Arcana Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 for me regarding the Sale. I bought mine for full price. The PCR-A30 is the 30-key version of the controller with the audio interface, so it's probably not what you got. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argitoth Posted January 20, 2006 Author Share Posted January 20, 2006 FINALLY, Absynth 3 upgrade is coming in the mail. FINALLY I can say I have a true VST, a true softsynth, my first big-time commercial VST evarrr!!! Next is Battery 2. What I really want to learn how to do is to make synthesized percussion for ambient tracks and what I love about absynth is that everything feels very "real" like I can say, "I want a sine wav set to 440 hertz and a pitch envelope with instant attack and fast decay with a hipass filter modulated by a low frequency formant wav" that might be a good formula for a spacey kick drum. I'm feeling pretty cheesy right now. Well, most advanced synthesizers can do this. I just like Absynth GUI. WHAT IM TRYING TO SAY IS: does anyone know some good formulas for spacey synthesized percussion? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skrypnyk Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 for me regarding the Sale. I bought mine for full price.The PCR-A30 is the 30-key version of the controller with the audio interface, so it's probably not what you got. I meant I could have gone with the PCR-A30 or the PCR-80, and I went with the 80. and that sucks getting it at full price D= Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgx Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 well im flabbergasted. I got an e-mail from NI basically saying "sorry, you can't do that"damnit. The upgrade will be $80. Oh well, that means I got absynth 3 for $123. $3 over my goal. Why isn't there a "slap forehead" emoticon? Thought so. Too bad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Compyfox Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Santa's late, but the money I got for x-mas went into new stuff anyway. The package is on it's way and it includes the "Steinberg Waldorf Edition". Also known as a pack of the following Waldorf Plugins/Instruments: - Waldorf PPG Wave 2.v - Waldorf Attack - Waldorf D-Pole Would have loved to get a "hardware version" (Microwave for the Terratec EWS64) but what the heck. Sound from the 80ies/90ies... here I come. If I still have some money left for my b-day, I guess I'll either get Wusikstation, Siedlaczek Collection and/or a mbSID. Who knows... who knows... EDIT: Only a couple of hours after I wrote this I got a nice little parcel... in it: "The Waldorf Edition". So much for a new little "toy". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argitoth Posted January 20, 2006 Author Share Posted January 20, 2006 GET ZEBRA2 OR OCTOPUS!!! You know I really feel octopus should be called octoPULSE like square wav... thing... that would be so cool of a name I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Compyfox Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Sorry... I'm on to Wusikstation already and I want a new hardware synth (mbSID) anyway. Time to stock up on 80ies/90ies synthy sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Splunkle Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 WHAT IM TRYING TO SAY IS: does anyone know some good formulas for spacey synthesized percussion? Define "spacey". When someone says space, I always think of the soundtracks to those early space empire games, Master of Orion, Pax Imperia, etc. Generally they were preety minimal, even for a backing soundtrack. Except for fight music, of course. Anyways, since you were talking about one instrument rather than a whole bunch, I assume you are talking about something else, which I do not grok. Maybe try lots of Verb + Chorus/Unison? Dunno. Try stuff out, I suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argitoth Posted January 21, 2006 Author Share Posted January 21, 2006 Effects are easy to slap on, the hard part is getting the oscillators to produce the right sound. You probably know what I mean by spacey. Something strange, unidentifiable, like weird sound effects but with fast decay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 No, as important as oscillators are, a good sound designer can turn even simple waveforms into great sounds. Advanced softsynths have only come around over the last few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argitoth Posted January 21, 2006 Author Share Posted January 21, 2006 Zircon, when you say, "turn even simple waveforms into great sounds," I'm not sure what you mean. Taking simple waveforms and turning it into great sounds is what synthesizers are made to do. Are you not referring to synthesizer architechture? Earlier I was talking about "formulas". Listen to the sound example at wikipedia for "ring modulation". It's a diatonic scale played with ring modulation set to 2500 Hz. Quite inspirational IMO. Listening to simple stuff like this always gives me ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 You don't know what you're talking about. You're saying that you need all of these tools to create 'spacey' sounds, like advanced oscillators. You don't. Spectrasonics' Distorted Reality came out before softsynths were prominent and it's the most popular library of all time - exclusively focusing on spacey, atmospheric, dark (etc) sounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argitoth Posted January 21, 2006 Author Share Posted January 21, 2006 http://www.spectrasonics.net/libraries/distortreality2.php - The demo for Distorted Reality 2 was very nice. Zircon, I didn't say I need many tools to create something spacey. I'm not sure what you mean by advanced oscillators. I'll take your word for it that Distorted Reality came out before softsynths were prominent, but I don't understand how it supports the point you are trying to make. I am not sure what your point is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 You asked for advice on how to make "spacey" sounds. Someone gave you advice. You rejected the advice, saying that it's all about getting the right sound out of the oscillators. I'm saying that even with the most basic oscillators available, with the right effects and settings, you can get the sounds you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argitoth Posted January 21, 2006 Author Share Posted January 21, 2006 with the right effects and settings, you can get the sounds you want. I figured that was your point, it wasn't obvious enough for me. It's not so much that I am rejecting his advice because I will surely use sound effects. It's more that I'm continuing the discussion, trying to get more information or something... know what I mean? Well, I got some advice from someone at KVR saying I should use a contact mic (if that's the right term, which is a mic that records off of surfaces). Didn't know my dad owned one till today. Found out he lent it to someone who has taken it to Japan. Just my luck. The contact mic will provide some good material to work with for SFX; like tapping the metal railing of the staircase or hitting a glass cup with a spoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Splunkle Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Ok, Agri, I am going to have to disagree with you. Firstly, still not sure what you mean by "spacey" sounds. But lets take something like the oringinal Dr. Who Theme, which I am fairly sure is spacey. Now it would seem to my humble ear that most of the song is rather simple waveforms (like sine, saw, square, etc) that have had layers of effects added on. Take the spooky lead thing. That sounds like a sine wave that has been filtered, and delayed, maybe verbed. Also, it helps that it slides from note to note - really adds to the spookyness of the tune. Similarly, I think all the other instruments are made the same way - simple waveformes that have then been screwed with. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr_who#Music Well, according to that, there was also a piano string sample used. The thing is, all this was really simple waves, using really simple effects. But by using the effects over and over, adding layer upon layer, you can get incredible effects. you have to be really good to pull this off, though. So I have to disagree with you - effects aren't easy. At least not easy to use in this way. Perhaps we are confused here. I was talking about using effects to compeltely transform how an instrument sounds. You seem to think that it is better to get the instrument to sound like that in the first place. I think that would be the wrong approach. As for what synths are desgined to do, yes, they are supposed to transform simple sounds into other sounds. But they do this largely with effects. Just about every synth has a filter unit, but a filter is an effect. Think back to the days of modular synthisis. There was a box called the oscillator, that outputed to a bunch of other boxes, which did stuff to the sound. I define everything that isn't an oscillator as an effect. Thus, even though a synth is a bunch of boxes combined together in a specific way, most of teh work is being done by effects. They are just integrated effects. Whether you use the filter as part of a synth or an external filter, well, both are going to filter. So when Zircon said "Turn even simple waveforms into great sounds" he could have been refering to a synth, or he could not have. The statement really didn't really have anything to do with synths or effects at all, more to do with what is happening to a waveform. Please correct me if I am way off base, Zircon. You diggin' what I am saying, Agri? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argitoth Posted January 24, 2006 Author Share Posted January 24, 2006 I'm digging. Effects within the syntheziser are the main thing to creating the sound because all those effects can be controlled by lots of LFOs and envelopes. Absynth all by itself can create awesome sounds. Of course outside could change the sound completely. When I say spacey I mean heavily ambient with little musical content. Lots of slow evolving pads, sound effects going in and out, sprinkled with heavily destructed percussion and a cherry on top. Also, when I think of spacey music I think of emotion. This music I am thinking of should be very emotional. When it is dark, make it VERY dark. When it is mysterious, make it VERY mysterious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler Heath Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 you do realize that (unless I am sorely mistaken and someone will correct me if that is the case) that within absynth, there is a simple waveform. absynth is basically doing all of the things that people are suggesting INSIDE IT. so the sound doesn't sound that way from the beginning - when you control everything with LFO's you're just shaping and controlling what happens to the waveform. again, unless someone else who actually knows what they're talking about (read: not Arg) corrects me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 I'm digging. Effects within the syntheziser are the main thing to creating the sound because all those effects can be controlled by lots of LFOs and envelopes. Absynth all by itself can create awesome sounds. Of course outside could change the sound completely.When I say spacey I mean heavily ambient with little musical content. Lots of slow evolving pads, sound effects going in and out, sprinkled with heavily destructed percussion and a cherry on top. Also, when I think of spacey music I think of emotion. This music I am thinking of should be very emotional. When it is dark, make it VERY dark. When it is mysterious, make it VERY mysterious. Are you asking about sound design or writing ambient music? Or what? It sounds like you don't even know what you want, or how to ask it. You have to give more thought to this kind of thing before you start looking for answers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argitoth Posted January 25, 2006 Author Share Posted January 25, 2006 I'm asking about sound design, but I realize it would take long posts of careful organization to teach something that I could already figure out on my own. I didn't put much thought into my question of many posts ago. What I'm trying to say is: nevermind about my question. Does anyone else have anything to contribute to this thread? BTW: I got Absynth 3 in the mail todayeeee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Splunkle Posted January 25, 2006 Share Posted January 25, 2006 One last thing before this thread moves onto bigger and better things: From your discription of the Spacey music you were going for, I direct you towards Vangelis, particularly the Blade Runner Soundtrack., Argitoth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerrax Posted January 25, 2006 Share Posted January 25, 2006 Vangelis kicks ass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argitoth Posted January 25, 2006 Author Share Posted January 25, 2006 Thanks for that, Splunkle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sixto Posted February 19, 2006 Share Posted February 19, 2006 I bought myself a couple of late Christmas gifts. The SG and the Les Paul Ultra are the newest additions to my guitar collection, and the Triple Rectifier half stack replaces the Dual Rectifier half stack that I used to have. Just sucks that I still can't play any if it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skrypnyk Posted February 19, 2006 Share Posted February 19, 2006 Even though I can't play gutiar that well, those looks pretty sexy. On a new note, I was able to pick up NI Komplete 3 and Atmosphere, both have which put me in debt for another 2 years D=. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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