Do I Need More Synths?

M

M.E.T.H.O.D...MAN

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I have owned Komplete 9 Ultimate since it came out and in addition I own Nexus 2. I make smooth hip/hop beats (Think ASAP Rocky, Wiz Khalifa, Schoolboy Q, Kendrick) and have been starting to sell a good amount of them lately. The thing is, even though I have a vast knowledge of music theory, as well as knowledge on how to lay out a track from beginning to end and mix it, I do NOT know sound design. Sure, I know what adsr, lfo, filters, pitch etc. are and do, and I can adjust parameters in a preset for example if I don't want the attack of a bell in a sound I otherwise like or I want to get rid of a layer in a synth and isolate one part of it, but I mainly use presets when using my vsts and then subtly adjust them afterwards to fit the song. Some of my songs recently I have been using zero samples and trying to compose from scratch without turning my song into a cheesy dance or trap song. I really like old Wiz beats from Cardo and Sledgren. I am getting to a point where I am pouring through presets and I get so bored from not finding an inspiring sound because most of the NI presets sound too EDM for me and I have used Nexus to death, that I turn off the computer. I want to know if it would be worth it for me to try and learn sound design in say Massive or pick one synth I own and master it, in order to be able to create any sound I want. But I am already getting paid for beats and don't necessarily have time to learn the ins and outs of sound design. I also feel like that would be more important if I made EDM because it relies more on modulation and various changes while hip hop sounds are simpler. Should I just invest in another VST like Omnisphere, XPand or Sylenth? Most of the producers I like like Harry Fraud, Cardo, Sledgren, V Don, Cardiak strictly use presets anyway when they aren't using samples or playing live instruments.
 
I used to have omni and zebra 2, got rid of those cuz I stopped usin reason for just kong lol.


Nope, you can pretty much stick with presets and be just fine but It's fun, and sometimes easier to make your own. Scrollin through presets is a quicker option sometimes, but a blank slate is more open.


There's multiple types of synthesis if you DO get the bug of sound design.


phase mod
wavetable
granular
subtractive[you know this by default]
additive[more exact synthesis like wavetable]
then there's even more ways to get sounds.
 
Frankly it sounds like you already know a bit of sound design, if you can tweak presets to your liking. It's not some huge isolated monster to tackle, I'd say it's more about changing your habits about scrolling through presets to find something suitable and just start the tweaking phase from a bit further away, so to say...
 
Whenever I see someone questioning if he/she should buy more synths, I think about something: if digital synths weren't available, would you buy a new modular synth for everytime you'd need a different sound? Think about the price and space needed for this.

I think you need to study and master what you already have (tons of synths) and then, if they aren't providing what you want anymore, you play with them a little more. Only after that you buy something new.
 
Ddream said:
if digital synths weren't available, would you buy a new modular synth for everytime you'd need a different sound? Think about the price and space needed for this.
Click to expand...

No, you buy a few new modules and a bunch of patch cables even though half your modules haven't been used at all anyway! ;)

But yeah, generally I agree - learn to use what you have. Of course it's possible to just keep buying more stuff, but it's kind of a vicious cycle...
 
if you have energy and time to spare i'd say it's a great idea to learn sound desing, it's a useful skill and even if you dont always make your own sounds you'll be the one producer in the bunch who can do it if it's needed. and it sounds like you already know more than you think since a lot of sound desing is knowing what instruments to choose more than how to synthesize them.
 
I would say learn sound design it's not really difficult once you get your head around how filters modulation and effects all work together.
 
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Yes like for example I was in FM8 the other day, and I found a sound that I liked, but when I played a short arpeggio the sound kept overlapping, I adjusted the sustain of the amp envelope, made it monophonic, added a chorus delay, cut some of the highs and adjusted the tremolo in the lfo section. This turned the sound into something different. That is as far as I go with it. I had to have found the sound that sparked some sort of inspiration in order to want to make a beat with it. I don't know if I have the time to say, "Hmm, I want a sub bass so let me get a sin wave, pitch it down, blend in a tad of square wave, and add some saturation to add to the upper harmonics and make it fatter." I'll just find a sub bass that already exists as a preset better than I could've made it from scratch. And then I'll tweak some things from there. My real point was that I feel like most of the presets are more EDM centered with the Ni stuff. And I have read enough threads to know that that isn't the correct thing to say but I am talking strictly presets. I don't make top 100 hip hop like some of the stuff you hear on hot 97 with dance related sounds. I know a synth doesn't have a genre specific sound on its own. I also know that Noah Shebib, Drake's engineer, uses Xpand for literally everything and that is a rompler which isn't capable of synthesis and I feel like the simplicity helps when trying to make a beat. But Omnisphere is expensive and would be hard pressed to get it if I knew I could create any sound that it contains with enough knowledge on another synth like massive.
 
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