I’ve been spending the last couple of days working on sound design as opposed to preset hgopping, mainly with v-station and ni’s massive and i’ve had great results as of today, think I’ve finally nailed it with regard to getting the sound I want, more or less. Very satisfying indeed, I must spend more time on this.
Does everyone here design their own sound or do u tend towards presets?
I like to make my own, but that doesn’t mean they sound any good 
I’m ok at bass sounds, and I am getting better at stabs and pads, but there is still a lot I can’t get near.
I try and make my own too, but often deconxtruct a preset to see how its done
Trying to make my own but i have admit im finding making my own sounds the hardest part of production but im gonna keep at it as you really want to be making your own sound not relying on presets all the while
always, for me preset tweaking isnt satisfying , i need to sit back and listen to my own sounds and think i made that from scratch even drum sounds
what are your guy’s favorite sound design programs? Are we talking about komplete instruments or halion, massive synth and stuff like that?
getting started on production… im a nub. share what works best for you guys!
i make my own i delete my preset folder as soon as i get a pluggin…
Massive has been my favorite since i learned you can side chain envelopes and and LFO’s
[quote]Subject 1 (18/01/2011)[hr]i make my own i delete my preset folder as soon as i get a pluggin…
Massive has been my favorite since i learned you can side chain envelopes and and LFO’s[/quote]
interesting, i need to figure massive out more but its becoming my go to synth. how do u set up sidechain like that?
[quote]gofunk (18/01/2011)[hr]I’ve been spending the last couple of days working on sound design as opposed to preset hgopping, mainly with v-station and ni’s massive and i’ve had great results as of today, think I’ve finally nailed it with regard to getting the sound I want, more or less. Very satisfying indeed, I must spend more time on this.
Does everyone here design their own sound or do u tend towards presets?[/quote]
Thank god, its about time!
I do all my own sounds. Worst case senario, is I use a bass or other sound that will fit what I am kinda aiming to go for, then I get everything down and then I will do the sound design on my outboard gear. Just how I work it, I guess.
I do my own for most sounds, but sometimes they end up sounding pretty bad. Good synthesis definitely is the hardest part of production. I’ll always use samples for drums, sometimes use a loop as a percussion bed, sometimes make my own loops. I’ll do some preset tweaking once in a while, but I’ll make sure it’s not too easily recognizable by the time I’m done.
[quote]gofunk (18/01/2011)[hr][quote]Subject 1 (18/01/2011)[hr]i make my own i delete my preset folder as soon as i get a pluggin…
Massive has been my favorite since i learned you can side chain envelopes and and LFO’s[/quote]
interesting, i need to figure massive out more but its becoming my go to synth. how do u set up sidechain like that?[/quote]
Under the boxes where you drag an LFO or Env or add a Macro under the 3rd box theres a SC option click it so that it goes from gray to white Drag a modulator of your choice into the SC box and add another modulator on one of the first 2 boxes and that is the modulator that will be getting sidechained, it created really nice grooves within the lfo dont forget to click the ’ - " symbol so you get an up or down arrow
I feel dirty using presets…
Just feels like I’m being boring and uncreative… (moreso than usual)
I’ve always said no to presets and samples… Maybe it’s a bad idea to do it on planing to release your first track like me but it’s definitely better than buying something and just putting it there… I wouldn’t feel right.
Making your own sounds is the way forward, but there is definitely a snobbery about using presets.
Most instruments you don’t panic about using the default sound (guitar/piano etc) and a preset is just a sound like any other really, a tool.
It’s what you do with that tool that really counts imo. Though, again, sound design is truly rewarding, so I would do it for primarily that reason, rather than any moral/purist reason.
[quote]bangthedj (20/01/2011)[hr]Making your own sounds is the way forward, but there is definitely a snobbery about using presets.
Most instruments you don’t panic about using the default sound (guitar/piano etc) and a preset is just a sound like any other really, a tool.
It’s what you do with that tool that really counts imo. Though, again, sound design is truly rewarding, so I would do it for primarily that reason, rather than any moral/purist reason.[/quote]
Totally agree, there is no problem using samples and presets to aid your production after all dance music was built around this way if working. I use tweak presets, samples and make/use my own sounds,leads, basses, fx, voice etc
Definatly its a mix and match - if it fits use it is my motto - then put losds of effects afterwards
i generally use tweaked presets for the basic bits
and then create my own sounds for the top embellishments
having said that i did spend a couple of days a while back making a single kick sample out of 3 separate samples - tuned and EQ’d them up together.
was pretty fed up by the time i had it finished tho :pinch:
all depends - if you have an idea in yer head for a track then you might want to get the arrangement fired up quickly , but if yer a bit blank on ideas then playing with sounds can inspire an idea for a track
[quote]bangthedj (20/01/2011)[hr]Making your own sounds is the way forward, but there is definitely a snobbery about using presets.
Most instruments you don’t panic about using the default sound (guitar/piano etc) and a preset is just a sound like any other really, a tool.
It’s what you do with that tool that really counts imo. Though, again, sound design is truly rewarding, so I would do it for primarily that reason, rather than any moral/purist reason.[/quote]
Man, you hit the nail on the head. You could use the analogy of a guitarist. All guitars make the same sound. That is not where the musical creativity comes from. It’s what the guitarist creates with the sounds given to him. The guy who invented the guitar gets no p*ssy because he’s some geek locked away in his room designing new crap, while the guitarist is a rock god playing in front of thousands of fans and makes womens panties wet. If I can find a preset that only needs a few tweeks so I can get to the actual writing of the song then I’ll take the path of least resistance every time. In my eyes I would rather be writing music and leave the sound design to those who do it best.
The guitarist analogy makes a lot of sense, yeah, but it’s not exactly fair to say that (electric) guitar players don’t try to get their own unique sound as well. With all the modeling equipment out there in the form of thousands of pedals (phasers, delays, reverbs, endless types of distortion, etc etc), expensive tube amps, effects rigs, different brands of guitars and so on, many guitar players make a huge deal of their tone.
What I’m trying to say isn’t that there’s a shame in using presets, there certainly isn’t. Just that whatever instrument you’re using be it synth or guitar or whatever, you’ve got to sort of have your own style and make sure your music sounds the way you want it to. But if you turn on your synth and you find a preset you want to use in a couple of seconds, go ahead and use it, nothing wrong or “cheating” about that.
And no I couldn’t pull the same trick if I were talking about piano 
[quote]gedeon (21/01/2011)[hr]The guitarist analogy makes a lot of sense, yeah, but it’s not exactly fair to say that (electric) guitar players don’t try to get their own unique sound as well. With all the modeling equipment out there in the form of thousands of pedals (phasers, delays, reverbs, endless types of distortion, etc etc), expensive tube amps, effects rigs, different brands of guitars and so on, many guitar players make a huge deal of their tone.
What I’m trying to say isn’t that there’s a shame in using presets, there certainly isn’t. Just that whatever instrument you’re using be it synth or guitar or whatever, you’ve got to sort of have your own style and make sure your music sounds the way you want it to. But if you turn on your synth and you find a preset you want to use in a couple of seconds, go ahead and use it, nothing wrong or “cheating” about that.
And no I couldn’t pull the same trick if I were talking about piano :D[/quote]
Right on man, but have you ever heard the saying “you can’t polish a turd,” because no matter how many times you polish it, it’s still a turd. Meaning that if the song is poorly written then it doesn’t matter what kind of sound you put it through. I agree about getting your own sound and all, but I just think it is more important to worry about how it is arranged and written rather then spending countless hours developing a sound before one note has even been written. It’s just an opinion, but it’s mine so I win and you lose. j/k