I am interested to see responses in this thread.

I also did a quick google search in regards to your topic and found this website

careful of the volume you have at play back.

It has instructions that are pretty nifty to play the game or guess and check, or just get familiar with the frequencies.

Okay, so I want to get more creative with my audio samples & from what I'm reading, I lack the tools, since my only tools as of now are just splicing and hoping I get something cool, so what I'm trying to do is get my audio splices to have effects like, Andrew Bayer, Skrillex, Flume etc. sorry I don't mean to sound cliche but that's the only way I can describe the sound I'd like to get lol I'd also like to learn to splice better so I can have another sound to carry along the song to to have a solo with you know?

You have to treat it like any other audio source.
Apply effects, time stretch, pitch bend.

Trust me, if you have any of the daws, you should be able to do things with them. you just have to know how and what to use with in your environment.

I don't know what it is you want, you have to decide that for yourself man. This is just a simple suggestion as to what may be your problem. We can try to help more if you know more about the problem you are having, and can actually articulate it well enough to get the message across.

But like i said, you have literally every thing you could need. And if you find out you might need more of you don't have what you need, go find it.

research, research, research. then apply.

I think separating sound design and composition is a very good practice if you can keep a strict timetable.

If you think about it, sound design during composition just doesn't make sense. You don't tune your guitar halfway through the track. Traditional composers don't pore over counterpoint theory while writing their cantata. Should we really add the stress of sound design into the composition process when it's already so difficult to stay in that 'flow' - that cerebral zone you don't want to be dragged out of when you have to spend thirty minutes designing a decent sub or pluck, making the notion of a full track in any reasonable length of time seem impossible?

Although, if you do decide to cut the umbilical cord between the two elements of producing, you need to take care that they don't fall away completely. However you plan on storing your patches, you need to be able to access the right one at the right time. If you have to spend thirty minutes looking for the preset you made earlier, what's the point?

Procrastination is as always a problem. That's why a 'timetable', whatever that may mean to you, is important. For example, you might work on tracks during the day (i.e. when you could potentially finish the track in one sitting) and work on sound design during the night, when you only have an hour or two to spare. You might work on sound design and other associated production elements during the week, and then on the weekend sit down and say to yourself "Right, this week I have prepared everything I need, I MUST write something now, good or bad."

It's hard in the beginning because you presumably won't have many presets to work with, but it will pay off in the long run as you will not run out of steam on sound design and lose inspiration, and you will also be able to spend more time perfecting synth patches.

I think this is more of an ego thing than any thing. Your brain also needs rest after you've done something for a long time.

Real life example is this, I can do a heavy home work assignment for the entire day, and go to bed completely drained. I've gotten better at it, but for the most part i can't continue to just slam myself during one day and expect to have it be a meaningful experience.

That's what some starting producers do with out knowing. "oh i gotta do all these things now because if i don't i won't get signed to spinnin records by the age of 13" or w/e.  I think i've mentioned this some where or on this topic, that you do neeeeed to distance yourself after you've spent time working on any thing. it's not a break for 15 mins, it's knowing when to call it a day and come back the next. You're not loosing any progress. In fact, the time that you spend away from your project will be more beneficial for the next session. It'll also help reduce burn out.

My computer science teacher, before i changed majors, said that you some times need to step away from the computer to get those "aha" moments. That's when you come back to your computer and go "this is what needs to happen." and then you get a new found vigor and inspiration. Then you work and get tired, and feel more accomplished.

You have to understand and respect that these ideas will be here longer and have been here longer than you've been alive. You're not gaming the system by working hard at this, you gotta work smart.

I've worked hard, and it's tiring and fatiguing. i work smart, and i get better results and still work just as hard.

Quote from: charzrd on February 07, 2016, 03:12:15 pm

Whenever someone says they use volume plugins to hike the sound down i feel as if that will do something to the overall mix. Is it safe to put utility (ableton) and hike it down to -20dbs on the master chain? What about simply putting the overall master volume down?

Also, whats the safest way to bring the volume back up?

In the end of it all that probably won't make much a difference if your levels aren't right, but I think what "they" are getting at; is hike it down for each track individually. -12,13 - 20 db for your first track down and just match everything to that could be a good starting point. I know it's said all the time, and I don't 100% believe in it, or follow it - but try to avoid putting things on your master until you are at the last 80-95% leg of your track.

You can put things on your master if they aren't actually doing any thing.

But unless you have separate software for your interface, which i recommend researching individually, then you might not have access to the tools that would be beneficial  to mix at these lower than low volumes.

All you're doing is just turning down the signal, so that you still retain the information of the track that's being played back normally, but you get to observe from an entirely different volume perspective.

i don't know how it works with a limiter (only check for clipping) and then pushing the volume down after the limiter (chain is limiter then volume plugin). But my dim mode on my scarlett's software makes it pretty easy to pop it in and change from stereo to mono quickly and with out any fuss on the master.

I'll also suggest routing things to a pre master so that it would offer the same level of volume control. Hell you can even send it to two pre masters, the one will capture all of the signal and the next one will have it set to where it's -20dbs (dim mode). That way you still retain the original signal but are listening at a lower volume. So you can mix and pump up your interface's volume to compensate, but you can see if you're clipping things to much in the new perspective.

You don't need to end up a goat farmer to make drum samples or record drums, as the joke goes.

Often times, if you really want to be free to do what ever you want to do, some times you just need to be free to do what ever it is you want to do. presets or not. if you have a license to use that then use it man, it'd be stupid to not.

stealing is different, and manipulation is a grey area, but i am not talking about those two ideas. It's having proper credits to use the things available to you.

another quote is that, we stand on the shoulders of giants.

Just use what's available to you and learn from it. That's the best way you have until you learn enough and spend enough time to be able to get what you want, or close to what you want.

Like, i had to throw out ANY and ALL ideas i've had in my head in order to progress in making electronic music.

Perfection is the enemy of productivity, a quote often from my pop who does high level consulting for several companies. I think he's a Lean six sigma master black belt, but he knows he he is.

Clear your preconceptions, understand what you can use legally, use it, and take the time to get better. The last part in conjunction with the rest of the list is what will make you have experience.

People to me seem to make careers off making noises.

It's not a baaaaaaaad thing, but if you're versatile and want to be considered versatile, then you'll have to learn both. In terms of music. But for pure sound exploration, you don't have to do a damn thing with music.

What you can do, is literally not make any music for like......... six months, and just make some weird noises and stuff. And you'll be pretty good at that point if you attempt to make a weird noise every day. Plus you'll have a decent library to turn to.

Another way is to organize your older sounds into a folder. Go through them, organize it like; subs,bass,leads,pads,melody,sound effect, riser, wubs. Or you can go for a more descriptive approach;atmosphere, chill, RAADD, GNARLY, BANGER, horror, emotional, delayed out, reverbed out. stuff like that.

Analyze your older stuff, because that's in your tool box and is most with in your reach to study.

try to make the sound better with new knowledge or leave it as is.

BTW, song writing is composition. But the song and composition can be what ever you want it to be. you could literally string together fart noises for 4 minutes and call it a song.

You're right. I didn't explain what I ment properly. I'm sorry.

What I ment was another layer consisting of different sound active in part of the spectrum, where usually some kind of lead would be. It also helps to treat this layer almost like a lead. So reverb, delay, all the different effects you'd make your lead bigger by.

Big up, you made me think of my layers a little differently just now lol.

thank you.