Icicle designs DnB beats from scratch - Part 1 of 2

Tech DnB don Icicle (Shogun Audio) invites CM into his London studio for an exclusive beats-and-bass-making session.
For access to Part 2 of the video, plus Icicle's project files, presets and projects, buy Computer Music magazine issue 238: bit.ly/CMU238
Follow Icicle online:
• Twitter - / iciclemusic
• Facebook - / iciclemusic
• Soundcloud - / iciclemusic
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• Facebook: / computer.music.mag
• Web: www.computermus...
• Twitter: / computermusicuk

[@ßrinkmon]

So much respect for Icicle. All the effort he does to share his experiences is really a blessing if you want to get your shit right in a DAW. As a result I adore every piece of music he brings out.

[@dotpivotal]

Met him a few years ago in Melbourne. Was humble and friendly. Proper cool dude

[@Joseph-fs4kh]

I turned Snap to OFF and it solved that problem from when you sliced to the custom Simpler Slicing Preset. Hope this helps everyone else. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.

[@Joseph-fs4kh]

Still kind of messes up the timing though.

[@unfocusedcooking]

@@Joseph-fs4kh Turn off snap, loop, volumes to 0db

[@urigeheadmot1196]

This guy really knows what he's talking about

[@GabREAL1983]

I heavily respect these dnb artists for their nerdy approach to sound

[@IepsyI]

I'm a huge advocate for deep multi sampled drum libraries and programs like bfd, superior drummer and addictive drums. Hands down the best way to get realistic sounds. These sounds are also extremely dry to start with room and overhead mics you can adjust to taste. This is really the best way to start with sounds that have minimal color and character to start. Which allows you to creatively apply it yourself. Whereas commonly used packs like Vengeance are already compressed and limited so hard, adding your own coloring becomes overkill.

[@bongalist]

So many haters under whats basically a pretty solid tutorial, do your search and youll find a lot of producers do it like that or similar. Key word here is "control" over what youre doing. Another key word is "originality". You not cool with all of this, use your samples, your method, whatever sounds good and plays well through multiple setups. Using dude's method already and cant complain. Thanks ice.

[@ComputerMusicMag]

Well said! :)

[@shining.force.shadow]

14:21 The difference is incredible. Great tip.

[@audiosabre]

Masterfully done. The beautiful word is 'accentuate'.

[@Joseph-fs4kh]

Always a pleasure returning to this video for inspiration! Excellent video.

[@in_10z]

Respect Icicle! So impressive to see such understanding and control over a simple DNB break. I've learned some critical techniques to getting that beat to pro quality in just 30 minutes. Thanks.

[@TheGreenCheeseMoon]

Legend! I have had superior drummer for quite a while but never got around to finding a nice workflow that made sense to me. I always end up spending waay too long and get bored along the way. Music is meant to be fun! Gotta give this a try! Differentia EP was fire, hope to hear some more new tunes soon!

[@MarkDanov]

Had the same experience with SD and then tried my hand at Addictive. Got some really nice sounding drums on my first session with them and I've been a fan ever since!

[@sybreedsTV]

big ups, 2020 and so useful to this day!

[@itchydez]

Good grief, some these comments are rather cringy. I'm going to take a guess that the people saying 'this is too much effort' are either new to production or too young to apprichate what they're getting to witness.

[@TheRealD4]

It's not the effort per se, but this saps and dilutes the fun parts of making music by focusing on nth degree rather than the composition and arranging which are more about playing, direct, hands on fun and instant reward, than going full geek with a mouse.

[@jdstarek]

Correct. But if you want a 'finished' track that other people want to listen to...this is what needs to be done. Everyone likes a good paint job...nobody realizes how many hours of sanding and how many coats of primer it takes....they just want the shine.

[@turkeyman321]

A lot of producers won'd do this process every time they make a track, they will dedicate time to sessions like this where they will go in hard on a drum break or bass sound design etc and they will save this to their own personal bank of samples... then when they are feeling more creative they can drag and drop lots of premade GOOD QUALITY material into their DAW and get more crazy with it and not focus on all this 'boring' stuff that has already been done.

[@AKAtAGG]

this is exactly right. and once you learn the techniques you know you can make the exact sound you require as quickly as you can find one in your vast sample library, maybe quicker. beautiful music cannot be created lazily.

[@urigeheadmot1196]

turkeyman321 Yeah, it really suprised me that most of the people didn‘t think about that

[@Amy08Jane]

YES!! You killed it on Sat night in CHCH! Thank you!

[@meya3521]

The amount of splice sampling 5 minute producers in here whining is hilarious.

[@jdstarek]

I really appreciate the look behind the curtain (amazing insights and step by step) ...but this just really makes me realize how vital the various plugins are. It seems like the basic instrument selection is rather easy...it's the hours of modulation, filtering, adjusting, etc that is the sweet sauce. Great to know...but now it seems I have a whole host of plugins to go download and learn...

[@RTCLR123]

Where you at rn? How' s the progress for you?

[@Bittamin]

@@RTCLR123 I’m wondering as well in 2022. Seems like most people fizzle out when they finally get to the door after waiting in line for so long

[@Bittamin]

@@RTCLR123 how are you doing this year boss?

[@functionform]

37:21 its true about the envelopes. Ableton's envelopes also put Bitwig to shame, I say this as an owner of both daws.

[@benholland3682]

Icicle is a badman

[@Roensmusic]

slicing beats is going so much easier in FL Studio... lol, there is this 'vsti' called Slicex, you can just drag samples in it and they are sliced instantly and you can then use the instrument to make piano roll scores just like any other intstrument

[@sSPACEBALLSs]

You can literally do the exact same thing in ableton and infact im pretty sure you can chop an entire loop with a click and it auto assigns the different hits to different keys effectively turning a audio loop into a midi loop. Not saying ableton is better or anything... just in the interest of knowledge

[@kushlinfield7106]

ICICLE YOU LEGEND

[@MrDirtydisco]

Nice find, learning from the best. Damn man, I Feel U is still one of my favorite tracks, that beat / bassline is just impressive and tight as f***. Nice to see your process

[@ChrisAngel87]

This was interesting to watch. I also use a combination of a few of the things you showed here. I don’t want to give away my secret sauce too much but alloy is the way to go. I got alloy 32 but jbridged so I can use it on windows 10. It has the mb transient shaper WITH the millisecond attack and release times. The frim told me about it on twitter. It’s amazing.

[@_christianlowe]

This is fantastic

[@alexanderkremenchuk8378]

yes we have enjoyed it!

[@dennisbek9090]

Yeah. Thank you for sharing!

[@lawofoneacim9467]

dopest drum tut ever

[@poodlechews]

This is golden. Some great tips

[@JacksonSwaby]

Nice! Always cool to watch Icicle work, cheers guys!

[@samwu1836]

His ears are beautiful.

[@kickinballistics]

Excellent insight. I’m going to spend more time in settings sounds up properly and stop fading about matching presets! Doh

[@gorimor]

Goldmine of tips.

[@DownsyndVsRome]

This guy live blew my fucking mind

[@dalienie]

Really interesting and instructive tutorial, like it!

[@MichouBE]

where can I buy his brain? I don't see any link in the description...

[@rizu9955]

MichouBE buying his brain just costs hard work and dedication

[@carbon1479]

34:25 - Transpose -48 because they're thinking in Kelvin!

[@cookiesandcream8442]

why do people find this confusing. He's just editing the parts of the drum sounds. He's explaining why as well.

[@azfiu]

Don't squash your drums with a limiter they say, esp 10db worth. Well Icicle does it pretty damn well, so fuck what they say

[@Unders]

there's only 1 rule. Does it sound good.

[@thevictimofawhale1684]

Also could it sound better but yeah I guess

[@ThirdFocusMusic]

"if somebody tells you there's a rule, break it. That's the only way things that move forward" - Hans Zimmer

[@Unders]

TSDREX the masterclass is really good 🤓

[@ThirdFocusMusic]

Agreed

[@StyLeBanGer72]

awesome !

[@michaelbell9026]

I'm getting all these plugins.

[@Joseph-fs4kh]

I put the Pro L on my drum bus and it doesn’t react at all like it did right away with 0 Gain in this video. Does that mean my drums aren’t loud enough to begin with?

[@hydrozyk]

Poppy - toppy! That's a good one.

[@ldmdesign5610]

Really useful tutorial

[@NessunDorma732]

This is Great thanks!!!

[@lawrenceb9441]

game changing shit! now my drums don't make me want to ram my head into the laptop!

[@flashgord2007]

very nice video how to do you like maschine studio hardware 1 have 2 and love them?

[@ge0metr1xx]

If I had access to these vast resources 20 years ago things would have been much different.

[@meya3521]

Do it now and quit making fucking excuses

[@therub2191]

There are loads of bangers from 20yrs ago

[@RickDrift]

Now its a bunch of comments about the comments that claim this is too much effort.

[@juhanvahter494]

Hi! I have magazine and cant reach to part 2 file. It is missing. Anyone knows what to do ?

[@LavenderFieldsForever]

on point!

[@SubjektDelta]

If you don't put the effort into it your music is soul less. Learn as much as you can, make all the samples you need beforehand. Get your own sound, take your time. When you're done with making your samples create making YOUR music and not a copy of someone else.

[@con123]

woooooooo i love this vid

[@briankelly5973]

They don't appear to be honoring part 2 access any longer for anyone still coming across this

[@ComputerMusicMag]

Thanks for your message. Just to correct this, readers are still able to access these videos. The full explanation is that Part 2s of Producer Masterclass videos until recent years were only available via a link found within paid-for copies of the magazine and you can still purchase old copies back as far as issue 185 (2012) from here: tr.ee/HQDGvT0Cy2. See the issue in question for full instructions. Kind regards, Computer Music team.

[@briankelly5973]

@@ComputerMusicMag I purchased the issue on zinio and followed the link there, but the video was private.

[@tomfurstyfield]

did no one think to move the logo at the bottom or at least zoom in when he's using that part of the screen?

[@rushone2010]

Holy fuck this.

[@Jmacaa11]

Anyone know of any alternatives to Alloy 2? Izotope dont sell it anymore...

[@KarlKTheDJ]

I bought addictive drums 2 but I didn't know that there was like thousands of dollars worth of expansion packs, which i'm assuming include some of the snares and kicks Icicle's using in this video ( since I don't have them ).

[@ashenpall]

Any of the kits will work. I just bought addictive drums and used a mix of the funk and Fairfax vol1 kits. And then used battery for the electronic hits

[@SamandRie]

i need to get more detailed on my drums

[@manuelwegeling]

Poppy toppy - Icicle

[@marioptoledo]

genious!

[@suryadnb]

Those monitors... jealous!

[@skunk26355]

all that to find part 2 is locked up in a magazine subscription... there will be hell to pay for this

[@greedokenobi3855]

No subscription needed, you can just buy the issue the video is featured in.

[@ramoniak6]

Great tutorial. I'm just left wondering why the drums sounded like that on 36:00. What went wrong?

[@robdela3632]

The transients were off when he sliced the loop

[@mischiefner]

I think it was because of snapping and loop on simpler was turned on. His older slicing preset chopped that sample by the same transient markers so that couldn't be the reason..

[@VirajAlankar]

Computer Music Magazine logo covers 1/4 of the Ableton rack in the video. Please make your logo transparent or something.

[@pgray1573]

Computer Music, great vid - but over a year on I don't think the mag will still be available in stores - How do I watch Part 2 ?

[@ComputerMusicMag]

You can still buy digital back issues and gain access to part 2.

[@Gorflaxsack]

Can you guys keep it on his screen, I don't need all the camera cuts to see what his face looks like. Thanks for the tut.

[@chaoabordo]

Brilliant tutorial!!

[@thirdworldmadness9204]

cool

[@ricard9566]

What's the difference between the mistaken "slice preset" he makes and the one he switches to?

[@Mumugen]

this is an amazing video, holy shit! haha

[@SlyceCaik]

that feeling when the cursor has motion blur

[@yeahthatkornel]

i kinda like it lol

[@skunkisgood]

Does anyone know what hes using to hold up his laptop?

[@a7xwidow]

they should do a video on producers just plugin their equipment together

Don´t you achieve the same result by splitting your drums channel into three bands and only applying a regular full band transient shaper on those you want? Or are you somehow "messing up" with the plugin´s algorithm by doing so?

[@ComputerMusicMag]

You could do this, but splitting a signal manually can easily cause phase issues when recombined, and is a bit of a hassle to set up; whereas the crossovers in a multiband plugin are designed for transparency.

[@bryceoconnor9640]

how do you get left and right channel showing up on span instead of the options that i only see in edit

[@dizzychizzy1]

yeah i missed that also??

[@KillerHiller97]

Press on the Arrow next to "Routing" and then select "Dual Mono" so you get the spectrum for the left and right channel.

[@isaisaisaisaisaa]

song? 0:08

[@sinnerfire]

I bought the issue from the apple newsstand but the second part of the video is not there when i try and download it from the CM Vault? Any ideas?

[@yungghi]

Probs a bit late but usually there's a link hidden somewhere in the issue to the full video

[@sparkplugrecs.official]

Alloy RIP

[@adamcook8564]

I've purchased the mag to gain access to the second part of this tutorial however cant find the video, only have the project files etc! Can anyone help please?

[@RTCLR123]

Look for url, kinda hidden egg but yea, it is there.

[@ultrajayme]

Big question. Is Icicle aka Shogun from back in the day?

[@mechannoyed1076]

so i bought it....wheres part 2 cos ive looked everywhere in that vault and im not finding it.?

[@nickpierpoint4116]

Which daw is this? Ableton?

[@itchydez]

Nvision - Yes! It's Ableton (:

[@Nomansland424]

Hi Which ableton would you suggest to get if i wanna make some dnb? Also will it include all the plugins?

[@noahshomeforstrangeandeduc4431]

paul lourenco Ableton suite is always the ideal, but not everyone has $700 (like me). Lite is to little, so you’ll probably need Ableton standard. The plugins are not included.

[@jacobteague6267]

what monitors are those?

[@RAYSHIO]

Focal Solo 6 BE

[@jacobteague6267]

cheers boss

[@luca1emanuel]

how do you get your SPAN to look like that ?and esp. how do i get that second blue stereo layer?

[@LawrenceAaronLuther]

Click the arrow on "Routing"- choose "Dual Mono," then next to that choose left for example. Below that see "Underlay," choose the opposite side, change the color to preference

[@luca1emanuel]

thanks mate i set it up real nice

[@KingCoCo]

haha was just about to ask that very question..thanks alot @orehasubarashi XXDDDD

[@colingathard8201]

Is there another setting you change as mine isn't just the wave lines it's filled deep in colour

[@goyardflex4946]

Thanks man was just came here for this!!

[@L0wPressure]

Just wanted to say, he pitched kick too much and than he's saying it himself. Noice.

[@linardzb]

what is the software he uses?

[@linardzb]

cheers

[@36mg66]

where is part 2 boss

[@ComputerMusicMag]

Get it with bit.ly/CMU238

[@sound_tech9332]

Как называются мониторы, у автора

[@elirainu]

His set-up looks similar to VR's...

[@Mu5icluver]

is there any specific reason as to why he sends his drum channels into a different input to add additional processing rather than just grouping them together for the same reason? or is this just a classic case of him doing what he is most comfortable with?

[@findlxv3]

Look up Grouping vs. Bussing. There are some differences between the two, but they are both used similarly.

[@cybi_cz]

Where I can find part 2 at the Computer Music's vault ?

[@michaelm5485]

You have to buy the mag

[@cybi_cz]

I already bought it ;)

[@xawpx80]

I didnt see the part 2 video in any of the vault files either. I downloaded all the files from this months issue and nothing.

[@cybi_cz]

just take a look to the magazine - page 45 ;)

[@mechannoyed1076]

dude i couldnt find it either?

[@la_slayter3900]

what's the intro tune?

[@leoboii123]

Icicle - Ego

[@davidreynaud7614]

What desk is it ? I am looking for a similar one ; a not too big one ..

[@JungleAWayOfLife]

Final Stop

[@mcbreznak3646]

i cant afford this much plugins

[@RTCLR123]

What do you need?

[@KatzeArtemis]

lucio?

[@djknappa7834]

Why didn't you use the Maschine to make your beats. Do you have any Maschine Tutorials?

[@ThirdFocusMusic]

Never really like he's music but dam he knows some good shit about sound design and what not

[@AnDy-of3mj]

PART TWO kzbin.info/www/bejne/bpzIh2x8pMafoMU

[@BooseOG]

Can anyone tell me how you get the two lines on Span? I only get the one!

[@ignaciosagrario]

Drink a bottle of vodka :)

[@FullFledged2010]

Is he dutch?

[@Riceordie]

yes, he is

[@FullFledged2010]

Ik ook ;)

[@noisechannel232]

Jep, en Proxima is zijn neef, is ook uit Nederland :P