The Most Important Synth Tips Ever

1. Use modulation

Step sequencers and time sync-ed LFO are the most important parts of the synth. They connect the sound to the music in a rhythmic way. Modulation expresses the sound over time. Modulation re-shapes the wave and makes it talk. Modulate the filter. Modulate the pitch with a FM or OSC sync. The modulation alone can make a groove or just using the mod wheel can make your synth talk to the listener. You can even start with modulation during the creation of your patches. Modulating pulsewidth gives the sound an interesting texture. Synth sounds are not all about envelopes. Envelopes often trigger exactly the same at each note press. This makes it no better than a rompler. You get a static sound with envelopes. With a rhythmic modulation, step sequencer modulation etc. you can make the sound alive. Modulation can often make a sound unrealistic, but that is the point of using an analog synthesizer. Making realistic sounds often is a failure. If you synthesize a sound thats already been heard before, you could still create a modulation of it that's never been done. Modulation is an important area to explore. It might not make any sense at first, as to what is changing what. Some synths are very poor choices and have limited modulations. Always pick a synth that makes LFOs and step sequences easy, and make sure they are time synced.

2. Create sounds by playing along with music

This is important to getting your sound EQed and to match your song style-wise. Customizing a synth sound to your music just makes it more fluid. A lot of times you can fix a synth sound by adjusting the amount of bass or brightness (filter). Many digital synths are way too bright and must be adjusted, and pulled back to be less aggressive. Filters used for bass often aren't too bright. You can often make a better bass sound on a synth thats not too good at bass, by bumping up the EQ. Overrall you should think of yourself as mixing the sound with other sounds.  If you create sounds by themselves, you'll listen to them again later and they will be too loud, or won't work in your songs.

3. Learn how to use EFX.

Not all synths have effects. The ones that do are pretty special. Sometimes a boring patch can find life with some basic effects like chorus and reverb. Effects can add to the modulation-factor. Effects give atmosphere. Effects can make the synth sound talk. The patch you are making is either a voice or an effect sound with some type of subconscious emotion that effects can further bring out. Different effects can remind the listener of different periods of music when those effects were popular. They can make the sound generic or take it to a new level.

4. Learn how to adjust timing of every parameter

Timing of the envelopes, LFOs, and even reverbs / phasers can drastically change a sound. The timing of each parameter can align harmonics into a new layer of combined sound. At the end, everything will just feel right. Not everything needs to be synced, but you can try to achieve a subconscious harmony of waves (or dissonance if you prefer).  You can sweeten and tighten up sounds by playing a musical sequence. You can load up old patches and just re-tweak everything to fit a different speed of playback.

5. You don't need an analog synth to make music

Analogs can be great, but not all of them fit with music production needs. They are missing many modern features. The external connections can slow you down. Their limited nature can hold you back music wise. The modern computer can do everything that an analog synth can. It will just sound slightly different. Most listeners will never be able to tell if you are using an analog synth or not, especially with todays effects and recording process. There are good reasons to use analog synths, but there are just far more options with digital music creation. The cost is a lot less. Buying an analog synth will not turn you into a genius. It may not even make your music any better. You may want one for performing or experimentation, but in the end its not 100% necessary. In the end an analog instrument will never match the functions of a digital synth without a great cost to the user.

 

In a more basic review:

Make your synth sounds TALK.

Adjust the timing of everything to harmonize the sound

Add effects to add atmosphere

Adjust the EQ to match the song

Use effects to make your synth sound TALK

Top Raspberry Pi Synthesizers Links

1.  Piana 2.0 is being worked on


2. Raspberry Pi Looper Link


3. Run Puredata on Raspberry Pi

4. A guide to setup Raspberry Pi to run low latency audio.

5. Raspberry Pi MS-20 - Link

Quiz Your Synthesizer Vocabulary on Memrise

To become a master synthesizer player or sound designer you must learn the lexicon that makes up sound. Take this online synthesizer course I made on Memrise:

http://www.memrise.com/course/176484/synthesizer-vocabulary/

There are 50 different terms that you can memorize. After you've really learned it over time you can apply your knowledge to almost any synth system.

Using Reference Levels Essential For Translation

One reason your sounds didn't translate to other systems is because you aren't monitoring at the right reference level. The reference level is a peak SPL in the real world and not a thing on a meter. Some say it is 83db. I don't believe this is a good volume level to use as it could damage your hearing. Some use 72db for nearfield applications. You will need an actual SPL meter from radio shack or the internet and a pink noise generator to set it. Don't go so high you are messing up your ears.



With a peak level set, you will mix sounds set below the reference level. Most people do -12 or -14db below. This is a standard comfort zone for voice or most instruments. If you want to go loud you can push over that level, but its not something you do through the entire mix. Someone should have told this to the people that mix Disney soundtracks.

Equipment like T.C. Electronic BMC-2 allows you you to have a set reference level at the touch of a button.

If you use flat monitors, the mix reference level is even more important to have. I find flat monitors are easier to mix with when pushed louder. If you mix at low volumes there is a risk of over-compression, distortion, and going too far. If you back off on the meter, and increase your speaker volume you'll be able to make better sounds. If you want to be more accurate, try a set reference level with an SPL meter.

Calibrating Speakers Limits Their Performance

If you are using Room Control or Room EQs you are not getting the most performance out of your speakers/monitors. In theory calibration sets your monitors closer to a certain specification. This only works in one point of the room. Calibration limits the peak performance in all the other areas of the room. Your speaker's natural performance capabilities are also tapered. This is similar to when setting your color TV to "what looks the best" (peak performance) instead of setting it to neutral color balance (calibrated). If you want your speakers to sound the best, set them by ear. I do not believe in calibration any longer. Its not useful for mixing.

The only pros to calibration is that everything will seem smoother. This is great for playback in a bad room. It may help intelligibility somewhat. But you do lose the "wow" factor from your system, which might have been why you bought it in the first place.

Color TV also looks different at different brightness or gamma. The same goes for speakers. They will sound different at different volume levels...so the moral of the story is to set the controls to what you like for peak performance. Most of the time calibration always hit the mark anyway. When creating we want to see and hear as much information as we can, and for some people that might be turning Room EQs off, or just bumping up the bass for awhile. You can use your own judgement and experiment with what works.

10 Tips For Better Basslines From Attack Magazine

This article link has a bunch of great tips, explanations, images, and mp3 examples of how to get better bass. Via Attack Magazine.

My Current Mastering Chain

 

Here is an overview of my current output chain. I'm keeping it here so I don't forget!

1. Ozone Imager

I use this to make the mix brighter and give it a wider soundstage. This plugin can change dynamics so I don't do too much.

2. SSLCompressor

This plugin is like an auto-volume for me. It gives some movement to the sound that I like.

3. L3 LL Multi-maximizer

I have a custom mastering setting that I use for this. It also helps me keep the band balance in check. The limiting gives me a boost. This plugin is very useful. Ultimately, I end up editing my settings.

4. PSP Vintage Warmer

I like the way this sounds post limiter. If I am doing a lot of limiting, this can give something back into the mix.

5. H-Compressor.

I use this as parallel compression at 40% wet. It brings out some of the reverb / noise.

6. Space Designer.

I use IR files to check to see if the bass end of my mix is interfering with my mids. I check to see if things are intelligible in a large or boomy space that I don't have access to in the real world.

7. TT Dynamic Range Meter

I check the clipping on this one and also to make sure I didn't lost much dynamic range. If I lost more than 5db range though my mastering chain, I better go back and check the settings.

I also take this time to make sure things sound okay on my PC stereo speakers. I have them pushed together like a mono set. They do not have tweeters and are small enough to check the midrange.

Club Simulation In A Plugin

With Interrupt.ch's IR files, you can simulate a club and check your final mixes on that system virtually.

This comes with preset files for Voxengo Pristine Space but you can load the Audio files into Logic's Space Designer and any IR plugin. Set your mix to 100% wet.

Downsides are that this method does not simulate certain distortions and other dynamics. But I find its a better technique than using a pure simulator plugin like TB_Isone.

One thing you might want to do is monitor this in mono. You are probably supposed to use headphones, but I think its not asbolutely necessary.

Using Parallel Compression For Mastering

A parallel compressor brings out the quiet parts in the mix just like regular compressor. But what is the difference between parallel and normal compression? A parallel compressor can work without limiting the peaks or transients artificially. You adjust the ratio of quiet sounds to loud ones and retain all dynamics. How it works is by mixing Dry & Wet signals to taste.



First of all what is compression?

Compression can make all sounds in the mix the same volume. It does this by reducing the signal when it goes past certain threshold (the threshold control).

- A low threshold compresses everything.

- The highest threshold compresses nothing.

The ratio you set the plugin also determines if the signal is compresses or not. It controls the amount of gain reduction directly.

- A low ratio, or 1:1 compresses nothing.

- The higher you set the ratio, 2:1, 4:1, or infinity, the more gain reduction you get.

- The attack and decay controls only adjust timing of when compression happens. Not the loudness of the signal. Long attacks delay the compression from happening. Short decays turn it off quick when the signal leaves the threshold area. Long decays keep the compression on for longer.

Tips:

- We may not realize that compression doesn't make the signal loud. Its job is to reduce it.

- Gain / Output controls may give us the false sense that compression itself is making things things loud after the fact. After the gain reduction, we usually boost the signal back to normal levels.

- With Parallel compression, one of the signals can be totally compressed. Notice how my threshold settings above have are set to compress the entire signal.

- You can use Parallel compression as the final effect in the chain. I have it post eq, exciter, and multi-band-limiter.

Paralell Compression:

If you mix a totally compressed signal back in with the original, you get a louder, airy sound that is not crunchy from normal compression or  hard limiting. We are controlling the ratio of loud sounds to quiet ones. Gone are the typical artifacts or distortion from typical compression plugins. Both signals must be synced properly however, so the wave forms lay over eachother perfectly. Its probably best to use a single plugin than doing it yourself. A plugin with Wet / Dry controls will achieve the desired effect. Try it on your master bus.

Another Tip: You should manually ride the faders afterward.

If you've reached the end you'll have a perfectly cooked burrito, ready for an on-the-go lifestyle.

Tips for Mixing at Low Volumes

1. Turn of RMC or ARC (if your system uses it)

At very low volumes you aren't exciting the room modes much. Leaving it on will lose bass and detail. If you are mixing at a medium level, maybe turn it on.

2. Boost LF (Bass) and HF (Treble) if your speakers or controller have it.

At low volume we can't hear bass or treble as well as midranges. Turn it up! This may seem wrong when using a high end monitor thats supposed to cover your butt, but it works. Hopefully there is just a switch. Going behind the monitor is a waste of time.

3. Use Solo. (mono)

Monitor in mono and hear the mix.

4. Listen to every instrument for clarity.

What is intelligible and what is not becomes apparent at lower volumes. At higher volume it can be too easy to hear everything. Not everyone listens to music loud.

5. Try different size speakers.

8" speakers or midfields radiate big at any volume. A different size could allow the low end to be more apparent at lower volumes. Make sure they are at ear level. A different brand may translate better at low volume than others as well.

Protect your ears!

Multiband Limiting To A Loudness Curve & NS10s

This is a mini tutorial that will attempt to explain the fletcher-munson loudness curve to get a better sounding mix.

Things you should know before we start:

1. Human hearing is not flat. Our monitoring system may be flat, but our ears aren't. The human ear canal resonates around 3k. We perceive sound between 1k and 5k as louder than it really is. Sound in this range can become painful when we turn our speakers up. This is the same range that guitars are played in.

Already knowing this will help us get better mix translation. We know not to boost sound in this area too much.

2. Humans have trouble hearing at extreme ends of the spectrum (at low volume) We can't hear treble past 10k as well as we think. We can't hear bass as well as we think either. We like to boost our stereo. BUT....

3. How we perceive sound changes at different volumes.



The large upward bass curve represents what we can't hear well. The lowest sections on the curve is what "sticks out" to us. The louder music gets (higher up on the graph), the better we can hear bass. The curve gets flatter.

If your music is meant to be played on a club system or stadium, it doesn't need as much bass boost as you'd think. Notice the top curves are flatter. That means we have no trouble hearing it. Mixing on a flatter curve could encourage the listener to crank up your music, if you desire that. Also remember that people have EQ'd their sound systems themselves. This adds a monkey wrench to the situation. Since we can't know or rely on these different systems its up to the mix engineer to use the loudness curve (and consider dynamic range).

Now on to the multiband limiter.

Limiters allow you to change audio gain for custom bands. (Top graphic). Before limiting, You may want to decrease 2k to 6k bands by as much as 10db. This can be done with the gain knob. You can also increase the bass & treble range. Since I want to play my music loud, I might only boost bass by 3.5db. However if my bass kick is already loud I will leave it alone. At this point I'm not trying to get a competitively loud mix. Adjusting the mixer is probably better than using the multiband limiter, but we may not have access to that when we master! When I'm done making the mix sound right by approximating my loudness curve, I can try limiting with the main slider (makes the entire signal louder).

Now you should have a better mix!

Why do I use a multi-band limiter instead of EQ? The ones I use don't color my mix like many EQs. They have easy band controls. I can solo each EQ zone I set up. That helps me hear whats going on seperately. Later on, the compression & limiting function can help me shape the bass and the entire mix. I'm killing three birds with one stone. One plugin to mix to the loudness curve. One plugin to compress my bass peaks. One plugin to brickwall limit my volume.



The Yamaha NS10

The reason that Yamaha NS-10 speaker  translates so well is because they have just the right frequency bump in the 1k to 5k range where we can hear just fine alerady. Its a forwardness you don't want to hear at high volume because it causes pain. As a flat playback system the NS-10 is a failure, but when mixing, the exaggerated nature of this range makes a good tool.

Don't have NS10s? Just do the opposite of this tutorial. Bump the 1k to 5k frequency range by 8-10db instead of decreasing it. Ajdust your mix. Just remember to bypass it when you are done mixing!

So why did I bother getting a flat monitoring system? 

1. Good for playback at higher volume. Great for movies & video games.

2. Mixing & mastering at medium to high volumes.

3. The flat response serves purely as mental reference. No second guessing as to what it might be.

So with this knowledge we know that mixing at low volumes could lead to error. However if we add some EQ or loudness on our playback system, we can compensate a little. Even knowing this, the end results should always be checked on a flat system at a higher volume. The multi band limiter's single band gain control might be the right tool to get you there.

Why does Tron 2's soundtrack sound like a loud piece of junk? Perhaps it was mastered at lower volume, on a small system. This caused over compensation. Or perhaps they know not everyone turns up the volume on their junky home DVD system.

Roland V-Synth Tip: 2x The Number of Cosm Filters

Using the direct outputs (not the main) on the V-synth, you can bring the sound back into itself and filter it again with 2 more COSM filters. This method uses a second layer as a gate which finally passes it to the multiFX.

1. Connect your direct ouputs to your L & R inputs.
2. Have a sound source on Layer Split 1. Set the output to Direct Out in the EFX setup tab.
3. In layer 2, turn on OSC 1
4. Change the oscillator to EXT audio input.
5. Play Layer 1 and 2. The second layer will gate the first.
6. Turn on COSM filters for layer two and go wild. Make sure the second layer is passing effects to the multiFX block.

You now have a patch with 4 COSM filters! You could also pipe your main output into the a second layer, which diverts audio into the direct outs if you want to gate reverb or the master effects. BE CAREFUL OF FEEDBACK. If you don't think things through, the audio will go through an infinite loop.

What Type Of Plugins Do I use to Compress Drums For EDM?

While I think compression is mostly pointless on some sounds, there really are some great plugins that are worth using on percussion and on the overall master bus. I have all these plugins activated simultaneously to save time. You don't have  to produce in stages!



Insert FX: Tape Simulators, Tape Saturators, Compressors, EQs etc.

Saturators, compressors and other simulators are great on the main drum channel. The Crystal Method has been known to use "Fatso Jr" to get their beefy drum sound. It is a tape simulator with many options. It works on any type of drum or percussive sound. There are also tube amp simulations and others that slightly disort or compress the sound into warmth and fatness. A regular compressor won't cut it. We need some sort of saturation and an intelligent use of these plugins can get you some really beefed up drums. The people designing these hope you to keep feeding it more signal and that it never sounds bad. While these insert FX can be really energizing, for some genres and songs it might be a pass.

Tip: Before you insert a compressor or saturator make sure you place the reverb plugin. Pre-reverb makes a compressor "breathe."

Mastering Compressors & FX:

Dynamics compressor will work on the master bus and balance sounds together. Make sure its a good plugin specifically designed for this use. Generic plugins don't always work so well. Generic multi-band compressors, ones that come with the program or system can leave me completely lost. I try out presets and then start tweaking. Also going back to your individual channels and re-tweaking everything is a good idea. Just make sure you save the best setups to A/B them or you will get lost.

With a couple plugins and little bit of Mastering dynamics you can get a louder sounding recording that doesn't sound "overcompressed." Don't be afraid to use multipe plugins on the same channel or multiple plugins for mastering. There isn't an end-all, be-all plugin! But some of them are like magic for their specific use!

Thats all I have to say right now on compressors. Mostly you just find a good product and tweak the knobs till it sounds just right. If you have a "magic bullet" processor its a lot harder to end up with a bad recording.

 

Check out Sonnox Oxford, UAD Plugins, EZ Mix, Elysian, and McDsp to get yourself started.

Analog Synthesizers Don't Need Dynamic Compression.

Analog synthesizers don't need standard compression. You are lucky if your sound has any dynamics to compress in the first place. Dynamics usually have to be programmed into the sound. Dynamics are the result of amp envelopes, resonance modulation, and effects. Without these you don't have much range and material to compress. In a lot of tutorials, that were first geared toward mixing acoustic sounds, this knowledge might have been lost. Compression on synth sounds in EDM can be a waste of time.

Natural percussive sounds can have huge transients. This is a case where compression helps a lot. It can help on drum machines sometimes. But if you notice, when you put a synth in the mix, its super loud already and cuts through everything. It doesn't need to be louder. You could just bump up the mixer knob instead. Don't bother compressing and making it louder unless you really know what you are doing.

You should try compression on drums, so check out this article which helps explain mixing techniques for drums a bit better.

Why Do Old School Breakbeats Sound So Good?

When listening critically to the Amen Break or the Apache break, you start to realize that these sounds are just not possible in real life. You tuned your drum set, you got your best mics and set everything just like they told you in every tutorial. You set everything up and realize the sound is clean and vanilla. Its not bad, but you will never achieve the breakbeat sound this way. Its not about vinyl, the analog days, or tape effects, or sampling.

The biggest reason why old school breakbeats sound awesome compared to real life drums is because of their preamp. Overdrive your tube preamp and you are halfway to the breakbeat sound. Drums sound ridiculously good with an overdriven preamp. Cymbals sizzle and snares start to scream. All sounds start to take on a new timbre. The room reverb compresses and you hear every detail. The truth of the matter is that many old school breaks were horribly recorded compared to today.

GreenDay recorded drums with a tube preamp and used reverb. Their early albums have a coveted drum sound. The truth is that there was a reasonable amount of distortion in every part of the signal chain starting with the preamp. It was inevitable that distorted breakbeats would become very famous in the same way an as overdriven TR-909 would be used on every recording out there. Distorted drums scream!

How to Use Amp Distortion To Rebalance Brightness In Synth Patches

Amp distortion can help you set the brightness in your patches to reduce ear fatigue and enhance mixability when a sound is played back at high volume. If you have trouble setting the cutoff filter or mixing loud sounds, this tip can help.

Choose a guitar amp effect or overdrive that is set relatively flat. Use your nastiest, but best sounding amp model with medium or high gain. Send your sound through it. Certain frequencies become dramatically enhanced. Sharp brightness is heard in the high ends of the distortion. With this overemphasized you can find an exact cutoff point for the synthesizer's filter that won't cause ear fatigue when the distortion effect is removed. Just sweep the filter cutoff to the point that feels right to you while the sound is under distortion. You can adjust the envelopes as well. Next turn off the distortion effect and enjoy your non-fatiguing sound.

This trick works by simulating a cheap amplifier and speaker setup thats being played way too loud. You don't have to increase your monitors actual volume, use a power system, or suffer ear fatigue. With the right amount of gain and right model, you can rebalance your synth patch. There is a risk of watering down your sound however. This should not be done with every sound, but when you want a softer effect. It seems to work well with pads and leads.