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Skyhunter
Starting Member
United States
8 posts
Joined: May, 2011
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 Posted - 2011/05/18 : 06:18:01
In this synth tutorial I will be showing you how to make a lead sound. I use this sound in a few of my tracks, which are linked below the tutorial.
We will be using 3xosc, Synth 1, and Bitcrusher. The entire patch can be made in Synth 1 if you don't have Fruity Loops, and if you use Reason, the patch is easy to make in Thor. Both Synth 1 and Bitcrusher are free plug ins, links are below:
Synth 1: http://www.kvraudio.com/get/214.html
Bitcrusher: http://freemusicsoftware.org/plugins/Bitcrusher.dll
Moving on to the patch!
1. Creating the Sounds in Synth 1/ 3xosc
3XOSC- First let's change the oscillators' shapes. First and second osc will be saw, third will be a square. Put the coarse tuning of the saws at 0, and the square an octave below (-12). Now, detuning is key to a thick, massive layered sound, so now we will do just that by detuning the saws -20 and +20 cents, respectively (if you use Thor, I recomend using a multi oscillator for the saws and using 3 sawtooths, and a seperate osc for the square. More detuning, less hassle). Leave the square as it is for now.
Now, 3xosc isn't an FM synth. It's not even close. However, we can use the LFO's (low frequency osscillators) almost like operators on an FM synth. I'm not going to go to far into the technical details of FM synthesis, if you want that go to Ace Pincter's tutorial on youtube, it's very comprehensive and complete(link is below). Anyways, go to the Pitch tab in your 3xosc (thor users, use the matrix. Synth 1 people, use LFO 1 and route it to OSC 1 &2). Turn the attack on your LFO all the way down, leave the delay alone, and turn the speed all the way up. Now, play a synth note, and slowly turn the amount knob up. You will hear a grungey, grating type sound going on in the sound. That is what we want, just don't turn it up too much. All that causes is ear rape. And congradulations! The 3xosc patch is complete!
SYNTH 1- Now, open up Synth1 (if you don't know how to load a new VST into your daw, go ahead and search youtube! Reason users, you are going to have to make another instance of Thor in your combinator and layer it. [much envy... thor is badass]). Synth1 can be intimidating, but I'll walk you through it. First we are going to change the Amp and Filter envelopes. In the amp envelope (amplifier), take the attack and decay (a and d) all the way down. Leave everything else the same (If you aren't using Synth1, the release is just a little bit, just not a dead stop and not full on sustain pedal action). Turn the amount knob in the filter section to zero (center point), we don't need the envelope. Raise the cutoff of the filter all the way up while you are here, we don't want that either.
Now, the oscillators on Synth1 are very, very powerful for lead sounds. Set every osc to sawtooth. Tuning wise, everything is tuned the same, just the detunes are different. Osc 1, put the detune at 40-60%, this is a lot of detune but that's what we want. Now, turn off the Chorus and Delay, and your Synth 1 patch is done!
2. Layering! (this is where the magic happens)
Okay, honestly, this is the only way to put it. LAYER AS MUCH AS YOU WANT!!! However, I'm going to tell you how I usually do it!
Clone your Synth 1 two times (three total), and your 3xosc once (two total)(reason people, you can add more multi osc to Thor and detune those, or just add more Thors into your combinator). The whole theory behind layering is creating a different texture with each sound, then melding them in an attempt to make a kick ass lead sound. So on the different texture part, I'm going to take our 3xosc clone, and turn the AMT on our Pitch LFO to zero. Boom. Different texture.
On to the Synth 1 patches, on one clone I'm going to do the pitch LFO trick we did earlier. Synth 1 has a much faster LFO then 3xosc (that's what she said :P), so be careful when turning the amount up, don't do too much. On the second clone, change ALL the Oscs to square (fun tip, there are a few showtek and headhunterz songs where they forgo the sawtooth completely and use square waves[chiptunes were doing something right]). Do the same LFO pitch trick here, use the amount sparingly as before.
If you are in FL Studio, you can open a layer to play all the sounds at once! Go to channels>Add one>Layer. Now, hold Shift key, and select all the synths you want to layer (to select, press the up/down keys a few times. See the lights? hold shift and click on those, that's how you select). Then, WHILE HOLDING SHIFT (caps lock is fun), go to the Layer and hit "Set Children" (don't hit real children, I won't be held acountable). And you have layered your sound! Personally, I like to turn the volume of the Synth1s down a little, it gives a more Hardcore feel.
As I said, layering is good! It's incredibly hard to overdo, just like resampling (tutorial to come :D)!
3. Processing and Effects!
*** PRO TIP!!! Because Layering can be a CPU whore, you can write your melodies with the synths and effects, then once you are satisfied, you turn the effects off, then render out the melody dry. Then you turn off the synths (or make a new project), and load the riff in a Sampler. You then give the sampler the same effects and have nearly the same end result, without all the CPU being drained! ***
Now, send all the synths to an empty mixer track. Open a Fruity Parametric EQ 2 (my favorite EQ, better then Isotope ozone's IMO), we are going to mess with this later. Then, open a Bitcrusher (again, find another tutorial if you are unsure then come back here when you are done). Just take the drive up to about 5 dB (Reason users, let me explain what you are missing. This is a light distortion, very very low threshold. It's suttle and uneeded, purely optional. But I like it). Move the parametric EQ down by hovering your cursor over it and scrolling down, it should be 2 slots below Bitcrusher in the effects chain. Now we are going to have to move the gain fader down on the track to prevent clipping. Next we are going to open a Fruity Flangus (I swear by it, I really do) Leave it on the default setting, then turn the volume of it down to about halfway (the knob on that slot, just right of the green dot[Reason users, use a chorus effect the same way. You'll be missing some acton as the flangus {flanger+chorus} is complex, but it will do]). Now, the EQ! Bring the low shelf to around 100 Hz and take it down a few dB, we don't want too much low bass, but we also don't want to loose the warmth of the low mids, so 100 Hz is about right. Boost the Upper Mids and the High Treble by around 4 dB, use a wide bandwidth for a more even job. This is our basic EQ setting, tweak as much as you'd like. If it sounds good, it is good! Add some light chorus at this stage, after the EQ. I'm going to use the default from Fruity Chorus and turn the dry/wet way, waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down. Now, we are going to add a reverb and delay, and here is where the sound gets absolutely HUGE. For the delay, I recomend a ping pong delay, but not hard panning, slightly softer so it widens it, but doesn't feel like it's dragging back and forth in the stereo field. A good amount of feedback is okay and maybe even essential, it makes it sound epik. Now, the reverb! I recomend using a good amount of reverb, maybe 30-40%, and not a too long or too short decay time. You might have problems with metallic sounding reverb, if this is the case, mess with the size, lo cut/hi cut, etc. Generally, you can get it sorted out, however, if this isn't the case, you can simply add another delay after the ping pong, higher feedback and lower overall volume. This creates another airy type feel akin to reverb.
Phweeew, that processing was a big one, but hey! It's done!
4. Some tips for the finished patch!
I: Tweak it as much as you'd like! Seriously, be creative, be original!
II: Layer your melody! Once you write your main riff, copy it and paste it an octave higher/lower, it sounds wicked!
III: Arpeggios! Don't use the arpeggiator though, BORING! Write them yourself, a great video tutorial by a friend of mine is linked below.
IV: Don't be afraid of layering more! I cannot stress this enough!
V: Have fun with it!
Audio examples:
http://soundcloud.com/o-a-e/chipstep-8-bit-dubstep-by-oae @27 seconds
http://soundcloud.com/o-a-e/some-music-4-minecraft Begining
http://soundcloud.com/o-a-e/preview-of-my-new-dubstep The high pitched lead synth
Ace Pincter on FM Synthesis (super helpful!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4OWsez10Zg
DJ CLayfacer's Arp Tutorial (amazing theory and layering, taught me a lot!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9i8rub5q2Y&feature=relmfu
And there you have it folks! Thanks for your time, contact me with any questions on my soundcloud page, or message me on youtube @ http://www.youtube.com/user/orioneriksen
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ozmium
Advanced Member
United States
521 posts
Joined: Jun, 2008
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 Posted - 2011/05/18 : 06:56:41
:O change your profile picture :O
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Co Owner of Hardcore energy.
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D-tor
Advanced Member
United States
1,144 posts
Joined: Sep, 2009
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Posted - 2011/05/18 : 07:04:32
Okay, I've been having trouble with this, I will dedicate some time this tutorial when I have the chance!
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rAmen Break / rAmen Dream Owner
linktr.ee/djdtor
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Triquatra
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United Kingdom
12,635 posts
Joined: Nov, 2003
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Posted - 2011/05/18 : 08:01:44
great post, i'm sure lots of people will find that useful!
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Triquatra/Bee Trax/Cuttlefish
http://www.hardcoreunderground.co.uk/ - http://CLSM.net -
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ozmium
Advanced Member
United States
521 posts
Joined: Jun, 2008
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Posted - 2011/05/18 : 14:08:28
quote:
Originally posted by DjTriquatra:
great post, i'm sure lots of people will find that useful!
i liked awesome face before it was cool.....now everyone is doing it :(
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(= ozmium =)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ozmium/
http://soundcloud.com/ozmium
Co Owner of Hardcore energy.
http://www.youtube.com/user/HardcoreEnergyPromo
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hardcore-Energy
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JayHH86
Advanced Member
Vietnam
1,400 posts
Joined: Dec, 2008
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Posted - 2011/05/18 : 14:12:40
My awesome face is the bestest.
<-----------------------------------
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For free tracks & mixes: http://hardcorehighlights.com/
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ozmium
Advanced Member
United States
521 posts
Joined: Jun, 2008
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Posted - 2011/05/18 : 14:18:09
quote:
Originally posted by JayHH86:
My awesome face is the bestest.
<-----------------------------------
*Presses like button*
__________________________________
(= ozmium =)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ozmium/
http://soundcloud.com/ozmium
Co Owner of Hardcore energy.
http://www.youtube.com/user/HardcoreEnergyPromo
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hardcore-Energy
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Triquatra
Moderator
United Kingdom
12,635 posts
Joined: Nov, 2003
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Posted - 2011/05/18 : 14:25:49
I wasnt aware it was ever cool
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Triquatra/Bee Trax/Cuttlefish
http://www.hardcoreunderground.co.uk/ - http://CLSM.net -
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ozmium
Advanced Member
United States
521 posts
Joined: Jun, 2008
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Posted - 2011/05/18 : 14:46:36
quote:
Originally posted by DjTriquatra:
I wasnt aware it was ever cool
and that is the story of dubstep
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(= ozmium =)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ozmium/
http://soundcloud.com/ozmium
Co Owner of Hardcore energy.
http://www.youtube.com/user/HardcoreEnergyPromo
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hardcore-Energy
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JayHH86
Advanced Member
Vietnam
1,400 posts
Joined: Dec, 2008
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Posted - 2011/05/18 : 17:14:25
LOL.
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For free tracks & mixes: http://hardcorehighlights.com/
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Skyhunter
Starting Member
United States
8 posts
Joined: May, 2011
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Posted - 2011/05/18 : 22:28:51
quote:
Originally posted by JayHH86:
My awesome face is the bestest.
<-----------------------------------
Obviously.
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JayHH86
Advanced Member
Vietnam
1,400 posts
Joined: Dec, 2008
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Posted - 2011/05/19 : 07:37:32
lol.
Sorry man, totally hi-jacked your thread with stupidness.
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For free tracks & mixes: http://hardcorehighlights.com/
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Skyhunter
Starting Member
United States
8 posts
Joined: May, 2011
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Posted - 2011/05/19 : 18:27:22
It's okay hahaha it's all here for fun.
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Skyhunter
Starting Member
United States
8 posts
Joined: May, 2011
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Posted - 2011/05/20 : 04:06:12
It's okay hahaha it's all here for fun.
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