Layering Synth Sounds

[Adrian Earnshaw Music]

Hi everyone. I put this little blog article together, which may be of use to those starting out https://www.biodiode.com/5-easy-ways-to ... th-sounds/

Happy to answer any follow-ups.

[richard anconina]

Hi Biodode
Interesting. Thank you.

[Adrian Earnshaw Music]

Thank you

[digitalmessiah]

Awesome, biodiode!

[Adrian Earnshaw Music]

Thanks, glad it was helpful.

[VELLTONE MUSIC]

more than 3 layers is wasting time:
1.Basic tone and harmonics that dominate.
2.Octave Upper or Lower layer to add excitement.
3.Extra harmonics or fx to enrich previous two layers.

[Adrian Earnshaw Music]

Exactly Velltone Music, that's why I recommend no more than 2 or 3 layered sounds in the blog post. Any more and it just becomes like mixing mud.

[VELLTONE MUSIC]

Exactly Velltone Music, that's why I recommend no more than 2 or 3 layered sounds in the blog post. Any more and it just becomes like mixing mud.

Yep i was trying to make complex 4-5 even 6 but it's just mud in most cases,no benefit for the mix,i guess three dimensional sound is easy to be made with three layers,which doesn't mean you can't do 4 layers exclusively,just it's not time justified.
I still learn mixing,but some stuff are like gravity,you can't dispute with it :):)

[Cinebient]

While i also sometimes like even 10+ layers (also arps included) i generally agree here that 2-3 layers mostly are the best to get a 3-dimensional sound but still not getting too muddy/washy.
However, i find with the right mixing tools (like a spatalization tool like Precedence instead of simple volume panning and with the right FX on top) you can go much much further while still getting a much more defined and pronounced sound.
I even find it much better to use also on each channel an own delay, reverb etc. for each layer instead of using a send f.e. But at the end there are many ways to do things.
You also can get a clear 20 layer synth sound while getting a muddy 2 layer.
There are no real rules if you experiment but i find the blog very useful and right in most cases and it is def. a good starting point.
It would be nice if people could post also sound demos about these themes since i find it is just the best to hear results.

[Adrian Earnshaw Music]

Thanks for adding your view Cinebient and I take on board the sound demos suggestion . It does seem an obvious thing to include and not sure why I didn't think of it .

There are always scenarios where you can get lots of layers playing the same tune or motif. But as this was labelled as easy ways, I limited the suggestion to no more than 3. Nothing to stop experimenting with more.

[Cinebient]

Thanks for adding your view Cinebient and I take on board the sound demos suggestion . It does seem an obvious thing to include and not sure why I didn't think of it .

There are always scenarios where you can get lots of layers playing the same tune or motif. But as this was labelled as easy ways, I limited the suggestion to no more than 3. Nothing to stop experimenting with more.

Indeed, 3 Layers is what i mostly use. And also like you suggested, one at the center while the others panned to the right and left by about 30%. Works mostly good
And thank´s for your tips....always appreciated.

[VELLTONE MUSIC]

Multilayered instruments are rich harmonically but everything depends of how something sit among other instruments - sometimes simple one osc,one filter stuff is best,other multi something,by default simple sounds are boring,sharp ones non musical so i guess when it comes to mixing layers is very important ADSR of each to fit to each other,basically the mix is like to put another thing in already full sack :)Upload 3 layered bass for Tone2 Firebird in Banks&Patches section try it,at the time i made it was dope,not sure how will evaluate it now,could be very useful to somebody :)Cheerz

[Cinebient]

Multilayered instruments are rich harmonically but everything depends of how something sit among other instruments - sometimes simple one osc,one filter stuff is best,other multi something,by default simple sounds are boring,sharp ones non musical so i guess when it comes to mixing layers is very important ADSR of each to fit to each other,basically the mix is like to put another thing in already full sack :)Upload 3 layered bass for Tone2 Firebird in Banks&Patches section try it,at the time i made it was dope,not sure how will evaluate it now,could be very useful to somebody :)Cheerz

Yep. I find also you can get a massive but still kind of clear sound if the envelopes are right. Means the sounds will reach their peak at different times and so on.
But also the source is very important. Some synth sound really massive and still i can add a ton of FX without it gets too muddy. Some just sounds terrible in the same situation. I like to mix rhythmic elements with a pad/soundscape and maybe a key like sound on top. Sometimes triggering these as one instrument is so much better as trying to layer 3 sounds you recorded solo. So they glue together well.
I love layers but i tend often indeed to make it too big and so i mainly stop at 3 layers these days. But sometimes i still love 10 and more while a few of the layers might just jump in from time to time. Kind of record a track in one take but the set-up takes as long as a full song

[VELLTONE MUSIC]

I find your experiments very interesting and inspiring Cinebient
Some extra layer with slow attack always make sound thick and full,it's probably because in a real world we hear dynamically different sound sources in distance as strong or weak at different time and our brain have some system to perceive entire complex sound picture,not an expert but layering is art :)Cheerz

[Adrian Earnshaw Music]

Great conversation going on here. I agree that when layering synth sounds make sure that they bring something different to the party. As mentioned in the article, if you want a sound that has a hard percussive attack but also a slow release and decay layering could be a good tool to achieve your sound.

Experimentation is the key, but keep your overall volume levels normal to low otherwise the more layers you add the more your ears may be fooled into thinking it sounds better.