Starting out...

Mjauwkis · Joined: Jun 16, 2009 Posts: 1 Location: Sweden

Hello there,
This is my first post on this forum so bear with me on this one guys Smile

I have played music for about 5 years now and have made my own compositions almost as long, but under these years i have felt that all the computer things, mixing and stuff hasn't really been my thing.
I'm more of a practical guy, any music instrument i can get my hands on i try to master at least a little bit.
I also have a very wide taste in music and with that comes my fascination for Electro music.

So to the issue, i'm trying to master the digital bit of music making and mixing; at least so that i can put out my own stuff with out it sounding horrible.

What do i need to make Electro music, what programs/"Addons" do you recommend for me to use and do you have any useful links or videos that can help me?

At the moment i have Cubase SX 3 and a Xiosynth 49 to my benefit.

Thanks for your time and i'm looking forward to some useful information Smile

/Mjauwkis

BobTheDog

to the forum Mjauwkis.

I am just a guitar player who has got into this stuff over the last five years so I may not be the best person to help, but I am first here, so here we go.

The book "The Dance Music Handbook" by Rick Snoman may be a very good start, don't be put off the title as there is a huge amount of useful info in it to give you a starting point.

Are you one Mac or Windows?

Cheers

Andy

smueske · Joined: May 02, 2007 Posts: 98 Location: Minnesota, USA

It's a little difficult offering suggestions without knowing exactly what your goals are and what your perceived limitations are.

This is a really good general purpose book on mixing (the EQ stuff is particularly good). I also found his discussion of the aural spectrum as a stage pretty handy (left and right, forward and back, and what achieves these placements).

http://www.amazon.com/Mixing-Engineers-Handbook-Second/dp/1598632515/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245170586&sr=8-6

I would say make sure you have good plugs for general purpose needs. A good EQ, a few good filters, a good stereo compressor, a good mono compressor, and a good limiter. To get good ones is a little expensive, but they're worth it.

Then I'd say to get synths (there are many good free ones) that cover the basics, FM, additive, grain-based, etc. If you want (or can) spend the money, Omnisphere is a particularly good virtual instrument.

But as far as mixing goes, using groups and sends properly will help a lot.

But I've found that nothing beats just doing it. Experiment, find what works for you. Advice is only as good as it is applicable to your goals.

Looking forward to hearing your work!

Antimon · Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 11:40 am Post subject:

I'd say download an ultra-simple, cheap groovebox imitation app. Is ReBirth still around? Hmm, the Rebirth Museum seems to require some kind of tricky registration, though it's supposedly free.

Anyway, Rebirth is what first tripped my realisation that it was actually possible to do fun stuff with my limited experience. Anyone know a similar free or cheap app that is available today? The thing is it should be limited, so you can focus on the fun instead of the confusion.

If you're past these kinds of baby steps, one thing to check out might be the free Nord Modular G2 Demo (more confusion but also more fun):

http://www.nordkeyboards.com/downloads/software/nord%20modular%20G2/Nord%20Modular%20G2%20demo%20v1.40.dmg

http://www.nordkeyboards.com/downloads/software/nord%20modular%20G2/Nord%20Modular%20G2%20demo%20v1.40.zip

/Stefan