I've been listening to A LOT of random trance. Not neccessarily new or old just tracks I haven't heard before. And yes most trance can sound the same if you listen to it too much. I make it a habit now to listen to stuff I've never heard if I'm in the car or working out/running just hanging out etc.

And I've been comparing it to my own music with a fine tooth comb. I'm noticing my music tends to be dominated with "soft" sounds. I don't mean soft as in clean or pure like you might associate with sylenth or a nord, I mean just generally lacking strong or dense transients. Transients that really color a track and add depth to it.

I'm trying to be as specific as possible but I mean some of those raw abrasive distorted saws that might bounce with a bass to give it some depth, or some of those crazy sounds with hi resonance/fm and a bit of distortion that v-station dose. Even acids and syncs I really am noticing I don't dedicate a lot of time to these sorts of sounds. So lately I've been going crazy with v-station. I notice this synth is capable of getting some really hi energy edgy type sounds. But I don't feel like I know what I'm doing. I play mainly with the fm knobs, the couple of distortion knobs, and the filter and resonance basically. I sit there pretty much just twiddling and occasionally will come up with something that works but I still feel lost like I have no direction and like I'm wasting too much time doing it.

Its similar with z3ta as in I can do basic sounds, but when it comes to getting transient rich flavors, I always wind up corrupting my original sound and destroying it.

What do you guys do or use for your "edgey" sounds? Or do you resort to mostly using fx in your channels? Because fx can do a lot of interesting things but I feel like I need to learn it more in terms of synthesis. Is there any books on programming tuts just for these types of sounds? When I hear tracks over and over it seems theres just always 2 or 3 really great sounds (rich in transients) that define a track or add the actual depth to it. Sometimes its even just some super crunchy percussion. And it has to be that my synthesis skills are lacking. Except I don't wanna start from step 1 because I know a moderate amount. Any advice would greatly be appreciated. Thanks!

Everything is squashed to hell these days, why would you want transients?

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Originally posted by dj_alfi change your avatar for fucks sake.

To squash them of course.

Because they always usually seem to add an essential depth to a lot of trance.

I get that same problem too, layering helps, but when making your own sound its really hard to get transients. Its more experience and knowing your way around a synth that makes a perfect sound

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Flux Bittersweet is always a great help when looking for transients. It's free too! Google it!

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Storyteller Website | Storyteller @ Facebook | Storyteller @ Beatport | Storyteller @ Soundcloud | Stephen J. Kroos - Europa (Storyteller Remix)
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If less is more think about how much more more would be. -Frasier

Robby I know exactly where your'e comming from on this.

Over time I've started to make much more use of distortion and mangler plugs to add that something special, plus transient designers and just the right verb.

Me and my best mate have been examining classics such as Michael Jacksons 'don't stop till you get enough' and it's very noticable that these just aren't any old sounds, but a massive amount of experience and knowhow went into a track like that to make it sound so alive and vital.

Great producers and engineers I think glean thier edge through endless trial and error, just as notable scientists through the ages had a greater propensity to stick at compared to thier peers.

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u need more analog. sidechain.

post an example as your cryptic monologues are incomprehensible.

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Originally posted by Mad for Brad post an example as your cryptic monologues are incomprehensible.

lol, i was just thinking the same thing

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Listen to and download all my tracks at www.gregnicot.bandcamp.com

quote:

Originally posted by Richard Butler Robby I know exactly where your'e comming from on this. Over time I've started to make much more use of distortion and mangler plugs to add that something special, plus transient designers and just the right verb. Me and my best mate have been examining classics such as Michael Jacksons 'don't stop till you get enough' and it's very noticable that these just aren't any old sounds, but a massive amount of experience and knowhow went into a track like that to make it sound so alive and vital. Great producers and engineers I think glean thier edge through endless trial and error, just as notable scientists through the ages had a greater propensity to stick at compared to thier peers.

I think you missed the point and I'm going to add a bit to the discussion by talking about MJ...

The Thriller album, the #1 selling album of all time, didn't use any compression.

If you put it side by side by something more modern, its going to sound weaker...but when you start to jack up the volume it will STILL sound clear and those huge transients only help to bring the song to life.

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quote:

Originally posted by dj_alfi change your avatar for fucks sake.

conclusion is then: lower the volume.

use reverb.