1 or 2 days then work on the mixdown after a days rest.. prefer to get everything done when its fresh in my head


pretty much howi do things. Do try to get a basic arrangement in a day. 2nd day to add fills and rework bits i feel don't work then another few hours to mix it down. But defo helps to have a couple of days rest before mixing down and come back with a fresh head. Usually do some final amendments to arrangement then too.

[dirty_bass]

I used to start with the bottom end, and then work up.
Now I try not to work any regular method.
After reading much Eno methodology and stockhausen, xanakis, I try to start with something I wouldn`t normally each time.
Methodology breeds repetition and stagnation.

I would advise anyone to shake things up now and again.

Start with the hats, leave the kick till last, or start with a Pad.
Don`t even make techno, make something else completely then at the last stage mould what you have into a techno framework.

[decoherance]

Don`t even make techno, make something else completely then at the last stage mould what you have into a techno framework.

i really like that idea, have done it a couple of times, need to do it more.

[fatcollective]

I used to start with the bottom end, and then work up.
Now I try not to work any regular method.
After reading much Eno methodology and stockhausen, xanakis, I try to start with something I wouldn`t normally each time.
Methodology breeds repetition and stagnation.

I would advise anyone to shake things up now and again.

Start with the hats, leave the kick till last, or start with a Pad.
Don`t even make techno, make something else completely then at the last stage mould what you have into a techno framework.

great idea steve, gonna give this a try.

[eyeswithoutaface]

the minute you start laying "rules" the minute it all falls apart in my opinion. Open up a synth, start playing. Open up a sine wave, start making a bass, start making a kick. Get some new loops, chop em up, crush em down, slice them and rearrange them into something totally new.

I cant stand people who use templates too i have to say, well not the person obviously haha but the method i.e just swapping the parts for each track and keeping that same mix dynamic on every tune. Easily the laziest approach to production. If you cant build up a track from total scratch each time, your simply not producing

[dan the acid man]

yeah when ever i've made tracks i've always changed the way i work, i always found if i started with the same parts and worked in the same way my sound stayed the same and never changed

[RDR]

What they all said!

plus

dont listen to them

dont listen to techno

get a microphone and start sampling!

[jk_scowling]

I try and start off with an idea, either a method of doing things or what you want the track to be like. It might not end up anything like that but it helps.

[fatcollective]

the minute you start laying "rules" the minute it all falls apart in my opinion. Open up a synth, start playing. Open up a sine wave, start making a bass, start making a kick. Get some new loops, chop em up, crush em down, slice them and rearrange them into something totally new.

I cant stand people who use templates too i have to say, well not the person obviously haha but the method i.e just swapping the parts for each track and keeping that same mix dynamic on every tune. Easily the laziest approach to production. If you cant build up a track from total scratch each time, your simply not producing

im not on about templates, just diffrent ways poelpe put there tracks together, maybe people do just change their samples but in the same sequence and this is deffo lazy, im not on about that though...i just wanted to know about peoples diffrent methods? personal methods etc? weird maybe unusual shit you do when making tracks, stuff you picked up that you always put into your production?

[eyeswithoutaface]

never said you were on about templates mate, was just bringing that into the discussion because it seriously wicks me off and is the height of laziness :) Naughty Naughty people using templates

apart from the usual i try and keep any really good tricks up my sleeve :)

[fatcollective]

never said you were on about templates mate, was just bringing that into the discussion because it seriously wicks me off and is the height of laziness :) Naughty Naughty people using templates

apart from the usual i try and keep any really good tricks up my sleeve :)


ha ha...not even a little peek? :)

[christian wagner]

Be creative - do things differently, but beware! dont do it that much that you loose your vision you had in the first place :)

[rhythmtech]

are we talking about templates of tunes or DAW templates..

cause if its DAW templates then theres nothing wrong with having your sampler loaded up and your fave synths loaded etc.. no differant to having your studio already wired. (and who in there right mind would re-wire their hardware everytime theey write a new track.

also i'll usually have my sends/fx channels on my template..

but if we're talking about having sequences already templated then i agree its pointless and counter-productive.

[fatcollective]

Be creative - do things differently, but beware! dont do it that much that you loose your vision you had in the first place :)

good point

[eyeswithoutaface]

well to me even having a template such as that with everything already to go just isnt right, in my opinion of course. I just dont feel it instigates intuitiveness or originality, i feel opening a project with all your favourite things in ready to go is counter productive and just, even little by little, sap's the natural human thirst for progression, development and the need for learning. Providing your the kind of person who has this instilled in them from the start of course. I for one dont want to use the same sends/returns on every track, or have the same effects applied on certain elements such as a synth, that's just not how i work, some synths get totally different treatment than others etc etc but i did mainly mean people who literaly just swap their samples around. It's becoming evermore obvious who does this.

it may seem odd but i dont want to hear 3, 4 identikit tracks on a record in terms of mix and the dynamics, 3 tracks which peak in the same places, have the exact same frequency range, exact same dynamic range etc etc, which is why i always start every single track from scratch, including my sends/returns, samplers etc everything, fresh palette every single time. That's just me, that's how i've always done it and it keeps thing's fresh for me

And of course people start afresh with hardware on every track. Mike Parker is known for not using a computer to program and uses analogue gear that he has to load up every session and work's on his track's until he has a finished track per session, cant save a thing, which i personally think is amazing i could only imagine the kind of creativity that must force out of you, i give every track 100% as it is but that is something else. Props to him

[rhythmtech]

so you're basically saying that you dont have a sampler loaded up in your synth rack ready to go?
seems a little pointless seeing as you're going to load it up anyway :whoops: . basically thats just wasting time isnt it?

and y not have your sends and returns loaded up? surely most of us at this stage realise that its better to stick to 2/3 good reverb/delay etc rather than having a disk full of crap freebies! so whats wrong with having say your waves rverb loaded and ready to go as your send reverb.. its not as if rverb is limited in the sound that can be gotten out of it. and its not exactly hard to change a send to a differant plug-in is it?

[eyeswithoutaface]

read my post back. I never once said DONT have your sends and other stuff loaded up. I said it's not productive for ME. It's not wasting time at all, but using that method, if i dont need to use a sampler on a track and its loaded when i open my software, then isnt having to get rid of it wasting time too? ;)

it has nothing to do with whatever "level" your at, no one here is at a level as to insinuate that having to sit down for a few mins extra and have another think about using something fresh is going to somehow impede our progress in the techno world mate. I think outside the box of just concentrate on 2/3 certain effects. I'm much happier to concentrate on 5, 6, 7 different variations of 1 effect. What's crap freebies got to do with anything? I very, very rarely use Waves rverb, an amazing plugin of course, but i tend to use my Timeworks and DSP effects more so, i find them more original and better for my tastes.

there's no argument for or against either techniques, to say it's not hard to change a send to a plugin is correct. I never said it wasnt. But on the same hand, it's not exactly hard to just load thing's up as and when needed. Like i say i start every track with a totally blank canvass. Then i go from there, that's just how i prefer it, wether or not i have to spend a whole 30 seconds each time i start a new track loading up an effect really doesnt take much away from the final product

[rhythmtech]

take a chill pill scott.. im asking you personally why you do it that way to try and ascertain your reasons.. it wasnt a rhetorical question:)

[eyeswithoutaface]

im totally chilled mate, but you do need to word your post's better in that case

[rhythmtech]

no.. you need not to read into them too much. take them at face value. if im gonna get sarcastic or smart ill employ the use of smilies :)

[eyeswithoutaface]

i dont read anything into them that doesnt appear to be at the front of the comment. The use of a smilie in the comment did lead me to think you were being argumentative to a point, hence my reply

but i stick by my reply (rhymed too that), such discussions do require much better articulation

[rhythmtech]

your mother.



































:briggin:

[eyeswithoutaface]

your father...... quite simply, just your father

[rhythmtech]

weak retort.

coulda went so much further but you chose to comeback with an opposing noun. playground stuff.

im now leaving this conversation out of disgust.

[stjohn]

your taunts are so formulaeic ....

[rhythmtech]

your taunts are so formulaeic ....


:laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

[eyeswithoutaface]

weak retort.

coulda went so much further but you chose to comeback with an opposing noun. playground stuff.

im now leaving this conversation out of disgust.

this whole forum is playground stuff these day's, im just trying to fit in. For once

[eyeswithoutaface]

just out of interest, how do you guy's produce your taunts? do you leave your typical tried and tested comebacks in the front of your mind or store them at the back and load them up as and when you need them?

[rhythmtech]

i use a taunt rompler..

couldnt be arsed synthesising them.. prefer the realism of taunt samples.

[loopdon]

so you're basically saying that you dont have a sampler loaded up in your synth rack ready to go?
seems a little pointless seeing as you're going to load it up anyway :whoops: . basically thats just wasting time isnt it?

and y not have your sends and returns loaded up? surely most of us at this stage realise that its better to stick to 2/3 good reverb/delay etc rather than having a disk full of crap freebies! so whats wrong with having say your waves rverb loaded and ready to go as your send reverb.. its not as if rverb is limited in the sound that can be gotten out of it. and its not exactly hard to change a send to a differant plug-in is it?

ontopic: i have tried so often to get a basic template going as rhythmtech described with verbs etc. readily on the send channels and can see nothing wrong with it but i still start just about everything i do from scratch. The things i start with change as well, don't think i have ever started with a hihat-pattern, though.

offtopic: ''waves rverb'' and ''crap freebies'' in one sentence must be a joke. reverb wise there isn't much choice on the freeverb market but waves absolutely isn't known for it's reverbs. I swear, even in ten years time, when people are asked what they use plugin-wise, you will hear ''waves'' far to often... i reckon it's what you do with it, though.

[fatcollective]

i just knew this thread would turn out like this, thats why i dont post much on BOA anymore! too many uptight people ....eyes!!

[loopdon]

you mean me?

[fatcollective]

mainly eyes, because straight away he started getting all "people using templates etc etc ... is lazy and blah blah..." instead of answering the question regarding production methods? rhythm tech answred the question properly.

[loopdon]

OK, had to look up what 'uptight' means, haha.

[force]

If you cant build up a track from total scratch each time, your simply not producing


BULLSHIT!

There's a million and one ways of producing.
You can take elements of previous work you've done and manipulate it into something completely different. Its what you do with it that counts.
Making something totally viable without sounding anything like the original piece.
I often find old loops etc, that i've made that fit other pieces perfectly with some molding and manipulation

Sounds like your applying rules there mate!

[loopdon]

Almost sounds like you gotta make your own piano every time before you play it or something [strongly exaggerated comparison].

I think a thread like this could quite well manage without ''rules'' etc. Tell people how you work, listen to how others work. If something sounds good to you - try it, if not: Don't! Isn't that easy? To easy probably.

[ReakZ]

well i start at basicly from kick then going to bass afterwards some percussion,hats,now experimenting with pads,basslines at low bpm(50-90 or so) then convertating and playin back at usual 130-138

[force]

well i start at basicly from kick then going to bass afterwards some percussion,hats,now experimenting with pads,basslines at low bpm(50-90 or so) then convertating and playin back at usual 130-138

Good idea that.
Slowing things down is a good way of feeling the space between beats and getting things nicely locked in before speeding it up again.

[judas_beast]

Here's my method;

1- open Cubase
2- see what happens

[fatcollective]

well i start at basicly from kick then going to bass afterwards some percussion,hats,now experimenting with pads,basslines at low bpm(50-90 or so) then convertating and playin back at usual 130-138


these are the sort of answers i was looking for, not all this ohh you cant do that because your shit and you your a total cheat blah blah...

nice one, sounds interesting :;

[ReakZ]

hehe always feels good to be more or less helpful,cheers

[Jay Pace]

hmmm

Load up reason, fill the redrum with 808 sounds and make a basic pattern

Load up subtractor, fiddle about until I get a patch I vaguelly like
Route the subtractor through the sherman filterbank and fiddle til I like something

Add a matrix pattern sequencer and hit randomise, keep going until I can hear something I like in all the randomness. Eke a pattern or a melody out of it.

Return to the redrum and fiddle with the groove until it fits together.

Mess about until either I get bored or get really excited by the results. If I get bored after a few hours, give up and start afresh another day.

If I like it, export some bits into cubase, record loads of random sounds through a microphone and start replacing 808 sounds with them, substitute samples with fresh ones and whack filter processing on.

Then either get frustrated and bored with it all or plug away until I think i have enough material for a track, then work on structuring all the ideas into some form of coherent progressions.

So bascially - random sounds -> random patterns -> new sounds -> new patterns -> structure -> restructure -> finish & polish / quit and start again.

I never have a vision. I like finding music in randomness, letting it grow out and seeing what it looks like at the end. Suppose there's a vision in my head in there somewhere, but I never consciously decide to make something that does a certain thing.

[FILTERZ]

I allways start with a bass and kick , then build from there up


as for a starting idea i usually have an idea but it usually ends up as something other than what i wanted at the beginning

[FILTERZ]

the minute you start laying "rules" the minute it all falls apart in my opinion. Open up a synth, start playing. Open up a sine wave, start making a bass, start making a kick. Get some new loops, chop em up, crush em down, slice them and rearrange them into something totally new.

I cant stand people who use templates too i have to say, well not the person obviously haha but the method i.e just swapping the parts for each track and keeping that same mix dynamic on every tune. Easily the laziest approach to production. If you cant build up a track from total scratch each time, your simply not producing



worked for motown though innit

they hardly ever touched their desk

[judas_beast]

Ahh, nothing beats a 'my ways better than your way' argument on the net. Who gives a **** anyway, the only rule in music is: if it sounds good, it is good.

[audioinjection]

Here's my method;

1- open Cubase
2- see what happens

haha nice one

[p_brane]

lets see, it depends on whether my girlfriend is in.

if she is, then its ear cans in a darkened room late at night

if she's not, its pumping through the speakers in the hope of getting a nice mix.

as far as the process goes,

create a nice chord sequence, riff or beat groove and take it from there

you really cant find me happier than when i'm locked into some hypnotic state creating something, be it a beat or a soundtexture. i had literally 100's of small repetitive pad loops i created on my hdd that i'd go to once in a while to modulate on the fly and zone out, all gone now. (boo hoo)

like jay i dont approach anything with an idea, i just let it flow, whether thats by chance or the subconscious. **** knows. one thing i do know repitition and subtlety make me happy

[eyeswithoutaface]

BULLSHIT!

There's a million and one ways of producing.
You can take elements of previous work you've done and manipulate it into something completely different. Its what you do with it that counts.
Making something totally viable without sounding anything like the original piece.
I often find old loops etc, that i've made that fit other pieces perfectly with some molding and manipulation

Sounds like your applying rules there mate!

yeah ok i get your point there, but i think you knew what i mean really. And it's not bullshit, it's my opinion. I respect your's enough to not call what you have to say bullshit mate, it would be nice to have that respect back.

I'd actually forgotten about going back to older tracks or projects and working from there, but again i think you knew what i meant

[eyeswithoutaface]

Here's my method;

1- open Cubase
2- see what happens

most sensible thing in this thread

[dirty_bass]

I don`t get all this arguing.
I have no idea what I`m talking about anyway.
I just tell my computer to make music and it does it all for me while I get drunk and shag nuns.

[RDR]

Right then.

As my VERY first act as a moderator here i am asking you ALL to put a stop to this right now.

sure its fun for the first five minutes, but then its all fun and games until someone loses a testicle.

SO.

From now on people in this thread will only do the following

1. List their method of production
2. REFRAIN from commenting on others methods
3. Actually go off and try what others are suggesting.


Back chatting this post will get you a naughty mark mKay?

positive vibes people!

[loopdon]

Sure you two couldn't do that in a different thread (or hotel room) ?

[dan the acid man]

how do you go about producing your tea? :ohdear:

[RDR]

omg

were any of you listening?

you think the others are bad, you aint seen nothing yet.

[fatcollective]

Right then.

As my VERY first act as a moderator here i am asking you ALL to put a stop to this right now.

sure its fun for the first five minutes, but then its all fun and games until someone loses a testicle.

SO.

From now on people in this thread will only do the following

1. List their method of production
2. REFRAIN from commenting on others methods
3. Actually go off and try what others are suggesting.


Back chatting this post will get you a naughty mark mKay?

positive vibes people!

i started this thread to get proper answers and there have been some good uns, but you always get some clown who knows best and dont asswer the question properly, therefore the thread gets lost!!

[rhythmtech]

omg

were any of you listening?

you think the others are bad, you aint seen nothing yet.


:laughing: :laughing:

[Jay Pace]

I've liked reading other people's methods.
How you make music is such a personal thing.

[dirty_bass]

bugger off dodgey, this thread is now under the auspices of the nun shaggers

[loopdon]

He waited, didn't he?
I didn't want to do it this time... It's just funny how some people can start going on and on for hours offtopic and obviously find it very hard to really contribute in a sensible manner. I reckon techno is the kind of music with the most 'secrets' and smallest number of people willing to help others out.


Scot, what help is a sentence like: ''...apart from the usual i try and keep any really good tricks up my sleeve...''

No bashing intended here, mate, just don't understand stuff like this. Maybe i am missing some special humour there, wouldn't be the first time.

[fatcollective]

He waited, didn't he?
I didn't want to do it this time... It's just funny how some people can start going on and on for hours offtopic and obviously find it very hard to really contribute in a sensible manner. I reckon techno is the kind of music with the most 'secrets' and smallest number of people willing to help others out.


Scot, what help is a sentence like: ''...apart from the usual i try and keep any really good tricks up my sleeve...''

No bashing intended here, mate, just don't understand stuff like this. Maybe i am missing some special humour there, wouldn't be the first time.

to be honest, when i started this thread, there was no intension to 'steal' anyones ideas or methods, but just to hear any unusual ways people produce their tracks out of pure interest, thats all. :;

[rhythmtech]

to be honest, when i started this thread, there was no intension to 'steal' anyones ideas or methods, but just to hear any unusual ways people produce their tracks out of pure interest, thats all. :;

steve.. you hardly need to "steal" anyones ideas anyway :laughing:

[Jay Pace]

Unknown to everyone here....
I have secretly been leeching knowledge from this forum and putting it to use for the benefitz of my productionz

mwwhaahahahaahahhaa!





Sorry.

[judas_beast]

Unknown to everyone here....
I have secretly been leeching knowledge from this forum and putting it to use for the benefitz of my productionz

mwwhaahahahaahahhaa!





Sorry.

YOU BASTARD!

[eyeswithoutaface]

He waited, didn't he?
I didn't want to do it this time... It's just funny how some people can start going on and on for hours offtopic and obviously find it very hard to really contribute in a sensible manner. I reckon techno is the kind of music with the most 'secrets' and smallest number of people willing to help others out.


Scot, what help is a sentence like: ''...apart from the usual i try and keep any really good tricks up my sleeve...''

No bashing intended here, mate, just don't understand stuff like this. Maybe i am missing some special humour there, wouldn't be the first time.

listen, i dont mean to be harsh but it's nothing to do with you mate, the "tricks up the sleeve" comment was SOOOOOO obviously a tongue in cheek bit of banter that it doesnt even need explaining

[eyeswithoutaface]

and everyone else just let it drop ffs, Chris has said his piece, the thread was back on topic so just leave it at that. God if i can then surely you boys can

[loopdon]

For me there still is a thing called language barrier. I surely don't always get every special nuance here. Let's leave it at that and try and stay on topic next time.

[eyeswithoutaface]

For me there still is a thing called language barrier. I surely don't always get every special nuance here. Let's leave it at that and try and stay on topic next time.

of course, but surely it's better to pm me and ask what i mean instead of calling me out in public? Just do that next time instead of carrying it on when the thread was back in course mate

[loopdon]

I'm sorry. I will PM you next time.

[judas_beast]

Group Hug! Feel the love!

[Siege]

I start with the bottom and work my way up...try to get most of the tracks contents running over 64 bars,eqing,processing as i go along,then i start arranging it.Once ive got the basic framework laid out i start fleshing it out with additional sounds and work on edits etc..then check and tweak accordingly at the end.

[RDR]

I think (like seige says) that phrase length is very important...

Having variance in velocity placed within the context of phrase length is a really poweful way of avoiding that looped feeling.

Funny isnt it that we make 'repetetive' type music yet find at all costs ways to very the seemingly unvarying...

[loopdon]

Just read an interview where that person says it's nice to apply edits after you have exported the track, by cutting out bars of the final *.wav and running effects over them. I have read this here quite often before but never really tried it. Will do now, though.

[RDR]

Just read an interview where that person says it's nice to apply edits after you have exported the track, by cutting out bars of the final *.wav and running effects over them. I have read this here quite often before but never really tried it. Will do now, though.

I do this all the time, its great fun!

[dirty_bass]

Just read an interview where that person says it's nice to apply edits after you have exported the track, by cutting out bars of the final *.wav and running effects over them. I have read this here quite often before but never really tried it. Will do now, though.

That`s in my production masterclass on this very site too.

[tonyc2002]

Just read an interview where that person says it's nice to apply edits after you have exported the track, by cutting out bars of the final *.wav and running effects over them. I have read this here quite often before but never really tried it. Will do now, though.


that wouldnt of happened to be bk would it? :cheese:

[loopdon]

That`s in my production masterclass on this very site too.

I know, mate; said i'd seen it before on the board. Sometimes things become important all of a sudden to me. Like reading about automation and reading it again later and then at some point in time you really want to try it...

[loopdon]

that wouldnt of happened to be bk would it? :cheese:

Psssssst. You are right. Didn't want to discredit myself by starting with something like: ''I saw this video from bk (hard dance artist), where he....'' :)

[tonyc2002]

Psssssst. You are right. Didn't want to discredit myself by starting with something like: ''I saw this video from bk (hard dance artist), where he....'' :)

just because he makes hard dance it doesnt automatically mean he's a turd. if i could acheive even a quarter of his success regarding his discography ide be a happy chappy :cheese:

[loopdon]

you are right, i wouldn't discredit him because of that, either. seemed a knowledgeable fella and nice as well. i always enjoy videos like that.

you don't get stuff like that in german magazines ;(

[RAAT77atBOA]

just wondering which methods you use when producing a track.

i.e.

get all the percussion in order, then work on synth, bass etc?

work on synth first?

try to finish in one session?

come back a week later and finialise things?

etc... etc...

i seem to layout the main body of percussion first, then work on bass and then work on all the details, i.e. synth, filters, other fxs, fills, edits etc..

how do you do it?

I work really hard to create track templates that allow me to have everything availible already for a tune, but do not automatically steer me into a specific direction.

After that; Depending on my mood, it's either 1. a riff (lead or bass or both) or 2. my drums. Then i build up most of the arrangement, usually pads/texture will come rather quickly. Next, with the arrangement mostly done, it's time to work on synth lead/bass/etc tones.. Efx, modulation, +. After that, it's on to the mixdown, and I'm done.

My main thing is to move around enough that I don't get bored.

[The 818 Kid]

Here's my method;

1- open Cubase
2- see what happens

real talk nigga.. lmao