Help with Trance Production

[sjurbanski]

I'm looking for some sort of tutorial or book or whatever that teaches you trance production. The problem with what I've found so far is that it seems that the tutorials are just too specific in nature. I want something that's more generalized as to where it gives you enough liberty to play around and find something that works while still creating boundaries to prevent you from creating a muddy clusterf*ck. The closest I've found to what I want is Allan Morrow Studios but I still feel a little limited with what I can do in his tutorials.

[vurt]

what level are you at would you say?
would "the dance music manual" be of any use, it's more vague and general but has genre specific chapters, although from a few years back, it's very good for explaining the basics

[DJ Warmonger]

When it comes to general mixing tips for trance, I might have some

...when it comes to composition, however, I won't help, as I tend to create some weird *^&&*^.

Some specific questions and problems would make it easier to give you advice.

[sjurbanski]

what level are you at would you say?
would "the dance music manual" be of any use, it's more vague and general but has genre specific chapters, although from a few years back, it's very good for explaining the basics

Not a complete beginner but still relatively new. I haven't read that book but I did purchase a course of his on Udemy specifically on Uplifting Trance. I did think it was good but I still feel a little limited in my toolbox, particularly with creating the basses. How would you describe the section of Trance in his book?

[vurt]

i honestly dont know the genre enough to make an assessment sorry
ill leave you in dj warmongers much more capable hands

[sjurbanski]

what level are you at would you say?
would "the dance music manual" be of any use, it's more vague and general but has genre specific chapters, although from a few years back, it's very good for explaining the basics

Not a complete beginner but still relatively new. I haven't read that book but I did purchase a course of his on Udemy specifically on Uplifting Trance. I did think it was good but I still feel a little limited in my toolbox, particularly with creating the basses. How would you describe the section of Trance in his book?

I should also say I feel pretty darn good when it comes to creating basslines in terms of melodies, it's the sound design that I feel at a loss for. I've got a pretty decent grasp on Sylenth, am starting to learn Spire, and that's about it. I have seen some decent tutorials when it comes to creating a midbass. Mainly playing around with Waveforms in Spire as Allan Morrow suggested playing around with waveforms, granted in Syelnth. The major problem I have is trying to layer sounds without it sounding like a complete disaster. I guess another problem I have is trying to describe sounds (bright, crisp, warm, metallic, etc), knowing how to layer them, and knowing when to use a particular sound for a track, for example would an aggressive bass work well for my trance track or should I go for groovy, etc.

[DJ Warmonger]

For lows, always pick some sort of analog (including virtual-analog) bass, typically a simple saw would do. You can really get low with filtering and EQ. Collapse lows to mono, then compress the hell out of it. Everything below 100 Hz can, and in fact should be flat like a terminator in the final scene.
The tricky part is to preserve the envelope with linear-phase filter, especially when doing any high-pass. If you start with a saw, you want to see the saw on a scope, after all the processing.

For mid bass, high-pass it at 100 Hz or more to make sure the only fundamental in the mix comes from the low bass.

The higher you go up in frequencies, the more freedom you have.

[sjurbanski]

Hmmm, that sounds like some really good info, thanks! Too bad I'm not really smart enough to know what it means. By analog, is that like just using saws, squares, sines, and triangles as opposed to something crazy you might make in serum? Or am I way off?

[DJ Warmonger]

By analog, is that like just using saws, squares, sines, and triangles as opposed to something crazy you might make in serum? Or am I way off?

Yep. Also, if you see a preset name like "analog bass" or "moog bass", try it. These are often very simple sounds.

[FJ5]

I'm looking for some sort of tutorial or book or whatever that teaches you trance production. The problem with what I've found so far is that it seems that the tutorials are just too specific in nature. I want something that's more generalized as to where it gives you enough liberty to play around and find something that works while still creating boundaries to prevent you from creating a muddy clusterf*ck. The closest I've found to what I want is Allan Morrow Studios but I still feel a little limited with what I can do in his tutorials.

There's tons of good stuff on YouTube, the problem is that it's easy to get lost in a sea of information. From what you've written, I recommend Demis Hellen videos - short & to the point, covering everything from creating sounds, basslines, lead melodies etc.

Sonic Academy also have a few free taster videos & then you can sign up for a subscription for a few months & watch all the trance tutorials (there are loads!).

From personal experience, I'd stay away from the advanced processing stuff until you've got the basics right. With a simple '4 to the floor' kick/hi-hat combo, a rolling bassline & a saw pluck/lead (all synths will have this preset!), & maybe a pad chord pattern in the background, all in an 8 or 16-bar loop, you'll be able to create a simple but effective trance pattern.

Once you've got that nailed, then you can move onto the sound design stuff, FX processing etc...

Good luck!

[sjurbanski]

By analog, is that like just using saws, squares, sines, and triangles as opposed to something crazy you might make in serum? Or am I way off?

Yep. Also, if you see a preset name like "analog bass" or "moog bass", try it. These are often very simple sounds.

Alright, thanks, I appreciate it! I could probably pick your brain for months on end. Did/do you have like some sort of go to resource for all that or was that stuff that you had to go to formal schooling for?

[sjurbanski]

I'm looking for some sort of tutorial or book or whatever that teaches you trance production. The problem with what I've found so far is that it seems that the tutorials are just too specific in nature. I want something that's more generalized as to where it gives you enough liberty to play around and find something that works while still creating boundaries to prevent you from creating a muddy clusterf*ck. The closest I've found to what I want is Allan Morrow Studios but I still feel a little limited with what I can do in his tutorials.

There's tons of good stuff on YouTube, the problem is that it's easy to get lost in a sea of information. From what you've written, I recommend Demis Hellen videos - short & to the point, covering everything from creating sounds, basslines, lead melodies etc.

Sonic Academy also have a few free taster videos & then you can sign up for a subscription for a few months & watch all the trance tutorials (there are loads!).

From personal experience, I'd stay away from the advanced processing stuff until you've got the basics right. With a simple '4 to the floor' kick/hi-hat combo, a rolling bassline & a saw pluck/lead (all synths will have this preset!), & maybe a pad chord pattern in the background, all in an 8 or 16-bar loop, you'll be able to create a simple but effective trance pattern.

Once you've got that nailed, then you can move onto the sound design stuff, FX processing etc...

Good luck!

Hmm, I've never heard of him before, I'll check it out, thanks! And as for Sonic Academy, I have spent so much money over there. It always seems to be hit or miss for me there. Some I really like and some not so much. I think the James Dymond ones have been really good but the problem is he's never really gotten into the sound design part of trance and that's the part that's really bugged me.

[DJ Warmonger]

By analog, is that like just using saws, squares, sines, and triangles as opposed to something crazy you might make in serum? Or am I way off?

Yep. Also, if you see a preset name like "analog bass" or "moog bass", try it. These are often very simple sounds.

Alright, thanks, I appreciate it! I could probably pick your brain for months on end. Did/do you have like some sort of go to resource for all that or was that stuff that you had to go to formal schooling for?

Neither, it's a whole life of exploring and trying to find a way to mix everything, everywhere, all at once.

There are some in-depth mixing tips on my Youtube channel, but no "full trance tutorial" yet.

[FJ5]

I'm looking for some sort of tutorial or book or whatever that teaches you trance production. The problem with what I've found so far is that it seems that the tutorials are just too specific in nature. I want something that's more generalized as to where it gives you enough liberty to play around and find something that works while still creating boundaries to prevent you from creating a muddy clusterf*ck. The closest I've found to what I want is Allan Morrow Studios but I still feel a little limited with what I can do in his tutorials.

There's tons of good stuff on YouTube, the problem is that it's easy to get lost in a sea of information. From what you've written, I recommend Demis Hellen videos - short & to the point, covering everything from creating sounds, basslines, lead melodies etc.

Sonic Academy also have a few free taster videos & then you can sign up for a subscription for a few months & watch all the trance tutorials (there are loads!).

From personal experience, I'd stay away from the advanced processing stuff until you've got the basics right. With a simple '4 to the floor' kick/hi-hat combo, a rolling bassline & a saw pluck/lead (all synths will have this preset!), & maybe a pad chord pattern in the background, all in an 8 or 16-bar loop, you'll be able to create a simple but effective trance pattern.

Once you've got that nailed, then you can move onto the sound design stuff, FX processing etc...

Good luck!

Hmm, I've never heard of him before, I'll check it out, thanks! And as for Sonic Academy, I have spent so much money over there. It always seems to be hit or miss for me there. Some I really like and some not so much. I think the James Dymond ones have been really good but the problem is he's never really gotten into the sound design part of trance and that's the part that's really bugged me.

If it's sound design you're into then you'll find Demis Hellen's stuff really useful. There's videos where he creates sounds in Hive, Spire, Vital & Dune.