What do dubstep producers use

Then, by using a reverb effect on the layered samples, you can add the space and width you need. There are no set parameters for layering snare drums or adding reverb: it's all about defining the sound you want to create. If you're hoping to make more expressive or abstract dubstep, the freedom is all yours. You can choose to use anything you want as a drum sample, and innovation is good.

To illustrate dubstep programming, I've created some example patterns using a basic drum rack in Ableton Live.

These are labelled in the screenshots. The use of velocity on each sample is key to making the drums both swing and sound less quantised and robotic — note how the velocity changes on the 'lazy' kicks.

Again, note the differing velocities. When using triplets, it's important to make sure that you build up patterns carefully, as misplaced elements are easily noticeable to the ear and do the complete opposite of adding swing!

In the basic triplet rhythm shown below A basic triplet rhythm. Placement requires listening and fine tuning. Although this can feel unnatural to the ears, the combinations of hats and other percussion samples can be built up to create excellent beats.

Slowly layering elements and making sure they work well with others can involve a lot of listening and time, particularly if you're using triplets. Velocity is also incredibly important in making your beats sound more natural. Even though your beats might be heavily quantised, not only will changing the velocity help swing, it can take the edge off highly processed beats.

You can also use classic drum breaks chopped up and layered in with your programmed beats. I mentioned that sine waves are a good starting point for creating a subby dubstep bass. Let's look at bass sounds and bass lines in a bit more detail.

Turn the filter resonance up full and slowly move the cutoff anti-clockwise until you can detect a change in the feel of the bass coming from your speakers. If you want to add brightness to this bass, you can then distort it or add other effects. You can also add movement with an LFO. What, then, of the trademark dubstep 'wobble'?

To create a good wobbly bass line, you need to start by setting up the oscillators on your synth. Combining different waveforms allows you to create an endless array of sounds, so get to know your software and understand how it works.

I use between 3 and 4 for pads, and around 4 for synths. Another way to get that epic feel is by using reverb and delay. Used carefully and not overly done, this can have a more dramatic effect. Focus on the stereo settings of these effects, the decay time, room size, density etc.

Also use a low cut filter on them to save room in the lower region of your frequency range for other elements. Only use exaggerated reverb and delay on certain elements. A lot of producers use long, drawn out notes. One excellent technique is to layer pad chords over the top of long bass notes.

These two instruments playing in harmony will create a big epic feel. I like to side chain my pads to the kick, or a dedicated silent sidechain track or channel in my DAW. I like the pads to rise up from silence to gradually become loud through each note, which gives more of a 3D feel to the whole song. Sound design for pads: I usually go with the strongest waveform of them all — the square wave.

I will have 3 oscillators making square waves, each playing at a different octave to get a really big sound. I may add a little bit of phase and slight distortion to dirty up the pad sounds. This creates an interesting ethereal feel to the pads. To create even more of a grandiose epic vibe, have gaps of silence between the long pad chords.

Pads typically come in during at the start of the bar, then stop suddenly when the snare sounds. With this slow tempo, there is a lot of room to play with adding little shuffles and rhythms that make the overall groove of your song more interesting. The key is to play around with the groove and rhythm of the drums and percussion and leave out enough small gaps to create small tensions in the flow of the rhythm pattern. I spend a lot of time getting the groove interesting so that the song has its own character.

A lot of the melodies will fit into this rhythm to make the individual elements of the overall song sound tightly woven together, so I like to get the percussion and hats worked out after the kick, snare and main chords of the pads and main long notes of the bass. In Academy. You can check out a sneak peek of this course below.

If you want to watch the rest of this course or access any of the other hundreds of resources on Academy. And because basses take the lead in dubstep, you will want to make sure your sounds have enough going on in the mid range frequencies to take center stage.

This can be a difficult balance to achieve, but the most common technique is to create a separate track for your sub bass. This can be done simply enough. It has plenty of brilliance in the mids and highs to make it sound loud and in your face, but the sub is really weak. All you need to do is duplicate your Massive patch and turn off the filters and any extra effects.

For a sub bass, you only need one oscillator and a simple waveform, generally a sine wave. This simple patch will sit underneath your main sound to give it a nice low end thump without muddying up the mid and high frequencies.

You can then EQ out the lower frequencies on your main sound so that everything under hertz will be removed. This will keep your sub and your main sound from competing with each other. You can avoid this by using sidechain compression. Sidechain compression is another production concept that sounds more complicated than it is. The basic goal is to use a compressor to momentarily reduce the volume of certain sounds in your mix.

Meet seven groundbreaking producers who are leading the charge for a more inclusive and musically experimental dubstep scene. THEY and Others. We use cookies on this website to ensure the best possible user experience.

By clicking 'Yes, I agree' or continue to use this website by navigating to another page you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Cookie settings Yes, i agree! Close Privacy Overview This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website.

These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.