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Messages - SomeCollege

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1
I'm curious to know what everyone does to make their supersaws hit their audience in the face. What techniques do you use?


I have used 3 layers. Each layer does something different. I've used one layer for the mid to low portion that is detuned but with not much stereo spread. Then I use 2 higher frequency layers. One has some detune but not a lot, and moderate stereo spread. I sometimes try to use this layer for the attack/plucky part of the sound as needed. The top layer is detuned quite a bit and has maximum stereo spread. The amount of detune depends on your taste. You could also add another layer in the low mids that has a more plucky sound if you desire more attack. As far a reverb?  I add the most reverb to the layers with the most detune and stereo spread. Kind of a cumulative effect. Reverb is not as critical on the lower frequencies. The high frequencies usually have quite a bit of release as well so I use reverb cautiously.

Rob

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Progressive House - Dash Berlin, Kaskade, Eric Prdyz, Zedd, Sander van Doorn etc anything that builds up and then drops

Main/Big Room House - Hardwell, afrojack, stuff for festivals really.. anything big room means festivals lol

I dunno, theres not really genres anymore, everything is kinda mixed now

Well I guess that's cool that everything is mixed now.  Kind of like Rock and Roll. Pearl Jam was considered "Grunge" but the guys in Pearl Jam just think they're playing Rock and Roll. I like the creative possibilities with everything mixed now.  Although when describing Progressive House, Different people might have very different opinions. That's what's confusing with this particular label.

Cheers,
Rob

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Nice to see you on here SomeCollege! For some reason when I think of Progressive House I'm thinking of a condition rather than a set genre. So what is now main/big room was at one point progressive before it had that genre distinction. But what's is progressive may not be progressive forever. Main/Big room however is a landing zone. When I hear Main/Big Room I have an idea already what that might sound like. There's a framework and a set palette.

Progressive house for me right now tends to be a little more focused on groove and that chunky feel (122-126 BPM) as opposed to main and big room which may be less focused on that and more about big sound and a less diverse tempo (126-132)

When I hear Progressive House, I think Jaytech, old Bayer etc. when I think big room, I'm thinking more Sander Van Doorn, etc.

Nice to see you here too bro!  I have exactly the same opinion of what Progressive House is.  I think it's more about groove than the big banging' drops like "Beatport" Progressive House! (I love Jaytech's work too!)  I will continue in the more groove driven style when ever I do a Progressive House track.  Here's an example of one of my favorites, but by no means definitive example of this genre.

https://youtu.be/jg0TAk5OB0M

Take care,
Rob

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Could someone please explain to me the difference between "Progressive House" and "Main/Big Room House"? Because....I forget.

Cheers,
Rob

5
Mixing/Mastering / Re: Mixing with Reverb - HELP!
« on: January 13, 2016, 08:23:18 pm »
I'm trying to bring my mixes to the next level, I understand the basics of setting my faders and using EQ as tools to level out my mix but I find it really hard to grasp the concept of placing my sounds in a room, more specifically bigger rooms. From my understanding, using reverb not only places a sound in the mix further in the back but also the reverb should create a "room" that the sound bounces in.



To place your sounds "in a room" you need to think like they are in some space. Use EQ to cut unnecessary highs, especially for some distant sounds with long reverbs. Panning might be useful too.
Don't add reverb to the sound if that reverb is masked in the mix. You can use the noise gate to get rid of masked reverb tails.

You can use reverb creatively and try to compress, filter, distort it and resample and layer with your samples. In case you have some complex arrangement.

That's an interesting point. "Don't add reverb to the sound if that reverb is masked in the mix". That makes a lot of sense. Could you give some common examples of this?  I did a track once that had a low mid pad. The reverb on this pad made the bass sound as if it had a reverb on it. It never occurred to me to just remove the reverb from the pad. Is this kind of what you mean?  Please expand on this :-)

Cheers,

Rob

6
Hey Folks,

I'm looking to switch to a new DAW from Logic. It's severed me well over the last 5 years but lately there are so many GUI performance bugs with El Capitan & Yosemite its driving me up the wall, and apple don't seem to be doing anything about it so I've had enough.

Currently running dual boot on a Hackintosh so have access to either Windows or Mac.

Actually, I see some pics on your Twitter account showing that you use Logic X. From what I have gathered, Bitwig is the best of both world. Arrange page is just like Logic's, but yet you have the Live type workflow too. 
That's very appealing.
Rob

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FL Studio 12 is a great DAW. Anyone can use it. And since all DAWs do mostly the same thing, it's just learning the process by which those things are done, and Image-Line makes that very easy. The GUI is indeed very fun, and inviting. Especially if you have it set to "Entertain Me"

But yeah, switching to FL wouldn't be a bad idea at all, you can do great things with it, very easily.

I have no idea why people knock on it. It's the musician, not the DAW, that is responsible for making good music, but I digress.

I am going to give FL Studio serious consideration when they finally release a Beta version for Mac OS. It looks like a great DAW. The workflow looks a little strange though, but they're all different.
Rob

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Hey Folks,

I'm looking to switch to a new DAW from Logic. It's severed me well over the last 5 years but lately there are so many GUI performance bugs with El Capitan & Yosemite its driving me up the wall, and apple don't seem to be doing anything about it so I've had enough.

Currently running dual boot on a Hackintosh so have access to either Windows or Mac.

Are you using Logic 9 or Logic X ?  I had SERIOUS GUI problems in Logic 9 when attempted to move up above OS 10.6 Snow Leopard. (OS 10.7 or higher) I actually stayed back in Logic 9 and Snow Leopard for a long time because it was so bad. I finally decided to upgrade, so now I currently run Logic X in Yosemite. There are a couple little annoyances in the Channel EQ graphics and sometimes slight piano roll graphics glitches, but nothing to make me switch my DAW. I am reasonably happy with the performance. I have a Hackintosh too, but not dual boot. It's an early 2009 Mac Pro 8 core that I hacked to accept 12 cores.

I'd hate to see you switch, only to have different graphics issues in the new DAW.

Cheers,
Rob

9
Sound Design / Re: Dune 2 Synth
« on: January 09, 2016, 08:04:49 pm »
DUNE 2 is an amazing synth. It is actually my very favorite. The unique differential unison engine +MSEGs + audio rate modulation + extensive mod matrix,  is pure win. Here I did a little review in the past (bottom of the page): http://www.kvraudio.com/product/dune-2-by-synapse-audio/reviews

I totally agree! This is an amazing sounding synth!  I just finished a Dune 2 tutorial last night. This synth should be at the top of any producers "go to synth" list. It's as good or better than Sylenth1, Massive, or Serum. Seriously!  Every producer should own this synth. It's lead, pad, and arp heaven too!

I'll post an update on some of my sound design results later :-)

Rob

10
Sound Design / Re: How do you learn all those terminologies?
« on: January 09, 2016, 04:35:38 am »
Read the instruction manuals for every single music or sound making or affecting program you have. I don't care if you've watched a bunch of youtube videos or been using it for a while. Always always ALWAYS read the manual - you learn so much that people miss out on, and the repetition of terminology starts to bury itself in your mind.

All I'm saying is, a manual will give you all of the "What's" but they don't really go into the "Why's" as thoroughly as a fundamentals of sound design tutorial would. Besides, it really takes time to gain the knowledge required to be able to know what's what.

When I first started, I was baffled by the process of setting up a side chain compressor. Now I do it in about 30 seconds. There's a lot to learn.
Rob

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Sound Design / Re: Dune 2 Synth
« on: January 09, 2016, 04:26:45 am »
I've never heard of this one before to be honest, but it looks quite interesting. Thanks for the share, I may not have much knowledge on it but its cool to know it exists.

I'm halfway through a Dune 2 tutorial. I'll post an update and let you know how it's working out.
Rob

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WIPs / Re: My "Boring" Track: Goodbye - WIP
« on: January 09, 2016, 03:59:13 am »
Thanks for the reply. I'm not quite clear on what your mean by muting the delay right after the high note in the bass line. I have a delay on the pluck sound. Is that what you mean? Actually that pluck sound is one of the things that really bugs me in this track. Also, the bass line in the "hands in the air" part after the break is not as impactful as I like. I don't have a delay on the buzz bass.

A song less boring.
Produced in this style :

http://youtu.be/UvbWrRI1ZAM

What I meant is, to me it sounds like you have a staccato rhythm in the bass (I'm referring to the instrument slowly entering from about 1 mins on), but the sound is never really off, like there is either a delay or reverb there. In that Bayer track, what makes the drop interesting to me is that there's a lot of silence between the notes in the bass, making it more in-your-face.

Yeah, that part has a Valhalla Room with no predelay and no decay to give that layer its buzzy sound. I think using this bass sound in this context was ill conceived. It has been a real struggle to get it to sound even close to being musical.
I love the Bayer track.  It's very hard hitting in the drop, and the melody is brilliant. I may actually try a totally different bass sound in the drop.
Thanks for the comments,
Rob

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Sound Design / Dune 2 Synth
« on: January 08, 2016, 10:32:36 pm »
I just bought Dune 2. I am surprised that this synth is actually quite different than other synths. The flexibility with the unison voices is quite amazing. No other synth has this capability as far as I know. It seems to me that I am hearing this synth on a lot of current trance tracks. Am I right?  BTW, I bought it on sale for only $99.
Anybody out there use this synth? Any tips?

Rob

14
Great question!  I always have my kick in mono. Also, mid-side EQ is a good technique. I use the haas effect on some layers and on some high hats, but sparingly. I also use the Logic directional mixer to make certain layers more mono. I also use that plugin for panning elements that are in stereo. I don't use the pan pot on the channel strip because it just turns down one side of the stereo signal and can change the sound.

  Reverb and delay are great for adding width too, as long as everything is well sculpted and mixed. I listen to professional tracks A LOT and I'm often surprised at the amount of hard left and right panning that is going on. In the end, I think that some sounds need to be more mono so that other sounds can sound wider. I once heard this line from a top level mixing engineer, "If everything is stereo, then everything will sound mono".

Cheers,
Rob

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WIPs / Re: My "Boring" Track: Goodbye - WIP
« on: January 08, 2016, 09:09:53 pm »
its not bad, but i agree w/ the idea that it lacks some impact. the ride cymbal that u used at like 4:11 should be quieter, & the lead might need to be sidechained a tiny bit. i suck at explaining things, & for lack of a better term, essentially a drop similar to: https://soundcloud.com/djproject46/project-46-feat-andrew-allen or any generic prog house drop & stuff. sorry if that doesn't sound clear or w/e im not used to giving advice / explaining things, i tried tho ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I was thinking about adding more side chain on the lead part. I think I would actually need to change the timing of the notes a little to make it sound right.
I need to change the ride cymbal sound I think.
Cheers,
Rob

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