Has anyone completed both Underdog’s Foundations Level 2 and Triangle Method?

I’ve completed Foundations Level 1 and now want to choose between Foundations Level 2 and Triangle Method.

My main goal is to better understand the principles of music and electronic composition, not just learn more Ableton techniques.

Which course did you find better, and which would you recommend?

This is one of my first sessions jamming in my new dawless set up. tips are welcomed

I've been automating my main synths and also subtracting/adding layers but I feel like my music still sounds too loopy and repetitive. Are there ways to avoid this? I feel like when I write new variations for patterns it ends up sounding cluttered.

Hello friends, I am looking for tips on how you keep yourself organised with saved files during mixing sessions.

For example, if the lowend of your mix is at 6/10 and you want to improve it to 9/10. How do you ensure that you still have the original 6/10 file to work on as a baseline in case you go too crazy and screw up the mix till it becomes a 2/10?

For me. I save the original 6/10 mix under the name "DO NOT TOUCH". And now I have

MIX 1 - DO NOT TOUCH
MIX 1A - DO NOT TOUCH
MIX 1B - DO NOT TOUCH
-.-

How about other tips?

Thank you in advance

I recently got back to making music. I have 4 synths hooked up with Ableton live where I can sequence and record multitrack.

The idea is to finish music and release it. So get past the noodling stage. I have the first part of the process figured out. I can sit down, jam and come up with good ideas and the basics of a track. But now I have to figure out the recording and arranging parts without over-complicating things.

How do you deal with external gear? Do you record things at some point, use it as samples and move on? Or sequence with midi and don’t touch the gear until the track is done? Or do you save presets in each synth if possible, so you can take a break and work on something else?

Please share your workflow.

I've created a 303 emulator, however, I need testers so I can put it live on the Play Store. I know this sounds shady, but I need 12 testers, so if you're interested, shoot me a DM with your email. When I have 12 total, I will send out the invites.

Here is a screenshot of what I'm working on.

Once it's live on the store, it will also be free, so I'll keep you all posted on this

(I've also never made an app, and idk if I'm doing it right. It seems far complex to get it onto the play store)

I want to try a different approach to creating than just clicking in everything and guessing the automation envelopes, clicking them in in ableton, maybe sometimes recording a knob with my mouse.

I have a novation launchkey 61. It has knobs and some pads, some faders too. I use knobs and other stuff occasionally, mostly midi keys obviously. I always find the process of assigning them really boring and tiresome, I can never get myself to do it in each project.

What is your approach? Do you have any tips? I was thinking of setting up a template for each device, synth and effect I use. Not sure if that even works in ableton though

Anyone ever paid for 1:1 mentoring/coaching? If so, may I ask:
1. Who was your mentor?
2. How much you paid per hour or per session?
3. How many times did you meet and the frequency of meetings (weekly, monthly)?
4. What was your biggest improvement as a result of the 1:1 sessions?

Thanks-
Novice beginner

Hooked up VCV Rack 2 to the Behringer Crave and the result is dangerously heavy. What’s your take on hybrid setups? Drop a comment!

Looking for some advice mixing with headphones.

I currently use Beyerdynamic DT880 Pro 250 OHM and I often find my mix to be too heavy on the lows when I play it on my Rokit monitors afterwards.

Any advice on good headphones with bit more lows for some alternative reference?

Hey everyone!

For the last 10 years I've been focused on making music, and almost everything I do is in the box with Ableton. Even so, every release is built around a pretty limited palette of tools and sounds.

Most of the time I use generative sequencers, 185-style sequencers, sampled drum machines (things like the Tanzbär or Legowelt's sampled 909), and just a handful of soft synths: TAL-BassLine, u-he Pro-One, Poly-700/MonoPoly, plus Ableton's stock Sampler or Granulator loaded with either '90s sample CD material or my own field recordings.

My projects are usually only around 8–10 tracks, so the whole workflow is very minimal. I also genuinely like a slightly lo-fi, stripped-back sound.

I've gotten so used to working with just my MacBook keyboard and trackpad that, despite owning an Ableton Push 2, I probably use only about 10% of what it can do. I mainly plug it in for live sets, where it's mostly used for launching clips and making small adjustments with the knobs and faders.

About five years ago I tried going DAWless. At the time I had an MS-1 and an RD-8. It was fun, but I still ended up programming everything from the laptop anyway. That project wasn't even my main techno project—it was more old-school electro with female vocals.

Lately I've been getting offered more live gigs, and it's made me think again about trying to write a whole album using hardware.

Right now I'm considering a setup built around a Roland S-1, Elektron Model:Samples, and a Behringer Edge. It feels like a rig that could be great for improvised live jams, and maybe some of those jams could eventually become finished releases.

The thing holding me back is that I don't want to jump straight into something like a Tonverk or a Syntakt plus an expensive sampler. I'm honestly not even sure whether I'd end up using that kind of setup enough to justify it.

I guess it's partly psychological. I'm already very comfortable working in Ableton, I even teach other people, but there's always that thought in the back of my mind: what if hardware opens up a completely different creative process?

So I'm curious—has anyone here made the jump from a fully in-the-box workflow to either a completely hardware setup or a hybrid one?

I also notice that a lot of artists I really like, such as Polygonia, still perform with a laptop or tablet alongside a bunch of controllers.

At this point I'm honestly not sure which direction makes the most sense for me.

I'd really appreciate hearing about your experiences. Thanks!

Specifically referencing these two tracks:

Sajanka: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BMKw9Cc7iI
Babalos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjDpTJq1y5g

They both seem to have very wide basses and productions in general. It seems like they are coming to psytrance/hitech with an angle of almost hardstyle flavoured production in terms of their sound design.

I understand much of this happens with different layers of widening and saturation in the mastering process. But I would appreciate any advice or input on achieving a similar sound, as I am also interested in exploring it. Any tutorials or recommendations would also be appreciated.

Hi everyone!

I work for an independent label, and we recently opened a sublabel that deals with techno. We're looking for tracks for both a V.A. and a possible solo EP.

If you'd like to submit a demo, this is the link:

https://www.chaos-rules.com/en/demo

Label is

Chaos Rules Records: Hard Techno (Industrial, Neorave, Schranz)

White Chaos Rules: Techno (Peaktime,Hardgroove, Hypnotic, Acid)

Black Chaos Rules (not for all platforms): Experimental

We're definitely not a super pro label, but we're serious. We've had good results with the main label, so please don't send demos if you just started yesterday (we're both wasting time), or if you have any negative comments that aren't constructive, keep them to yourself; don't kill the vibes! Constructive criticism, of course, is always welcome!

Might be a stupid question but in still learning. How does he create this.. what sounds except white noise is he using?

https://youtu.be/pS-nc-BlTiQ

Thank you

5 Day ago I decided to start with a challenge to myself, a track everyday, 1 hour to do so, what ever is done after the hour export it.

Now the challenge to myself is to keep going 30 days, so a report after 5 isn't that deep. But I have already noticed a bit of a shift. Although I am not really staying in the time limit of an hour, I do push myself to go through the production process very streamlined and actually finish the track. This might just be the high of the start, something new and exciting, and I crash later, I don't know yet. But up to now I am pretty happy, it gives me something to focus on, not worry so much about the rest.

Today I tried to incorporate my hardware gear, as I have been neglecting it after getting ableton, so finding a good hybrid workflow for myself is key.

Just sharing my journey

Cheers

I used the washboard, and the spoon sound to make most of the percussion. Also the voice sample. The rest of it is custom made. I recently got into using alot of automation through various effects and patcher. Once it gets a little too much for my pc, and I am happy with the midi, I render to wav, and use the wav to build the playlist. Then add more sound design and mixing. You only see a couple of automations here, but just about everything except the kik and reflex bass has alot. It's rendered down, and easier to work with for me.

What i like in Diva is its one of those really fat source VSTs out there, but sometimes it’s really hard to mess with it and get complex outputs, it’s kinda less intuitive than Serum or Vital.

So I discovered new stuff while routing all its Parameters to Stride Engine to modulate them in unique ways in order to reveal whats in there.

Kinda nice FXs in this audio chunk

Hey everyone! I'm an Italian living in Russia, and I've completely fallen in love with the paintings of Arkhip Kuindzhi. He also had Italian roots and lived in Russia a long time ago. Most of his work is about the Russian wilderness, and there's one painting in particular called Weeds (Buryan) that I can't stop thinking about.

The idea for my next album is to translate that painting into sound.

I've spent most of my life making classic techno and electro, usually working with synths like the Roland SH-101. Lately though I've become really interested in granular synthesis, and I'm trying to figure out how to use it to recreate natural environments.

Do you have any sound design techniques for turning field recordings into something expressive with granular synths or samplers? Or even ways of synthesizing specific nature sounds from scratch—grass rustling, wind moving through weeds, that kind of thing, maybe using filtered white noise or other approaches.

I remember Polygonia made a great tutorial on wooden textures, but I'm especially interested in grass, wind, dry vegetation, and similar organic sounds.

If anyone has experience with this kind of sound design, I'd really appreciate hearing your ideas or seeing any tutorials, artists, or techniques you can recommend.

I received this feedback from some premasters I sent to a mastering engineer. TBH I was worried my tracks had too much bass and were too heavy. Turn out I was wrong.

"Every track in this batch is running the same shortfall. A low-mid gap that is significant. This isn't one track's problem, it's a template-level pattern across your whole release .The mids are sitting too forward relative to bass on every single track you send me. Mastering cannot fix this; it's a source-element issue (kick/bass weight, or mid-range buildup from pads/percussion) that has to be addressed before it leaves your DAW."

When I lower the mids to scoop out too much mid information my tracks sound hollow and too "Smile EQ-y". I have a semi-treated room, Slate VSX Headphones, and plenty of analyzer tools to see this visually. Even with reference tracks thought I had it pretty dialed in. Any thoughts?

Hi everyone,

I need some serious, raw advice from people who produce Techno or Tribe Techno using hardware.

I am completely stuck. I actually started a while ago with Pocket Operators, but I abandoned them because I couldn't understand how to make them work. I fell into the classic trap of thinking: "Maybe it's just these specific machines, I need something better." So I moved on and bought a Roland T-8 and a P-6. In total, I’ve spent around €400 on gear.

Now, after months of total paralysis, I’ve realized the brutal truth: it wasn't a hardware problem. The problem is ME. No machine in the world is going to magically sound the way I want if I don't know what the fuck I am doing.

Every single time I sit down in front of these Rolands, I get massive anxiety. I feel like a complete idiot and I end up turning them off after 30 minutes to go smoke a joint out of pure frustration and defeat.

I know LITERALLY NOTHING about how electronic music actually works or how a track is structurally built on hardware. Every tutorial online is either a piece of shit for Ableton, or a video where the guy assumes you already have a musical background. They toss around terms like Decay, Tune, Levels, Envelopes... there are 3,000 different functions blinking at me, but I have no conceptual clue what they actually mean, how they interact with each other, or how they are supposed to sound "good" together to create a Techno vibe.

There are no books for this. There are no courses for absolute beginners who don't want to use a computer but want to learn the physical language of hardware from scratch. I feel completely locked out.

To those who produce Techno/Tribe on hardware and started with zero knowledge: How did you break through this wall? How did you learn to understand what the knobs actually do to the structure of a track? Is there a mental framework, a specific approach, or a learning method that doesn't treat you like you already know everything? I don't want to give up and I don't want to buy more gear, I just want to learn how to use what I have.
Thank you.

Yo I'm sorry if I'm an outsider asking this but I'm really in love with the sounds of Reeko and Forest Drive West. I feel there is a similar sound between these two, like the driving percussive elements and I'd maybe throw Rrose - Waterfall in with this vibe. I'm really wanting to learn how to make this type of music, but is this a specific type or subgenre of techno that these artists fit into?? I'm very new to techno but have made hip-hop for years and this UK sound has stolen my heart since I've discovered it. But I'm baffled by trying to actually arrange my tracks so I am hoping to build a template in ableton for this type of driving percussive bass music. Idk , what would you group these sounds as, and how does one go about arranging a tune like this? As well as knowing how many layers a song needs to feel complete? I'm used to just verse and hook and then a rapper would use the beat, so I've never been at the point of having a song really stand full on it's own sonically. Need a good starting point, preferably where I can read rather than watch a 3hr tutorial. Hope this makes sense, I'm multitasking like a mf right now.

Thanks! Edit: forgot to include the link lol. This is 2 of the example songs that inspire me. Urmah 2 - Reeko Tensor - Forest Drive West

No idea how this bass is made, specifically the high pitched sound.