Effect explanations (three songs)

[dingobiatch]

First up is Ellie Goulding - Lights (Bassnectar Remix)..


When the drop happens (1:15), the vocal has this held but then standard delay effect... it's hard to explain... a standard delay would be 'ah..ah..ah..ah..', but this one is 'ahha..ah..ah..ah..'

Probably simple (I overthink these things often).. hoping someone could quickly identify what is being done there.

Second up is Justice - Genesis.

When the first drop occurs (0:38), the bass synth seems to be skipping the downbeat at certain points, consistently the first beat in the sequence each time. It's this cool effect, like an emptiness for a split second. Hopefully someone knows what I mean - what exactly is going on here?

Third is Skrillex - Rock n Roll.


After the drop, there's the insane lead sound (not sure what it is) that seems to stutter in a VERY interesting way... sounds off time maybe. Could someone explain this?

Thank you! I know it's a few questions but these songs have stumped me and I'm trying to learn as much as I can on this forum.

[dingobiatch]

Dang, nobody?

[Yoozer]

Originally Posted by dingobiatch

Probably simple (I overthink these things often).. hoping someone could quickly identify what is being done there.

What is the difference between a delay and a piece of audio that is copied and played back a second later?

There is none. That's exactly what a delay does, except that it's less work, and it has a limited memory.

So, take the "ah", and copy it several times; then automate the filter and/or EQ or even the dry/wet of the distortion. It also sounds as if the delayed signal is reversed at the same time - which should be ludicrously easy in any DAW that has audio tracks .

Second up is Justice - Genesis.

When the first drop occurs (0:38), the bass synth seems to be skipping the downbeat at certain points, consistently the first beat in the sequence each time. It's this cool effect, like an emptiness for a split second. Hopefully someone knows what I mean - what exactly is going on here?

Programming/playing. You do not need an effect for simply not playing a note. MJ's Thriller does something similar.

Third is Skrillex - Rock n Roll.

After the drop, there's the insane lead sound (not sure what it is) that seems to stutter in a VERY interesting way... sounds off time maybe. Could someone explain this?

Don't assume that it's a single sound. It's not. You create several melodic lines and then, like a zoetrope, only play back fragments of each. It's kind of like quantized, hard crossfading between 8 tracks or so. You render your audio to wave files and then start slicing up. Don't leave this to a plugin; stutter effects only operate on a single track.

The sounds themselves are covered by a zillion Youtube tutorials; it's the nth variation on dubstep bass.

[dingobiatch]

Thank you for your reply... just a bit of clarification..

Originally Posted by Yoozer

Programming/playing. You do not need an effect for simply not playing a note. MJ's Thriller does something similar.

So then it is just dropping the downbeat note? I suppose that's what I'm asking.

Originally Posted by Yoozer

Don't assume that it's a single sound. It's not. You create several melodic lines and then, like a zoetrope, only play back fragments of each.

Oh I know it's not - I'm talking only about the timing of the stutter...