Guitar settings in FL Studio?

[Winning900]

Hi, I have FL Studio, but when I use the FL Slayer guitar, it doesn't sound very good. 

What are the settings/VSTs to make it sound like the guitars from the following videos?

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?list=PLlwLXQJ7gn5bzCN5QDejbNWRBmY4sgEl1&params=OAFIAVgC&v=AMd2AbEEcho&mode=NORMAL (And could you also tell me how to do the dramatic-sounding bells in this one?)

[timaeus222]

FL Slayer doesn't have the capacity to sound as good as a realistic guitar. It lacks many of the intricate details that you'd find in a realistic guitar emulation, like multiple mute layers, specific string selection, virtual hand reach, the occasional fret noise, chromatic sampling, etc.

You'd be better off looking for a guitarist to collaborate with or looking at a sampler like Kontakt 5 and a sample library like Shreddage 2 IBZ to get a realistic electric guitar. Probably the best demo I can find for it is this:

In the case of Shreddage 2 IBZ though, Kontakt Player 5 works with it just fine. So really, if you wanted it, while Impact Soundworks is still doing its holiday sale, you can get Shreddage and use it for like, $99. You'd still have to learn how to use it, but it's way more capable right off the bat in emulating a realistic performance and can be much more realistic.

[AngelCityOutlaw]

Yeah, like T said there is no way Slayer will sound like the real deal.

Guitar players are everywhere though, so it shouldn't be hard at all to collaborate with one. Shreddage IBZ as a good last resort.

[Winning900]

If I had a guitarist friend, I would make a band with them.

I'll get Shreddage when I have enough money. How much does it usually cost?

And is there a free option when it comes to good guitars?

And lastly, what's the best place to sell original music online?

[timaeus222]

Well, since the Impact Soundworks website is putting everything on sale, the original price doesn't show right now. But if I remember correctly, it was $119. A similar version, Shreddage 2X, is normally $139.

As for a free guitar, KVR Audio is a good place to search, as it contains a very large, up to date database on many VSTs, sample libraries, etc.

http://www.kvraudio.com/q.php

When I simply search for "guitar", with the conditions "Free", "Plugin", and "Released", I get:

http://www.kvraudio.com/q.php?search=1&q=guitar&ty[]=i&pr[]=f&av[]=re

So you can sift through that if you want. But it's a huge jump down in quality, in addition to many (if not all) samples already with distortion on them, just so you know. For example, I checked out SuperRiffGuitar, and it has vibrato baked right into the already-distorted samples. The recorded samples themselves are also very short, so long held chords aren't possible (for instance, in Shreddage, you can hold sustain chords for almost 30 seconds if you wanted to and it'll fade out naturally; I've tried!). Some of the others are just apps (like WI Guitar), some are functioning as a visual fretboard for MIDI input (like Armchair Guitarist), and some are discontinued (like Milk Guitar).

And with the original music, I personally use Bandcamp.com (the site itself makes about 10~15% revenue for digital, for example), though other people like Flexstyle have also suggested loudr.fm. You'd want to get more opinions on that though.

[Skrypnyk]

1 hour ago, Winning900 said:

If I had a guitarist friend, I would make a band with them.

Time to start networking.  Guitarist aren't exactly rare.  Sift through OCR or SoundCloud, come across something you like, leave a comment, ask to collab, see how things go.

1 hour ago, Winning900 said:

And is there a free option when it comes to good guitars?

Generally speaking no not really, although if you're collaborating with someone and they just want credit for their work, that's a free option.

1 hour ago, Winning900 said:

And lastly, what's the best place to sell original music online?

I'll second BandCamp, but I'm receiving around 70% profit after everything is applied.

 

Another approach to getting good guitar sounds is using Guitar Rig from Native Instruments.  However, if you aren't playing a guitar live and well, a majority of your work will come in how well you can sequence.

[Winning900]

Which of the music-selling sites will give me the largest percentage of the money I make from sales?

[Winning900]

also, what is it the guy does here at 1:30 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3d-JIgTYu8 to get what sounds like a new instrument pkaying, and what is that instrument?

[timaeus222]

3 hours ago, Winning900 said:

Which of the music-selling sites will give me the largest percentage of the money I make from sales?

https://loudr.fm/pricing --> 70~85% revenue (but don't forget to read the web page in full)

https://bandcamp.com/pricing --> 85~90% revenue (but don't forget to read the web page in full)

2 hours ago, Winning900 said:

also, what is it the guy does here at 1:30 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3d-JIgTYu8 to get what sounds like a new instrument pkaying, and what is that instrument?

You might be hearing a few hits from a ride (drum kit component). The kick drum is also playing a fast rhythm there.

[Winning900]

22 minutes ago, timaeus222 said:

https://loudr.fm/pricing --> 70~85% revenue (but don't forget to read the web page in full)

https://bandcamp.com/pricing --> 85~90% revenue (but don't forget to read the web page in full)

You might be hearing a few hits from a ride (drum kit component). The kick drum is also playing a fast rhythm there.

Sorry, I meant 1.20. I think that's a piano, but Fruity Loop's built-in pianos don't sound anything like that. How do I get that beautiful sound?

[timaeus222]

48 minutes ago, Winning900 said:

Sorry, I meant 1.20. I think that's a piano, but Fruity Loop's built-in pianos don't sound anything like that. How do I get that beautiful sound?

Oh, well that would be a soft synth pluck with some ambient reverb and some delay (you can hear the delay at 1:45 - 1:46). You can also hear the same sound exposed at 3:31 - 3:36 (the guitar layers with it at 3:37 - 3:43). As for the "exact" settings, you'd have to experiment with it. I think NastyDLA MKII (which is free, in the Downloads page) can get you partway there in giving you the delay. The synth itself doesn't have to be anything in particular; with enough reverb, you can get a similar sound as long as it sounds like a pluck and it is low-passed.

[Winning900]

https://m.soundcloud.com/aivisura/steven-universe-alone-together Also, this song has a guitar... thing. It sounds like each bit of guitar riff is ended with a reversed clip of a guitar playing. Am I right? And how do I get that sound?

 

Also, I know pianos and guitars are not the same thing, but I'm using FL Studio for both. https://m.soundcloud.com/aivisura/steven-universe-im-still-here 1. How does the piano sound so good and full and echo-ish in this, and 2. that series of star-like 'ding!' sounds around the 1 minute mark, what is that? 3, there's an extremely faint background 'bleepy' noise used sometimes that kinda reminds me of a video game soundtrack from the GBA era.

Also, https://m.soundcloud.com/aivisura/steven-universe-amalgam the piano in this one sounds a little different to the last one. What was done to it? Is the left hand and right hand a separate track with different settings?

[Winning900]

On 26/12/2015 at 7:11 PM, timaeus222 said:

https://loudr.fm/pricing --> 70~85% revenue (but don't forget to read the web page in full)

https://bandcamp.com/pricing --> 85~90% revenue (but don't forget to read the web page in full)

You might be hearing a few hits from a ride (drum kit component). The kick drum is also playing a fast rhythm there.

Bandcamp SOUNDS like it's best, since it'll pay me more... but you linked both, so there must be a reason why you linked both. Is Loudr better in some other way?

[timaeus222]

Just now, Winning900 said:

Bandcamp SOUNDS like it's best, since it'll pay me more... but you linked both, so there must be a reason why you linked both. Is Loudr better in some other way?

I just want you to really consider your options before choosing, that's all. It wouldn't be fair if I linked only to Bandcamp's pricing; you'd not have a reference point to compare to.

[Winning900]

4 minutes ago, timaeus222 said:

I just want you to really consider your options before choosing, that's all. It wouldn't be fair if I linked only to Bandcamp's pricing; you'd not have a reference point to compare to.

Oh. So... do you personally think Bandcamp is the better choice? And why? I want an experienced person's opinion.

[timaeus222]

I asked other people to chime in, as I have not used loudr.fm.

I liked Bandcamp because:

- I used it first

- They have a large comprehensive FAQ should you have any questions, even nerdy ones like "OK, but why would anyone ever buy something they can hear in full for free?" or "Can I upload files with sample rates greater than 44.1 KHz?".

- It offers multiple options for downloadable music filetypes, like AIFF, FLAC, MP3 V0, MP3 320, etc.

- It streams your music in full, never partially, yet streams it in 128 kbps so that only buying it would give you good fidelity to the music

- They make sure to tag your music for you so that even if you don't know how, it's already labeled with a title, artist, album, lyrics, etc.

- You can always change your mind if you want and delete your account (some websites in general [not necessarily music related] don't allow you to delete a created account, so it's just stuck like that)

 

But yeah, if anyone wants to vouch for loudr.fm, feel free! (and if you don't, it shouldn't discredit it.)

[timaeus222]

Quote

https://m.soundcloud.com/aivisura/steven-universe-alone-together Also, this song has a guitar... thing. It sounds like each bit of guitar riff is ended with a reversed clip of a guitar playing. Am I right? And how do I get that sound?

Yep. The easiest way is to just chop part of the recorded riff, clone it, and reverse it. In FL Studio, just use the Slicer tool at a specific spot (if necessary), and then click the audio clip at the top left corner and select Make unique. Then just open up the Channel settings window (double click the audio clip) and click the Reverse radio button under Precomputed effects. Drag the reversed clip to the spot you want it to be.

Quote

Also, I know pianos and guitars are not the same thing, but I'm using FL Studio for both. https://m.soundcloud.com/aivisura/steven-universe-im-still-here 1. How does the piano sound so good and full and echo-ish in this, and 2. that series of star-like 'ding!' sounds around the 1 minute mark, what is that? 3, there's an extremely faint background 'bleepy' noise used sometimes that kinda reminds me of a video game soundtrack from the GBA era.

1. It's mixed relatively loudly, but with a good amount of warmth to the EQ near the low-mids without clipping, so instead of sounding loud, it sounds full. The sound that seems like something wavering in and out (like at 0:08) could be a guitar from the way the midrange sounds, but the point is that it has a long attack (as in, within the ADSR envelope), and it's somewhat like two FM (frequency modulation) oscillators linked in series with a touch of detune. In other words, its timbre moves in a way that is similar to a tibetan bowl, if that makes sense.

2. It comes in at 0:50, if I'm listening to the right sound. Seems similar to a xylophone or other mallet instrument with some very fast Delay with a low Feedback setting.

3. Yes, it's at 0:16, and it's essentially a basic 8-bit waveform (square wave?) with some fast Delay and a little bit of Reverb.

Quote

Also, https://m.soundcloud.com/aivisura/steven-universe-amalgam the piano in this one sounds a little different to the last one. What was done to it? Is the left hand and right hand a separate track with different settings?

Both hands sound to me like they're in the same room, so no, it sounds like one piano. The previously-discussed piano is just louder with maybe a little more low-mids warmth via EQ, but it's likely the same sample library or piano model.

[Winning900]

6 hours ago, timaeus222 said:

I just want you to really consider your options before choosing, that's all. It wouldn't be fair if I linked only to Bandcamp's pricing; you'd not have a reference point to compare to.

I only quoted so the reply box would open. It was jammed.

Anyway, 30 seconds in, the song sounds weirdly industrial, with a certain sound repeating on most beats, it sounds kinda like a dog's bark on my speakers. Anyway, there's some background stuff like violins and some keyboard/synth thing that starts as the song goes on, what's the synth thing and how can I get that sound? https://m.soundcloud.com/aivisura/steven-universe-sugelite

Also, in this, the piano sounds very different. It's lighthearted, quieter, nowhere near as full, and sounds like a crappy old piano a guy in the corner plays while everyone else is dancing drunkenly. How do I get this sound? https://m.soundcloud.com/aivisura/steven-universe-death-rag

[timaeus222]

3 hours ago, Winning900 said:

Anyway, 30 seconds in, the song sounds weirdly industrial, with a certain sound repeating on most beats, it sounds kinda like a dog's bark on my speakers. Anyway, there's some background stuff like violins and some keyboard/synth thing that starts as the song goes on, what's the synth thing and how can I get that sound? https://m.soundcloud.com/aivisura/steven-universe-sugelite

Which "synth thing"? There are three. The percussive bass, the sustained bass (0:47), and the lofi basic waveform (triangle?) coming in at 0:47 - 0:58.

The percussive bass is a basic waveform that has an ADSR envelope (with a positive modulation depth) linked to a low pass filter, with no Attack, a short Decay, no Sustain, and a short Release. That makes it sound like... well... percussion. You'll have to experiment to get the right sound, but that's a starting point. It might have some detuning. You may need some distortion modules to get closer to the exact sound. This is what I got, using a square wave, and then a saw wave with the detuning and distortion I mentioned:

https://app.box.com/s/4mqhwor0jzpf13epj6ps75hh5kl1482i

The sustained bass is basically a multi-voiced saw wave with some detuning (for timbral motion), and some careful distortion; you'd have to experiment with that to get it to sound closer to what you're hearing. It might be pulse-width modulation (basically, altering the wavelengths of the left and right halves of a waveform). This is what I got:

https://app.box.com/s/wcua4i80zujydc49ckl2ldwu7xzgieo1

The third synth is, like I had said, a bitcrushed/lofi basic waveform. Bitcrushing essentially reduces either the sample rate or the resolution of the audio. Either way, it's basically a way to make something sound "older". dBlue Glitch v1.3 is one plugin of many that can do that. You'd again, have to experiment with waveforms to figure out which one it is, but it might be a triangle. This is what I got:

https://app.box.com/s/ftskhb9a5n4qf3o69iee8p2f8yncrhrx

Quote

Also, in this, the piano sounds very different. It's lighthearted, quieter, nowhere near as full, and sounds like a crappy old piano a guy in the corner plays while everyone else is dancing drunkenly. How do I get this sound? https://m.soundcloud.com/aivisura/steven-universe-death-rag

It's probably supposed to be a honky tonk piano, like this one. I'm unsure if the composer had an actual honky tonk piano sample, but one way you can get something similar is by adding a little bit of chorus to the right piano sample. But as you might expect, you'd have to experiment with piano samples and find one that gives you the sound you want. This is what I got after writing something ragtime-like:

https://app.box.com/s/cl4sazvjxouho0j7psks7ka989z4kyge

And this gets pretty close to an actual honky tonk piano:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNFeKEDAD_c

Or, 4Front Piano is pretty old-sounding, and it's free.

But I don't think the composer used an actual honky tonk piano sample; it seems like a regular piano playing a ragtime song.

[Flexstyle]

Bandcamp is great. Loudr is great, especially since you can use their service to sell on iTunes, Spotify, etc., as well. Why not use them both? It's not like you're paying anything extra, and you'll theoretically get your music in front of more ears that way. 'Course, you have to be good for anyone to care, but hey, that'll happen with enough practice and luck.

[Winning900]

 Okay, I will use all of the sites. (I mean the good ones you mentioned. All of them)

Is this the right place to ask for links to good guides when it comes to songwriting lyrics and making them sound good? If this is just music only then ignore this paragraph. But I would like to give lyrics to a video game song that doesn't have them already.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EAcsiqhkq-s The lead guitar sounds awesome in this, I think it has different settings. The background guitar (bass? Rhythm? What is it called?) also sounds cool, and so do the drums. What VST and effects drums that well? 

[Winning900]

Bump

[AngelCityOutlaw]

On 12/28/2015 at 9:49 AM, Winning900 said:

 Okay, I will use all of the sites. (I mean the good ones you mentioned. All of them)

Is this the right place to ask for links to good guides when it comes to songwriting lyrics and making them sound good? If this is just music only then ignore this paragraph. But I would like to give lyrics to a video game song that doesn't have them already.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EAcsiqhkq-s The lead guitar sounds awesome in this, I think it has different settings. The background guitar (bass? Rhythm? What is it called?) also sounds cool, and so do the drums. What VST and effects drums that well? 

I know this is subjective, but personally I think that lead guitar sounds terrible. If it has that "woo" sound as I call it, I wouldn't aspire to sound like it. This likely is due to choice of pickups, EQ and lack of, good, wide, speed-modulating vibrato that suits the tempo. The lack of the latter why most sample libraries are garbage for lead guitars.

Here are some lead guitars I think sound great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTKfWnXCAwg  

https://youtu.be/jNU3cz5eXPQ?t=3m19s 

https://youtu.be/u9_SEr-ORyk?t=2m25s 

The key to getting good lead "tone" comes in getting a "warm" sound from an amp sim based on a valve amp, often with only as much gain as is require to get a pinch harmonic. Also, it's a good idea to pinch sustained vibrato notes. Try a set-up based on an old peavy, mesa, marshall or soldano with a tube screamer in front of it and not a "distortion pedal" of the metal zone variety. Also make sure you have plenty of mids and use a good stereo delay to give it all a sense of space. After that, the most important part is to play with bends, harmonic and noticeable vibrato. The occasional palm-mutes on faster runs on the low strings is also a good technique. 

Also, use the bridge pick-up unless you want a "bluesy" sound on the high notes - then use the neck pick up. Most sample libraries don't let you switch pick ups though as far as I know.

 

 

[Winning900]

Thank you. Also, I forgot to ask: From that Sugilite song, what was that "Dog barking" sound, and was it actually a dog barking? 

[Winning900]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IBvl-AdnHGY&itct=CBsQpDAYASITCKye2MC9hMoCFdSTFgodvGMGHzIGcmVsbWZ1SOvXksOqkcuDEA%3D%3D Also, this song has violins and other orchestral instruments that sound great. How do I recreate those in FL Studio?