Making Leads more subtle/transparant

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-- Making Leads more subtle/transparant

Posted by Thois on Jan-02-2006 20:18:

Making Leads more subtle/transparant

I like leads which aren't very dominant in the mix. Like the leads in Perasma-Swing 2 Harmony/Sasha-Xpander/Lolo-Why etc. If I had this great preset, but it's to dominant to my liking, what can I do to subtle it/make it more transparant. Is there some kind of filter effect to achieve this?

I think all those examples above have some kind of filter applied to them to make them sweet and less dominant, or am i wrong?

Posted by djlogik on Jan-02-2006 21:12:

That lead has a LOT of reverb on it. It's decay is fairly long too so that the sound sits in the back of the mix somewhat.

Posted by TonyZ on Jan-02-2006 21:56:

For a softer, less intrusive lead, you'll want to decrease the Frequency a bit on your synth. to make up for the lack of definition, also add a compressor at about 4:1, low threshold, fast attack and make the attack on the synth faster too. You can also muddle about with the Resonance for some extra meat to your sound, so it doesn't sound dead and faded.

You want to have fast attack, medium to low decay, medium to low sustain, and fast release for a lead that is "clicky" and arpeggiated. the lead for Swing 2 Harmony is heavily delayed and reverbed, but the inital note is very punchy.

if you're looking for a softer, maybe padded sound that's a lead but doesn't need quick changes, then increase the sustain, slow down the attack a bit and put on some slower release . you'll get more drawn out notes that are suitable for background pads or maybe some slower leads.

Posted by DigiNut on Jan-03-2006 03:02:

Lots of reverb and delay, and don't compress.

Posted by thecYrus on Jan-03-2006 10:40:

and don't put the volume too high..

Posted by BshidoHEAT on Jan-03-2006 11:12:

I don't like compressing leads either.. makes them sound cruncy.

Posted by JustinMead on Jan-03-2006 14:43:

I Like to use stero seperation to make sounds nice and soft

Posted by Thois on Jan-03-2006 16:46:

thanks guys!