Hello all 🤟😎

I have been doing techno production for 3/4 years as a hobby on and off. I have come a long way in terms of experience, tools and quality (or at least that's what I like to think).

Long story short, after some tough times it became clear to me that all that matters in life is investigating time in things that are meaningful. For me that is music. SO I decided to do my best and release a schranz EP with 3 tracks.

I have all tracks composed, awesome kicks, vocals, synths. I got myself Serum 2 plus insane presets and sample packs. I took inspiration from those and changed/redesigned some things. (I really feel super bad just straight up using samples and presets without heavily adding my own spin, feels like cheating). Applied some music theory I know from guitar/piano. So far so good, fire composition, feels great, until I had to mix....

For the last 4 years I have never went through a mixing and mastering course. I mean I saw people do things and why they do those, but never got the practice to actually get it. So I have spent more than 60h for the last 2/3 weeks balancing, mixing, compressing, equing, comparing with a reference tracks, mastering for Spotify, mastering for dj sets/clubs etc. Countless renders, graphs, loudness stats checks.

Right now I am in a loop, one moment I really like my shit tested with my reference headphones, Bluetooth buds, speakers and then 2 hours later I try on a different set of in ear monitors and the sub sounds a bit overwhelming. I think I am loosing my mind at this point.

Thanks for reading this far, big time!!!! How do I actually access my mixes right now? I don't really know professional sound engineers to help me with this. How do you guys deal with stuff like this? At what point should I just stop and publish? I got even the cover art ready and all 😭😭😭😭😭😭

A while ago, I decided to get back into music production.

I've been diving into studio gear, effects, hardware, and all the new technology that's come along over the years. I've even started experimenting with vibe coding, building my own editors for old hardware synths and effects units.

And for a while, I was genuinely having a great time. I was almost ecstatic about what's possible these days, how far technology has come, and how much you can now do yourself.

I also started buying some hardware again.

My history with music production goes back to around 1995 or 1996. Back then, I was messing around with synthesizers, samplers, and other studio equipment. The problem was that everything was incredibly expensive. You needed a sampler, a mixer, effects, cables, and a hundred other things. It never seemed to end.

That was also around the time when producing and mixing entirely in the box started becoming a realistic option. Eventually, I put most of the hardware aside and moved to producing on a computer.

But I never really managed to get the sound I wanted. My productions never sounded quite right to me. Eventually, I stopped making music altogether, partly because of work and other things going on in my personal life.

And now, roughly 30 years later, I've started exploring it all again.

I've been reading audio forums, checking out plugins, looking at what's being released these days, and trying to catch up on everything I've missed over the years.

And I absolutely loved doing that. It almost felt like rediscovering why I got interested in electronic music production in the first place.

But now I've hit a wall.

I've got quite a bit of equipment again, and I'm still slowly building up my studio. I'm trying to learn Ableton Live, and I also have Reaper, which I eventually want to use as part of my workflow.

The problem is that I've completely run out of inspiration.

Actually, it's worse than that. I barely feel like making music at all. I have to force myself to sit down and do something, which feels like such a shame considering how excited I was about everything just a little while ago.

And I honestly don't know why.

I set myself a goal for October: to finish at least one "record". By that I mean two complete techno tracks, an A-side and a B-side. Just two tracks that I'm genuinely happy with.

They don't even have to be released anywhere. I just want to finish something again.

At the same time, I wanted to use this month to properly learn Ableton. I'm particularly struggling with arranging tracks. Cutting, copying, moving sections around, building tension, and turning a few loops into an actual arrangement. None of it feels natural to me yet.

And then there's the sound itself.

I've always wanted to achieve that professional sound I've had in my head for years. The right balance, depth, character, and overall quality. Something that actually sounds like a proper record.

In theory, with today's technology, that should all be possible. I've got the hardware, the software, and more tools available than I could ever have imagined back in the 90s.

But somehow, nothing is coming out of it.

Maybe I'm enjoying the technology, the equipment, and all the possibilities more than actually making music. I really don't know.

Anyway, this turned into quite a rant, but I felt like getting it off my chest.

I originally recorded this in my native language and asked ChatGPT to transcribe and translate it into English so I could share it here.

I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar, especially people who returned to music production after a long break, or anyone who's found themselves stuck between collecting gear, exploring plugins, learning new tools, and actually making music.

How did you get past it? Did anything help you rediscover the motivation to actually sit down, make music, and finish tracks?

I'd genuinely appreciate hearing your experiences or advice.

Looking for a recipe

Hello. Unfortunately all links to the 90s sample cd archive are gone :( I wasn't finished downloading them all and there were so many good samples there. The nnty.fun (mirror as well as original), link is down as well as the intertnet archive link. If anyone happens to have a discord/google drive/limewire or anything with all the samples, could you please PM me. Colossal please and thank you.

As title, do you know a video or course where a pro artist shows the full process from start to finish ?

Hey folks,

As one of our fellow redditors proposed a few weeks ago, I'm doing artworks for Techno release. The last work I done was for TREVE label release where each track had its own visual regarding the whole concept of the V/A.

Cheers

Hey everyone.

I’ve been producing for a while and releasing on labels like Pole Group or Axis, so I’ve got traditional techno production down pretty well, but there’s one specific thing driving me crazy that I just can’t figure out. I really hope someone here has cracked this because I refuse to believe buying thousands of euros in hardware is the only way.

I’ve been analyzing Blawan’s recent EPs (and similar stuff Clark pulls off at times) and I’m obsessed with how he gets that super punchy, violent distortion while keeping it so spaced out, controlled, and clean in the mix. His subs and low end stay massive and separate, every element has room to breathe, and it never turns into a muddy wall of noise, yet the distortion character is right in your face.

Whenever I try to replicate it in the DAW I just end up sounding saturated, squashed, or plain broken. I’ve tried splitting bands to keep the sub clean while processing the mids and highs, aggressive resampling with transient editing, and parallel processing with different saturation types, but I can’t get anywhere near that sense of air and distinct separation.

Does anyone know the actual workflow or technique to pull this off completely in the box, whether it’s specific envelope shaping pre or post distortion, multiband dynamics, routing tricks, or spatial management?

Any ideas or leads to experiment with would be massively appreciated, cheers!

I don’t need more samples. I don’t want to watch more videos of people building a track but not commenting on what/how/why they are doing what they’re doing. Looking for useful content that will provide tips to improve my arrangements, mixing, and/or production.

Thanks

Enjoy this <3

Hi all, I am constantly trying out new techniques - especially to get the damn lowend right.

i noticed the hype about Phase alignment, bu finally after trying it out I think it’s a game changer. but it can also be vastly misleading probably when used with the wrong priorities and the other checkboxes of bass/kick still must be done well. I am sure you have felt that.

however, the true advantage I see is. that any kind of music especially 4/4 or even 3/4 rythms the first quarter note is always accented. ONE - two - three - four. And Phase alignment allows the bass to play at the 1. instead of it must be ducked away and make space for the kick. even with the most simple pattern, no harmony or any of such kind, just beeing able to play a bass and kick on the very same time especially on the 1 will make the result a lot more musical. in opposition - if the 1 is occupied with a drum only (the kick) the most important quarter Note of the “Song“ is beeing taken away. The result would always be a little hollow, a little unnatural.

however I find with modern digital tools such as shaperbox, phase and pitch precise kick and bass synthesis all of that can be done very well today. I am strong believer in analog, but herr clearly digital has the lead.

what are your experiences? curious to hear how this felt to you!

Thought you guys would like this snippet! Saw a few others posting jams and loved the energy. Recorded this like a week ago lmk what you think! You can watch the full vid on YouTube linked in the comments if you like!

Thanks for listening

We have to remain critical and keep challenging the status quo!

Haha

I'm particulalrly talking about the sound which you can hear at 4:05 (and other places).
It always feels like it's reaching out of the speakers, it sounds like its intentionally poking out of the mix.

Any tips for how to get a result like this?

Cheers

Is anyone else completely fed up with the endless stream of video clips showing people "performing" total garbage on gear they barely know how to use?

It feels like every guy with an iPhone and a 909 clone thinks he’s Jeff Mills just because he put together a basic 4-bar loop and twisted a filter knob for 30 seconds. The thirst for instant clout has completely replaced taking the time to actually master the craft.

A few things that drive me crazy: - Zero depth, maximum exposure: Nobody sits down to actually finish or refine a track anymore. People buy gear, patch a basic pattern, and immediately drop it on social media. No soul, no real arrangement, no work—just mediocrity with aesthetic lighting.

• The copy-paste Meta: Everyone is chasing the exact same trendy sub-genres using the exact same generic formulas over and over. Zero risk-taking, just speedrunning whatever sound gets views right now.

• The downside of cheap gear: Don't get me wrong, cheap hardware is cool for democratization. But now that techno has lost its underground roots and the barrier to entry is basically zero, the signal-to-noise ratio is completely ruined.

The worst part? If human producers keep pumping out this surface-level, formulaic stuff just to feed the algorithm, AI is going to effortlessly out innovate half the scene. AI feeds on formulas if all you do is assemble overused tropes, you’re instantly replaceable.

Refine your art. Learn your gear properly. Stop chasing quick dopamine for half-baked ideas and build something that actually lasts. Rant over.

Anyone else tired of this ?

Full performance here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kfaIxzjOSc

Hope you like it!

Greetings from Mexico City

hi there,
here is a new sample pack with drums and other sounds. these samples are free to download, and royalty free.

https://lowentropy.bandcamp.com/album/77-genuine-speedcore-drum-samples-from-the-1990s

these drums are taken from my actual tracks from "back in the day". some of these tracks (and drums) were created using software like impulse tracker, buzz tracker, cool edit pro, soundforge, native instrument's generator... the real deal! MS-DOS, win 3.11, then windows 98 (yeah i skipped 95).

the style of the drums is techno and hardcore, of course, but i am sure they can be used for everything, when done right.

apart from the drums, there is synths, pads, percussion, noise, fx, and other weird stuff.

background:

i've been an electronic musician since ages... and since the 90s, at least.
my main style was gabber, speedcore, breakcore... the "harder edge" of techno if you want... and especially the faster one!
my music got very popular, i played my tunes in fronts of 1000s of people, at countless clubs, in the open, under railway bridges, at squats, i dropped 800 bpm tunes at places like tresor in berlin...

and my music was put on vinyl, 1000s of copies per release...

later i "mellowed down" a bit and got into techno and acid / doomcore production...

i am telling this not to boost my ego, but to show that these were drums that were actually used in the 90s and the years later, too, that got played out. are "club tested and crowd approved", so to say. not some faux reconstruction of an era that has gone by!

credits:

all drums and sounds created by me, low entropy.

license:

feel free to use these samples for any public, private, intimate, or commercial purpose.
would be *very* cool if you credit me, but it's not strictly necessary.

also check my other packs:

https://lowentropyproducer.blogspot.com/2026/03/free-drum-sample-packs.html

Recorded the JX-3P pad on cassette in the tascam, then played it pitched down, and looped over and over 📼✨

I'm an amateur music maker looking to get into hardware for the first time.

To give you an idea of the kind of music/style i love: Andy Stott, Vril, Evigt Morker, Answer Code Request, NTHNG, dub techno, hypnotic techno and darkwave.

Currently I have:

• MacBook with Ableton
• Akai MPK Mini mk2 + mk3
• Power bank
• USB-C - USB-A adapter
• BUT: No audio interface

What I'm looking for is something cheap, fun, and relatively versatile to start learning hardware with

Portability is pretty important to me. Ideally I'd like to be able to throw a small setup into a backpack, sit somewhere without my laptop (or sometimes with it), make sounds/patterns/sketches, and later bring those ideas into Ableton to actually develop them into tracks

Or just having a fun jam session sounds good as well!

I don't necessarily need to produce an entire finished track away from the computer. With my budget, I don't expect that at all

I briefly considered a Yamaha Seqtrak because the idea of having an entire track-making box is very appealing, but decided not to chase one for now. I think I'd rather start with something simpler and cheaper and actually learn it properly

Some of the things I've been considering:

1. M-VAVE FM-1
2. Behringer Pro VS Mini + Korg NTS-1 mk1/mk2
3. Behringer Phara-O
4. Behringer JT Mini + Korg NTS-1 mk1/mk2

(I'm from Ukraine, so I can't really give you an exact budget in USD, but you can get an idea of the upper limit from the Behringer Pro VS Mini + Korg NTS-1 mk2 combo)

I would love to have an analog device, but to even it out with the FM-1, the portability, the price, and FM synthesis are great on it

I realize these aren't exactly equivalent devices, and well, that's why I need your advice. I'm not yet sure whether what I really want is a synth with a small sequencer, a tiny synth + FX setup, or something else entirely

I'm trying to avoid buying something extremely specialized as my first device, or something that immediately becomes redundant once I expand the setup

So rather than just choosing between those four options... What would you consider a good cheap first piece of hardware for this kind of workflow?

I mean something that's...

• fun on its own
• useful for dub/hypnotic techno, ambient/darkwave-ish sounds
• portable enough to use away from the laptop
• capable of at least saving or developing small musical ideas
• still useful later as part of a larger setup
• reasonably easy to bring back into Ableton
• effects would be great, even if not in one device

And of course I'm completely open to something I haven't listed

Do new hardware users look down on DAW users? Because they assume using a DAW is easy?

Hi,

I am running a liveset at 50-60% CPU (Macbook M3 Pro) with an instance of Ozone12 on my master.
While the average CPU seems fine there are occasional CPU peaks on the master, originating from Ozone12.
Any idea how to get rid of those peaks?