i just really started making uplifting trance and all but i got down
my arps pretty good but im having trouble making leads,where would you guys suggest would be a good starting point ,i know the lead is
usually one bar in length and most of them appear to have some sort of gate ,or slide ,or portamento on them type effect ...but i just cant seem to get my leads sounding professional.

im used to programming old school,techno and,drum n bass

so if anyone can help it would be appreciated ,just need to know how to draw the leads in around the arps ,so they sound like a trance lead would!

Hey!

Best thing is to start with a sound from a synth that sounds good even when you play a single note. Try to put some unison/detune/chorus on it as well to give it a more 'phat' sound. Then go ahead with your lead pattern (I always draw the arpeggio notes myself, never use any 'auto-arps' built-in in the synth).

Try to give the filter envelope a little less decay than the amplitude envelope, this has always given me the extra 'touch' (trippy feel) when cutting down the filter during the break or at the end of a main sequence. A good thing also is to put the filter release ahead of the amplitude release (has also worked best for me so far). I don't think you really need any sustain if you apply an arpeggio, attack is at your own likings.

All the rest that follows depends more or less on eq'ing and putting effects such as delay and reverb on it. Those are also vital parts to make the synth sound more 'professional'. Usually, a lead doesn't really need to much low freqs, leave that for the basslines. You can always give it an extra boost at the high end (around 12KHz) to give it more sharpness/clearness. Be sure to put some 'pingpong' on the delay, let it bounce from left to right to give the synth a more 'stereo' feel. Reverb is also pretty vital, but don't overdo it or the synth will sound muddy and less clear.

Heop this helps a little, was just of the top of my head

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Excellent read Icone!!!!!!!!!!!

thanks ill give it a try ,

I like this Icone bloke. Has helped me out quite a bit in other threads too. You find him everywhere, in one out of three threads theirs an Icone. Glad theirs someone willing to help other people out!

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Music is as universal to people as breathing. We've probably been at it since before we even started talking. Immaging two cavemen smashing away at a peace of flint to make a spearhead. It wouldn't take long for them to learn te synchronise the sound. And there you have it, the words first percussive band.

Music has survived wars, famines, the plague and many other things and has evolved with man across many cultures. Dance music is just the next step in the evolutionary chain. My guess is that it will probably be with us untill we are extinced.

Nice Post Icone...

Icone is da man! And, like his advice and tips, his music is GREAT!

[/peelofflipsfromIconesbutt]

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Icone, you rule!

Too much reverb is a mistake I've made a few times

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I'm gonna start a website www.iconeisagoodmananddoesnttalkoutofhisscrotum.com.

Actualy i'm going to devote my life to god and pray for Icone 5 times a day.

Furthermore I'm saving up for an opporation to make myself look like Icone.

I'm going to print a T-shirt with the text 'I am a lesser man than Icone'.

But seriously, read up on tutorials guys. In combination with practice you'll learn more in a month than you would in a year otherwise.

By the way, just got SX3! Really happy, have to tell everyone. It's excellent. In my vew it beats FL by a long shot. A heck of a lot of big boys toys in it but still managable.

Also USB - Ultra Focus, just in. Excellent also. Just about every synth sound you'd want to create is possible, but still not too complicated. Actualy you can do more with it than a virus, but allas I don't think you'd mach the sound quality.

Anyway I think I should start my own thread now and tell everyone how happy I am, not here, in someone elses thread which is about arpegio's vs leads...

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PLEASE RETURN REVIEWS!
C.D.M.P. Website
Review Latest Track; Charlie Delta - Then The Days Where Long

Music is as universal to people as breathing. We've probably been at it since before we even started talking. Immaging two cavemen smashing away at a peace of flint to make a spearhead. It wouldn't take long for them to learn te synchronise the sound. And there you have it, the words first percussive band.

Music has survived wars, famines, the plague and many other things and has evolved with man across many cultures. Dance music is just the next step in the evolutionary chain. My guess is that it will probably be with us untill we are extinced.

He is the chosen one, He has returned to the face of the earth and will set us free