What are /r/TechnoProduction's favorite Products & Services?

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I'm a 40 year old with very present tinnitus (years of punk and rock concerts and playing in bands, DnB and Techno raves/club nights, a decade working in a wood shop around loud, high pitched machinery, and more recently dnb/techno production). There are a few things that have helped me out.

• Always be conscious of your listening volume. For me this means finding the volume I instinctively want to listen to things at then rolling back a few notches. I also use an SPL meter on my phone occasionally to test my listening position but I don't consider it accurate.
  It doesn't take long for the turned down listening volume to sound normal/pleasing, but it does take some time to get used to being conscious of how loud I want vs what is safe.
  This is the only magic bullet in my suggestions, the rest are just things that I do to help. Control your volume!

• Ear protection when I'm gigging or at shows. I have a couple sets of these guys that I keep in my gig bags and other places that are easy to remember when I'm going to a show. They're reasonably priced and don't make everything sound like shit

• This one won't be popular, but I keep a neutral always-on EQ on my 2bus when producing/arranging. Currently I have a 6db LP filter rolling off everything above 18kHz pretty much all the time. I only turn it off when I move to mix/master, and as the final stage during sound design (I specifically plan to treat the top end last, and when the eq gets turned off, the volume gets turned down). I've tried a few different things (setting the LP higher/lower, using a dynamic shelf on everything above 15kHz, etc), but the 18k filter works best for me

• Finally, I recently switched from closed back cans to open back and it's made a huge difference. My ears are less fatigued so I don't get into the trap of constantly turning things up during long sessions

There are many great free plugins, like Surge (check out the skins!). Make sure you don't download too many plugins at once, try to focus on learning one at the time.

The reason is because the extreme low end of your mix takes up a bit of available headroom. When you cut it, there is now more room for higher freq sound to get through in the mix. Your compressor/limiter on the master was probably rounding the punch off. The sub freqs will push your entire track RMS up, kinda like waves on top of waves.

Example:

https://www.desmos.com/calculator/zwgp02ckgj

Notice that the higher frequency waveform follows the sine curve of the lower frequency wave, When you filter out these lower frequencies the ceiling of the waveform is reduced, allowing more higher frequency information to pass through to your compressor/limiter.

hey - I've been in your exact position. I started attempting to grasp how to make music at the tail end of 2009 with zero knowledge.

The tricky thing is that in order to produce something that you're actually happy with you're going to have to learn a bunch of different skills...how to make sounds. how to arrange sounds. how to mix sounds. how to make sounds that are musically interesting.

each of these skills is something you could devote a lifetime to, and so it is incredibly frustrating when you're starting out.

My advice? watch this video.

https://vimeo.com/3984949

the instructor assumes you have literally no knowledge of any of this shit..and after some basic instruction dives into making a track with you from scratch.

even if you're not going to use ableton this is incredibly helpful and I credit this video series as the one 'thing' if any that catalyzed me into making music.

above all else, keep yourself grounded in the knowledge that this shit is hard and you will be confused and make absolute garbage for a while - but if you put in the time and effort you will be incredibly rewarded.

as 'proof' if there is any, I started out with my shit desktop computer and a pair of headphones in 2009 with zero knowledge of anything..i just knew I liked electronic music and wanted to make it and wondered if that was possible.

fast forward to today...i have an acoustically treated space with nice monitors, some hardware gear, a performance setup, I've written over 30 full length tracks, have a couple EPs slated for release in the (hopefully) near future, I'm a DJ for one of my favorite record labels and am going to be playing a set for an awesome party in california in april.

if you put in the time and effort, you will be rewarded. I wish you all the best and if you need any help I would be glad to assist.

This is absolutely beautiful. I think what's most important is this: "this inner critic is your adversary, [but] it is also fundamental to the creative process".

In other words, don't try to avoid the struggle; face it, embrace it, because this is what creation is all about.

On that exact subject, I recommend "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield. It's quite short but very intense, worth a read.

Okay well the very basic is just practice. Put the focus and energy of producing a whole track just in to a single instrument and drums. Focus only on the melody and chords.

Holistic songwriting on YouTube is a great resource.

Any sort of music theory is helpful. It’s taken me like 2 years to get comfortable writing songs, and I’m not even really where I want to be in terms of skill. Just absorb as much theory and knowledge as you can and apply it immediately after learning it.

A great resource for the basics

One that I don’t do, but it really encourage you to do, is copy songs and study them. Choose something simple, load a copy in to your daw and transpose it to piano.

A bunch of already transposed music that’s a great website for studying how songs are structured and written

I love this thread. I don't have much to offer excep this website that shows genres in a scatter plot.

>Every Noise at Once is an ongoing attempt at an algorithmically-generated, readability-adjusted scatter-plot of the musical genre-space, based on data tracked and analyzed for 2,928 genres by Spotify as of 2019-04-18. The calibration is fuzzy, but in general down is more organic, up is more mechanical and electric; left is denser and more atmospheric, right is spikier and bouncier.

I uploaded a cut from my upcoming release on Advanced White (one of Germany's top techno record labels) , it's a 2 minute clip from the middle of the track with the break included, as I made it to slowly increase the tension through the duration of the break, while actually using a very small amount of elements to do it. I can give you a bit more details if needed, but I believe you'll get the idea behind it and how I did it since it's very simple to do, and it's quite effective as well.

https://hearthis.at/marul/marul-example-for-thetanzanite/j0F/

Curtis Roads books mix a good amount of technical detail and acoustic theory into his books. They are written from a more academic perspective.

https://www.amazon.com/Composing-Electronic-Music-New-Aesthetic/dp/0195373243

I always wanted to open up a thread about snts's setup. 😀. I also find his setup really interesting. What I can say is that he is using ableton live in pretty much every live set. Furthermore I guess he is using an iPad with an remote app for Ableton Live. Maybe like this one here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.imaginando.lk I guess he's just using the session view to launch the clips with the tracks inside.

Hi, first time posting here. I'd be very interested in what you techno heads think of my track. I was going for a dark sound and then I dunno if I just ended up with muddiness and cheese instead. Anyway we all have to start somewhere I guess so any feedback is massively appreciated:

https://clyp.it/5gw5uhaj

https://www.ableton.com/en/live/learn-live/ - this covers everything you need to know.

All you need to do is use the built in External Instrument plugin under Instruments. You set the audio input from your interface and can route midi in/out from that track.

To sample you open a track and press record.

To process sounds you put effects on the track.

You don't need a course to do any of these extremely basic things. Try giving the manual a glimpse.

Examining how the `here and now′ of space, territory, the body, are being redefined by new technologies and how this undoes simplistic versions of the globalization thesis, Paul Virilio demonstrates how technology has made inertia the defining condition of modernity. An instantaneous present has replaced space and the sovereignty of territory; everything happens without the need to go anywhere.

Yes!

You can also have it for free and share as you wish. It is open source, price is just to give thanks and for the convenience of not building from source yourself.

You could get him a book on electronic music production that could provide some valuable information and lead to some inspiration for that price. I've also got a free gear guide checklist on my site for beginners that are looking at getting started on a tight budget.

www.ElectronicMusicTips.com

> that is not techno

I mean there's two ways to look at it:

• the word techno means the music that Atkin/Saunderson/May started, and encompasses all subsequent offshoots are derivations.

• the world techno means a specific set of genres or perhaps just a single genre, all of which are in the eye of the beholder. I have heard people who said that anything other than Detroit techno was not 'techno'.

I am not the only person who thinks about the word in the former sense rather than the latter.

If we use the latter definition, is there an objective set definition of what genre(s)? you consider "techno" and if so, is it static? E.g. is is possible new forms of techno could emerge you would need to include? If so how do you determine when a new form should be included or not?

That's just my thoughts. In the end we are trying to generally make dance music. I don't think being pedantic matter that much to programming 4 on the floor, or even to harmonic theory (or the minimization of such) in terms of applicability to production.

My first efforts were extremely 'cheesy' when I started many moons ago and I didn't fully understand why until I did closer listening to understand what wasn't happening and what to avoid. Techno, in all senses of the word, techno production is mostly about making good choices. The sounds are already there, there is not learned memory physical skill needed to make techno, just good taste.

I found this book to be invaluable. It's sloppily written towards the end, but I almost found that endearing. The guy has some hard truths to tell, and it certainly doesn't give you any shortcuts, but I now feel like I know what I should be doing, even if I haven't put it into action properly.

I also have the Ableton book, but I found that to be a bit too Eno, airy-fairy for me.

Hope that helps!

Check out Simon Cann's book "Sample This!" it goes through the possibilities. Good author for synthesis methods too.
https://www.amazon.com/Sample-This-Third-Simon-Cann/dp/0955495512

http://www.beatport.com/track/psyclapse/12006339

Nothing too exciting in terms of what I did. However:

• Most drums were the included second gen Maxforlive Drum synths.
• The bass end came out great which was thanks mostly to Bassroom, which is really good for that tight low end. Mixroom is great too.
• The synth was a loop from a Behringer Crave I think.
• The arrangement owes quite a bit to Smith and Selway’s ‘Move’
• As does the rest of the track I later realised.

Hiya again! Working on this tech-house-y track currently. More on the bass side looking for some direction, feedback, critique (mixing, arrangement, comp) etc

https://clyp.it/eztxfbpw

Thanks as always, fam!

Happy New Year - apropos considering the more deep-techy-house track I wanna post (hope that's okay) inspired by Lee Burridge's New Year's Day sunrise set in NYC! Thanks, ya'll!

Savour the Moment

This is my profile: https://soundcloud.com/user4300708

Im doing some weird techno stuff. Could you guys just check some of them and give me some feedback (they are really short). By feedback I mean: my music is shit or its 'kay? In r/edmproduction they are all in House stuff, they dont really give feedback to other. Thanks in advance!

I had some free time :D so I made an ableton rack that may or may not be useful to you. Has one knob to let you select the inversion (1st or 2nd inversions of a triad, 1st/2nd/3rd inversion of a 7th) and another to select the quality (just major/minor): https://gofile.io/d/xVGXml

Hey just a quick update! I used the tutorial that u/Nyx9000 posted and I think I got the basics down. I also used u/dingleberry-tree's suggestion to use the kick VST rather than a sample and I think that gave me quite a bit of control as well. Here's that beat (obviously nothing special but I think it has potential?).

​

https://gofile.io/d/4FahcW

​

Now I need to figure out how to get it from that to something that would make me act like it's 2010 and I'm 14 and at a Skrillex concert. On ecstasy.

I've not used the H1N; I've got an old H4N (pre-dates the H4N Pro) and did this recording in Paris a couple of years ago, among many other location/field recordings.

Advantages of the H4N over the H1N:

• Better pre-amps I think, meaning that the hiss/noise floor will be lower and maybe gentler-sounding?
• XLR inputs in case you want to plug XLR mics in later as an upgrade.

In my experience the H4N recording quality's fine for using recorded sound in the context of EG a techno track, and the newer H4N Pro allegedly has superior preamps to my H4N. Subjectively, I'm kind of delighted with the H4N, but that might be more about my fetish about the sound of underground transportation networks than anything else.

My biggest personal beef with portable recorders - I used to have a Marantz PMD670 - is batteries: my H4N runs on 3 AA's, and chews through them fairly quick. Maybe the H1N would last longer per battery set? My old Marantz (which was more "pro" in some ways, but old) also ate its (rechargeable, proprietary, expensive) batteries so it's not purely about whether the Zooms are "pro" gear.

I can run the H4N off a longer-lasting mobile charging pack (kind of like this, with a lead that converts from USB A to H4N power in) but then I've got to contend with a physical lead from the battery into the recorder: any time the lead moves, that translates into audible rattles in the recording. My guess is that real high-end gear is just better designed from the point of view of rattle and noise.

I dunno - maybe I'm being a dick about the battery life thing, maybe I just need to plan to go out with 9 recharged AA's.

I recently started to listening to Sound.Academ and to Music Production Podcast (this one maybe is not about technical aspects but it motivates me really well so I think I will definitely go through all episodes). Today I started listening to Tap Tempo but unfortunately I ripped cable from my headphones with a chair at work and I'm sentenced to listening to regular radio for next 6 hours :(.

I didn't wanna self promote here cause this post wasn't about that but here you go http://www.beatport.com/release/telikos/2710466

https://soundcloud.com/seifbeng/beng-telikos-original-mix-rebillious

This is a track I made recently. It was created in Ableton Live utilizing a few instances of Operator, Analog, and Reason's Subtractor synth (running in re-wire mode). Feel free to ask any questions about my production. Thanks for listening.

https://soundcloud.com/ivorymusic-1/a1

https://snipboard.io/LTwK0O.jpg Serum - mono triangle-ish for some weight, stereo (2 voice unison) saw for the wide buzz plus a bit of noise. 24db filter. Portamento.

Second serum on a more interesting wavetable for the reverse note at the end of the bar.

The new update has just been released.

ADSR Sample Manager updates to v 1.1.0 - All your samples tagged and searchable in an instant. Rediscover your sample library!

► Download for free : https://www.adsrsounds.com/product/software/adsr-sample-manager/

-- New Features in v 1.1.0 --

New Libraries panel Search within a library or library sub-folder

Multiselect samples in the list. Add / Remove Tag. Add / Remove Favourite. BPM Editing.

AND / OR tag search option

Forward / Reverse / Ping-Pong playback mode

Favourites : Tag auto-complete from search bar Favourites : Clear All from toolbar icon context menu

Stop preview shortcut Samples with many tags now show the excess in a pop up menu Show One-shot sample playback speed when DAW sync enabled

-- Improvements --

Improved start up time Waveform display improved Free text search speed improved
Playback mode is now global / per instance Improved table header sorting behaviour Improved multi-instance library interaction Run automatic update checks in background Analysis keeps running once started, even when closing UI Reduced memory usage of multiple instances Improved display of long folder names in Libraries panel

-- Fixes --

Fixed issue when seeking playhead in a sample confused which sample should be selected next on arrow down Fix Autocomplete for tags when pressing delete key. Fixed issue trying to cancel tagging job for new custom tags Fixed issue with on-demand analysis of samples

I love the helm-synth. It's open-source and has a simple interface. https://tytel.org/helm/

If you want to try FM-synthesis I can recommend 'Dexed'. It's closely modeled on the Yamaha DX7, but a little bit difficult to understand. The good thing is there are a bunch of presets you can work with.

Both are for free, so go get them. They're awesome!

I hope I'm doing this correctly by commenting on the original post. Anyway, this is a full year of producing minimal melodic Techno as Elyot. I just switched over to Audius. It's a new platform for people who are tired of Soundcloud's fees. I started producing Techno about 3 years ago after being Rock for many years. This year, I made a goal of producing at least 24 finished tracks and succeeded. There's 21 here because I produced 3 more under a different artist brand. The goal brought me to a better understanding of the craft & I learned a lot (as you could probably tell listening to the older tracks). I finished my last one for the year last night. https://audius.co/elyot

I'd say try Garage Band https://www.apple.com/mac/garageband/ because it's free and it has a pretty simple workflow. It might not do everything a "real DAW" like Ableton Live can do, but it should be more than enough to learn. It also has a great set of built in samples and instruments so you won't have to spend a lot of time going through VSTs or sample packs, you can just drop an instrument in the rack and go.

If you don't even know the software well enough to know how to look at the available audio effects and see what they are, then yes.

You could also just look at what's available in Live Intro according to Ableton.. It looks like Redux, which does bit reduction, is available in the intro.

You could also Google it like someone else suggested.

I mean, you really have a lot of options here besides whining at strangers.

You can clone any drive you have to a new one using macrium reflect (free version). I just did this last week cloning my c drive from an hdd to an nvme drive. There’s tons of videos on YouTube showing you how to do it! Good luck https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree

I don't produce much, but i do love to pull heavy techno down to 95-105 for chillout sets, sometimes they become such giant stomps. I like the word 'chuggers', indeed. tons of mixes on my hearthis page, randomly this one: https://hearthis.at/sheldondrake/neuronale180921a/

edit: Ableton lets you change tempo and pitch independently. when you go too slow it just adds a bit of filthy crunch.

Sound cloud if you want to pay as if you don't you get limited uploads and you won't get as many listens. I tried this before with exact same tracks basically and was getting a few 100 listeners per track a month with the free one yet the paid one nearly tripled the numbers.

I like the site hear this as it's a smaller site but growing and the free account it unlimited uploads and you can choose if people can download your track or not. You do have to upload mp3's but by the time SoundCloud has compressed and fucked about with it then I can't see it mattering. I would register both sound cloud and hear this, that is a good start.

https://hearthis.at/new/

Hi @ everyone =)

I'm in the process of assembling a new EP, going for a groovy & dark feeling to it, kinda want to make it feel like a journey through the abyss.

The main track of the EP would be this one:

https://hearthis.at/marul/marul-tba-2020/ELg/

I don't exactly need any advice on it, but I do need advice on which label to send the EP as a demo to, because the sound I'm going for here isn't what I usually roll with, so I have no starting point or reference to which labels have this kind of sound in their music catalog. If anyone could help me out with figuring this out, I'd be very grateful =) <3

Hard deep hypnotic thumper I made. Sending for mastering once I have touched it up. Any ideas much appreciated. If anyone wants to jump on a remix then message me and will sort stems out when done. As long as the track meets the sound of the label I will release at the same time. Hard, dark bangers are the order of the day and Acid is always good. Let me know what you think, thanks.

Chemical Feelings https://hearthis.at/qh2jcf9p/chemical-feelings-cut-mp3-e5p

Hello all.

I used to play Diablo 2 a lot, so I decided to sample a speech from the game and implement it in a techno track. This is the result:

https://hearthis.at/marul/marul-ancients-wip-2/y0V/

Went for a very massive & groovy oldschool sound on this one, still need to polish it up and add a few fillers. If anyone has any suggestions on what to add/change/remove, feel free to comment.

Made a short snippet of a track that I'm currently finishing up, bit darker than what I usually make. Also not sure if I should make the ride sound cleaner or not, so some input on that would be lovely =)

Here's the link, enjoy listening ^^ https://hearthis.at/marul/marul-gehenna-snip/

This is a Acid Techno track I am working on, it's near finished but would like some feedback. It's potentially being released digitally as part of a remix Ep, I am still looking for another 1-2 people whom would like to remix it so if you dig the track and would like it to be potentially released on a established label on one of the biggest download sites for Acid music then hit me up : )

Listening to Squat Project - Acid Squat Work In Progress https://hearthis.at/qh2jcf9p/acid-squat/

Recently recorded a new track. Haven't sat down and recorded any tracks in a while due to a steady stream of Live PA gigs over the past months. It's great to be able to sit back and spend some time making actual tracks. Sounds, sequencing and recording all done live on hardware. Post processing later done through Ableton. This track will be the backbone for a series of remixes. Opinions encouraged. https://hearthis.at/freqmod/determination/

"how to dj right" was written in the mid '00s and is therefore dated in some regards but I still found the book super helpful. YouTube and beatmatch are great supplements but this really helped me prioritize what to focus on to get the basics down https://www.amazon.com/dp/0802139957/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_ZZ2T9F6Q3TT8YF4QPSMX

I use this to connect my mixer to my computer. Then using any software you want it’ll show up as an audio device to record from.

Behringer U-Control UCA222 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0023BYDHK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_0D6PRR2CR5R6R9V9FVGC

I have a multitrack recorder/mixer https://www.amazon.com/BEHRINGER-UFX1204-12-Input-Firewire-Interface/dp/B00E87ONWC

Not the only solution, but this can hook up to a comp via USB and give you 12 channels in your daw. You can also record as wavs directly onto a flash drive.

My setup is dawless. I send an MC707, TG55, contact mic and pedals, and a modular case to this mixer. My modular gear is sub mixed using a 4chan module, then sent to board. The mod has two return channels for delay and reverb, plus I could add other pedals to the mixer's sends (or use on board fx).

Depending on the size of your modular case and how many desktop synths you get, you may want to send individual voices to the board, but I think most of us tend to do some form of sub mixing to save channels.

Someone else can probably offer a better, more computer-friendly setup that may suit you best.

It doesn’t have to be super expensive. Burning CDs can be a bit of a pain, but if you’re okay with that you can get a very affordable setup.

Here’s one on eBay for $200.

EDIT: I also highly recommend this book. A very talented DJ friend of mine gave it to me as a gift and it’s been an awesome reference. Talks a lot about FX, beat matching, and even things like keeping your energy levels in check.

Maybe a retarded question but would that be suitable for someone who doesnt have any musical background, like playing the piano/drums? Also how about something like this? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00W5F3GJ0/ref=s9_top_hd_bw_g267_i4/190-5696879-5983269?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&amp;pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-4&amp;pf_rd_r=1MG14WJARTG1NX9VG972&amp;pf_rd_t=101&amp;pf_rd_p=2d58c25f-1a11-5cc4-b3a8-39b2285892b6&amp;...

OK, thanks so much for all your help!

Would this be similar enough to your first suggestion? http://www.amazon.co.uk/Numark-MultiMix-USB-FX-mixers/dp/B00IPF9DX2/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?s=musical-instruments&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1450373354&amp;sr=1-1-fkmr1&amp;keywords=Numark+M6+USB+4-Channel+DJ+Mixer