"strange" fx in psy.trance/goa

R

Robban

Member
:hello:

I have for some weeks been making psy.trance/goa tracks, trying to add the different "strange" effects that is common in this kind of music. Do you have some ideas about how to make it?

I have Rebirth for 303'z, a Nord Rack 2 + LA Gold.

btw: I've heard that the Nord is good for trance.. and I also think so. That for example high resonance + bandpass-filer can be fun, right(?)!

Share your beutiful brains with us =) ..
 
hello.
what kind of realtime fx do you have? do you use plugins, or do you have hardware processors?
I also (try to) make psy, and i use plenty of distortion and overdriven filters. I find it better to steer clear of overused fx like flangers and phasers (although they have their place if used sparingly), and mainly use a bit of chorus on bass, and then try to mess with the oscillators settings, such as sync, pulsewidth and frequency modulation on the lead sounds. ring modulators are good for mangling up trancy beats too.
Sometimes i use a compressor as an effect to make the kicks and bass throb and pump together in a most satisfying way!
Hope this helps in some way
:)
strigg
 
A lot of the scratchy effects are made by running oscillators (like a pulse wav) at low frequency through a high-pass filter. Usually applying a bit of pitch modulation to the oscillator. You can also vary the width of the pitch to give it some depth.

There's also quite a bit of granular synthesis going on and retriggering of samples. I've heard quite a bit of FM synthesis too. This is something I'm experimenting with more and more.

The voice type effects are often made with patches like you get on the Nord modular. But really the important part of the sound comes from how you apply your filters. Try running a simple oscillator's output through multiple notch filters that modulate over time for instance

strigg is right in that the parameter changes that take place are usually synchronised to the tempo.
Try to come up with effects that you can replicate at will.... Timing is crucial in the newer psy trance. You need to know where to create suspended moments to let the track breathe, and to bounce sounds off against each other, rather than trying to layer them on top of each other and creating a mess.

Bass is all important in Psy though. Try a little bit of variation on your release time to create a bit of groove.

This also depends on what kind of psy you're listening to.... some of the older stuff simply used a lot of variation of the cutoff with high resonance to make those squelchy sounds. I feel its better to keep it minimal, just little dabs of those higher frequency sounds, otherwise it gets too 303-acidy and too dense.

I can go on and on about psy, but I'll stop for now :D
 
Hogus said:
Try running a simple oscillator's output through multiple notch filters that modulate over time for instance
Click to expand...

This is interesting. Can you give more detailed instructions on how to achieve the effect you are talking about with the multiple notch filters?

Right now I've set up a simple saw wave that goes through two notches. One has a frequency hooked up to an LFO controller so it ranges from about 600 to 1800 Hz, resonance at about 15%, gain at 18 dB. The other is just sitting there right now since it does not seem to be doing anything, no matter what I do to it.

Anyway, I'm not getting much in the way of cool effects, can you give me some more details?

Thanks,

-Ade
 
To simmulate some interesting effects you may want to have more than 2 notches...

You can for example have a Lowpass and two notch filters though. Just remember to run your signal through the notch filters before the lowpass.

Try to assign an envelope to your second notch. The important part is that all the filters cutoff and resonance values must changes over time... (The filters need to pull the sound apart in a way so try and get them to move in opposite directions)
The notches should vary radically, while the lowpass should have a simply steady transition, Do you perhaps have a second envelope for it? Also... try cranking up the resonance a bit, especially on the notch filters.

I'm kind of talking blind here since I haven't played with a Nord lead before..
 
Good evening

strigg: I only use the effects that came with Logic Audio. I also have an Alesis Q20 that I use for stereo delay with a little filter, on the sounds from the Nord.

Hogus: Great man! you are really into this :) "to bounce sounds off against each other, rather than trying to layer them on top of each other and creating a mess" I like it! ..will try it in the holliday.
Please, tell us more.. tell us more.

Rebirth - PCF, can it be useful? Anyone played with it?
 
My focus is more on interaction of sounds than layering...

What's the easiest way to avoid a muddy mix? Avoid playing sounds that sound muddy together at the exact same time. You can go and spend hours with EQ, moving sounds to different audio spaces , and applying fx, but if you're producing your own music why trigger two sounds that sit in the same space in the first place... If you're doing this you can't be focussing on your composition, you're just adding sound without really thinking about what it does.

I think placing sounds in 3D space should be a conscious thing, It must be trying to achieve something in the music. Triggering any sound should have an intent behind it, for the mix to sound real.
 
Wise words hogus, man! I often find myself pasting out sections of sound on top of bits that were already there, trying to build up solid walls of noise, but it is difficult to get it not sounding messy. i agree with u about spacing stuff out..., to space people out!
strigg
 
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