I did follow the Massive manual. I understand ADSR pretty well, what the filters do and what not, I am just having trouble piecing it all together, etc etc.
Gonna go through it again though. Thanks for the input!
No doubt, right on man! I understand...as far as "piecing it all together", I know exactly what you mean, and TBH, unfortunately I think that just takes time and practice....I started on a KORG Triton LE 10 or so years ago, had all kinds of hardware until about 2006 or so when I discovered Reason and went 100% ITB, and it was THEN that my understanding of synthesis and how to make patches and stuff REALLY went through the roof...For me it just took time and practice to really put everything together...If you've got Reason that's also a great way to learn synthesis too IMHO, I know it was for me! Good luck man, trust me you'll get there before you know it!
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by OldGuitarPlayer
Ahhh...John Cage. The ultimate troll.
Using and abusing Reason 4.0 (with tons of ReFills) and Logic 9 (with tons of soft synths, VSTi's and plug-ins)
via
a Yamaha S80 (with 2 FC7's, an FC5, an FC3, and a BC3a) and a Behringer BCR2000
on
a 4GB 2.53GHz Intel Core Duo Mac Mini
with
AKG K55 headphones or M-Audio BX5a Deluxe monitors.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Anderton
Just remember...machines don't kill music, people do.
Hey all,
So I've been messing around with NI's Massive synth and following some youtube tutorials on how to copy certain sounds.
Ex.
^In this video, and all the other videos on youtube, the "teacher" explains how to make the sound but not the process of how they dissect the sound they hear and what key elements they are listening for, for when they re-create it and so forth.
If I want to copy a sound, I'm not sure where to start...
I have the realllllly basic ideas down like is it a monophonic or polyphonic soundetc etc. but I'm still really lost
My question is how do you go about copying a sound you hear from an artist? Like what are the basic steps and what are you listening for?
Also, What are some exercises I should do that will help me in learning to replicate/create my own sounds OR what did you personally do to help yourself get better at replicating sounds you hear?
Thanks for the help.
If you're looking to copy a specific sound, best place to start is to start auditioning the hundreds of patches until you find something that sounds similar to the patch you're trying to emulate... Then start making adjustments and listen to how things change. The more familiar you get with which knobs do what, the easier it'll get to recreating the intended patch.
Try using fx plugins to 'complete' the patch.... Compression, eq, chorus, delays... Tons of options!
Another thing to do is find a mid/side plugin that allows you to solo the center or the sides independently. It's helpful to be able to pull the vocals out to hear the patch more clearly. Other plugin options to look for are karaoke style plugs that pull the centre channel out.
Best thing that worked for me was recording a straight lift of the track. As you focus on listening to individual tracks & laying them down, you'll discover how things relate to each other, and you'll learn new things every time.
Across-the-board, "geek self-esteem" is at an all time high right now so it can be misleading in terms of estimating the time-commitment to learn something since everything is glossed in a rock-star sheen. With the potent combination of iOS and mainstream EDM blowing-up (Gangam-style -- a ITB track -- has over 1 billion YT views) geeks are getting their revenge, a revenge of the nerds if you will. However, once you get into the nitty-gritty of mastering a geek art (synthesis, electronics, OpenFrameworks, etc...) you realize that beyond the rockstar ninja programmer DJ secret sauce awesomeness hacker language there is a lot of lonely/fun hours in-front of a screen. Take Skrillex. There is a nerd pretending to not be a nerd who is pretending to be a nerd thus culturally reframing what a nerd is. In other words he looks/acts like he just woke up that day and decided to make some bangin' tracks through the sheer force of being cool. However, the dude is a real nerd. I think that electronic music has always been the realm of intellectuals and the highly artistic, as was computer programming, but there has been a dumbing down of the image lately -- which no doubt has a lot of positive results but is somewhat ridiculus -- like getting straight A's and pretending you haven't studied at all. 32nd level Paladins aren't rolled -- they are created roll of the die after roll of the die.
While I've come to the realization that I won't be mastering javascript design patterns in a weekend at least I know I can bang out a sick track with Dr. Drum
I had to google that to find out if it was an insult (which it obviously wasn't ).
Brave new internet world...
Erm... yeah, just as a quick OT, I'm sorry about that. If anyone knew me in person, you'd think I was constantly auditioning for a stand-up comedeian role. And I get even worse sometimes when I'm refusing to go to bed - I need a 40 hour day - it's just sad sometimes what spills out of my brain. I've never done drugs, don't drink, but it doesn't show when my mind is tumbling down a keyboard half awake. Maybe my dad used me as a hammer when I was a kid, who knows...
thanks to both you guys for all this help! (and everyone else)
I have Reason as well. I've been messing wtih Subtractor this past few days. After I get the hang of that, I'm going to try to move to Thor and Massive.
I was not enchanted about Subtractor; you have to use a Combinator with 4 instances to get somewhat decent unison, but Thor is pretty great. I love it as a teaching tool.
Quote:
Originally Posted by vivid435
Do you consider zebra 2 a good synth for someone still learning synthesis? Semi modular
There are some good instruction videos available and it is positively stacked with features. However, I have Ace and Diva but not Zebra, so I cannot judge on that in detail.
What you learn it with does not matter much; as long as it implements the features, you are going to be OK. It may however be that the terminology may be slightly different.
__________________ For all the intelligence and knowledge that technology empowers us with, the lazy and stupid is amplified along with it (Staticstarter) Threads to check out:Chord Generators & Tips | Pop Sound Sources
One technique I've used when a producer asks for a particular sound to be duplicated is to loop a section of the track in question and sync your sequencer to it, pan it hard left, and then set up a synth playing the same melody panned hard right. At this point you can modify the sound in the right channel until it matches the left or is close enough.
I find this works best when starting with a bare bones sound, such as a raw square wave with no modulation and filters disabled. If such a starter sound does exist in your synth, you may want to create one to serve as a starting point for your programming efforts.
Learn / understand the basics of synthesis. Watch some introductory vids, get a basic soft synth and start creating your own patches. You will be AMAZED at how much you will be able to dissect synth parts once you learn about basic synth parts (Oscillator, Filter, LFO, Envelope, Amp, etc.) and modulating those parts. You will also be more comfortable around more involved synths.
Btw, it's going to take TIME, so don't get discouraged if it doesn't move along as quickly as you'd like!
hahah i've already come to understand that thanks to a lot of input on this thread, I have a clearer understanding of what I really need to get the hang of and how I should be working towards my goal.
Again, I really appreciate everyone's input. It cleared a TON of questions for me
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thanks to a lot of input on this thread, I have a clearer understanding of what I really need to get the hang of and how I should be working towards my goal.
