Newgrounds.com — Everything, By Everyone.

I figured it would be cool to start a journal of sorts for my progress as a musician. I would appreciate if someone could offer insight.

Up until now I've been making basic orchestral and electronica. I haven't done badly but I want to take it up a notch. First of all, I need to figure out how to make complex percussion that fits each song, considering I've only used random loops up until now. I've tried using ultrabeat in Logic but it really doesn't sound good. or at least I can't make it sound good. I've looked up tutorials but I don't have much of a clue what plugins to get. FL studio I hear is better for that sort of thing. but I'm going to master Logic before moving to FL studio. The first kind of drum style I want to conquer first is drum 'n bass. I've yet to decide what plugins to get. I looked up something called sonic charge/uTonic and but I'm not sure. Then I see things like EZdrummer. I'll keep researching but if anyone can advise me on the matter I would be grateful.

Second are the various effects I still don't know anything about. I've literally only just discovered the latch function in Logic. It allows you to have a effect/generator setting change in the timeline according to automation data. These effects are also half the battle in making quality electronic percussion. I really need to step up my game and figure out how to use these since I want to make legitimate electronica.

Though I am not a fan of much dubstep, I still recognize that wubs are a skill to be used especially useful in genres like house and drum 'n bass. I'm aware of massive but its sounds from what I hear can become too repetitive. I'd rather buy something that allows multiple kinds of of wubs. But I don't know much else about the topic of dubstep plugins.

Last is my never-ending search for new instrument plugins in general. I have all of apple's plugins, a YMCK 8-bit plug in, and the Nexus 2 with included, 7 skies, dance volume 2, hollywood, sid, and vocoder expansions. I want to get more of these but I also want to see what other good orchestral/electronic plugins there are.