synth help (house/techno sounds)

[rubbed]

Hey guys.

So i've decided to take my music production one step further and buy a good synth/midi keyboard.

right now i have an axiom 25, but i am going to sell it and get something better.

a friend talked me into getting a microkorg but after searching through these forums it seems alot of people dislike it.

my budget is under £500 (im hoping to get a virus snow in the future, right now i want something cheaper to do me).

im looking to make funky type synths and big funky basslines. summer house/techno type stuff. the kind of sounds you would hear in the vengance sample packs (synth shots) if anyone is familar with them, but more of them with more control.

would love some advice on this, as i dont want to make a mistake when i order it.

im using ableton 8 if that makes any difference.

cheers

[rubbed]

YouTube - Code 718 - Equinox (Henrik Schwarz Remix)

0.49 and 3.30 mins in, all those kind of sounds! but alot more of them


this tune right here is a perfect example of the synth sounds i want aswell YouTube - Azuni - I feel for you (original mix)

[Yoozer]

Your first link doesn't have any sound. The MicroKorg wouldn't add much. Why not keep the Axiom?

The second track has the same Detroit chord sounds as explained here: What's the better synth to make chords?

Any synth can do that. As for the Vengeance sounds - stacking and unison are the secret. A tutorial is of far more use than any synth - if you have more demo tracks I can write some for you.

[shaft9000]

In techno sampling and FX chains make far more difference than the synths used...even if you're doing blip-blop minimal stuff.
but you would do well to get an analog mono for basslines & authentic analog FX : evolver/mopho, littlephatty/source/prodigy, pro-one, neptune, pulse etc....

[tribeofenki]

shaft is right: examples above are totally softsynths. Let's put like this: play the same 0:38 example on an Acces Virus, turn some knobs and you get a totally different sonic experience. Visit Access Music | The Virus | Totally Integrated Synthesizers or Nord Keyboards if interested.

[rubbed]

thanks for the replys.

my axiom doesnt have any preset sounds in them, and i wanted somethin like the microkorg that had a lot of sounds i could implement into my tracks.

Any synth can do that. As for the Vengeance sounds - stacking and unison are the secret. A tutorial is of far more use than any synth

any good tutorials on it? im sick of using the vengeance synth shots to get the sounds i want. i want to make my own and feel more genuine.


so you reakon i should just go for something like a mopho for basslines? any other bits of hardware i should be getting for making cool funky sounds? altho making those synth sounds how i want them are my main priority

[rubbed]

just been looking at youtube videos. some great sounds on the blofed. thinking of getting that now or just save up for a ti snow and use my axiom as the keyboard.

im open to suggestions, hope someone can help

cheers

[networkacid]

Yeh, Blofeld's a good choice.

[rubbed]

was researching some more before i went to bed and started considering just saving for a ti snow now.

im really confused on what to get lol

[golden beers]

Originally Posted by rubbed

thanks for the replys.

my axiom doesnt have any preset sounds in them, and i wanted somethin like the microkorg that had a lot of sounds i could implement into my tracks.
~~~~~~~
im sick of using the vengeance synth shots to get the sounds i want. i want to make my own and feel more genuine.

you want to use presets or you want to create your own sounds? two different things.

synth presets are no more 'genuine' then vengeance. from what i hear, most house music is VST synth.

[rubbed]

i want both really, to have presets and to be able to create my own / edit them. i just want a good bit of hardware.

like i use the same 3-4 vengeance synth shot samples over and over, i want something new.

[Yoozer]

Originally Posted by rubbed

any good tutorials on it? im sick of using the vengeance synth shots to get the sounds i want. i want to make my own and feel more genuine.

If you're on a PC, install Synth1 and load up the Ableton Live ensemble here - let me know if you can get it to work.

As for the chord sounds: as a basis, I like a synth that has chorus and LFO > PWM; you get a nice swirly sound that way. Make sure the filters are disabled/bypassed.

Play a minor chord with a 7th in Live one octave higher than you want to use it and hold it for 2 seconds or so. Freeze and flatten the track, then create a new MIDI track, drag Simpler on it, and drag the flattened track onto Simpler where it says "drop sample here".

Use the loop points to cut out the bit you want to use, and use Simpler's lowpass filter and envelope to make it dull. Add effects to taste.

Here's the preset and the required waveform which I got out of the SxM June (a Juno-60 emulator which you can get here - but Synth1 with similar settings will do just fine, too). Or TAL U-NO 62, which happens to work on the Mac, too.

The end result with some drums and FX (not mixed, mastered or compressed to hell) sounds like this.

so you reakon i should just go for something like a mopho for basslines?

Hardware won't help you out here - besides, loads of artists are using software alone and get the job done. It's all in the programming

However, if you have money to burn and were looking for a nice hardware synth anyway, why not?

[rubbed]

thanks alot yoozer, really appreciate it. going to try that out now it sounds awesome.

do you know of any other good sites for tutorials like that or just general production, percussions etc. im still relatively new but doing ok.

cheers

[Yoozer]

I haven't found specific techno/trance/other tutorials yet, but there's a very useful tutorial here Synth Secrets: Links to All Parts which will teach you a lot about synthesis in general.

The trick is to analyze the sounds and then apply what you've learned from the tutorial.

I start with listening to volume and then try to recreate the amplifier envelope. The filter is usually obvious (dull = lowpass, bright = band or highpass); the envelope might be a bit harder since the amplifier envelope is obviously the leading one.

The actual source sound is the hardest. I generally figure out whether something's a saw wave or square wave because I've listened to countless combinations of oscillator waveforms, mix proportions and tunings through any filter types. It's just brute-force memorization and practice - but that's for recreating sounds. Still, it's good practice.

If it's nothing like that, I reconsider the method of synthesis used. Most modern trance has virtual analogs, so that's not hard. Older Detroit techno may have 4-op FM synths, and sometimes it's just not doable to try to recreate those sounds with another synthesizer, so I pick the easiest way and use the right tool for the job.

[rubbed]

thanks alot mate, appreciate the reply.

guess i have alot of work to do.

cheers!