Could people tell some tips & tricks on creating aggressive sounds? Basses, leads, stabs etc.. I know my way around soft and gentle but I'm trying to lean more to bit aggressive music & sounds and seems like I really can't find what I'm looking for by just exploring by myself.
Thanks in advance.
Help on aggressive sounds.
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- Banned
- Topic Starter
- 1236 posts since 8 Apr, 2013
Well.. Basically dubstep/electro/hardstyle -types.. I know how to wobble etc so plz no youtube links on "how to make dubstep" 
Electro channel on digitally imported (di.fm) usually plays nice examples.
I have a tiny guess that it involves distortion and clipping but I just can't get there..
Electro channel on digitally imported (di.fm) usually plays nice examples.
I have a tiny guess that it involves distortion and clipping but I just can't get there..
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- KVRAF
- 1821 posts since 26 Nov, 2005 from Where silence and chaos meet.
your tiny guess is basically true.
and practice and trials and errors and experience will help you to master it.
i know it seems like i am not telling you much, but this is basically all there is...
and practice and trials and errors and experience will help you to master it.
i know it seems like i am not telling you much, but this is basically all there is...
It's not what you use, it's how you use it...
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- Banned
- Topic Starter
- 1236 posts since 8 Apr, 2013
Some tips here would be appreciated then, just to get startedChopper wrote:your tiny guess is basically true.
and practice and trials and errors and experience will help you to master it.
i know it seems like i am not telling you much, but this is basically all there is...
Now my distortions just sound... Dull or something.. Though the issue may be that I'm using bitwigs native distortion and I have my doubts about it
Though I now remembered that I have klanghelms distortion vst that I haven't used.. If I remember right, it had that certain something that may allow some nasty goodness.-
- KVRAF
- 1595 posts since 17 Nov, 2007 from Seattle, WA
You might get some mileage from splitting an instrument into multiple parts.
Maybe 3 - One for highs, one for mids, one for bass. This gives some freedom in the sound design process, particularly if you intend for it to be the up-front-takes-all-attention lead, where it doesn't need to share much space with other instruments. Oscillator layering & phase adjustment goes a long ways in the mids and highs. Chorus can be real helpful up here. Managing distortion and other similar fx is also much easier when you limit the scope in this way. The bass part of the instrument can be created more simply, it doesn't have the burden of needing to be interesting, and it can be crafted in a way that's easier to mix. Then you can perhaps bus them together, EQ and compress it together, etc, to make it sound like one synth, or at least a unified instrument.
This has an added benefit of a lot of automation variability, a lot of expression potential.
Which bring up the other big factor: Lots of automation. Make things move. Probably not with LFO's, though. Nope, gotta do it the hard way, or be real skilled in how you tie parameters to something like note velocity.
When you're crafting a texture, combinations of waveforms, sometimes on different octaves, sometimes in offset phase, are a frequent factor. A quiet 5th layered in can do good things, but keep it quiet or it starts taking up a lot of melodic space.
Nowadays, FM is getting used more, but in ways that are non-traditional. So with FM, or other forms of modulation, the only thing that can be said is: experiment.
And as always, a lot of mileage results from very careful and fiddly filter envelope usage. It's very sensitive, but accomplishes a lot.
I suspect that most electro house/etc sounds aren't made in such an involved way, but contain elements like the above. Try them out.
Maybe 3 - One for highs, one for mids, one for bass. This gives some freedom in the sound design process, particularly if you intend for it to be the up-front-takes-all-attention lead, where it doesn't need to share much space with other instruments. Oscillator layering & phase adjustment goes a long ways in the mids and highs. Chorus can be real helpful up here. Managing distortion and other similar fx is also much easier when you limit the scope in this way. The bass part of the instrument can be created more simply, it doesn't have the burden of needing to be interesting, and it can be crafted in a way that's easier to mix. Then you can perhaps bus them together, EQ and compress it together, etc, to make it sound like one synth, or at least a unified instrument.
This has an added benefit of a lot of automation variability, a lot of expression potential.
Which bring up the other big factor: Lots of automation. Make things move. Probably not with LFO's, though. Nope, gotta do it the hard way, or be real skilled in how you tie parameters to something like note velocity.
When you're crafting a texture, combinations of waveforms, sometimes on different octaves, sometimes in offset phase, are a frequent factor. A quiet 5th layered in can do good things, but keep it quiet or it starts taking up a lot of melodic space.
Nowadays, FM is getting used more, but in ways that are non-traditional. So with FM, or other forms of modulation, the only thing that can be said is: experiment.
And as always, a lot of mileage results from very careful and fiddly filter envelope usage. It's very sensitive, but accomplishes a lot.
I suspect that most electro house/etc sounds aren't made in such an involved way, but contain elements like the above. Try them out.
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- KVRAF
- 4590 posts since 7 Jun, 2012 from Warsaw
That for sure. Serum is awesome synth overallV0RT3X wrote:Try using Xfer Serum.
Most of electro-dubstep weirdness is FM, you can get quick results messing around with pretty random modulation.
Blog ------------- YouTube channel
Tricky-Loops wrote: (...)someone like Armin van Buuren who claims to make a track in half an hour and all his songs sound somewhat boring(...)
Tricky-Loops wrote: (...)someone like Armin van Buuren who claims to make a track in half an hour and all his songs sound somewhat boring(...)
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- KVRAF
- 3959 posts since 10 Sep, 2010 from A shit hole (Ireland).
'nout wrong with Bitwigs distortion it's very good.
Frequency splitting and layering will get you there.
Using FX in parallel will also help. Try using a few different distortions, then mix a little of each for taste. Don't forget phasers and chorus, etc. (op has mentioned these).
But keep the low end mono (at very least 250hz) and spread your highs.
Using a good source like Serum (as V0RT3X said) will get you there quicker.
Frequency splitting and layering will get you there.
Using FX in parallel will also help. Try using a few different distortions, then mix a little of each for taste. Don't forget phasers and chorus, etc. (op has mentioned these).
But keep the low end mono (at very least 250hz) and spread your highs.
Using a good source like Serum (as V0RT3X said) will get you there quicker.
I will take the Lord's name in vain, whenever I want. Hail Satan! And his little goblins too. 
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- KVRAF
- 35436 posts since 11 Apr, 2010 from Germany
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- Banned
- Topic Starter
- 1236 posts since 8 Apr, 2013
Super! Thank you guys ^^
Lots of things I've studied/learned in the past but long forgotten since done different genre. Also found out my predatOhm that has just collected virtual dust earlier. Saw, square and +1 oct saw ran through it just ripped my speakers, ears, and then my heart out and ate it.
So layering or multiband distortion.. I also remembered that yeah.. FM.. It can do a lot more
Feels like I found the joy of music making again.. No writers block even near
Lots of things I've studied/learned in the past but long forgotten since done different genre. Also found out my predatOhm that has just collected virtual dust earlier. Saw, square and +1 oct saw ran through it just ripped my speakers, ears, and then my heart out and ate it.
So layering or multiband distortion.. I also remembered that yeah.. FM.. It can do a lot more
Feels like I found the joy of music making again.. No writers block even near
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- KVRAF
- 3089 posts since 4 May, 2012
Noting that loudness is relative, over-distorted/saturated sounds can seem rather flat. Envelopes are essential for aggressive sounds.
As Robmobius suggests, you might also want to employ parallel distortion in layers.
Buffer effects can sound quite aggressive also; possibly due to their completely unnatural qualities.
Square wave LFOs are also pretty neat.
I think Serum does phase modulation, which is something I stumbled into with PureData:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-uTH3tOP-E
It can lead to very clean but aggressive sounds. Near the end of the video I show off the pm with multiband distortion.
As Robmobius suggests, you might also want to employ parallel distortion in layers.
Buffer effects can sound quite aggressive also; possibly due to their completely unnatural qualities.
Square wave LFOs are also pretty neat.
I think Serum does phase modulation, which is something I stumbled into with PureData:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-uTH3tOP-E
It can lead to very clean but aggressive sounds. Near the end of the video I show off the pm with multiband distortion.
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- KVRian
- 1207 posts since 16 Sep, 2006
V0RT3X wrote:Try using Xfer Serum.
Z3ta has some ripping sounds as well, as does Cyclop. Some in the latter are practically at your fingertips. The MWobble from Melda can be creatively applied for that kind of thing.
I recommend buying Guitar Rig, you can get some seriously nasty (in the good way) sounds from that thing. It's not "just" for guitar, not by a long shot. Ohmicide distortion, too (of course).
Ha ha suck it!
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- KVRAF
- 3089 posts since 4 May, 2012
+1Apostate wrote:I recommend buying Guitar Rig, you can get some seriously nasty (in the good way) sounds from that thing. It's not "just" for guitar, not by a long shot. Ohmicide distortion, too (of course).
That's my distortion combo right there.
