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-- pre-selects vs making own sounds

pre-selects vs making own sounds

i think the one key reason so many people like us who make tunes get things horribly wrong is down to the fact nobody really finds the time and make all there own parts for the track in hand.

this is with out a doubt why so many tracks fall to the way side.

i mean how do we expect our tracks to be any good if we dont teach our self's all the areas involved in production?
by making a track from complete scratch has to be the key way to learn what works well what areas of the mix things belong to,sound design, controlling parts so they fit and all work.

i think this post may help some new people learning the ropes so any feedback will be good

Delete preset banks. Then you *have* to make your own sounds. This is how I learned to program Instruments and Effects, most of my plugins have no presets or patches.

The whole process of sound design and figuring out how to program things is half the fun for me, so I don't bother with presets, but I understand why people use them if they just want to jump straight into making music without diddling around with knobs and sliders.

i like to make samples based music

As much as I love programming sounds and encourage others to do the same, we have to realize that each person is different. Some people have no interest in programming sounds and/or just prefer to focus on other things. Some people just see it as reinventing the wheel. Others think that using presets makes a person less of a producer. etc. etc. etc.

A more important point is that, ideals aside, a LOT of people just aren't good at programming sounds, which has as much to do with songs falling by the wayside and crappy sounding demos as anything else. Like everything else in production, sound design takes time and experience and can be viewed as an art form unto itself.

Speaking for myself, I have yet to create a sound from scratch using a pure FM, additive, or granular synth that I would use in a track - I can tweak presets into usability, but I haven't found the time to become proficient with these synths yet because I have higher priorities and limited time.

I would definitely say that it's each to their own on this one.

I have often found that you can use patches but would suggest that you do things to make them your own i.e. fiddle around with envelopes, resonance and other knobs.

The effects that you use with these sounds and even how you place them in your mix plays a much bigger part than the patch itself in my experience.

If a patch jumps out at you through the mix as a preset, then it's probably more a case of it being the wrong patch rather than it being a preset.
I would also recomend that you stay away from those trademark patches like patch 1. on the FM7 (Exciting), I have heard that one a few times and every time it makes me wretch.

If you write a song that people here and they think of that patch then then the song itself isn't good enough. It would be better if you wrote that song and when people hear the patch they think of your song if you catch my drift.

People often also get so obsessed with sound design that they overlook the option to layer sounds and using them together. You will find that most great producers are not necessarily great designers but know how to layer stuff and work it into the mix.

Using sound in ways that it wasn't intended for, i.e. you might find a bass patch that also sounds interesting higher up on the keyboard, it might not be an obvious lead sound but layer it with something else you you have a new sound.

Before you start going mad with confusion over the fact that your patches don't come out the way you want, try those other things, if nothing else it will teach you some of the fundamentals before you go in deeper.

cheers
Nem

I like presets and i don't think making your shows any skill, a real producer uses presets and nothing else

I'm with Nemesis and cryophonik on this one. I use presets, and tweak them accordingly.

But extra kudos to those who can design sounds, I'm very jealous of you guys.

quote:

Originally posted by BshidoHEAT I'm with Nemesis and cryophonik on this one. I use presets, and tweak them accordingly. But extra kudos to those who can design sounds, I'm very jealous of you guys.

This is normally what I do too is tweak presets. Except for the most part I make my own bass sounds and layers.

I've got an Access Virus B synth and it seems like they had this in mind while designing the presets. There's about 1 cool patch for every 50 or so. Most are barely discernible from the next and completely impractical, but every once in a while something awesome will jump out as though they're letting you know what the machine is capable of, but don't want to hand it to you on a silver platter.

Designing sounds from scratch on an analog synth is really difficult. It takes extensive knowledge of all the controlling parameters to get the sound in your head onto the machine. Takes a lot of visualizing. Shit be complicated, yo.

I'm kinda sad... I bought the B synth used and there was one patch on it that I absolutely love, but ended up losing when I had to change the battery. The previous owner must've designed it. I've been trying so hard to replicate it but it's just not happening

R.I.P. ringy noise

"...SHIT BE
COMPLICATED
YO....."

whats wrong with using presets. ?

if you can make an amazing song from presets. is it still an amazing song? i would hope so.

its not just the preset that you made or came from the factory. but its what notes you use/melody etc.. . what eq and all that isnt it?

i feel that making your own sounds is important and im trying to learn it at the moment but im sure alot of people have released songs probably quite well known songs with presets. .

presets are just like using samples for kicks and percs.

you CAN make kicks/percs etc.... but alot of people use sample packs..

Well, for hardier sounds I like to use pre selects.

PS
haha, I actually just read this thread

quote:

A real producer uses presets and nothing else

So fuckin stupid

I use both, presets and making my own sounds, I think it helps to know your vst or hardware and how to create certain sounds.

I like listen to someone and saying wow how did he/she make that sound and then trying to emulate it. as they might have done something that was simple but very effective.

Don't get me wrong i do still struggle at making some sounds eg i still cant get really nice sounding pads. but i'm always learning.

Too me if it suits your track then use it who cares if someone else has used it.


Waza

I find making tracks using my own sounds is far more satisfying. Working on my own I will always make the sounds myself, but others prefer using presets and tweaking them and that is their choice. If it sounds good in the mix it works. I prefer the originality though

It makes absolutely no difference whether you programmed a sound yourself or it's a preset that someone else programmed! If it sounds good in your song, IT IS GOOD! Thats all that matters. I use presets all the time when they sounds right for the song. Makes no difference to me. I use whatever gets me the right sound.

quote:

Originally posted by tecnolover It makes absolutely no difference whether you programmed a sound yourself or it's a preset that someone else programmed! [B]If it sounds good in your song, IT IS GOOD!

If this were an ideal world, but it isn't. Apparently other artists care if other artists cannot build their own sounds. This is why EDM artists in general don't like Hip Hop lol. You have guys making hiphop beats, AND STILL ONLY USE THE FLSTUDIO PRESET SOUNDS. And ontop of that, they have the attitude of "yeah! nigga!, i'm da shit nigga! I make BEETZ!" ... lol dude shut the fuck up.

No one is saying a preset is bad to have in a track, we are saying its bad for you to simply use some preset library and never try to learn to make your own stuff.

Think of music like cookies, you can use those preset cookie cutters to make footballs and stars and hearts...or you can get a putty knife and make superman or peter griffin.

quote:

I've got an Access Virus B synth and it seems like they had this in mind while designing the preset

its funny you say that, i was having a personal moment with my virus once - lets just say i wasn't on a natural plain of thought and, i realized that virus don't just hand you the right presets on a platter, but that, if you make slight adjustments here & there you have it [i was having a moment]. Although all sounds seemed to sound good at that time.

But then maybe we are conditioned to a certain sound type so only certain sounds within their range agree to us etc etc.

I have spent time making them too, but ultimately your after a particular type of sound which suits your style, and generally speaking these are found among most of the presets,. As i mentioned just before IMO you will end up somewhere close to your preset [if programming] given the desired outcome remains somewhat consistent with the conditioning of your style. this is just one point of view


@604 im down for Peter Griffin

quote:

Originally posted by sixofour.604 If this were an ideal world, but it isn't. Apparently other artists care if other artists cannot build their own sounds. This is why EDM artists in general don't like Hip Hop lol. You have guys making hiphop beats, AND STILL ONLY USE THE FLSTUDIO PRESET SOUNDS. And ontop of that, they have the attitude of "yeah! nigga!, i'm da shit nigga! I make BEETZ!" ... lol dude shut the fuck up. No one is saying a preset is bad to have in a track, we are saying its bad for you to simply use some preset library and never try to learn to make your own stuff. Think of music like cookies, you can use those preset cookie cutters to make footballs and stars and hearts...or you can get a putty knife and make superman or peter griffin.

cookie cutters? superman or peter griffin. You lost it.

I only use presets for sounds that I cant design .. Like FM synthesis or other kinds of synthesis methods Im not familar with.

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