Dubstep

[Jagwah]

Hi guys,

I've been working closely with Benedict lately and I've learnt a ton from him. Unfortunately my latest effort really isn't gelling with him and it's thrown me a bit so if anyone else wants to give some feedback on this track it would be greatly appreciated. The mix is quite rushed and inexperienced.

As always any feedback / criticisms / advice very welcome.


Cheers!

[dan_g]

Hi,

nice try but i would not consider this as "Dubstep". Sorry i don't want to be too harsh since we all started somewhere.

I'm trying to give you some constructive feedback:

1. the track feels very empty. to change that you need for example more drums in the intro part. some hihats or percussion to get it started. and the also some kind of buildup drums to the drop. in the drop the drums need to hit much harder!

2. you synths are way to high register for dubstep. try at least to put you main bass synth an octave lower.

3. the arrangement needs some work too. try to go with a more "traditional" method. Intro - buildup - drop1a - drop1b - breakdown - buildup drop2a -drop2b - outro

this is only a few things i would work on. what reason version are you on? if you're intrested you could send me your .reasonfile or bounce the Tracks as Stems so i can have a look.

also another idea would be, if you use discord, to meet up and i can share you my screen to give some inspiration and tips.

[guitfnky]

I can’t speak to whether or not it’s dubstep, but I disagree with much of what Dan has said (though not all). I think the structure is just fine (really, do we need more “traditional” song structures?). I *really* dig the ethereal vibes in the quieter sections. personally, I think if you were to add more drums like Dan suggests, it should be in the louder parts, not the intro.

I agree there’s a bit missing in the bass register. the kick seems to hold down all of that space, but adding some low end to your main synth would help a lot (IMO).

the only other thing I’d say is personally, the main synth progression doesn’t do much for me, perhaps partly because of the tonality of it, but also because it’s a very common progression. I feel like adding some movement to it would help (either through filtering/modulation, or by altering the notes to create a less “typical” sounding progression). otherwise, I think it’s a really good track. nice work!

[dan_g]

(really, do we need more “traditional” song structures?).

no worries man, i think his song structure is fine too. but sometimes it can help to stick to a straighter/traditional approach to learn the basics and focus on other things

[Jagwah]

Hi,

nice try but i would not consider this as "Dubstep". Sorry i don't want to be too harsh since we all started somewhere.

I'm trying to give you some constructive feedback:

1. the track feels very empty. to change that you need for example more drums in the intro part. some hihats or percussion to get it started. and the also some kind of buildup drums to the drop. in the drop the drums need to hit much harder!

2. you synths are way to high register for dubstep. try at least to put you main bass synth an octave lower.

3. the arrangement needs some work too. try to go with a more "traditional" method. Intro - buildup - drop1a - drop1b - breakdown - buildup drop2a -drop2b - outro

this is only a few things i would work on. what reason version are you on? if you're intrested you could send me your .reasonfile or bounce the Tracks as Stems so i can have a look.

also another idea would be, if you use discord, to meet up and i can share you my screen to give some inspiration and tips.

Hi Dan,

Firstly thanks a lot for taking the time to listen and create some constructive feedback! I see you are experienced in the genre and I was really hoping to connect with someone who is.

1) The intro is definitely a bit different, it was an afterthought after the drop had been started, I agree some drums could have helped build to the drop and probably given more interest too as that minute is a long time without too much else. I agree the drums need to hit much harder, but I put this down to inexperienced mixing. I cut a lot of the bottom out of the kick to mix it with the bass and sub. I'm keen to learn more about mixing dubstep in particular so if you have any links or can recommend anything about mixing it please share.

2) Yeah this track is definitely a bit abstract and quite different. I have a heavy bassline with a sub then a high pitched lead with no real mid or bottom end. It's just the way it went and while I do like to fit into a genre I always want to do my own thing as well, so everything I make will be subjective to its own creation.

3) Again with the arrangement I was doing my own thing, however I did have Intro / drop 1 / breakdown / drop 2 but it seems you know more about this so I think this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship

I'm on reason 10, didn't use any VSTs for this one and I'm keen to get into Massive and Serum which I have, also keen to make more traditional tracks with a lead bass rather than like I did here.

I appreciate the offer to share reason files or try a discord. I've been listening to your Soundcloud and it sounds excellent. Not too sure if it's mostly collabs and remixes, I'd like to hear some of your own stuff if you have it too?

Considering your experience, do you have any suggestions for tutorials on the genre? I'd really like to learn more about the typical sub bass used, mixing it with kicks etc and generally anything related to modern dubstep, thanks.

Thanks a lot for the feedback I'll take it all on board, oh and nice to meet you

[aeox]

I've been working closely with Benedict lately and I've learnt a ton from him. Unfortunately my latest effort really isn't gelling with him and it's thrown me a bit

How do you mean?

[Jagwah]

I can’t speak to whether or not it’s dubstep, but I disagree with much of what Dan has said (though not all). I think the structure is just fine (really, do we need more “traditional” song structures?). I *really* dig the ethereal vibes in the quieter sections. personally, I think if you were to add more drums like Dan suggests, it should be in the louder parts, not the intro.

I agree there’s a bit missing in the bass register. the kick seems to hold down all of that space, but adding some low end to your main synth would help a lot (IMO).

the only other thing I’d say is personally, the main synth progression doesn’t do much for me, perhaps partly because of the tonality of it, but also because it’s a very common progression. I feel like adding some movement to it would help (either through filtering/modulation, or by altering the notes to create a less “typical” sounding progression). otherwise, I think it’s a really good track. nice work!

Hay man! : D
Thanks for your feedback, I'd like to start making a bunch of dubstep tracks and feedback like this will really help me progress.

I didn't think the structure was too out of wack either, and I really like doing my own thing. Listening to Dan's soundcloud things feel a lot more regimented, but that is actually really common in this genre, so it's good advice anyway.

Yeah there is a huge gap in the mids / low mids imo, there is a bass with a big sub, a super high lead and a whole lotta nothin' in between Will keep it in mind to fill out the spectrum more.

Ok cool I get it about the lack of variation, it's something I've been working on with Benedict, and in hindsight just chopping things up and making them stuttery is not really adding the variation needed to keep the listener from fatiguing on that repeating few notes.

Thanks a lot for the positive comments, and your feedback is very helpful. I'll take it all on board and let's see how well I improve on them in my next few pieces, many thanks!!

[Jagwah]

I've been working closely with Benedict lately and I've learnt a ton from him. Unfortunately my latest effort really isn't gelling with him and it's thrown me a bit

How do you mean?

He isn't a fan of 'heavy sub bass' dubstep and actually couldn't hear any of it on his end due to his set up so it sounded quite thin overall. I've already connected with someone here who is obviously working a lot on the genre so it's all good in the hood

[aeox]

How do you mean?

He isn't a fan of 'heavy sub bass' dubstep and actually couldn't hear any of it on his end due to his set up so it sounded quite thin overall. I've already connected with someone here who is obviously working a lot on the genre so it's all good in the hood

Good luck