Synths and Producing - How do you know what sound you want?

[RhythmixAU]

Totally agree, I never use midi either, everything goes right to audio ASAP.

Do you mean that your productions are completely sample based? Or that you create a melody or something in MIDI and then make it into an audio track right away?
Sampling is something that i can't really fathom right now, at the moment i'm right into just trying to create my own style and sound, which makes it really hard to produce because I don't know what I want! But i think that this is the big difference between a producer and a DJ/remixer.
I have also found that writing melodies with a simple piano sound first can be very helpful, and then attacking it with the synths later on. I think that all the new synths I have been getting lately hasn't helped because it is a big learning curve getting to know how to use them all, thus hindering any sort of productiveness.
Thanks for all the great tips!

S.

[dakotakimble]

That's a good question man. I use Reason 4 so I dont have the option of Vst's, so all the sounds I use are made from scratch (excluding the percussion). Most of the sounds I use come from just playing around and trying out different ideas. It's always good to watch tutorials on Youtube, there are some pretty awesome tutorials out there. But my best advice is just play around starting from scratch on your synth of choice.

[calgarc]

hahaha i need to learn how to do that... i always know what sound i want, but i always find a new sounds i like and can never stop changing presets haha

[dakotakimble]

haha i know what you mean, but thats the thing I dont like about presets, they're kinda like cheeting almost. If you go through and make all the sounds (even like the white noise) you just learn so much more, about production

[calgarc]

haha i know what you mean, but thats the thing I dont like about presets, they're kinda like cheeting almost. If you go through and make all the sounds (even like the white noise) you just learn so much more, about production

i do create my own sounds, hell i have even programmed my own synths and made real ones, but if the sound is available and i have a list to go through, i will browse through them and make some awesome noise

[grazz16]

As far as workflow goes im very melody driven. In light of that i tend to start with a specific synth sound i want to use, either a rich low frequency background lead line to set the mood, or the lead line i (think) i want to use. I find if i just start with a piano and go from there i will write to the piano sound instead of the style im actually going for, so i choose a specific synth right off the bat. Then i fill in the chords. What this tends to do is it creates my breakdowns/build ups first because I'm essentially doing the drums and percussion after. Which I'm fine with. If i can get a nice sounding breakdown first, that is key because im of the opinion that can make or break the song. Its easy for me to fill in the necessary gaps for the main/peak based on that. It is almost always the case, like 99% of the time, i end up with something completely different than what the original plan was supposed to be tho. But that's just called going with the flow :P

As far as presets go, i use them a lot. I'll def tweak them, and i'll def layer them but i'm not going to sit there and attempt to design my own patches right now. I simply do not have that kind of knowledge yet. I'm more focused on the composition at this point in time, largely because nobody gives a shit about what presets you used, or the sounds you created if the track itself sucks. Someday i'll get around to fully understanding synth design, but for now i'll stick to modifying presets.

As far as MIDI goes, i almost always work in midi as well if i can help it. Mainly because bouncing stuff down to audio is way to final for me. I'm constantly changing notes or sounds throughout the process, sometimes right up until the end. In fact, im doing it right now with a bass line i've been fighting to get right this whole track. I like the ability to change my mind. Just because something sounds good at the beginning doesnt mean a new part wont change that. And if i bounce it to audio, im screwed and stuck with a part im not satisfied with. The only time i tend to bounce to audio is if my CPU just cant handle it anymore.

There is no real "right" answer to any of these questions, just personal preference really.

[Club Collective]

Sometimes i will work towards an already thought of goal so i know what sound i am aiming for, other times i go with the flow. I think it super important to practice both methods though as in time, when i'm experienced, my natural instinctive sound will be a blend of what i know sounds great already, and with the sort of flow i am working with at the time! Just my 2 cents

[dakotakimble]

for sure, oh damn dude. haha thats badass, on fl synth maker?

[calgarc]

for sure, oh damn dude. haha thats badass, on fl synth maker?

FL synthmaker was made by outsim its now caleld flowstone. its a wonderful program so is synth edit... i do not use FL at all though.

i use the standalone program and program my own synths as well as create hardware actually have a post about it on here. haha now back on topic

[Tarekith]

Do you mean that your productions are completely sample based? Or that you create a melody or something in MIDI and then make it into an audio track right away?
S.

When I play virtual instruments, I route them directly to an audio track and record my playing in realtime to the audio track. Any MIDI that gets recorded because the virtual instrument track needed to be armed gets deleted right after I record each pass.