studio setup of popular producers

[micheljarre]

Hi there,

when listening to shows like State of Trance, Group Therapy or similar popular ones, I always ask myself whether there is a kind of "top 20" for setting up the sound of progressive or uplifting style, especially concerning the synths and effects which are used.

Is it still a kind of secret of the "big guys" which tools there are using or is this well known?

Although the tracks do not sound identical, of course, I would guess that there are some very popular solutions, for example:

• which drum computer and sound library to used
• which analog synth to use to produce basses and fat sounds
• which sidechain compressor and bitcrusher to use
• which additional sound libraries to include
• which other synths and effects to use

Do you know more about these points?

I am very interested...

Thank you!
micheljarre

[tehlord]

The 'secret' is the several years practise and experience you don't have. There are no magic tools to make you pro.

[Chapelle]

---

[DJ Warmonger]

which

It's not "which", but "how". The answer to 'which" is "whichever you need".

And to know what you need, you firts need to understand how things work in general and how do they work for you.

[micheljarre]

Thank you for the answers.

It is acceptable for me to hear that there seems to be no "technical monopole" anymore.

When I produced music (which is about 14 years ago..), the times were quite different in my opinion. Of course there were lots of vst plugins and audio tools, but the (expensive) hardware synth and effect workstations were preferred.

Nevertheless: is the range of tools so large that nowadays there is no "default toolkit" to produce professional results anymore?

The background of my question is: I would like to start producing again, but my experiences from former times cause some concern that I would need to start to work with hundreds of tools until I find the "preferred" ones. On the one hand, having such a huge range of possible tools is great, but on the other I would like to keep the barrier as low as possible for getting first professional results.

[dsan@mail.com]

....On the one hand, having such a huge range of possible tools is great, but on the other I would like to keep the barrier as low as possible for getting first professional results.

It is my humble opinion one is not "professional" unless one is earning a living (from whatever the profession is). And then begins the degree of professionalism.

In the meantime, one can be a hobbiest ( and sometimes better than the so called "professional").

Choose which you rather and be the best at it.

Yes, the range of tools is vast. Pick an instrument and learn it inside and out. Just about any instrument will give you enough to work on to learn it fully.

This keeps the financial barrier to a minimum, for a while. (I hope that is the barrier you refer to). Then, in a bit, with perseverence and effort, you will have mastered the tool and you can go to the next.

Don't expect to touch a knob and instantly become a "professional". A lot of folks here have been working at it for years. Many of them, while not earning a living at it, can certainly be considered much better than some of their "pro" counterparts.

Basically, just do what you love. There is no magic potion, bit a whole lot of fun to be had.

Happy Musiking!
dsan

[DJ Warmonger]

It is my humble opinion one is not "professional" unless one is earning a living

Good point. Buying expensive gear does not make you professional. Selling one does, however

There will be dozens of people who try to sell their "revolutionary" stuff to rule them all, but that's not gonna happen. No hardware or software can be the substitute for knowledge and experience. The more you know, the less you pay.

[micheljarre]

It is my humble opinion one is not "professional" unless one is earning a living (from whatever the profession is). And then begins the degree of professionalism.

Okay, that may depend on the definition of "professional". I am not going to earn my living by producing music, but I'd expect to have results that I would consider to sound "professional". But maybe other words would describe it better.

The barrier I meant is the technical effort to take to produce acceptable results, not the pure financial aspects. This is difficult to describe, because what does "acceptable" mean? This is the reason why I mentioned the big shows like State of Trance. Of course, the arrangement and some very details make a production great, but I thought it would also be some well established tools.

[dsan@mail.com]

.....but I'd expect to have results that I would consider to sound "professional".....

Yes, that is exactly what you should strive for and what we all want. The point some are trying to make is that buying the "best" equipment does not automatically give one that professional sound. It takes time and devotion to finally get to that.

.....The barrier I meant is the technical effort to take to produce acceptable results, not the pure financial aspects. This is difficult to describe, because what does "acceptable" mean? This is the reason why I mentioned the big shows like State of Trance.

Acceptable is simply "Are YOU happy with the result?"

For most, never. Been there done that. Now, I trust myself and have learned to enjoy what it is. Again, this takes time to learn that what it is is acceptable. If it pleases you then you're done; if it doesn't then go back to the drawing board.

Just be careful you don't cook yourself in the process, and that is easy to do.
Learn to trust yourself and make yourself happy with what it is

.....Of course, the arrangement and some very details make a production great, but I thought it would also be some well established tools.

Don't misunderstand - the better the tool the better the result, naturally.

However, just don't think going in that because you have the "well established" tool you will achieve instant "professional" sound. There are people here that can make the worst instrument sound pretty darn good

You have to work at it, and it takes time.

A lot of times we think that with this tool I will sound great. But the reality is, until I know "How" to use the tool, I'm not going to sound great (or professional as you put it).

Bottom line - put in the time. We call it paying your dues

If you devote yourself to it, no matter what tools you use, you will come out professional sounding.

Happy Musiking!
dsan

[MadAnthony81]

well im popular. haha just KIDDINGGGGG!

look what I use below!

[murnau]

Nevertheless: is the range of tools so large that nowadays there is no "default toolkit" to produce professional results anymore?

The background of my question is: I would like to start producing again, but my experiences from former times cause some concern that I would need to start to work with hundreds of tools until I find the "preferred" ones. On the one hand, having such a huge range of possible tools is great, but on the other I would like to keep the barrier as low as possible for getting first professional results.

the first and most important step is to learn your DAW inside out (and i mean inside out)! if you don't know what your DAW is capable of there's no need for any 3rd party plugins or any other software to buy. this first step alone can easily take 1-2 years imho.

[rod_zero]

Instead of having a "professional" sound better try to define your aesthetic objectives, first maybe as "I wanna sound similar to" and then going further and defning your sound more in your own terms.

I think this is important because it gives you direction in the huge ammount of options, you can "sound" pro with anything but different tools can direct you in different aesthetic ways.

It's not the same to "sound as pro" as lets say Avicci that to sound as "pro" as some Berlin techno underground act which tours the world, the aesthetic of both is completely different.

I think understandiing what tools are better for some tasks and goals makes you a better professional.

[pilgrim_heart]

the first and most important step is to learn your DAW inside out (and i mean inside out)! if you don't know what your DAW is capable of there's no need for any 3rd party plugins or any other software to buy. this first step alone can easily take 1-2 years imho.

I'll have to say that I disagree with this. It's really useful to know the DAW well and all but most of them include tons of features so they can cater to different styles of working etc., each individual user is unlikely to need all of that stuff. I'd rather take the pragmatic approach of learning what I need for the time being and looking up new stuff as I feel the need for it.

Regarding hardware synths I think one should also consider that those take a lot more effort to use than plugs. You'll need to either buy enough hardware to hook them all up more or less permanently (and then do the work of patching everything, looking at how to change patches etc. when switching projects and so on) or you're gonna have to constantly repatch stuff. I'm lazy so I really like the convenience of plugins.

[kuzami]

Vato Gonzalez: http://equipboard.com/pros/vatogonzalez ... egory_page

[murnau]

the first and most important step is to learn your DAW inside out (and i mean inside out)! if you don't know what your DAW is capable of there's no need for any 3rd party plugins or any other software to buy. this first step alone can easily take 1-2 years imho.

I'll have to say that I disagree with this. It's really useful to know the DAW well and all but most of them include tons of features so they can cater to different styles of working etc., each individual user is unlikely to need all of that stuff.

the idea behind: you should know everything inside your DAW to decide/understand what you need and what isn't for you and your workflow. it's exactly not about using every possible feature. over the years i learned many things inside my DAW which i thought i don't need on first sight but i was wrong because i didn't know it better.

I'd rather take the pragmatic approach of learning what I need for the time being and looking up new stuff as I feel the need for it.

yep, thats why i wrote 1-2 years. it is nothing you reach over night.