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 (nobody)...and 587 guests Last 5 registered Oplandisks nothingstar N_loop yipe foxtrotromeo Browse members... |
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I've been trying out some of the Arturia VSTi synths - the CS40 and Moog Modular - they are gorgeous. I like smooth creamy dreamy synths like that. It seems like ragged raspy sounding VSTis are a dime a dozen - they must be easier to program. |
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i think it's to do with the fact that there emulating old analog synths which sound loads better than digital |
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Yeah the whole digital versus analog thing makes my head spin - after all, these are DIGITAL instruments, so digital synthesis can't be all bad as long as it's using the right algorithms - which just happen to be the ones that emulate the response of analog instruments... :: brain explodes :: |
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hehe yeah, then you get into the whole debate of 'do the origional synths sound better than the emulations?' |
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link? |
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Yeah, a LOT better - But a lot of ppl prolly wouldn't appreciate the difference at first. I'm not a big fan of emulations myself - I download them to mess about with from time to time though. There still isn't enough computer power to model a single analog filter properly without aliasing... It's why software EQ always sounds crap.. |
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given the choice i'd love to have a full hardware setup with some nice analog gear but it's not really practical (financially or physically). a friend of mine still uses his juno 106 and his mc 202 cos they just sound about 10 times better than any vsti |
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most of the synths i use in my tracks i bought from pawn shops. my Yamaha PSR-6, which was about 40 bucks, has a very Nintendo style sound - real analog and oldschool. my Yamaha PSS-470 has more of a Genesis sound to it - with 21 tones, all customizable with spectrum, wave, modulation, decay, attack and volume control. (not fancy mind you but cool nonetheless) this was about 50 bucks at a pawn shop. i like pawn shops. |
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Webserver's acting funny - sometimes the images won't load. Oh well. |
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yeh i used to love going round car boot sales, the mc202 my friend has he got off an old lady for £80 and it handt been out of the box! it was literally brand new, it had tapes with beethoven on it that you load into the sequencer. its kinda funny hearing the ninth symphony on an analog monosynth :) |
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hahahah that's great. my most expensive piece of equipment is my Alesis SR16 - which was 250 bucks USED at a pawn shop - that's one groovy drum machine that I take control of. ttttttaaaaaaaakkkkkkkkkiiiiiinnnnnnngggggg coooonnnnnnnnnnttttrrrrrrrooooooolllll of the drumdrumdrumdrum machine |
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Yeah I managed to pick up a TB303 for £50 a couple of years back! Just off a local guitarist who had it in the back of his wardrobe for the last ten years or so. To be honest I find it easier justifying spending money on analog gear than software, cos it holds its s/h value and sometimes increases... Like I had an MS20 for a while - Got bored of it, and when I sold it I made about £150 as a bonus... It can get addictive buying old synths though! I keep getting in that trap - Then I spend all my time playing around with them and never write any music! |
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story of my LIFE man. :D |
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sometimes its more fun fucking around with sound than actually making tunes. we got hold of a sequential circuits pro one that was broken, all it did was make a constant drone but we used to fuck about with the lfo and filter and stuff and just make all these wierd sci-fi doctor who sounds. it was more fun than any playstation or whatever the console was at the time |
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Yeah funnily enough I'm thinking about getting a Pro One at the moment. I'm really inspired by acts like Download at the moment - I'd really love to get a setup where I could almost work live and record everything down - Maybe edit later.. So I'm not always bogged down programming things and doing the same old stuff all the time... I'd like to have a bunch of drum machines, samplers and modular synths, and just work direct with them - Then do an album of improvised electronic stuff... That's my dream right now! |
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yes, i think it's a nicer way of making music, more fluid and natural. like painting with sound |
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That's my problem actually, I just tweak sounds all day long and keep writing little riffs that I never really build upon... I'm a fucking sound crazy tweakfreak at heart, but I know there's some composer in me somewhere too. :) |
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Absolutely - I started buying music gear back in about '93/94 - Before that I used to mess around with my parents' DX-11 and an old Casio SK sampler... But yeah, been buying gear and making music for about 10 years now! And up until this year I NEVER had any interest in making proper tunes - Just used to love making loops and messing with sounds... Used to HATE trying to put an entire track together though! But early this year I sent some loops off to a few labels, got some good feedback, and that kind of finally got me in the right frame of mind to actually complete something! And getting into software like Renoise & Fruity loops has helped a lot aswell! Logic used to do my head in... I think it's just a matter of trying all sorts of software & equipment out until you finally find something you can work with... And I'm only just getting there now! But in the process I've learnt loads about synths and sound engineering - Probably a lot more than if I had been writting proper tunes 'cos I've ALWAYS been focused on making melodies & sounds & beats and things.. |
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Oh yeah, the only time I've ever been really happy making music was back with the 303, 202, drum machine and sampler... It just feels like you're messing around, then before you know it you've got a proper track going.. |
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Yeah, it'll probably take me just as long before I'm really ready to make some tracks that are worth a damn... For now, I just can't get enough of thick, fat, SOUND! straight from my EX5 to my ears. ;) |
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Now this is interesting - mostly I also twiddle about with sounds and short loops. I have a backlog of at least a hundred "song ideas"... *** What are some of the compositional strategies you use to build something up into a full track? *** I've played a lot of "traditional" music on guitar, keyboard, bass, so I have a strong feeling that chord progressions and structure are important, but I don't want my music to be trapped in traditional structures... I also don't want to get trapped into a building-block structure with typical electronic buildups and breakdowns.... Help me to reinvent music!!! :D |
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"I also don't want to get trapped into a building-block structure with typical electronic buildups and breakdowns...." That's exactly the problem I'm having.. but alas I'm no genious so I doubt I'll be reinventing song formulae any time soon. |
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I used to think Autechre was reinventing musical structures... now I realize they are mostly playing with their dicks structurally. Brilliant musicians in other ways mind you. You know who has interesting structures is FSOL. Especially on Dead Cities, where it's almost classical... there are movements rather than verse-chorus-verse bits. Think I'll sit down with a pencil and map out the parts next time I listen... |
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FSOL... I know I've asked about them before, but what does it stand for again? |
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ah, why thank you. :) |
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Their site is full of stuff related to their last album, which is full of 60s / hippie textures, but the rest of their stuff isn't like that. Get on slsk and hunt up the Dead Cities album - it's the bees' knees, the cat's pajamas, etc. etc. |
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i only have and use hardware and i can spend ALL day just turning everything on and making patches or editing sounds. i get so distracted doing that, i hardly get around to sequencing anything. |
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Yeah absolutely - I used to love making loops and things, but I hated putting arrangements together with Cubase/Logic - Hate the building block approach - I always ruin the best loops trying to write full arrangements like that... For me, moving over to Renoise made all the difference cos you just work one section at a time - There's no visuals just one pattern after another... So I could get REALLY into arrangements then.. FSOL are geniuses - Max on Dead Cities is the kind of track I'd love to write... They use all sorts of things to get away from the old Cubase syndrome... Back then they were using Atari's running Creator for midi sequencing - Recording down to ADAT - Editing with Pro Tools - Going back down to DAT - Sync'ing it back with more Atari sequences, etc... They were definetly trying to get away from anything too linear.. |
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So you think the visual, linear Cubase grid - the project window - is the trap? Interesting. Maybe the mind is drawn into creating more rigid organization and symmetry when working visually like that - a neatness trap. |
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yes yes, very tempting to copy paste copy paste etc |
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Definetly - Everyone used to talk about this thing called "Cubase syndrome" back in the Atari ST days - It affects the way some people "hear" their own music, being able to see it all in lines like that. It definetly messes me up! If I want a really minimal looped sounding tune, I just end up with a boring looking arrangement - So then I stop appreciating the music side of things and start focusing on the boring looking arrangement - Then I end up adding things that aren't neccessary... So in the end I always get frustrated... Yeah, with Renoise I make a loop - Then copy it and make a few changes - So my tune's maybe 8 bars by now - Then double up again, maybe think about dropping something in or out, just going with my ideas... Then before you know it you've got the body of a finished track - Just have to add an intro and an ending usually! I've never found it easier... Although I'm mainly messing about with Fruity Loops at the moment - Will have to see if I can get similar results in that - Or maybe work between the two or something... |
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i normally fold my laptop screen down when listening back so i cant see the structure. it helps alot |
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I think this thread sums up where I'm coming from perfectly, it's almost scary.... I have the same exact problems myself. I fall into that organization trap alot (could be the main reason I get so stressed with FL) it's just too confined, I need to work in an empty space & just throw ideas about without following a grid, tempo & as a result my music has become highly programmed, not good. I used to make quite a bit of experimental trip hop using my SP808 & found sound, fairly minimal but very querky (how I like it), these days my stuff is more on a VS tip. I love to sit & programe beats for hours but it does drive me insane! As for FSOL! thier music has been my main inspiration for many years |
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the korg electribes are smart little boxes for creating stuff on the fly and such. i used to have one and i'd just record my knob twiddling onto minidisc, change the deleays tempos etc just messing around really. i think i'll dig it out and chop it up and stuff. could be very interesting |
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the sounds not the electribe :) |
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Well sound trackers certainly sorted me out arrangement wise. I find what I'd do is slowly build up sections, add a bit here, take off a bit there, over days/weeks sometimes - So I'd have a track 1:20, then next week it may be 3:30, then I might edit a bit out, add a bit, etc... It's like you get really into the tune because you're always relying 100% on your ears - There's no visual cues whatsoever to throw you. Definetly, I'm loving Fruity Loops at the moment for drum programming and making loops and things... But I'm definetly heading back towards tracker territory if I find the arrangements fall back into old traps.. Yeah, just before I discovered Renoise I was thinking about going back to hardware sequencing - Maybe something like the electribe - Maybe get an Akai MPC or something.. |
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hahaha, we all know you have it in for that lil groove box! what did it ever do to you?! |
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Was it an ER1, I am thinking of getting one soon, how come you got rid of it? |
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yeah it was the er-1 it's a quality bit of gear, i sold it to a mate cos the alpha dial was a bit dodgy so i gave it him for about £80 |
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