Where do you get your sounds?

P

pinder325

New member
I'm a beginner and i have been wondering about something. When making electronic music, do you get all your sounds from virtual instruments? If so do you just use the sounds or can you change the sounds to something more unique? Like if I think of a sound in my head and want to recreate it on the DAW. How would I do this?

Thanks
 
That all depends on a lot of things, depends what type of sound, what type of vst, if it's a synth with oscillators or just a sampled rompler.
Every vst is different, with different levels of tweaking you can do.

To make your own sounds, You basically need to learn at least some basics of synthesis and sound design, how effects work and how they interact with the oscillators signal.

its not hard to begin, but it can get quite technical depending how deep you want to dive into it.

sound design can be a trade all of its own.
 
KRiSR said:
That all depends on a lot of things, depends what type of sound, what type of vst, if it's a synth with oscillators or just a sampled rompler.
Every vst is different, with different levels of tweaking you can do.

To make your own sounds, You basically need to learn at least some basics of synthesis and sound design, how effects work and how they interact with the oscillators signal.

its not hard to begin, but it can get quite technical depending how deep you want to dive into it.

sound design can be a trade all of its own.
Click to expand...

So would you say that most people who produce don't actually create their own sounds? just find ones that already exist, and maybe change pitch and add effects?
 
pinder325 said:
So would you say that most people who produce don't actually create their own sounds? just find ones that already exist, and maybe change pitch and add effects?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say most, in fact I couldn't classify them at all. Everybody and every genre is different.

Also so bear in mind, that's there's nothing wrong with presets either, that's what they are there for, they wouldn't sell them if they weren't to be used, many synth presets have already been designed by a sound designer somewhere, and many have a broad range that will be close to the sound you might be looking for, they are a great starting point, you can tweak them to your needs also.

You our can sort of work backwards to learn it whilst keeping it interesting.

Use presets and if you find synthesis getting interesting after that and you catch the bug then you can jump right in and learn how to make your own sounds from complete scratch starting with a basic sine or square wave.
 
Agree with what Krisr said. I think a lot of people these days take pride in the technicality of knowing how to get their own sounds out of synths but the reality is that it takes hours (like lots of hours) to learn each synth and learn how to make it sound good. If that's your vibe then great. But lots of great tracks have been made using preset sounds, there is vintage gear (like old Junos) that still have massive resale value because nothing sounds quite like them...

... at the end of the day, if it sounds good, use it!
 
It's done all kinds of ways. Synths-- virtual, or hardware; presets, tweaks, or from scratch. With samples, you can grab them from recordings, make your own, or use environmental sound (for instance, get a Zoom H1 and carry it around with you to record interesting things for use later). Or try "found sound" (things that aren't instruments that might make good sounds for percussion, for example-- propane tanks, the coffee table in your living room, etc.)...

GJ
 
As you progress you'll be able to conjure up your own sounds or manipulate what has already been made to form something new. I for one do both but since I am not a sound designer I much prefer to use stuff that's already made and tweak them to my liking.

If sound designing is what you want then I would post this question in the sound designing group or just learning how to become a sound designer.
 
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