Hey Guys n Gals
Can anyone recommend any good sources of knowledge along the programming side of things. Anything that you may have found useful personally
Ive got/read dance music manual and very good it is too and Im starting to get my head round it (Programming and synthesis) but when Phil gets to the lower end of Sylenth in the tutorials and starts on the ‘cut off ab’ side of things I start to get a bit lost. There doesnt seem to be any material at the sylenth site so Im assuming its a standard programming setup.
Anyway any pointers welcome:)
thanks.
Looks like we have the same problem… 
Creating a sound with oscillators, choosing the waveform, adjusting volumes and pan is not that hard… of course, there are some parameters i don’t understand very well like the amount of “voices” (why should i use 1, 2, 4 or 8 voices) and i still wonder why you would want to “detune” your sound…
But after that, when they start to tweak the sound with enveloppes, i’m always a bit lost…
A while ago I posted a request on here asking for a dedicated synth programming series from SA, since which yours I think is the sixth or seventh thread started asking for help in this area. I am in complete agreement with you - I start to get lost around when tutorials start getting more deeper into the programming end of things.
Phil very kindly responded to my thread previously and promised to put in some synth focus as part of upcoming 'How To Sound Like’s, but what prefer is a dedicated series much along the lines of the ‘Music Theory’ tutorials, but obviously focussed on sound design. I’m still hoping one might appear - I think it would be a real winner with SA members.
hey guys…
Really, if you want to learn synthesis, you are gonna have to do it on your own. Unfortunately, no one really learned synthesis by people showing them how to do things. It takes imagination and experience. Thats it really. Phil said in another thread that he started turning knobs 20 years ago. That experience can’t be taught. My friend Francis has been making synth patches since the mid 80’s.
Something you should definitely have a go at is take a preset in sylenth and try to reverse engineer it. try to make the sound on your own. In many cases, you can open one instrument via standalone, and the same plugin in your DAW. Pull up the patch in your standalone and another in your DAW and have a note playing constantly and try to match it up. I do it with my external gear every now and again.
I agree completely Howie - I spend ages putting together (badly I have to add) sounds by trying to copy other ones. I’m actually so god-awful at this process that I usually end up with something that sounds completely different to what I’m after, but usable anyway (which is probably more useful). I’m pretty confident recognising the different waveforms, and not too bad with filters and cutoffs, but its getting beyond this where I get flummoxed. Knowing how different effects and modulators effect a sound is where I’m looking for a bit more guidance - I suppose at the level just above beginners. But you’re right of course - there’s no better way of learning than doing it yourself.
Im in total agreement that there is no substitute for hands on repetition and to a degree some serendipity.
However as ive exampled before the book ‘dance music manual’ has taught me loads (to a beginner) on what an LFO is what an oscillator, attack, decay etc etc
What I want to know is is there any further reading/vids or epiphanies that others have found useful and want to share, I guess in my case its confusion on the cut offs.
Yes Im signed up for a long road of tweaking but as the word programming suggests, it is a science and found some instruction to what some things do just missing some of the others:)
[quote]hindsite (27/04/2010)[hr]
What I want to know is is there any further reading/vids or epiphanies that others have found useful and want to share, I guess in my case its confusion on the cut offs.
[/quote]
Unfortunately bro, there probably isn’t anything much out there. Practice is your only solid gameplan at this moment. There are other tutorials out there on the web, but the rules on SA prohibit me from promoting other sites. But in all honesty, its nothing huge at all. Keep turning knobs and you will get better. I’m taking a Synthesis class at Berklee next semester, so I will hopefully be way better at explaining things for everyone. I am really good with everything else, just sound design is not my forte.
the first thing that everyone should understand is that a synthetizer is like a instrument . for example before you ask a tutorial you need to learn everything about your synth . understanding to use your synth and dedicating time will pay off when Phill start showing us to work an patch . because not if you dont understand your synth well ,you will feel lost .
I understand that sometimes can be frustrating that you cant follow the tutorial because you dont know what that buttons or knobs does to the sound. it happened to me and i did research and use IL sawer to follow the tutorials ( even do Sawer have a different Filters and engine it became a challenge to imitate Syleth ). so defietly if you feel that you get stucked in a synth tutorial is because mostly you dont know what that function is for .
now I think that Phill is in the stage where he imagine a sound and then he actually can program it with his eyes closed . i think . Phill freaking Rocks . but i am sure with perseverance and dedication we could get to his levels someday ( maybe i 20 more years lol )
BTW thiis a link that might be usefull basic info about synthesis .check it out and let me know if that helps
Thanks everyone:)
Very interesting to get everyones incite on the subject.
Thanks alinenunez top link very interesting…
I agree about learning your instrument too and yep it is not something I know I will learn overnight
Thanks for the link alinenunez, I will have a look tonite and post what I think later
That link is amazing. It explains it very, very well.
Excellent - thanks for sharing:)
[quote]hindsite (28/04/2010)[hr]That link is amazing. It explains it very, very well.
Excellent - thanks for sharing:)[/quote]
you welcome man !
So I went through the tutorials and they were very good - clear and precise and gave me a lot clearer basic understanding of sound design
I really liked the vst s(M)exoscope plugin as I think it is easier to remember what sounds are like if you can actually see it - will use that with some samples and see if I can reproduce with that
I owe you one 
[quote]slender (28/04/2010)[hr]So I went through the tutorials and they were very good - clear and precise and gave me a lot clearer basic understanding of sound design
I really liked the vst s(M)exoscope plugin as I think it is easier to remember what sounds are like if you can actually see it - will use that with some samples and see if I can reproduce with that
I owe you one :D[/quote]
no problem
Thanks for the great link its nice to see the basics in english with simple plugins.