hey so I use a program called darkwave studio (similar to FL studio) and I have a few vst plugins anyway here is the first question: what are some vst plugins you would recommend
I am looking for free plugins and that sound something like combichrist/NIN
and two: I am searching for a new inexpensive keyboard sampler synth peferably an anolog/digital hybird any recommendations
keyboard synth/audio filter - Korg Monotron.
Trust me - they work.... do NOT be put off by their appearance, these are POWERFUL and INEXPENSIVE little machines.
As for VSTs - a quick net search will always prove useful:
I dunno about other people, but when it came to me doing audio production & trying to have a 'sound' in the beginning, all I ever did was suck and fail.
So I gave up on a particular 'sound' for about 5 years and just did whatever sounded good to me.
Point being, I didn't understand music and the approach that worked well for me until I gave up on aspirations of adhering to a genre.
Problem is, the more you learn about audio production, the less you want to sound like something that's already been done. At least that's my perspective.
It will take blood, sweat and tears to get where you want to be & when you're finally there, you won't want to do what you originally did. Stick with the suckiness is the only advice I can really give.
"
I dunno about other people, but when it came to me doing audio production & trying to have a 'sound' in the beginning, all I ever did was suck and fail.
So I gave up on a particular 'sound' for about 5 years and just did whatever sounded good to me.
Point being, I didn't understand music and the approach that worked well for me until I gave up on aspirations of adhering to a genre.
Problem is, the more you learn about audio production, the less you want to sound like something that's already been done. At least that's my perspective.
It will take blood, sweat and tears to get where you want to be & when you're finally there, you won't want to do what you originally did. Stick with the suckiness is the only advice I can really give."Plantaganda
What they said...
Seriously though, over the course of the 20 plus years (that long already - RLY?) I've been mucking about with synths, keyboards, samplers and other noise making things... it's quite often you find a 'sound' by trial and error without having a pre-determined sound in mind. Often curiosity makes for a better end result than planning.
The other addition to Plantaganda's points is this:
Your "own sound" is a form of evolution and as a result, you will find many 'evolutionary full stops' (READ: dead ends) that will make you consider taking up hang-gliding in a fitted wardrobe as an enjoyable alternative; as it is a process of evolution don't expect things to plateau out too... it becomes like an addiction to 'punish the machine' (see what I did there?) and your own skills more to get a "better" result next time you put a track together.
Again, I would still recommend investing in a Korg Monotron as the price compared to it's sonic potential is an utter steal frankly.
I kinda want something bigger than the Korg Monotron and more ..... complex. Does the Korg Monotron have sampling features though? might be a good investment if it does
As I've said, if you want TOTAL freedom get Reaktor by Native Instruments (and some other add-ons if you want), they even have a damn good sale going on right now and it ends today I think.
Or learn how to program Super Collider, Csound and/or Max/MSP
I already have some vsts that have the sound I want I just need a synth with sampling features. I may invest in that Reaktor if I can get a free trial to see if it is what I need.So I will see to it
I believe there is a free trial/demo version if you head over to the Native Instruments website. And Reaktor let's you do what you want from sampling to whatever else.
Same with Csound or MaxMSP. It's actually pretty easy to build a sampler from scratch
Csound is completely free and open source. It's an audio programming language. You can do literally whatever you want with it, and there are some VST packs with it so that whatever you make in Csound can be used in any DAW.
MaxMSP sadly isn't free but it's a much easier programming language developped at IRCAM. It's not really a language since it's a fully graphical interface. There's a free open source version of MaxMSP called Pure Data
The tutorials should be enough to get you started. Reaktor is also quite complex actually.
The thing you need to understand is that if you really want total freedom and such, you WILL need to take time to learn stuff. And even if you just buy a synth, you should take the time to learn what every function really does so you have full control over your arsenal
You're welcome. You're just 15 though which is great because you have a crapload of extra time. Learning a lot of this now will save you a lot of time and frustration later on
Try Native Instruments Reaktor, thats got some dirty synths in it or you can build your own from scratch, it's pretty straight forward when you get the hang of it. There will most likely be a patch somebodies made already that replicates the sounds combichrist/NIN use. I build software instruments at uni (as well as analog gear) so if you want any tips PM me
Dude don't knock the monotron, listening to samples of it and it's pretty strong! (Didn't mean that to rhyme lol)
It's not cheap but Omnisphere have a huge sound library and some of the sounds are dark and it has some amazing deep tones. It's fully customizable with a decent UI. Be sure to know what you're doing if you want to get under the hood.
And what somebody said before, it's not just what you have, it's what you make of what you have. If you have access to a suite of VST's effects and the time to learn them, you can make any sound work with anything Just FEEL the mix!
"Dude don't knock the monotron, listening to samples of it and it's pretty strong!"-domstone
A 'Tron fan - yayy!
Overall, the analogue Vs. Digital synth will ALWAYS continue.... it's not going to go in a hurry... however, as someone who has used both types (from the old 'physical' synths to the new 'virtual' creatures in all shapes and sizes), I do find that some analogue tones have the capacity to burn their way through a mix both at the high and low end of the frequency spectrum... as a result, I tend to use both types of sound making soft/hard-ware to achieve what I wish. This is not a new 'trick' back in the days of 'Acid House' and other tech-based audio movements, many people where found MIDI (remember that) retrofitting old analogue gear to sync it up with their more contemporary digital stuff.
TBH - don't think it's an idea that going to fade away any time soon.
Really, it all depends on how you wish to go... both approaches have their merits and their limitations (most come down to either time scale to get results you like or cost... both issue can be a BIG factor).
For what it's worth... cEvin Key seems to like them...
To be fair it's got to the point where the only difference is sound level and distortion. There is some really good analogue modelling software about now. It's impressive how 'digital' some of the analogue synths feel. I don't speak from experience but I imagine it's about the response rather than the sound made nowadays.
Indeed it is, except for a few things, there's pretty much always a way to make something digital sound like something analogue, especially if you understand how to go under the hood of programs or even use extra programming languages that work with sound.
Combichrist - Novation VStation. This was all over Everybody Hates You. Plus the Access Virus. The Virus is hardware so the closest to that sound wise is probably Sylenth or even Nexus.
NIN - A lot of NIN is actually heavily processed guitars. Lots of sample processing too.
For sample processing, probably Kontakt. It's a very powerful sampler/synth.
Absynth is pretty cool for some very NIN esque textures. And a lot of NIN basslines use the MiniMoog, so Arturia MiniMoog would be great.
I'm sorry, but if you are after the big sawtooth Combichrist leads on something like "I want to thank my buddies" then Sylenth is extremely good at that. Ditto for basses.
I have Sylenth and a Virus, do you? We are talking specific sound instances here.
