Advice for a complete beginner =)

[ColemanT]

ELMO!

You have a wonderful gem in NZ

HIS NAME IS TOM COSM!

I write in caps because he is THAT cool!

http://www.cosm.co.nz/

He does djing and music production in Ableton. Lots of free stuff.

Also, Dubspot.com, and the dubspot youtube channel have like 50 free videos for ableton. Some are really neat!

[Audboi]

best thing you can do is start with the basics: learning how to program a synthesizer. then, combining that with other effects or virtual instruments to get the sound you want

once you know how to do that, you will have a good foundation.

other than that, keep listening to music and practice arranging drum patterns in your head. personally, since i've been listening to electronic music since the early 80s as a kid. and with my dj experience, i have a good idea on what i like my drums to sound like. i hope that this applies to you as well. as long as you are listening to a variety of different musics and keeping a note of how the drum tracks are arranged, you should have a good idea on what to do for your starter, original tracks.

another good training tip is to try to make your first track a cover tune of something you enjoy listening to. this way, you will get to know your DAW a little better and familiarize yourself with its ins and outs. the bonus is you are not starting from scratch. you already know what the sounds are and how they are arranged. all you need to do is figure out how to create them and sequence them correctly.

also consider the audible frequencies that your production takes up. think of your potential new track as a great meal. you want just a little of everything, but not too much of one thing. that too much of one thing will end up overpowering or taking away from the other parts.

when you make a track, all the individual elements have to be eq'd right so they all fit in your sandwich. Here's an example of what I'm talking about:
http://images.digitalmedianet.com/20...erpt1/fig5.gif

taken from: http://www.digitalprosound.com/2002/...g_excerpt1.htm

i will add some more information for you once i have access to this other forum i moderate on. it is currently down right now. i wrote a basic guide for such a question.

Thanx from me David, i didnt post this thread, but you made a lot of sense there, you just opened my eyes to something that has been nigling at me. ive been trying to produce now for almost 2 years, ive come up with some great loops and riffs,i put them together and get a great sound, then i get nausea listening to it, so then i think its crap, am i just listening to it for too long or am i just not cut out for this, also i have the need to be completely original, and a lot of what i come up with almost starts to sound like i heard it before, maybe im having confidence issues with it, but any advice for a noob with "all the gear and no idear"?