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is use of a arpreggiator cheating
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crazedonee
I always felt why use an arpreggiator when you could draw in complex
arpregos ,or play them in and edit them.So my thing is using a synths on board arpreggiator can be cheating in a way, (most of the tracks i here on the net you can here people using them its so obvious)

so do most people here use them for arps and leads or just draw them in so they sound more complex ,then again i guess you could do both.

i was actually working on an intro and kind of got stuck was thinking about using one!:conf:
Speactra
quote:
Originally posted by crazedonee
most of the tracks i here on the net you can here people using them its so obvious

Why is that so obvious? I cant hear any difference between an arpeggiator and a handdrawn sewuence...
I mainly use the arpegiator as a running sound when i'm making a sound, and if I want to use it i export it to midi so that i can edit the notes myself...
It's more cheating to use complete drum loops imo...
soundrush
how can it be cheating when its self-evident :conf:

its a helper to get your sequences done and good for simple melody's.

altough i dont use apregiation very often (maybe for 10% of my sequences) becuase most of the melody's do sound very mathy and lifeless to me.
Aquascape
I tend to play or program in my own melodies as I feel I have more freedom this way. I use arpeggiators for inspiration from time to time.

I don't think there's anything wrong with them as long as the producer understands how the sequences are formed.
KilldaDJ
can be classed as cheating but if u dont have the time or just cant be arsed, arp it up
ASFSE
no it's not cheating, there are no rules, the arpreggiator is a powerful tool that has more uses than just for melodies and pretty/trancy arps.

the points is, if it sounds good, it doesn't matter how it was accomplished. that applies to using any sort of preset, including drumloops and stuff. it's not cheating if you use these things. but most beginners that use arps/presets/drumloops don't take it to the next level, they just stick it in thier track, thus not using these materials in a creative fashion. i don't know if this makes sense.:p
thoughtlessjex
Personally, the way I use arpeggiators is to acheive arpeggiating triplet sounds without having to draw them in. I don't see the point in tedium when I have a tool that simplifies the process for me right there.
alexlosy
Are there any arpegiators on midi keyboards???? :conf:
crazedonee
I agree with ASFSE

if you know the ins and outs and do take it to the next level use whatever you have at your arsenal ,if it sounds good ,but using something and not having learned how something was created youll deprive yourself in the long run
Derivative
quote:
Originally posted by Speactra
Why is that so obvious? I cant hear any difference between an arpeggiator and a handdrawn sewuence...
I mainly use the arpegiator as a running sound when i'm making a sound, and if I want to use it i export it to midi so that i can edit the notes myself...
It's more cheating to use complete drum loops imo...


Depends on how you use it. An arpeggiator is perfectly synced and has perfect timing. You can swing an arp but its still an algorithym - it is still obviously not played by a human being because no human being has perfect timing or swings a note exactly the same way twice in a row.

Sometimes time corrected sequences like this are good. Other times you need a human touch.

Some artists like LFO go to extreme lengths to literally up this machine timing by unplugging their gear mid sequence to lose clock pulses or deliberately run long midi chains for unpredictable swing. Most people nowadays deliberately quantize off notes so they sound more human and slightly flawed.

The more I think about it, the more I begin to like music which is in time but slightly off. A real drummer sounds so much more natural than a preprogrammed set of beats that are quantised dead on. I like the slightly wrong things about a song. It makes it sound human and it can make it sound more alive if you do it right.

crazedonee
but one thing we can do is use velocity to get that human feel with arps.


but on the other hand derivative i do agree with you

,on not sounding too perfect and every hit is always on time ,but i nthis day and age im sure a lot of labels realize ,that we are not playing an instrument ,and that we are a one man band basically.
DJ Shibby
You're only cheating yourself if you actually use arpeggators.

How are you supposed to make intricate low-level changes to the track and switch it up with pinpoint precision if you are letting an arpeggator control your note placements?
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