# That Two Steps From Hell "sound"



## Paul Owen (Aug 2, 2017)

Hi Guys, 

I'm a complete hobbyist when it comes to mockups but I have a keen interest when it comes to learning the techniques to achieving that kind of Hollywood bombastic sound. Two Steps From Hell in particular has grabbed my attention. Any and all ideas, tips and tricks would be greatly appreciated. 

Also if this has been discussed already please let me know where. 

Cheers


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## AlexanderSchiborr (Aug 2, 2017)

Paul Owen said:


> Hi Guys,
> 
> I'm a complete hobbyist when it comes to mockups but I have a keen interest when it comes to learning the techniques to achieving that kind of Hollywood bombastic sound. Two Steps From Hell in particular has grabbed my attention. Any and all ideas, tips and tricks would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> ...



There is no shortcut, or any general advice, besides what defines T.J. Mockups: years of experiences in writing for the orchestra + having also custom libraries at his fingertips. You need besides having exquisite Triple A libraries an outstanding understanding of composition, but also orchestration ecspecially suited to midi. And you need an iron will, more then others. When it becomes hard and dirty, when others stop, you need to continue. Also a good thing is: Listen to live performances which will help your ear get a feeling for the orchestral balance.

But not to leave you such unsatisfied here, I give a little tip how to get more punch and precision into frenetic repetition tremolo string lines at tempo 150 bpm played with 16th notes: If you have measured Trems available double each 8th notes with a mezzoforte Spicc Sample. You can do that just for Violins I, but also experiment with the Vln2 and Vloas. That makes no TJ out of someone of course.

Having said that: Pro Mockup freaks / artists have gazillions of such cheap one Plus other tricks in their pocket.

Unfortunately there is really no shortcut I have to tell you. If you want to be there with your sound one day, prepare for a stony long way. Years and everyday maximum attention to this kind of work is required. I just speaking out of my own experience here.
hope that helps!


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## Ashermusic (Aug 2, 2017)

1. Nick and TJ are extremely talented.
2. Nick and TJ are well trained musicians.
3. Nick and TJ are extremely hard working and experienced.
4. Nick and TJ have the very best libraries and gear.

Listen to their work a lot, glean what you can, dig in and work hard. You may still not reach their level but you will get better.


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## Jeremy Spencer (Aug 2, 2017)

Ashermusic said:


> Listen to their work a lot, glean what you can, dig in and work hard. You may still not reach their level but you will get better.



^ that! Plus, years and countless hours of experimenting and absorbing everything you can about programming MIDI. Learn you DAW and libraries inside out, read the manuals, and experiment.


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## Nils Neumann (Aug 2, 2017)

Mock-up a few tracks from TSFH, I did 7 transcriptions earlier this year and realized that I often used the same libraries, same balancing, strings always use the same eq-preset I made to match their sound. And you will realize that they use the same orchestration and chords over and over again.

Transcription is the fastest way to emulate and understand an artist, then move on and become unique


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## Scoremixer (Aug 2, 2017)

Speaking as someone who hasn’t composed anything in over a decade but often mixes this style of music, the composers who produce the best sounding work entirely in the box are the ones who write to the strengths of their samples. That generally means shying away from orchestral solos and anything exposed, particularly woodwind and brass, and more working with layers of sound to build up the effect you’re after. 

The best producers seem to employ a kind of sleight of hand approach- nothing ever stays static, there’s always a new layer, or bit of ear candy, or some mix automation to distract the listener from the fact that what's there is samples and synths. As others have mentioned it’s a very labour intensive approach- what would work absolutely fine with the natural dynamics and playing interpretation of a real orchestra tends to fall flat when directly translated to samples. 

Things to try- multiple libraries for orchestra- layer up the wet libs for depth with closer dry samples for bite. Be creative with articulations- doing short rhythmic strings? Don’t just use the shorts patch, layer it with pizz and col legno samples too. Double orchestral basses with Moogs. Anything plucked or mallets, double with complimentary instrumental voices. 

If you have the facility to record anything real, do it- solo strings tracked up a few times can work wonders to enhance the believability of a sampled section. Doing choirs? Record yourself singing the same part a few times, edit and tune the crap out of it, layer it in quietly. Get some bits of hand percussion, a cymbal, a shaker, whatever, add some of that in as seasoning. Make background atmospheres out of real recordings by pitching, timestretching, reverbing, anything to get a flavour of something real tucked in the background of your track.

Specifically for that TSFH sound, the low end is always very contained, far more than a real orchestra/choir/massive perc section would actually be. Be judicious with EQ on things that don’t need loads of low end, use multiband compressors on your stems to avoid buildup of mud between 150 - 500 Hz, and things becoming shrill 2 - 4k. Eq low end out of reverbs that don’t require it. There’s always great clarity and energy in the harmonic content of their tracks without ever becoming harsh- samples are often missing some of that excitement, partly as a result of the post-processing that’s applied to denoise and standardise them. Reintroduce it through careful use of distortion and exciters in parallel with the original signal. Don’t rely too heavily on programmed MIDI velocity for overall song dynamics, but try and achieve it instead through level automation and adding and subtracting production layers. Good luck!


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## RCsound (Aug 2, 2017)

Paul Owen said:


> Hi Guys,
> 
> I'm a complete hobbyist when it comes to mockups but I have a keen interest when it comes to learning the techniques to achieving that kind of Hollywood bombastic sound. Two Steps From Hell in particular has grabbed my attention. Any and all ideas, tips and tricks would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> ...





https://www.ascap.com/playback/2013/01/wecreatemusic/otc-two-steps-from-hell


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## Nils Neumann (Aug 2, 2017)

EpicDude said:


> I agree 100%. I learnt a lot by doing this short mock-up so I will give you the same advice, mock-up a few tracks and you will understand better what you want to do, trust me.



you nailed it at 0:33! respect!


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## JohnG (Aug 2, 2017)

There is lots of good advice here, especially mockups / transcription by ear. It's worth noting that style with trailer music has (finally) shifted a bit. I am not hearing Carmina Burana imitations over and over (and over) again as much as formerly. The TSFH interview, fun though it is, dates from 2013 and I think things have changed from that time.


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## dannymc (Aug 3, 2017)

JohnG said:


> There is lots of good advice here, especially mockups / transcription by ear. It's worth noting that style with trailer music has (finally) shifted a bit. I am not hearing Carmina Burana imitations over and over (and over) again as much as formerly. The TSFH interview, fun though it is, dates from 2013 and I think things have changed from that time.



i was wondering about this myself. if TSFH were starting off now would they of been as successful? there's no doubt they were one of the founders of a great new trend and ruled the top of the epic trailer game for years but as you said i'm not hearing their style in trailers anymore. 

although i don't think Thomas and Nick are too worried as they live off their few million they earned from their back catalogue and their music still gets placed all over the world in TV land etc. 

Danny


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## Paul Owen (Aug 3, 2017)

Scoremixer said:


> Speaking as someone who hasn’t composed anything in over a decade but often mixes this style of music, the composers who produce the best sounding work entirely in the box are the ones who write to the strengths of their samples. That generally means shying away from orchestral solos and anything exposed, particularly woodwind and brass, and more working with layers of sound to build up the effect you’re after.
> 
> The best producers seem to employ a kind of sleight of hand approach- nothing ever stays static, there’s always a new layer, or bit of ear candy, or some mix automation to distract the listener from the fact that what's there is samples and synths. As others have mentioned it’s a very labour intensive approach- what would work absolutely fine with the natural dynamics and playing interpretation of a real orchestra tends to fall flat when directly translated to samples.
> 
> ...



This is awesome, you've given some great ideas and tips. Thanks for making the effort with this response. Brilliant!


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## Guffy (Aug 3, 2017)

TSFH's style has evolved quite abit through the years IMO. 
Someone really needs to make a Skyworld 2. Pretty sure that was my favourite of all, not including Thomas' solo work.


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## dannymc (Aug 3, 2017)

i think i lean a bit more toward the sound of twelve titans these days. its a bit more restraint but sounds fantastic imo. or maybe i just prefer that almost trance sound because of my background. anyway i don't think they get enough recognition as they should. loving the sound of his/their latest work.






Danny


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