It is very important to realize that "darkstep" and "techstep" are subgenres of drum and bass, not dubstep. You can get a good feel for this kind of dubstep on the youtube channel "DarkstepWarrior" (the name is misleading, it is not darkstep). "Deathstep" ( not darkstep) is the name of the very heavy, almost abrasive kind of dubstep from the likes of people such as Getter, Bratkilla, Mantis, etc. Chillstep is often slower, at 120 BPM or so. "Chillstep", which hearkens more towards the days of "old" dubstep and focuses heavily on atmosphere, calmness, and sub bass, as well as having more wobbles than FM basses and growls. Drumstep, a dnb/dubstep hybrid, tends to be faster at 165-190 BPM. Modern dubstep (also called "brostep") tends to be at 140 BPM with a primarily halftime beat (obviously however this is subject to change). However, the name dubstep was not used to refer to this type of music until around 2002.
These influences are most clearly heard in early tracks. The name dubstep comes from the two genres which were combined to form it: "dub" and "2-step" (a form of garage).
If you're interested in the history aspects, here's some information. Older dubstep focuses heavily on the sub bass and is generally much more minimalistic, with primarily wobbles and simple filter cutoff modulations and LFOs. You see a lot of FM synthesis for basslines, and you tend to develop an ear for FM basses. Modern dubstep tends to focus on mid range, metallic basses and growls with the occasional wobble thrown in. You can tell what type of dubstep a song is very easily. Ignore the elitist cunts who say "old" dubstep is the only "real" dubstep.
This is stuff like Benga, Hatcha, Digital Mystikz, Plastician, Skream, etc). This is stuff like Skrillex, SKiSM, KTN, xKore, etc) and "old" dubstep (you might see it called "original" dubstep or even UKstep, and this is stuff from around 1998-2007, though it's obviously still produced. There's "modern" dubstep (from around 2009 onwards I believe. I'll just run down some basic/intermediate dubstep facts/tips I know of:ĭubstep has 2 main forms, and then many subgenres beneath those. Any decent tips/tutorials for sound design and structure would be appreciated.