One Synth Challenge #108: Diodow by HrastProgrammer (Schiing Wins!)

[mostlyjustj]

Help!?!

Here is the first draft for my OSC #108 entry:

https://soundcloud.com/mostlyjustj/most ... ot-pass-go

@TheNeverScene (or anyone else interested in helping ) Ummm... remember when you offered help with drums... patches or programming? (in a comment, last OSC) I'm looking for help already, haha The arrangement needs a bit of polish still - and the levels seem to have rendered weirdly compared to how it plays back in Reaper, so that needs to be fixed.

But MAINLY: my drums sound weak, and it's supposed a rhythm driven track :/

Not sure if it's the patches? The mixing? Or the patterns? ....but the percussion lacks bite and I'm looking for input for what direction to put my effort in since drum programming always seems to be hit-and-miss with me (I'm more used to chopping loops) and I love good drums and these just aren't doing it for me and I can't put my finger on WHY?

I have no *expectations* from anyone, but any help I *could* get would be greatly appreciated, as there are so many OSC participants that have much more advanced skill than I do! (ps. not being sarcastic or "blowing smoke" I'm amazed by the work that passes for "average" around here!) Thanks in advance for any input anyone might be willing to offer

[TheNeverScene]

Hey J, first off, are you running and rendering at 96k? I was having all sorts of weird things happening when using other sample rates in Reaper.

You're bit sounds cool, so don't sell yourself short:)

[functionform]

Think I've been approaching this synth wrong philosophically. "it's not really made for keyboard players" he says or something like that.

[mostlyjustj]

Hey J, first off, are you running and rendering at 96k? I was having all sorts of weird things happening when using other sample rates in Reaper.

You're bit sounds cool, so don't sell yourself short:)

Oops - I was working in 96 but rendering in 48. That helped a lot

Thanks!

I still think the drums are the weakest part though, haha...

[TheNeverScene]

J, post the new render to your SC and let me know. The drums actually work for the song, so I don't think they are too far off, but it's way passed my bedtime here.

[mostlyjustj]

J, post the new render to your SC and let me know. The drums actually work for the song, so I don't think they are too far off, but it's way passed my bedtime here.

Oh, it's the same link since I replaced it and kept the same name, but here it is again:


https://soundcloud.com/mostlyjustj/most ... ot-pass-go

Please don't lose any sleep over my request, haha! No rush at all...

But I do find the drums/rhythm section kind of boring/weak and really would love any advice I could get from anyone here to help take my percussion synth/mixing skills to the next level. There are many OSC'ers that excel at these things and I'm not sure how you all do it!?

[doctorbob]

@MJJ .... here's some of my perc patches ... maybe they will help, maybe not, do as you wish ... EQ will be key to using them!

dB

[doctorbob]

... and here's what they sound like ...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vh8zv0wa4umcfd7/Perc.mp3?dl=1

dB

[schiing]

But I do find the drums/rhythm section kind of boring/weak and really would love any advice I could get from anyone here to help take my percussion synth/mixing skills to the next level. There are many OSC'ers that excel at these things and I'm not sure how you all do it!?

I'm really just starting out shaping drum sounds from scratch myself, but here are a couple of patches you might find useful.

From what I can hear, the sound of your kick is good. But it doesn't sit right in the mix. I don't know, it might look okay on a spectrum analyzer, but it definitely needs to feel louder than it is. Have you considered side-chaining it to the bass, or even to some of the pads? I almost always do it, even gently on soft tracks like my entry. And your bass doesn't sound too deep, I think there must be plenty of room to add some punch to the kick with eq or some kick punch tool? But it's so hard to tell what's ultimately the best strategy to make the kick stand out - usually a combination of these things and endless testing on 6 different speaker sets (for me, anyway! )

Your snare sounds a bit hollow and on the dull side - I don't know if it's the patch or the eq? Of course, it might be a conscious choice as well - if that's the case there are some unpleasant frequencies I'd want to take out... but I would still make it a bit brighter!

This may not be right thing to do for you, and it depends a lot on the style, but in my music I often use lots of barely audible percussive elements to bring the rhythm to life - a clank here, a hiss there, maybe a delay on the hats that's so weak you'd never be able to identify it, but you notice something's missing when you remove it.

[mostlyjustj]

... and here's what they sound like ...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vh8zv0wa4umcfd7/Perc.mp3?dl=1

dB

Thanks dB! Playing around with even just your kick w/EQ it's quite different- having so many more options with the fuller sound of yours compared to the one I made which is thin so only really has volume control, haha :/

It's funny the thing that stands out for me the most listening to your demo is the sense of space/reverb

Looking forward to playing with all these patches and seeing if I can breathe some life into this drum track!

[doctorbob]

You're welcome. Anything to help ... this is the spirit of the OSC. We are all here to learn. There's probably some redundant stuff in all the patches - but, like they say, if it ain' broke, don't fix it!

On the kick, my reaeq is set up highpass, band, band, lowpass. then ... lowpass starts at about 30-40Hz, big boost at first band at around 160Hz, next boost at around 300 hz, and then the lowpass falls off to cut all above 1k. Then I use TDR Kotelnikov to compress it.

All perc tracks go to a drum reverb buss with TAL reverb 4. I open the routing on the reverb track and can then adjust all the perc sends in one view, listening how they interact (even the kick has a little verb). Nice and easy without switching between each perc instrument track.

Anyway, have fun. Tweak and mod to your hearts content.

Cheers,

dB

[TheNeverScene]

Those are pretty darn cool, dB. It's like a Korg Minipops!

[TheNeverScene]

Schiing, I think I pm'd MJJ a similar response regarding elements and the snare simultaneously with your post. lol

I was too scared to make any bad advice I might give public. Where's the chicken emoji when you need it?

[schiing]

I was too scared to make any bad advice I might give public. Where's the chicken emoji when you need it?

I totally get that! There are so many people out there who are better qualified to give advice than I am that it's almost embarrassing to share the little snippets of information I've picked up on the way.

I think our advice checks out in this case. But if anyone ever catches me starting a YouTube channel with mixing tips, it's time for an ego intervention.

[TheNeverScene]

Is there a way to get portamento? Not seeing it...