Getting Started with Drum & Bass Production in Pro Tools + Maschine1. Setting Up Your Environment
• Install and connect Maschine: Launch Maschine as a plug-in inside Pro Tools (usually as an instrument track via Insert > Instrument > Native Instruments > Maschine 2).
• Sync the tempo: Match Pro Tools’ BPM to your desired Drum & Bass range — typically 170–175 BPM.
• Set up your audio interface for low latency (buffer size 128 samples or lower).
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2. Building the Core Drum Groove
• In Maschine, load a drum kit (e.g., NI’s Drum Lab, Battery, or a DnB sample pack).
• Program a two-bar breakbeat pattern:
• Kick on 1 and 3
• Snare on 2 and 4
• Use ghost notes and hi-hat variations for shuffle and swing
• Layer classic breaks (like Amen, Funky Drummer, or Think Break) for texture. Slice them using Maschine’s Sample Edit mode and rearrange hits to taste.
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3. Crafting Basslines
• Create a new sound slot in Maschine for bass. Load a synth (Massive X, Monark, or any VSTi).
• Choose a reese-style bass patch (two detuned saw waves, slight modulation).
• Play or draw in MIDI notes in the key of your track — use glide and filter automation for movement.
• Route Maschine’s bass output to a separate aux track in Pro Tools for EQ and compression.
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4. Arranging in Pro Tools
• Bounce your main loops from Maschine to Pro Tools audio tracks for better control.
• Arrange your song structure: Intro → Drop → Breakdown → Drop → Outro.
• Add FX risers, reverse cymbals, and filtered sweeps to enhance transitions.
• Automate volume and filter cutoff for dynamic drops.
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5. Mixing & Final Touches
• Balance your levels: keep the kick and snare punchy around −6 dB.
• Sidechain compress the bass to the kick for groove and clarity.
• Use EQ to carve out midrange mud and enhance high-end sparkle (~10 kHz for hats).
• Add bus compression and saturation on the master for that glued-together DnB energy.
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6. Exporting Your Track
• In Pro Tools, bounce the session to a 24-bit WAV or AIFF.
• Aim for around −14 LUFS before mastering.
• Optionally, master inside Pro Tools or export to a dedicated mastering suite.
