Samples Vs Synthesis Programs

J

Josephm561

Member
Joined
Jan 10, 2012
Location
London
Hi there, Im just wondering how people on here get their basslines. I have made a few of my own basses but its frustrating listening to mine when i compare them to some of the samples i have and can use. I use the ES2 in logic for making them and i was wondering what programs people use when making their own. I know massive is a popular one among people however i find it really confusing at the moment and need to get to grips with it. What other programs can you recommend DnB forum?
 
Nothin wrong with using samples bro ! If you like em, use em :D

As for different programs I use Massive which is good. I have z3ta+ too but don't use that very often at all. I don't find it that easy to understand!

Albino looks awesome, I really want to get that :)

There are just three vst plugins, which have already been mentioned, but there are plently out there :)
 
To be fair, if you dont understand NI Massive, I wouldnt bother getting any of the above VST's, or any VST's at all for that matter. Spend some time learning Massive, and synthesis in general. Once you understand how oscillators / envelope filters and the like work, you'll be able to transfer that knowledge to any synth, and in all honesty, NI Massive is probably the easiest synth to learn on!

As for samples, the only samples I ever use are drum samples, vocals or FX.......I dont think I've ever started a bassline with a sample from a pack?!?!?!?!
 
i use hardware and either record it in through midi or sample it myself with whatever fx and processing.
and vst or sample can sound like anyother vst will the right attention to detail and nice processing. its a matter of taste.

most vsti's will have a sine or square which you can low pass filter )cut the high freqs) to get a deep sub bass.

imo massive is gash, i dont get why its so popular besides having presets that make you sound like everyone from skrillex and deadmou5 to nero(you really wanna sound like that), FM8 for me always gets a better bass if im using vstis.. something about FM that amkes a killer bass
 
Labrat said:
i use hardware and either record it in through midi or sample it myself with whatever fx and processing.
and vst or sample can sound like anyother vst will the right attention to detail and nice processing. its a matter of taste.

most vsti's will have a sine or square which you can low pass filter )cut the high freqs) to get a deep sub bass.

imo massive is gash, i dont get why its so popular besides having presets that make you sound like everyone from skrillex and deadmou5 to nero(you really wanna sound like that), FM8 for me always gets a better bass if im using vstis.. something about FM that amkes a killer bass
Click to expand...

I'm gonna have to respectfully disagree with you on this one. Sure, Massive is ridiculously overhyped, and I agree that alot of people dont use it to it's full potential, and just use that shitty "Brutal Electro" patch. But if you take some time to scratch beneath the surface, you can make some amazing bass sounds. Just click the pic in my sig to go to my soundcloud, pick any track on there, and I promise that bass is made within massive alone! I use it for all my bass work, exclusively!
 
i do want to learn massive however i know that it will take me forever if i try to teach myself, can anybody recommend some good online courses and things like that which can teach me synthesis to a decent level?
 
You can pay for courses. There is one course that apparently lets you master Massive in a matter of hours!

I have never tried them out myself so can't tell you if they are worth it. There is plenty of free info though of course!

For synthesis learn the basics for now. I am still doing this process myself... Learn about Common Waveforms, Oscillators, Filters, Envelopes, etc. From what I understand from there it is just experimenting and being paitent!
 
I really don't know why people love massive so much when there is other pretty good vst and it is free.I dedicated myself on finding other ways to make basslines and i must say that TAL-Elek7ro is awesome and it is free.It is so simple to use yet so effective.However dont expect to make basslines you hear using just synthesis without any further automation and processing!!
 
Balthazaar said:
I really don't know why people love massive so much when there is other pretty good vst and it is free.I dedicated myself on finding other ways to make basslines and i must say that TAL-Elek7ro is awesome and it is free.It is so simple to use yet so effective.However dont expect to make basslines you hear using just synthesis without any further automation and processing!!
Click to expand...

It's true that TAL - Elek7ro (as well as NoiseMaker) are both excellent, free synths.

However, Massive is a beast all its own. It's loved by many because once you get the hang of it by learning about the interface and the tons of routing/signal chaining/step sequence/ automating etc. possibilities (I found the manual and YouTube to be the best teachers), there is virtually unlimited potential for creation any kind of sound. To add, everything (seriously, everything) can be routed, automated, etc. And the ability to freely move between a pair of wave tables generates unique sound movements, especially with bass noise.

I often will go through the presets and when I find a unique sound, I'll analyze it to see how they're achieving that sound (i.e. what's being routed/sidechained to what, etc). I learn something new each time.

Basically, Massive offers unlimited flexibility in terms of a means to create sounds whether its leads, bass, pads, plucks, FX or just weird shit in general. Most importantly, it has its own sonic character.

I had buyers' remorse after first purchasing it, but once I took the time to learn it, my remorse quickly disappeared.

Cheers.
 
Just reporting back, Using that Tal Electro synth... Goood Daym u wherent half wrong man, that synth and a quick watch of icicles video helped me understand alot about synthesis. Its simple to use!!

Would just like to thank you for showing me it lol, much easier to use than massive
 
Ive found using youtube the best by far for Massive lessons, just dont restrict yourself to using dnb/dubstep videos by any stretch, check out electro/breaks/hiphop etc ;)

Also Google any term you are unsure about and learn stuff, just randomly changing knobs and getting angry isnt going to help
 
Last edited:
Also try to watch as many video's about music production as possible, whatever genre it is about. I found out about a lot of techniques while watching tutorials about some completely different genres than I normally produce! Also tons of good e-books about music production can be found for iPad and other tablets.
 
NI Massive is amazing,Albino is class so is Predator,all pretty straightforward to use.Plenty of tutorials on you tube.i use an old roland jp8000 which is fuckin filthy.
 
Russla-DJ said:
Ive found using youtube the best by far for Massive lessons, just dont restrict yourself to using dnb/dubstep videos by any stretch, check out electro/breaks/hiphop etc ;)

Also Google any term you are unsure about and learn stuff, just randomly changing knobs and getting angry isnt going to help
Click to expand...

for sure man, i used to use thor and while it has probably the same (maybe slightly less) capabilities as massive but I never watched tutorials and got my head round it, massive on the other hand is not one u just wana play with... as iv found out the past couple of days!
 
but its not really a question of one or the other. synths do samples and samples become other samples, its more a question of what sounds good and what you want to accomplish. this question becomes important if you have that workmans pride, that carpenter or oil painter ethic that says everything must be hand made from scratch and as difficult as humanly possible. soon as you realize this doesnt matter a jot to the listener and if it sounds good it sounds good you will be making more progress more quicker. i dont agree completely with this philosophy but i know it to be true. i have spent a life time figuring out how to originate sounds and its been fun, if a bit counterproductive.
 
haha logikz uve hit the nail on head there, alot of big producers use samples,.... i remmeber serum coming on here before saying how many of the tracks form likes of bladerunner etc were all samples....
but i cant get rid of the pride thing in not using bassline samples...
 
Back
Top Bottom