I’ve got to a point where I can sound design somewhat competently and create a decent groove on my Elektron boxes. But beyond playing with mutes and panning, my tracks lack the dynamism that I hear in most professional tracks. Still mostly creating fragments. I thought it’d be interesting for my fellow noobs to have a list of skills to master to take their tracks to a more advanced level.
Also, which skills can be accomplished OTB and which are best done in a DAW?
I’m thinking of things like:
Filter sweeps
Creating build ups
Sidechain and compression
Layering
Advanced EQ techniques
Music theory and song structure
What was your roadmap in learning these skills? Tips and tricks to share? Which artists did you model your sound on? What techniques did you try and discard? Specific plugins or outboard gear you can’t live without that helps with the above? Cheers.
I struggled for a lot of time to understand what you are asking about filter sweeps, buildups, and whatnot, trying to recreate that on the Elektron boxes. In the end I bought an octatrack and put EZBOT template on it and I can’t recommend it enough. It changed my way of arranging and producing completely and the best part is you don’t need to know how to use the OT beside the very basics to be able to use EZBOT template. If you are into techno/dnb and are looking for the canonic transition tricks/riser fx, that is the (easiest) way to implement that in your music.
I moved from producing trance in a DAW to trying to get a similar sound with just hardware. It’s a process. I was never an amazing producer/mix engineer, but got decent results. It’s a lot harder on just hardware as the options are far more limited and the flexibility isn’t there.
A/B compare your music to tracks in the direction you want to go, and try to learn how to get similar results, both from arrangement and ”soundscape” perspectives
Unless you’re talking about the most minimal of techno, most “professional” tracks – and this is an overly broad statement without citing examples – are more concerned with the overall arrangement and structure of a song regardless of the various instrumentation used. The song is supreme, not the gear.
Compare that to a “fellow noob” who buys a singular piece of all-in-one hardware. Eventually, their OTB-only ideals will collide with reality. But rather than face their musical goals, being a noob, they’ll defer critical thinking by buying another box. When that doesn’t work, they’ll buy another slightly different box.
Eventually they’ll feel a false sense of achievement by owning “the trinity”, and may even acquire even more gear – wow, that desk is getting crowded! – yet they’re no closer to making the music like the artists who inspire them.
Instead of focusing on the greater picture of the song, they’ll impulsively obsess about side chain compression, advanced EQ techniques and mastering technologies. All good stuff, but it’s putting the cart way before the horse.
It’s really comes down to mindset, not about the particular technology used. What is “best” is making the most of what you’ve got. Some hardware allows song arrangement and sequencing beyond just chaining patterns. If you want to make songs/tracks, consider using gear that does that. Of course, we know software based gear can do that stuff too. Either way, use the tools, don’t be one.
He makes some great videos. He’s a seasoned Dawless performer/producer in the realm of mostly melodic techno (although he delves into other sub-genres as well) and he uses a case full of various gear, including oftentimes Elektron boxes.
He has videos that go through his approaches and techniques for song-building, transitions, etc.
Also, in my personal journey of trying to compose and perform dawless, I have found that the simplest solution is often the best one. So I picked up a pioneer RMX-500 effects processor for my end-of-chain and I really like it. That or the RMX-1000 give you easy access to filter sweeps, echo-outs, spinbacks, reverb risers, extra drum rolls, all that fun stuff.
I don’t know if “adding more gear” was the answer you wanted though hahaha
mixing and remastering is a key skill to make pro sounding tracks. I am by no means great at it but learning. Ableton and Logic X have great mixer and mastering studio tools.
I agree. Without a good mix, only probably a really good professional mastering engineer can help with that track.
The other thing is using (unfortunately) common sounds. So if someone is experimenting or trying to find his “own” sound, you are pretty much in unknown territory. That’s why labels don’t often take risks and they play similar sounding tracks in their playlists or releases.
correct but still need a decent baseline recording. I use a good audio interface keep levels even not too hot and remix/master in DAW tools. Another challenge is how to set levels for drums, bass, and melodic components to not compete and drown each other out. I am by no means an audio engineer so learning is part of my challenge.
