[Anorax]

Does anyone know how to make the lead that is prominent throughout this song here?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keIPYS0ddLE

[urdailywater]

Really just looking for the instrument name here, and if you know of any good soundbanks to get that'd help too:

Used here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yUxl95mGAI as the lead

I think this might be the same thing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Onz8RH7FdSQ just processed a little less. If it's not though then it'd be nice the name of this instrument too.

Yeah I hear these a lot in music, just don't know the actual term for them..

[RiverSound]

urdailywater, at least in the link below I hear a xylophone. Not sure if there's different kinds of xylophones but basically that's what it sounds like.

In the link above, it might just be a modified xylophone sound with lots of pre-delay or delay and some weird effects on it. Not sure about that though.

Xylophone is a pretty basic sound to be found in sample libraries, for example, kontakt. Many orchestral libraries include xylophone as well.

[crypto_magnum]

urdailywater,

The second song is definitely vibraphone, and it sounds like it's doubled with something else playing very soft an octave up, possibly orchestral bells or crotales.

The first song features a xylophone (or actually, it sounds closer to one of those middle school baby marimba things that's sort of darker and slightly more resonant than a real xylophone... whatever those things are called) playing underneath the more prominent instrument. I have no clue what that lead instrument is though... it's metallic. Not enough "thunk" to be a kalimba, but not enough "clang" to be a carillon or any kind of church bell I've heard.

Hope that helps!

[2manygentlemen]

Please declare your personal favorite freeware vsti piano or piano sample/.sf2

[2manygentlemen]

As someone getting into trance, I'd like to know: what vst synths and effects do you people find most useful for getting that style's general sound?

Freeware stuff would be most appreciated, but I am willing to go the shareware/commercial route for stuff that's worth the trouble.

[wildfire]

I mostly use sytrus. Just gotta remember to use a ton of effects.

[Koriantor]

A lot of what gives trance it's character is filters, or some other modulation over time. The build up is enhanced when you gradually "build" the sound over time. You start a chord progression with the lowest frequencies and then slowly add more and more (read: raising filter) to the sound. It teases the listener, creating tension and expectation for the "breakdown." It's what makes the drop/breakdown so fun. Play around with different effects and feel free to experiment! (Some trance-y effects to play with are modulating lowpass filters and Attack/Delay/Sustain/Release values)

Now, I'm looking for what makes this distorted piano sounding thing right here at the beginning of Amsterdam. Any ideas?

[Cash and Change]

Originally Posted by wildfire

I mostly use sytrus. Just gotta remember to use a ton of effects.

Do you have a favorite or most used preset? Or do you make your own? I've made a few sytrus presets, but they mostly suck.

[wildfire]

Originally Posted by Cash and Change

Do you have a favorite or most used preset? Or do you make your own? I've made a few sytrus presets, but they mostly suck.

Off the top of my head, I mostly use trance pluck 2, silver saw, formant, square purity, glass bell, pulstar, oceaxe. I usually turn off sytrus' reverb and delay and use effects instead, and there's a modulator on oceaxe I turn off cause the squiggly sounds in it are annoying. I use a lot of filters and other effects though.