FX Racks or Synthesis

[Sweaty Ear]

Trying to improve sound design skills and wanted to get a quick consensus on the best route to creating the sounds you hear in your head in your daw. Right now I'm able to come up with grooves i'm satisfied with but a lot of times the sounds will be only close to what i want but not exactly what the song may need so i'll end up having to settle, rearrange or search for a new patch/sample all together. EQing works sometimes and i'm ok with reverb and delay but haven't gotten to compression, limiting, mastering etc. This is how i got interested in sound design. After watching videos and reading i now have a basic understanding of envelope shaping, layering and even some easy emulations but would like to take it to the next level. so i'm wondering if you all think it would be better to study fx chains first or synthesis. while i'm not expecting to master modular or fm anytime soon it seems additive proficiency could be obtainable.

[zerocrossing]

Trying to improve sound design skills and wanted to get a quick consensus on the best route to creating the sounds you hear in your head in your daw. Right now I'm able to come up with grooves i'm satisfied with but a lot of times the sounds will be only close to what i want but not exactly what the song may need so i'll end up having to settle, rearrange or search for a new patch/sample all together. EQing works sometimes and i'm ok with reverb and delay but haven't gotten to compression, limiting, mastering etc. This is how i got interested in sound design. After watching videos and reading i now have a basic understanding of envelope shaping, layering and even some easy emulations but would like to take it to the next level. so i'm wondering if you all think it would be better to study fx chains first or synthesis. while i'm not expecting to master modular or fm anytime soon it seems additive proficiency could be obtainable.

I would definitely stay with synthesis for a while, because basically, a lot of synthesis is an oscillator of some sort running though “effects.” For instance, modulating the detuning of oscillators is essentially what chorus is doing. A filter is basically just a type of EQ. An amp section is doing the same thing a compressor does, but controlled in a different way.

I’m not sure what your level is, but definitely spend time digging deep into what’s called “subtractive” synthesis types. These include virtual analog emulations like RePro or Obsession, but also wavetable synths like Hive, Dune or Pigments. Also, Dune and Pigments offer basic versions of other synthesis types as well, so later, you could explore a simplified FM oscillator instead of always going for the VA or wavetable in Dune. Pigments has fun things like granular and sample playback. Massive X might be a good one to look into because it’s sort of like a modular in the sense that you can connect the different parts in different ways.

Once you really get a handle on synthesis, then I’d start playing with effects a bit more. They’ll make a lot more sense because all the basics you learned will apply.

[kvotchin]

... no, nvm ...

[Sweaty Ear]

thanks zerocrossing. will look into those synths. kvotchin if you disagree about something i'd be interested to hear why...

[kvotchin]

Sorry for the ambiguity there. Had commented what I thought might be useful, then realised.. probably not.

[Sweaty Ear]

lol. ok. i missed that part. looks like synthesis it is.

[HAL76]

I´d suggest to forget this theoretical distinction and take the practical road that leads you through all these learning fields anyway.

Main argument: you can not really "learn" synthesis. You can learn parameters and their effects, but you can never memorize what is between them. And second: the sounds you are used to are - especially today - never just pure synthesis. FX chains give synth sounds practical value beyond EDM, character, they malke them special, alive and exciting.

My synth is my FX chain as well as my FX chains are an essential part of my synth.

Substractive, FM and so on are definitely learning fields. But as you still seem to be somewhere at the beginning I´d rather suggest to listen through patches and demos first to get an impression of what a synthesis method can do and a feeling for the differences between methods, tools and so on.

Training your ears and extending your horizon - getting an overview - is imho most important. I still do that some minutes every time I get into my studio.

[Sweaty Ear]

i agree HAL that learning all forms is best. just that there's so much. can be a bit overwhelming especially if you're a self-taught songwriter who produces him/herself as opposed to a producer. imho there's tons of things that contribute to good music like great lyrics, strong singing voice, slammin instrument solo, etc. but one aspect that often gets overlooked is the role of the audio engineer. unique sound design is as valuable as anything else. can't tell you how many times i bought a "have to have it" recording only to find out later that they're singing about sacrificing me to their demon god or something. i would love to be that good at it but also realize it wouldn't happen overnight. so starting with something easy and fun might help motivation. the new daw has both a free additive and subtractive synth included so will most likely try to start there first to get a feel.

if you have more tips that will make the journey any easier they will always be appreciated.

[kobal]

i don t know if guys you will agree but to me to learn substractive there is no better synth than nord leads.. it s basically a big sweet spot but complex enought to recreate many classic sound in good quality.
it depends the kind of sound you are after, you might be after more modern sound designs thought.. but nordlead to cover the basics technics of substractive synthesis is great imo, so i would check synth1 or discovery pro.
programing a nord lead land naturally to many classic sounds/ technics even if you just twist the knobs wihtout knowing what you re doing, it strike the perfetc balance of complexity/ simplicity for beginers to not be too much limited and still have plenty of sweet spots easy to find but for today it might be outdated, i don t know , it depends the kind of patchs afters.

[Sweaty Ear]

would like to create of course modern sounds for current mainstream including glitch but more importantly need the techniques to emulate any sound you'd want. for instance the current track i'm working on has a thin, bright synthpad sound which fits well but needs more heft to it almost like the dull, round tone of a french horn. so now i have to stop and find that or settle for 'almost'. on another i have to find controlled randomized cutoff freq. a lot of these. wouldn't it be easier if you could just tweak a few parameters and be content with what you've created?

you sold me on the balance of nord lead. will have to intall them along with the few i found from zerocrossing's post to see which is most inspirational.

[HAL76]

addition to what I have said before: I think that you should a) always be aware of what you do and b) use every chance to extend your knowledge if it is practically relevant.

What has been learned by/while doing is much easier to remember, while reading articles, watching tutorials and studying manuals may even be practically useless.

[thecontrolcentre]

you sold me on the balance of nord lead. will have to intall them along with the few i found from zerocrossing's post to see which is most inspirational.

You know Nord Lead is a hardware synth?

[Sweaty Ear]

addition to what I have said before: I think that you should a) always be aware of what you do and b) use every chance to extend your knowledge if it is practically relevant.

What has been learned by/while doing is much easier to remember, while reading articles, watching tutorials and studying manuals may even be practically useless.

yes, true but it takes a lot longer to finish a track if you are flying blind. i've had issues with a lot of celebrities moving in my house while i'm working on stuff then beating me by going on to make millions and win grammy's with remixes of my demos. now with the learning curve of a new daw as well the time factor is concerning.

[Sweaty Ear]

you sold me on the balance of nord lead. will have to intall them along with the few i found from zerocrossing's post to see which is most inspirational.

You know Nord Lead is a hardware synth?

lol. i did not but just looked to download vstis and saw synth1 was based on it.

[HAL76]

addition to what I have said before: I think that you should a) always be aware of what you do and b) use every chance to extend your knowledge if it is practically relevant.

What has been learned by/while doing is much easier to remember, while reading articles, watching tutorials and studying manuals may even be practically useless.

yes, true but it takes a lot longer to finish a track if you are flying blind. i've had issues with a lot of celebrities moving in my house while i'm working on stuff then beating me by going on to make millions and win grammy's with remixes of my demos. now with the learning curve of a new daw as well the time factor is concerning.

don´t gripe, what shall the children say? You can focus on either or if you want to but I´d better aim at the hole in the middle even if the way seems a little longer