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New to Trance production. Any pointers?

Sup dudes, first post.

I've recently been getting into Trance music. Been producing Dubstep for a few years now. A lot of the Dubstep I listen to is very Trance influenced and I seem to have swayed over to Trance from that.

I just wanted some opinions and advice on creating synths. I'm currently using an Access Virus, Korg Radias and NI's Komplete package but being new to the whole Trance production scene I don't really know where to start in terms of creating those very atmospheric synths.

Does anyone use the Virus and have some tips or maybe some videos on getting started? In Dubstep it's mainly Massive that get's abused and is usually a foundation most get started with. What's the common synths used in Trance?

Thanks for any advice.

Edit: Just spotted the tutorial thread. Will go through that.

I wouldn't say theres a synth just for trance, you can use any synth really.
Massive is good for trance, just depends how good you are at synthesis then all plugins and hardware could be used.

I tend to use Rapture, Gforce minimonster and the TI2 mostly.
But its all personal preference.

Re: New to Trance production. Any pointers?

quote:

Originally posted by GV1 What's the common synths used in Trance?

You're really asking yourself the wrong question. It's better if you learn synthesis and music theory first, then song structure and mixing.

This video series will be very helpful for you:

Thanks for the replies.

Those videos look awesome. I'll go through them all.

well the classic trance period was made with jp 8000, VIrus and A nordrack

the uk stuff tended to have a novation supernova. You can definitely point out synths in styles even if they are/were not necessary.

dubstep = massive FM8 ohmicide and date rape. You could other stuff but that doesn't change the fact everyone is using those synths.

There tends to be a bad stigma attached to Massive in the Dubstep scene. NI have done an excellent job with their plugins, but I usually end up telling people to remove the stock patches if their going to use them seriously.

Those videos are above are really good, I'm on the 6th so far. Are there any more like this? There's a lot of stuff he talks about that I never knew such as tuning kicks to the key of the track and even using several layers for one synth. Good to see how others work and construct tracks.

the stigma has to do with everyone using the same sounds. Dubstep has been reduced to a set of 4 patches. And that is why everyone makes fun of it. I honestly can't think of any other genre that has pigeon holed itself as dubstep has. Even uk hardhouse.

Re: New to Trance production. Any pointers?

quote:

Originally posted by GV1 I just wanted some opinions and advice on creating synths. I'm currently using an Access Virus, Korg Radias and NI's Komplete package but being new to the whole Trance production scene I don't really know where to start in terms of creating those very atmospheric synths.

There are quite a few Virus and Komplete owners around here (myself included), but I'm not sure how many Radias owners there are. Not that it matters - whatever you learn about making patches in a subtractive synth can be applied to the Radias.

Which Virus model and Komplete version do you have?

Re: Re: New to Trance production. Any pointers?

quote:

Originally posted by cryophonik There are quite a few Virus and Komplete owners around here (myself included), but I'm not sure how many Radias owners there are. Not that it matters - whatever you learn about making patches in a subtractive synth can be applied to the Radias. Which Virus model and Komplete version do you have?

I was running Komplete 7, but they gave me an upgrade recently. I have the Darkstar Virus and the TI Desktop. I'm pretty good at Synthesis as a whole, beyond the basics anyway. Although, I wouldn't be able to design a trance patch from scratch without following a guide or two.

By patch I am talking about the classic synths with depth and atmosphere.

Those vids are great thanks PointPi

Re: Re: Re: New to Trance production. Any pointers?

quote:

Originally posted by GV1 I was running Komplete 7, but they gave me an upgrade recently. I have the Darkstar Virus and the TI Desktop.

Yeah, I'd say that you're pretty well set in the synth department.

BTW, I love the Darkstar.

Anyway, I'm assuming that by now you've been to the Access website and downloaded the thousands of free patches for the Virus, right? If not, that's a good place to start. One of the beauties of the Virus is the VC interface, which makes it very easy to reverse-engineer any patch. That's a great way to learn - find some presets that you like and reverse engineer them. Be sure to also pay attention to any real-time controller settings, like the mod wheel, aftertouch, the 3 assignable controller knobs, etc.

quote:

Originally posted by GV1 By patch I am talking about the classic synths with depth and atmosphere.

A lot of that depth and atmosphere comes from effects, especially reverb and delay, but also chorus, flanger, phaser, etc. The most common trance sounds (basses, pads, plucks, etc.) come from detuned sawtooth waves, or a combination of a sawtooth oscillator detuned against a square or triangle oscillator. If you want something a little more agressive, check out some of the wavetables in the Virus, or Massive.

There are a few guys around here who specialize in making trance commercial sounds - Anakratis, Alanzo, etc. - hopefully they'll chime in.

Re: Re: Re: New to Trance production. Any pointers?

quote:

Originally posted by GV1 By patch I am talking about the classic synths with depth and atmosphere.

Check out Spectrasonics Atmosphere (or Omnisphere if you can afford it), it's got some of the best pads and textures I've ever come across. There's not many synthesis capabilities in Atmosphere, though, but it's still worth checking out.

Oh and welcome to the forums, it's refreshing seeing a new member who's actually seeking resources to learn from, instead of asking people to spoon feed them everything.

Re: Re: Re: Re: New to Trance production. Any pointers?

Darkstar is my beauty <3

Yeah I've been over to the Virus site, I'm a member on their forums but I havn't downloaded any of the patches. I'm a bit of a prat tbh because I cleared out all the patches on my Virus just to force myself into the habbit of creating my own sounds from scratch. I'll have a look at some of the patches on the site though and have a go at reverse engineering them. I didn't even think about doing that.

It's kind of exciting to step into a new genre. I'm glad people over here are helpful and welcoming unlike other places .... DOA

quote:

Originally posted by cryophonik Yeah, I'd say that you're pretty well set in the synth department. BTW, I love the Darkstar. Anyway, I'm assuming that by now you've been to the Access website and downloaded the thousands of free patches for the Virus, right? If not, that's a good place to start. One of the beauties of the Virus is the VC interface, which makes it very easy to reverse-engineer any patch. That's a great way to learn - find some presets that you like and reverse engineer them. Be sure to also pay attention to any real-time controller settings, like the mod wheel, aftertouch, the 3 assignable controller knobs, etc. A lot of that depth and atmosphere comes from effects, especially reverb and delay, but also chorus, flanger, phaser, etc. The most common trance sounds (basses, pads, plucks, etc.) come from detuned sawtooth waves, or a combination of a sawtooth oscillator detuned against a square or triangle oscillator. If you want something a little more agressive, check out some of the wavetables in the Virus, or Massive. There are a few guys around here who specialize in making trance commercial sounds - Anakratis, Alanzo, etc. - hopefully they'll chime in.

Re: Re: Re: Re: New to Trance production. Any pointers?

quote:

Originally posted by Kysora Check out Spectrasonics Atmosphere (or Omnisphere if you can afford it), it's got some of the best pads and textures I've ever come across. There's not many synthesis capabilities in Atmosphere, though, but it's still worth checking out. Oh and welcome to the forums, it's refreshing seeing a new member who's actually seeking resources to learn from, instead of asking people to spoon feed them everything.

I used to use the "try before you buy" copy of Atmosphere some years back. It was OK, but as you said it does lack synthesis capabilities which would put me off slightly. It was expensive when I last seen the price, not sure if it's come down since.

Thanks for the welcome. Some years back I probably would have requested that every member spoon feed me whilst holding them ransom at gunpoint before being banned ... but we grow up and learn from that. The learning process is beautiful, the journey and challenge is the best part when making music imo.

*waves*

Sheesh. I've been producing for a little over 4 years now, and I still rely on presets.. I tweak the hell out of them, but still, kudos for not being as lazy as me

Re: Re: Re: Re: New to Trance production. Any pointers?

quote:

Originally posted by Kysora Check out Spectrasonics Atmosphere (or Omnisphere if you can afford it), it's got some of the best pads and textures I've ever come across. There's not many synthesis capabilities in Atmosphere, though, but it's still worth checking out.

If you do go with Omnisphere, it includes the entire Atmosphere library, so you can start with the Atmosphere source samples and layer/edit them using Omni's synth engine. I bought Omni when it came out and had to download the Atmosphere library from Spectrasonics' website when it was made available, but I *think* I read somewhere that it is now bundled with the Omni discs when you buy it.

quote:

Originally posted by Kysora Oh and welcome to the forums, it's refreshing seeing a new member who's actually seeking resources to learn from, instead of asking people to spoon feed them everything.

Big +1.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: New to Trance production. Any pointers?

quote:

Originally posted by GV1 Darkstar is my beauty <3 Yeah I've been over to the Virus site, I'm a member on their forums but I havn't downloaded any of the patches. I'm a bit of a prat tbh because I cleared out all the patches on my Virus just to force myself into the habbit of creating my own sounds from scratch. I'll have a look at some of the patches on the site though and have a go at reverse engineering them. I didn't even think about doing that. It's kind of exciting to step into a new genre. I'm glad people over here are helpful and welcoming unlike other places .... DOA

I can't remember what free preset bank it's in, but there's a virus patch in one of them called "PvD Lead", which sounds exactly what you'd expect it to sound like. The virus is pretty ideal for making arp'd out trance leads, just start the filter cutoff nice and low.

I was looking up some Virus stuff on youtube the other week and saw a new patch bank (think it was $40) that sounded like it had similar patches to those used in every big trance track of the past couple of years.

Just watched the j00f vids, aint seen them in ages. God that bloke can talk, he never shuts up. Not complaining though, you'll struggle to find a better CM/FM video, even if trance aint your thing you should learn something from it.

omnishphere is n't really like atmosphere in any way. The mod capabilities on the new incarnation are great. The way you can shape envelopes, extremely powerful. Consider the rom stuff like user wavs. It is a synth but I suppose you can only use it as a rompler if you are lazy.

It is not the tools, but the crafter.

quote:

Originally posted by djshire It is not the tools, but the crafter.

Good luck building a house without a hammer, nails and a saw.

Re: New to Trance production. Any pointers?

quote:

Originally posted by GV1 Sup dudes, first post.

Welcome dude. I've never made a decent trance track, so ask me nuttin.

Re: Re: New to Trance production. Any pointers?

quote:

Originally posted by Richard Butler Welcome dude. I've never made a decent trance track, so ask me nuttin.

take those trance riffs out of your tracks at once sir.

quote:

Originally posted by Kysora Sheesh. I've been producing for a little over 4 years now, and I still rely on presets..

And there's nothing wrong with that. After you have learned how to make a few sounds and have a grasp on synthesis, there's not point "forcing" yourself to program patches from scratch (unless you just enjoy noodling) - you might as well load up a preset and get on with actually making music, which you have to remember is the whole point in the first place.

btw, welcome GV1. As others have said, you've got the synths necessary to make some schranz, so it's really about the art of combining the right sounds, getting some interesting composition and arrangement.

All the rest (engineering, mixing, etc) is just following technical guidelines and we can all help with that when you're ready.

One final bit of advice: Don't take things too personal on here, and get your sense of humor and thich skin ready....you're going to need them around here

Re: Re: Re: New to Trance production. Any pointers?

quote:

Originally posted by MSZ take those trance riffs out of your tracks at once sir.

I am Rick Perry and I approve this message.

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