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There's a lot of discussions about tools and the correct aesthetics to ascribe to specific genres, but I'd be much more interested in a thread about electronic/club/dj music that covered the actual composition process that people use. How do you go about choosing samples or tones? Do you start with a drum beat or a synth line? How do you get from the start of your song into a full blown piece? Because the tools are one thing, but the actual process is much more elusive IMO.
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Apr 14, 2008 04:48
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| # ¿ May 2, 2024 17:46 |
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Don't go with Lite, it's way too limited. Make friends with someone who works at Guitar Center and get them to buy you a copy, there's actually a decent amount of margin in the $500 price tag 
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Apr 16, 2008 23:29
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The Fog posted:WanderingKid, I think you know how the technical side of a compressor works, however you seem to have confused the real-world application and the intention of it. I hate to step into the middle of this debate, but I use faders to control loudness and leave the "peaks" and "dynamics" to the players, the instrument, and the dynamics of the room. Anyone familiar with a synthesizer will recognize the most important controls on a compressor, the attack and the release. On a synth you don't think of these as controlling volume, you think of them controlling character. To me a compressor has little to do with the initial impact of a sound, even a drum. Compression is really about the guts of tone. It's about the rhythm of your tone. FYI - if your attack time is less than 50-70ms, you're not really compressing. You're limiting, which is fine and a very useful effect. But if you really want to understand compression, stop turning your compressor into a limiter. TheFog, the function you are describing is limiting, not compressing. RivensBitch fucked around with this message at 01:18 on Sep 25, 2008 |
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Sep 25, 2008 01:12
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WanderingKid posted:Oh please. Unless you can lookahead and ride a channel fader as fast and accurately as a machine can you are never going to do anything with a channel fader that is comparible to what a compressor can do so don't even go there. I can't believe I'm even telling you this since you know it already so why say something as dumb as you just did? You of all people know how useful compressors are on tracks that have alot transients in a short space of time (most electronic dance music to be honest). You don't have the time, the reflexes or the computer like mental arithmetic to do what a compressor does with your bare hands. Woooaaahh there buddy. Woooaah. Take a step back. Breathe. We're sharing advice and opinions on audio equipment, not artificial heart valves or pace makers. Now my point, which I think you may not have quite understood, and maybe that's my fault, but my point was that there is a clear distinction between a compressor and a limiter, and that it is a mistake to not differentiate between the two. There are very specific techniques to using both, and to refer to one as the other just because your plugin or box is labeled a "compressor" or a "limiter" is going to confuse anyone who doesn't yet understand the differences (and apparently there are plenty of people even in this thread who don't seem to know or care about them). Point of fact - if you are using attack times below 50ms, you are not compressing, you are limiting. Many people prefer limiting on their drums, and many "compressors" have attack times that can be set to limit. But to take a compressor, lower it's attack to 1ms, and start trying to school people on how this is your preferred means of "compression"... well, that's like telling someone that a reverb box is the best way to create delay. It's one way to create delay, I suppose, but you're going to confuse anyone who doesn't know the difference themselves. I could also take a delay box, crank the feedback all the way up, and use it to create loops, but if I called it a looping box and posted on a forum that this was the best way to do live looping, I'd be doing a lot of beginners and novices a great disservice. One of the most confused and misunderstood topics of recording and production is compression. The vast majority of advice I see on these and other forums in response to questions about "compression" are often really answers about limiting. I think that making this distinction is actually really helpful, because I know many people that don't understand actual "compression" and how to use it to affect the life and character of an instrument, EVEN drums (I often use long attack compressors on snare drum to liven up and control it's tone and character). As for my comment about using faders to control dynamics, I think you may have misunderstood me there as well. For the record, I rarely ride or automate faders. I think if you properly balance your mix with side chain gates and compressors (not limiters), high pass filters, and the proper EQ cuts, then you can set each of your instruments in a balanced sound stage where they actually play and interact with each other dynamically. Now this may come down to style and opinion, but here's my first approach to a track that is having a hard time sitting in a mix dynamically. Rather than get heavy handed with a limiter with the intent of removing or changing the performers dynamics, instead I bring the track into the mix so I can hear the louder peaks, and then ask what else in the mix is making it hard to hear those quieter bits? Usually I'll mute the more dense tracks and see what it takes to make the more dynamic part intelligible. Maybe an EQ cut in another instrument will clear things up. Maybe a ducking compressor with a sidechain from the more dynamic instrument. Maybe panning the more dynamic instrument and giving it a slapback delay timed just right could thicken up the quieter dynamics without accentuating the louder bits too much. It's this kind of rhythmic approach to a mix that brings a song to life. The alternative is to limit everything until it's a square wave, pan everything center and then set all the faders at unity, which to me sounds very muddy. RivensBitch fucked around with this message at 23:56 on Sep 25, 2008 |
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Sep 25, 2008 23:47
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Stux posted:Uh, a limiter is just a very fast and hard compressor, trying to say that someone is limiting if they use a fast attack on a compressor is kind of weird logic, because limiting IS compressing. They are just compressing it a lot. If I used a compressor with a 1ms attack time and a ratio of 4:1 would you call that a limiter or compressor? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limiter posted:In electronics, a limiter is a circuit that allows signals below a specified input power to pass unaffected while attenuating the peaks of stronger signals that exceed this input power. THIS is compression:  It's all about character, and is very reminiscent of a synthesizer's ADSR. RivensBitch fucked around with this message at 17:45 on Sep 26, 2008 |
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Sep 26, 2008 17:41
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Exactly my point, when you use fast (hard) attack settings on a compressor, you are limiting. The ratio really doesn't matter if the attack is slow, because then you aren't limiting, you are compressing. Good to see that we agree. RivensBitch fucked around with this message at 20:55 on Sep 26, 2008 |
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Sep 26, 2008 20:52
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So I have a question for WanderingKid and Stux. When setting up delay on a vocal send, what's the best value to start with for the pre-delay setting? Do you prefer a hall, or a vocal plate? Or maybe a spring delay? I want a lot of echo, so should I set the diffusion value high or low? Here's a screenshot, please share your thoughts on some good settings for this delay:  Also while we're at it, I was wondering what tunings I should use for this guitar, I'm looking for something along the lines of a James Hetfeild, Dave Mustaine Guitar sound. Do you think this will work? This guitar pictured below? For guitar recordings? 
RivensBitch fucked around with this message at 23:49 on Sep 26, 2008 |
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Sep 26, 2008 23:44
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| # ¿ May 2, 2024 17:46 |
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I think wanderingkid has stumped me with his post, I am at a loss for words...
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Sep 28, 2008 20:28
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