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Messages - alex 1

Pages: [1] 2
1
Mixing/Mastering / Re: Mixing at incredibly low levels
« on: February 11, 2016, 01:36:28 pm »
@ aris opus
No, I really did mean turn down the master.
Dunno why you think it won't help if the tracks levels ain't balanced. That's precisely why I do it. Sometimes, at normal volumes, you can't quite pin down what's wrong, but then when you turn it down really low, you can hear a certain sound is overpowering the rest.

Little tip for FL users:
Put your mastering chain on channel 1 instead of the master channel, then everything that was routed to the master, route to channel 1.
Now, with channel 1 routed to the master, you can fill the master with analyzers, volume plugin, and low pass filters, for comparing your bass to reference tracks.
Doing this also means you can route your reference tracks to the master, without them going through your mastering chain, so you can compare easily in your analyzer chain.

2
Sound Design / Re: FM Synthesis
« on: February 10, 2016, 07:04:21 pm »
this is the one single type of synth, where i just stare blankly at the synth, wondering what is going on.
i get the fact you can use one osc to modulate another. thing is it all sounds so boring and over the top geeky.
but then i hear some of the sounds people make, and it makes me want to know. so im gonna try.

not gonna buy any more synths, and not using "dubious" downloads anymore, but i did get octopus in a sale recently. if anyone knows it, is it good enough to get nice acoustic-type sounds out of it?
if its gonna be my only fm synth, is it worth even bothering?
might try some basses too, if its considered an ok synth

3
Inspiration/Creativity/Motivation / Re: Do you have a partner in crime?
« on: February 10, 2016, 10:38:12 am »
Good friend of mine who lives local, pops round for psy-trance sessions.
Thing is, he's more listener / clubber than he is producer, so its usually him just telling me what to lol.
He knows a bit about production, but he still makes mistakes like he makes a really cool trippy vocal fx sound, and then decides he wants it playing every second bar, so then I have explain why that particular sound is just too upfront and repetitive sounding, and lets just have it at the start of the 8s.

And then the opposite happens, I spend 30 mins perfecting that lead sound he liked, and then an hour later, he says take it out, we can do better.
Always interesting when a mate is ruthless like that, I kinda puts me in my place a bit.
Saying that, I always enjoy those sessions, more than I do my own, cause it doesn't feel like a chore

4
Inspiration/Creativity/Motivation / Re: Struggling With Sound Design
« on: February 09, 2016, 10:13:03 pm »
yeah, you're like me with that, but in all honesty, a guitarist doesnt feel the need to build his own guitar, so we dont need to be a sound designer to be a musician.
but there's something about building my own custom landscape (or soundscape) from the very bottom up, that just makes me feel like its something i created on my own. seems to be more to it, than just being a musician. maybe other artforms are spilling into it

5
Inspiration/Creativity/Motivation / Re: (How) do you divide your time between sound design and composition?
« on: February 09, 2016, 10:03:30 pm »

nah, mine are just asking to be used

electric bass (slap) 001
fx spooky violin
perc loop - tek tom
vfx loop 001

to pick a few. really no excuse, i just totally forget, because im so focused on what im doing.

but yeah, the synth is awesome, its really the only synth i use regular, and i even use the fx version for delays and stuff. the way i see it, if i cant make it on zebra, then i probably cant make it

6
Inspiration/Creativity/Motivation / Re: Struggling With Sound Design
« on: February 09, 2016, 02:09:54 pm »
When it comes to things like amp and filter envelope settings, yeah, easy. I can do those without even thinking about it.
But the problem with copying other sounds, is when it has a particular tone that doesn't sound standard, cause you're left wondering if it's the synths custom waveform, or is it an fm trick, or is it layering.
Just too many variables to worry about, and that's why I never even attempt it, if it doesn't sound like a standard wave.
I know I can always get close enough if I can be bothered, buts its never worth the time.
Once you get good at sound design, you can make stuff that's sounds as good, or better, and in a fraction of the time.

7
Inspiration/Creativity/Motivation / Re: Struggling With Sound Design
« on: February 09, 2016, 01:26:51 pm »
Yep, its just lack of experience.
I can listen to my synth sound and know exactly what knobs to change, to get the sound I want.
Took me quite a few years. That's why most people just use presets

8
Inspiration/Creativity/Motivation / Re: (How) do you divide your time between sound design and composition?
« on: February 09, 2016, 01:20:18 pm »
You know what bothers me, I have a bank of around 200 zebra presets, that I've been building over a couple of years. Some of these sounds are so unusual and unique, I can't believe I made them.
And yet, whenever I'm working on a track, the last thing I think of doing, is looking through my preset bank! I'll sit there for hours trying to perfect that evolving vocaly pad sound, not even realizing I probably got a better sound already made.
But yeah, sometimes I do remember, and look at those presets like a kid in a candy shop, so its definitely worth spending time, making a bank up, for sure

9
Mixing/Mastering / Re: question regarding compression
« on: February 09, 2016, 10:31:17 am »
Quote from: Miles Dominic on February 09, 2016, 09:10:50 am
Quote from: FarleyCZ on February 08, 2016, 07:17:47 pm
Quote from: Miles Dominic on February 08, 2016, 06:54:08 pm
Quote from: FarleyCZ on February 08, 2016, 12:03:18 pm
Yeah, it really depends on usecase you think about. If you speak about compession effecting something like an electronic kickdrum then yeah, you can draw automation instead of it. (When speaking about clean non-saturating compressors) ... but the advantage of compressor is that on stuff with "unpredictable" and/or quick transients (real drums, vocals, pianos, synths with a lot of modulation etc...) it will do the trick for you automatically.

So theoretically you could draw "compression-like" automation over a master channel or finished track, but it would take you weeks or months to do it. Compressor will do that for you instantly.
i don't think that holds true, because a compressor affects only the part of the signal above the treshold. Volume automation will change the volume of everything playing at that time, thus having a different effect.
Nope. You've essentially described waveshaping. If it was "bending" the signal as you say, you'd hear pretty nasty harmonics being added to the signal.

But as Axis said, then you have "character" compressors with saturation curves. Those add a tiny bit of harmonics. Those you can't replace by automation. But clean compressor you theoretically can.

Maybe i didn't explain myself properly enough, but I'm fairly sure what I'm trying to say is not wrong (Atleast, i don't see how it could be) Feel free to point out any errors in my explanation though because I'm really curious to hear if its correct or not haha.

Lets say we have a kick and a bass playing and only the kick's transient plays above the threshold. The bass volume is unaltered because its below the threshold. However, a part of the kick that is above the treshhold is turned down. However, if you automate the mastervolume and turn down the volume at the moment where the kick's transient plays, you will also automatically turn down the volume of the rest of the instruments (in this case the bass).
So a different effect will be achieved by the volume automation vs. compression?

Sorry for the jungle of quotes. On phone.
The kick will force the compressor to lower the volume, and the volume will come back up, depending on the compressors release time.
So yeah, for something simple like this, automation is fine.
Myself I prefer vol envelope plugins to do that, and if I'm working with something other than 4/4 club music, I'll use midi notes to trigger the pattern reset, and automation to change to different curves.
Bit of a hassle, but saves a lot of cpu, and you can get the perfect curve, stupidly easy

10
Composition/Arrangement/Theory / Re: Production Process Thread
« on: February 08, 2016, 07:19:26 pm »

for me:

1: open up my last finished, or nearly finished project, that has a similar setup to what i want to use. (correct type of distortion busses etc).

2:change the lead into something that doesnt remind me of the previous track (both melody and sound design)

3:start working on the main fullon section of the track, modifying the lead, and any available pads and  blip making synths i have loaded. i'll stay on this section until i got something that i think can carry a track. sometimes its just getting the lead sounding nice, and sometimes i'll get some pads to harmonize with it. there will be some eq work in this stage too

4: take a step back, and look at the current structure of the track, and decide what areas need to be rearranged for the curent track. do i want the lead to filter in at bar 48, or to hit hard at 129, after a 32 bar chillout.
up to this point i havent touched the drums in any way, but now they will get rearranged to match what i want with this track.

5: the melody is sounding nice and i've arranged things into a structure that i like, though this might and probably will get changed at a later stage. now i'll start changing the drum sounds that i was using in the previous track, so that the track doesnt remind me of the previous track in any way. these drums will probably also get changed again later, but some might stay.

6: at this point, its now a bit of everything, just rearranging and fine tuning, more and more. eq, sound design, move things etc, and maybe work on a second melody for the lead, and see if i can improve it. things like that.

have to stop typing now, but hopefully that was helpful to someone!

11
Inspiration/Creativity/Motivation / Re: Admit your bad habits
« on: February 07, 2016, 08:39:24 pm »
Quote from: Bertie South on February 07, 2016, 08:30:35 pm
Quote from: KAB on February 07, 2016, 08:06:01 pm

I mix while I work

Not necessarily a bad thing.

totally agree.
if you dont eq and balance the levels, everything gonna sound like garbage. even the nicest melodies will get boring fast, if the track levels are all over the place

12
Inspiration/Creativity/Motivation / Re: Admit your bad habits
« on: February 07, 2016, 08:28:19 pm »
Quote from: KAB on February 07, 2016, 08:06:01 pm

making a different track within the track I'm working on lol


i hate that. you make an awesome melody, but it just changes the track too much, so you cant delete it and you cant keep it

13
Inspiration/Creativity/Motivation / Re: Admit your bad habits
« on: February 07, 2016, 08:25:10 pm »
Quote from: cryophonik on February 07, 2016, 06:18:46 pm
Staying in my comfort zone.  I tend to go on autopilot and stick with what I'm confident will work, rather than experimenting.

yep, you know what works, and you wanna get something down as quick as possible, i know the feeling.
thing is, when i do go outside my comfort zone, i always surprise myself, and kick myself for being so robotic.

we seem to think that everything's been done, but the thing is, everyone else thinks the same, and thats why it doesnt really take that much effort to sound a little bit unique

14
Mixing/Mastering / Re: Mixing at incredibly low levels
« on: February 07, 2016, 08:13:57 pm »
Quote from: Marrow Machines on February 07, 2016, 04:20:18 pm

So you reduce the volume after the limiter because that's what will be picking up the peaks.



exactly. you're hearing it as it would sound exported.
when i was talking about leaving my kick at -20db, im talking at a track level. i dont worry about
making sure my kick is at -10db or whatever other sillyness, i just use a volume plugin on the master
channel to get everything up to a sensible level, before i compress and limit.
then another vol plug after, for low level monitoring.

one thing you need to watch though, some things like analog modelled dist and exciters behave
differently as sounds approach 0db, and thats the only reason i can think of, why you would think that
the kick needs to be as loud as possible before it even leaves its kick channel.
but i dont use that type of thing. imo the result doesnt justify the cpu, so i just leave the channel
volumes wherever they sound good.

15
Mixing/Mastering / Re: Mixing at incredibly low levels
« on: February 07, 2016, 03:39:37 pm »
as long as the vol plugin is after all your limiters etc, there is nothing it can possibly do to mess with the sound.
if you're working totally in the software realm, then volume reduction doesnt have any bad affect.
sometimes by the time i finished mixing a track, my kick is sitting at around -20db, because of all the adjustments i made, but this doesnt matter, as everything is digital, so i have no noise problems to worry about

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