To all you DAW using producers out there

elinde

elinde

Active member
I am just beginning to try to produce my own music, and it can be a little daunting, at least for me. I have logic pro x 10 and a midi controller, and have made a few "songs" just messing around with the built in synths and drums in logic. I know that this is only a fraction of what you can do to produce your own music, but there is just so much in the program and so much unfamiliar language I just don't know where to start.

So my question to you people out there comfortable with whatever programs you are using is how long did it take for you to familiarize yourself with the program and what are some good ways to learn more about the full extent of what can be done in producing your own music.
 
Shit I just realized there was a thread pretty similar to this from today so I guess to specify what are some methods to simplify the learning process and make the whole thing a little less daunting?
 
Best thing to do is just to make a lot of music and have fun doing it. Don't be too concerned about the quality initially. Everyone just wants to make good music right away but it doesn't work like that unfortunately. Write 16 bar loops, make them as good as you can. Then move on to the next one. Your ability to use a searchbar and to read and watch tutorials patiently will be your biggest assets haha.

I sent some of this stuff to another NSer yesterday, you might find these resources useful too:

http://www.reddit.com/r/edmproduction/

http://www.reddit.com/r/audioengineering/

http://idmforums.com (take everything here with a grain of salt, a lot of these guys are pretentious douchebags, but in a lot of cases they know their shit)

http://www.dubstepforum.com/forum/

http://glitchhopforum.com

http://neurohopforum.com

http://www.kvraudio.com

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/

Random sites with good info:

http://theproaudiofiles.com

http://www.soundonsound.com

http://www.pensadosplace.tv

There's some good stuff in the DAWs cult too:

https://www.newschoolers.com/ns/cult/forum/cat_id/6339/

Also, READ THE FUCKING MANUAL. I can't stress that enough. There are enough resouces between the links in this post, and your manuals for your synths and DAWs, that you can learn literally anything and everything you could possibly ever need to know about music production.

Don't spend too long working on technical crap though. Make sure you're writing music, all the time. Thats how you learn. A great way to learn a lot is to just sit down whenever you have a few hours to spare and throw together a song in one sitting, non-stop. If you start writing a song a day, or even a song a week, and keep doing it for a few months, or even better a few years, you'll really notice the improvement after a while.

TL:DR: Write as much music as possible.
 
Thanks for the response man. A lot of helpful info in there. My only question is how long did it take you until you were comfortable with your DAW and a plug-ins and what not? I know that may sound impatient but I'm just curious.
 
You can probably get to know your DAW pretty well in a couple months if you put in the time. Its really a matter of how much time you spend, but knowing how your DAW works is a small piece of the puzzle. Plugins and DAWs are like tools, the trick is not knowing what they do, but how and when to use them. That kind of knowledge can only be acquired by practising and experimenting and figuring out what works best for you.
 
Is there a forum you recommend for technique (mic placement, psychoacoustic philosophy, etc.)? Most of what I can find (at least among the non-electronic oriented resources) mostly talk about gear, which I know is generally the wrong way to approach things.
 
Soundonsound, pensado's place, gearslutz and KVR are probably good places for that kind of knowledge. Those are the more engineering-oriented and technical sites. I never use microphones for anything though so I couldn't be 100% sure. Psychoacoustics is a little more tricky, really depends on what you're trying to learn. There's a book called "on the sensation of tones" that I've heard is good but I've never read. The Mixing Engineer's Handbook is useful too. If you want to get over-the-top technical then check out: http://www.tonmeister.ca/main/textbook/
 
Thanks I'll look into that. The places I had in mind, as far as sloppily focusing too much on gear, is Gearslutz (should I be surprised?). A lot of those guys seem to be under the impression that A/d converters are more important that mic placement/acoustics.
 
damn this thread is exactly what i need

i too just cot a midi controller and im using ableton.

For guitar effects should i use pro tools?
 
Ableton is far superior to pro tools in terms of cool and unique effects, it's just a matter of jumping in and learning how to get the sounds you want.
 
I use logic and my first stuff sounded like garbage. I have had logic for a while now and I still learn new little tricks on it from time to time.

basically, start out simple and expand from there. try and build it up from there and when you start to know what you want to use for a plug in or what sound you are looking for you can google it or have enough understanding to play around with everything in there to start getting the sound you're looking for
 
I messed around with a lot of demos before I finally decided on a daw. If you are still learning, youtube tutorials are probably one of the greatest things out there. Also, don't be afraid to show people what your making, even if it is a rough idea. Download sample packs and just play around with it.
 
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