Drum n Bass Masterclass

With David Carbone www.bs1records.com

davide@bs1records.com

Tune Elements

16 bar loop + alternative 16 bar loop (drop, cut out or filter 1st 16 bars) = 32 bars

1. Beats 2. Bass 3. Vibe (chord progression, vocals etc.) 4. Energy (riff, guitar, synth etc.) 5. Character (sweeps, builds)

Tune Structure

Try and keep track under 6 mins Typical DnB track @170bpm = 256 bars

1. Intro = 64 bars Keep it mixable for DJs; minimal (beats, FX & builds)

2. The Drop = 64-128 bars Drop in the bass; maybe cut beats for 16 bars

3. The Breakdown = 16 bars Drop out bass or beats

4. The 2nd Drop = 64-128 bars Like 1st Drop but should be different i.e. ‘deeper’

5. Outro Similar to Intro (mixable; minimal)

Beat Elements

1. Kick (x3) 2. Hat (x2) 3. Snare (x3) 4. Ghost hat 1 5. Ghost snare 1 6. Ghost hat 2 7. Ghost snare 2 Important: Make groove templates from live

samples then use the quantization throughout the track

‘Ticks’ in between kicks x2 each hat/snare

3 Layers to a Beat

1. Backing break Live sample take quantization

2. Main break 3. Kick, snare, hat

Apply:

EQ Saturation / distortion Shaping / envelope (punchier beat) FX Compression

EQ

EQ each sound individually! (try to avoid overlapping frequencies)

Sweep EQ spectrum and reduce bad frequencies Any reverb on drums has to be minimal (1/4 of a

second)

AI-55Hz Sub bass

(nothing <60hz except sub)

1KHz Mid

Vocals, snare

60-75Hz Kick drum

20KHz High end

Cymbals, hi-hat, rides, crashes

0db to -60db = hearing

Compressor

0db to -60db (threshold)

Attenuates transient peaks

Ratio (start with 2:1)

-10db -10db -10db -10db

-10db

Looping in Logic Pro

Load chord in sampler (edit instrument then load)

Turn ‘Loop on’ in sampler LS = Loop Start LE = Loop end Crossfade: fades the loop start and end

points to give more natural sound

Filtering and LFO

Filtering is good to combine with LFO Filtering the EQ (e.g. cutting high frequency for a low pass filter)

LFO (low frequency oscillation)

Like an audio controller Modulation: Source (sets the rate) and Destination

LFO delay or decay 1. Volume / amplitude, or 2. Frequency (filter), or 3. Pitch

Triplets

Cut ¼ of a bar (e.g. 2nd beat) Repeat ¼ bar every 1.5 beats on a new

track (useful for vocals)

Bass

Bass Layers 1. Sub bass

Gentle LFO e.g. volume; no FX (leave clean) 2. Mid bass

Apply EQ, filtering, shaping (ADSR), importantly LFO, FX 3. High bass

Apply EQ, filtering, shaping (ADSR), importantly LFO, FX

20Hz 120-160Hz Punchier kick

50-60Hz 206Hz

Sub bass only Snare

Bass

Roland TR808 = hip hop bass Roland TR909 = techno bass Roland TB303 = acid bass

Record bass keynote from drum/synth machine Export sound and load in sampler to play on

midi keyboard then apply techniques

Shift+Tab in Logic = Legarto (notes equalize)

Dynamics vs. Loudness

-6db on each audio track/layer makes perfect mix (not 0db)

Layering is using the same beat/groove with a different, but similar, sound i.e. mid bass and sub bass

Try and get master output down to 0db (no clipping) Select all audio channels on mixer (not buses and

master!) and lower volume on one channel – all should lower relatively

Vibe / Melody

1. Question 2. Answer (e.g. chord) (e.g. sax)

3. Revised question 4. Conclusive answer (e.g. altered chord) (e.g. stronger altered sax)

Buses

Send-Return Method Assign effect (i.e. reverb, tape delay etc.) to a bus

then share that effect with other audio tracks (frees CPU power) ‘Send to Bus1’

Grouping Method (post-production) Change output of group of audio tracks (i.e. 3 layers

of drums) to ‘Bus1’ then assign compressor to Bus1 Repeat compression ‘grouped’ for drums/beat, bass,

vibes, ‘the rest’ (FX etc.) and make them similar levels

Mastering

1. EQ Look at increasing bottom and top end frequencies Sweep for unwanted frequencies

2. Compress (again) Gentle compression

3. Limit Increase limiter VST gain to audible level as loud as

possible

Limiting

Like compression but not rolling-off the peaks

Cuts off peaks completely (high ‘rogue’ peaks halting further compression)