How To Make Dubstep

Dubstep is a genre of music that has been around since the late nineties. Many new electronic artists have embraced this style of music lately and it has become much more mainstream. There are many arguments about which artists are true Dubstep artists, Brostep artists or just Hip Hop beat makers. This article is not about the genre or how it must fit a particular category. I would rather go over some basic technical points on how to make Dubstep or integrate the modern sound into your current beats. I have gathered some helpful video tutorials and will break down the basic tools and techniques I use to get my sound.

The beat or drums of traditional Dubstep was originally based  off of 2 Step Garage, Drum n Bass and of course Dub Rhythm from Jamaica. Dance Hall rhythms are also present but today's Dubstep can have just about any beat - from Hip Hop, Dance or even Rock and now Industrial. With the introduction of Hip Hip beats into the sound, a new sub genre called Thugstep has been created. The drums are not the signature sound of the Dubstep genre anymore so I will not go into detail about how to build a drum beat.

The low bass wobble with a tuplet feel  is probably the most common element most artists implement into a song to give it that Dubstep feel or sound. Whether you are using a Hip Hop beat or a Dance beat, the synth wobbles  you use can give you that modern sound. I usually use Reason's Graintable synthesizer, "Malstrom" and Polysonic synthesizer, "Thor" running as a plug-in within Pro Tools to achieve that wobble sound. This is probably one of the more challenging ways to get that sound but the results can be very dramatic especially when you use multiple layers of synth sounds pumped through "The Pulverizer". The Pulveriser is a compression plugin within Reason that gives a very crushed and dirty sound. When the filters are applied properly, the sound takes on a gritty edge.

Diversity in your use of sound patches and synth leads along with multiple layers of these sounds is key to getting really grimy and modern sounding textures in your song. When in doubt, add another layer of the synth over the melody, detune it just the right amount and it can give your leads even more depth. Reason and Pro Tools are not the only tools I use to get this type of sound. Maschine by Native Instruments and the Yamaha Motif also have endless possibilities when creating electronic music and of course Dubstep. There are many presets that contain that "bass wobble" that you can tweak to your content. Below are a few videos that will help you build Dubstep beats.