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What do you use your Synths mostly for ?

muziksculp

muziksculp

Senior Member
Hi,

I thought it would be fun to have a discussion on general topics related to using Synths.

So...What do you tend to use your synths (Both HW & SW) mostly for ?

Pure Synthetic Music
Hybrid Orchestral-Synthetic Music
Experimental Electronic Music
Sound effects
Ambient Music
Dance type Genres of Electronic Music
etc. etc.

Do you spend a good amount of time designing your own custom sounds ?

Do you Enjoy experimenting with Orchestral/Acoustic Sounds, and Synthetic sounds from an orchestration perspective ? i.e. Layering bass synths with orchestral Basses ? or use Synths to be part of an orchestral statement, idea, ARP, lead melodic instrument, ..etc.

Any other related discussion to this topic is cool to discuss here.

Thanks,
Muziksculp
Click to read more...
 
For my own music, I'm usually not that interested in the typical leads/pads/basses/arps thing. I'm mostly after strange, interesting textures/soundscapes (I guess that sometimes means pads) to work with/inside the orchestra and other acoustic instruments. I think of it as several keyboardists (using either hardware or software synths) sitting with the rest of the ensemble, playing as part of it, rather than a separate layer on top of the acoustic stuff. If that makes any sense.

As for designing my own sounds, I've found that because of the sort of thing I'm after, I almost have to. There is not much preset (stock or commercial) focus on what I like outside of Omnisphere, really. And yet I still resist buying it....
 
I'm mostly into neoclassical, ambient, new age, and jazz styles, occasionally classic electronica. Most often I use synths for background elements such as pads, textures, and atmospheres but also leads, arps and other rhythmic pieces.

I rarely program patches from scratch; most often I tweak the presets I like to fit my needs. Also, I quite often come across those that inspire me as they are. Sometimes I even conceive the whole track around the certain preset.
 
I use my soft synths almost exclusively for dance/pop music... basses, leads, pads, and plucks. Typically I'll hunt for a preset that is in the ballpark of what I want [I enjoy this process, because auditioning presets can instantly spark a new idea] and then I'll tweak the preset until it's right.
 
in an orchestral context, I use them as Goldsmith did—a fifth ensemble in the same room.

In a video game context, they’re...all over the place. I’m actually more likely to use romplers ;)
 
I've done some media stuff but I'm more from the electronic world (ambient, EDM, glitch, etc).

I don't write much music lately to be honest because this year I've started a solo internet venture.

The past months I've focused on trying out and learning new synths but ended up selling most of my virtual synths and got back right where I started: Zebra.

I'm now spending my music time working on some cinematic patches for Zebra. There's a lot of great stuff out there for beautiful pads and synth sounds (eg: The Unfinished) but I haven't found any cinematic library focused on raw distorted sounds. I'm liking how it's turning out and I'm having lots of fun. I might try to sell it if it turns out alright...
 
Pier said:
I've done some media stuff but I'm more from the electronic world (ambient, EDM, glitch, etc).

I don't write much music lately to be honest because this year I've started a solo internet venture.

The past months I've focused on trying out and learning new synths but ended up selling most of my virtual synths and got back right where I started: Zebra.

I'm now spending my music time working on some cinematic patches for Zebra. There's a lot of great stuff out there for beautiful pads and synth sounds (eg: The Unfinished) but I haven't found any cinematic library focused on raw distorted sounds. I'm liking how it's turning out and I'm having lots of fun. I might try to sell it if it turns out alright...
Click to expand...

ZebraHZ is the only synth where I do sound design for fun. I have a few others, mostly using tweaked presets... but Zebra is just a vast sonic playground.

Between Zebra and Omnisphere (for those psychoacoustic sounds) all my synth bases are covered. Not getting rid of Diva though!
 
Thudinthenight said:
ZebraHZ is the only synth where I do sound design for fun. I have a few others, mostly using tweaked presets... but Zebra is just a vast sonic playground.

Between Zebra and Omnisphere (for those psychoacoustic sounds) all my synth bases are covered. Not getting rid of Diva though!
Click to expand...

I actually sold Diva 2 weeks ago :)

I know... it's just that it didn't get much use and I prefer how The Legend sounds.
 
jmauz said:
I use my Moog Mini turned up to 11 to seal the deal with prospective clients.

Then I use the plugin during production.

Just kidding.
Click to expand...
aw - I was going to ask if you were going on tour to perform your Shark Sandwich album live.
 
Omnisphere/Trilian = for film.
Serum = pop/Experimental Electronic Music/Ambient Music/Dance type Genres of Electronic Music


muziksculp said:
Do you spend a good amount of time designing your own custom sounds ?
....
Click to expand...

Nope, I am a lazy preset guy. Hundreds of good presets available in the market these days. Let the professional produces everyday and we will buy which is suitable for needs.

muziksculp said:
Do you Enjoy experimenting with Orchestral/Acoustic Sounds, and Synthetic sounds from an orchestration perspective ? i.e. Layering bass synths with orchestral Basses ? or use Synths to be part of an orchestral statement, idea, ARP, lead melodic instrument, ..etc.
...............
Click to expand...

Absolutely.
 
muziksculp said:
So...What do you tend to use your synths (Both HW & SW) mostly for ?

Pure Synthetic Music
Hybrid Orchestral-Synthetic Music
Experimental Electronic Music
Sound effects
Ambient Music
Dance type Genres of Electronic Music
etc. etc.
Click to expand...
I'd say to all of those, I use synths as a "natural" instrument in almost everything I do.

muziksculp said:
Do you spend a good amount of time designing your own custom sounds ?
Click to expand...
Oh yes, absolutely! This is where synths differ from most other instruments, you can actually create your own timbre and decide (through modulations) how it will perform, how you actually want to "play" it so to speak.

I try to set aside an hour or two (at least) every week to go down the patch creation rabbit hole. This is where hardware rules in my opinion. I can spend a good hour hunched over my PEAK and just fiddle with an LFO or two :D

Sometimes it turns into a preset, sometimes to songs...

Presets never (almost) have the correct sound I'm after. Sometimes it's actually faster to create a new one than tweak a preset. Depends on how it's going to be performed/played.

muziksculp said:
Do you Enjoy experimenting with Orchestral/Acoustic Sounds, and Synthetic sounds from an orchestration perspective ? i.e. Layering bass synths with orchestral Basses ? or use Synths to be part of an orchestral statement, idea, ARP, lead melodic instrument, ..etc.
Click to expand...
Yes. To all :)
 
A better question for me would be, "what do you use orchestral libraries for?". In other words, I'm always using synths, rarely (to date) using orchestral.

Yes, depending on the synth, I make my own patches. Most presets/packs don't have a lot that I'm interested in, unless it's to help learn the synth. I used to preset surf (still do in Omni), but ever since getting some hardware synths I've become much more adept at making patches on the hardware AND software. Just as studying and experiencing orchestral performances would, presumably, be key to learning how to compose a score, so, too, is it important to study how to create sounds - even if just to more quickly and confidently tweak a preset someone else made.

I'm most actively making patches on my OB-6 desktop. A couple per week, often just for fun, with nothing in mind but seeing where the interface takes me. It's a lot more fun for me to create patches on hardware than software, that's for sure. I'm usually too lazy to use wire up one of the hardware synths to be a knobby controller for software.
 
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muziksculp said:
Hi,

I thought it would be fun to have a discussion on general topics related to using Synths.

So...What do you tend to use your synths (Both HW & SW) mostly for ?

Pure Synthetic Music
Hybrid Orchestral-Synthetic Music
Experimental Electronic Music
Sound effects
Ambient Music
Dance type Genres of Electronic Music
etc. etc.

Do you spend a good amount of time designing your own custom sounds ?

Do you Enjoy experimenting with Orchestral/Acoustic Sounds, and Synthetic sounds from an orchestration perspective ? i.e. Layering bass synths with orchestral Basses ? or use Synths to be part of an orchestral statement, idea, ARP, lead melodic instrument, ..etc.

Any other related discussion to this topic is cool to discuss here.

Thanks,
Muziksculp
Click to expand...

I make largely science fiction-related music in a rock/post-rock/experimental electronic vein. Obviously, synths are critical, and a lot of what I'm interested in is finding cool sounds to help create a world or a mood. So I do spend a lot of time designing my own sounds, although I'm in no way too proud to use a preset if it grabs me.

Orchestral and other samples are also very important to a lot of what I do, and I think they can add a lot of warmth and humanity to electronic genres. But I'm often not particularly interested in making my organic samples sound "realistic" -- I tend to use them more like another synth. It's a synth with organic texture, but I'm not necessarily trying to mimic a live performance. I suppose for that reason, I tend to really enjoy sample libraries that are designed to be played, and used in sound design, like a synth. Spitfire has a ton of these -- all their grid based stuff, like Kepler and the Hauschka toolkit. In a different way, British Drama Toolkit. The Orchestra and Sonokinetic's Ostinato series also have that quality.

I do some stuff where I'm thinking more about traditional orchestration and strive for a more "realistic" orchestral sound, but it's not common.
 
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