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Can't synthesize, won't synthesize!
Hello folks. I love this place, I really do. I wish I could ignore new apps that come up, but I'm always lured in by the enthusiasm some of you show and end up pulling the trigger: often on apps that don't suit me.
I think Johnny Goodyear is one of the funniest writers on any forum on the net and love the general bonhomie and helpfulness to newbies that has contributed greatly, I imagine, to how this forum has grown and grown year on year.
What I want to tell you all is what kind of an app addict I am and to wonder if any of the rest of you are like me.
First of all, I don't understand, not really, what oscillators, envelopes, bussing, side chaining , midi clocks, or another thousand things are. I envy those of you who can create your own sounds and enjoy the tweaking because you know what you're doing. I don't understand it, of course. Yet, while I used to think that I had to learn all this stuff, which seemed more like Physics or coding than music to me- I've now given up and this admission of defeat/ obstinate refusal to learn is just SO LIBERATING!
I like an app with a ton of presets. If an app has few presets, but is praised on here for its malleability or whatever, I now know that it's NOT for me.
Don't get me wrong: I would much rather be a manual-reading, logical- thinking kinda guy.
But I'm not.
I never will be.
I'm like a drunken bee, buzzing from app-flower to app-flower, just seeking cheap titillation. Yet the amount of pleasure my iPad 4 - and the two grand's worth of apps I couldn't afford but bought anyway, have given me is inestimable.
As I'm buying my first house (at 45! Loser!!!!) there will be no money for a new iPad to replace my trusty 4 for quite a while. Having the door closed to me by Sound Canvas and now iSparkle hurt a bit, but with counselling, I'm dealing with it..
Please tell me I'm not alone!
Oh - and could anyone tell me how to lock the keyboard on Viking? I actually looked in the manual, but no dice. As ever, this is probably basic to the rest of you.
Thanks all, keep doing what you do.
In Doug we trust.....
Comments
Yeah, you say that, but you’re probably one of those people that puts musical ”notes” one after the other and they make sense.
Well, there is that.
I'm mostly a preset user. Might tweak a bit to adjust filter setting or FX level. I'm not a deep synthesis patcher at all. Took me a while to admit that to myself.
However you make it, it is the music you make that counts in the end, not how you got there. And there are some wonderful presets out there!
You are not alone. I'm on a 4 also but with BM2 I'm shedding no tears for iSpark. Most of my iOS stuff is sampled into Ableton anyway. I'm such a looser that I got Auria pro just for the twin synth. It was still cheaper than the vst. I have a serious app addiction but I'm learning how to say no to redundant apps. Maybe I should form an appaholics group.
Well I'm with @u0421793
I know the basic envelope settings for different sounds, my hi pass and low pass, but when it comes to stringing together chords or music theory, I'm guessing with the help of my old mans ears
Love making sounds and beats, but hey if there is already a preset that does what I want, I just play it
Oh God! What is WRONG with me? I've just downloaded Drumagog for Auria Pro. Why? I thought there'd be hundreds of drum loops, but all I've got is a screen from which I seem to be able to fart out one beat at a time, at which I stare like a goat that's been shown a card trick.
Is there a support group I could join?
I use mainly presets. My major sound manipulation comes from mangling samples (taken from the presets) - a variety of effects and Cutoff and Resonance controls.......... I also take a keen interest in any button marked 'randomize'.
btw- equating self worth with external achievement is recognised as an erroneous way of thinking which can contribute to anxiety and depression.
Just watched STR video on Drumagog and the plug in is of no use to me whatsoever.
I know the whole caveat emptor thing, but is there a way I could persuade wave machine labs to let me delete it in favour of another auria plug in?
Oh and is there really a Santa Claus?
And did my Labrador Scampy really go to doggie heaven?
I'm off to idiot camp...
One word....Syntorial....look it up on the App Store. No excuses...delightful post, BTW
@Vorgon - Hang in there, and keep with it. Before iOS music, I had zero knowledge about synthesizers. I am a guitarist at heart, and frankly didn't even like electronic music until just a few years ago.
There are many great iOS synths that are loaded with presets that will give you everything you could want. Thor, Sunrizer, Magellan, TeraSynth all come to mind immediately. But, in time, you may find yourself tweaking some of those presets, perhaps even randomly at first. Eventually, you may even take the leap to choosing the 'init' preset and starting from scratch.
Since my journey began, I've even gone on to buy a few hardware synths, which would have been unheard of five years ago. It's all fun, so enjoy!
You tube has lots of videos on subtractive synthesis. My suggestion is to open up nanologue and start tweaking. From there you have the basics of oscillator, LFO, ADSR, ETC.
the terminology might change from synth to synth but the basic concepts are universal. The edm forums, Google and you tube can show you everything you need to know. Yes you have fm, additive, etc. but understanding subtractive synthesis will open up synthesis and most samplers. It can look intimidating but start off with a simple synth. Then move on to more complex synths.
Now about that support group...
Sound on Sound did a great series on Synthesis basics. It was the one to read when I was a kid
My first presets were on card overlays that came with my Jen SX1000
I'm really enjoying messing around with audio and mangling sound. It's strange, but some of those weird, self mangled audio soundscapes and have almost a mind-altering effect... and easier on the brain chemistry than synthetic chemicals.
Also enjoying just making sounds for getting lost in all those strange frequencies. I'm not a religious person, but as time goes on, I'm getting more and more convinced there's some legitimate connection between sound waves and deep spiritual realms.
In addition to all that, although I need to keep my obsessive tendencies under control when it comes to that app store buy button... I'll sometimes get an app solely because I'm in awe of just how well the interface was designed. Not always for the aesthetic quality either, but often because the utility design is just as inspiring to me as anything that's very well designed. The same as fine art to me.
I used to enjoy going to a record store in in Austin, Texas called Waterloos Records. It's still here actually. I loved going there every Tuesday when the new CD's were released. They had listening booths and I'd grab a stack I was interested in, skim them all in the listening booth, then buy 2-3 of them. Not every week but at least every other week. I loved doing that.
Now, with streaming... online CD sales, sample sites, etc. I don't do that any more. So, at the moment, picking my bi-weekly app shopping for 1-2 new apps has kind of replaced that my old CD routine. And, it forces me to interact with the sound too... instead of always just passively listening to what others do.
That's likely all just some rationalization for not being able to control a obsessive compulsive app buying habit. But, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
I can safely say you're not alone. It would help if you can describe what sort of music you want to make.
Wooble flart bzzz beep boop skapooooow-ow-ow...
That's how I roll. Give it a beat and muck about. Go learn one thing about theory, and one about synths or production. Before you know it you'll be a pro.
I'm not just a member, I'm a client.
Yes ... Now that u mention it a support group sounds good. Sqwarp.
People, we ARE the support group. No one else will have us...
Yay and huzzah! And now for something completely different...
i didn't even stray outside of sampling until like late last year, everything i've done up until that point was just me ripping parts out of songs i liked and re-tooling them to suit my purposes.
if you keep making music, one of two things will happen: eventually you will feel like you're growing out of your self-imposed limits and will decide to take up synthesis (as i did), or you'll continue to be happy with what you're making and be fine with avoiding it. either way, you win!
Feel you with the app addiction, way too many unnecessary shiny things. Definitely don't think you should resign yourself to giving up on synthesis though. If presets work and you are having fun then no worries, but if you gave up because you don't understand perhaps you are learning the wrong way? I learnt by twiddling knobs and listening with no idea how the physics or code behind the synth worked although I think the best way to learn synthesis if you still feel like you want to or should would be to make a very basic synth of your own in a visual programming environment like max msp or even a modular like audulus. Plenty of easy to follow tutorials
I haven't watched this one recently, but I remember it being very helpful for me in th beginning.
Was going to say this. Also syntorial.
But, what I really wanted to say is that I started out as a percussionist. I did make it through beginning piano, so I had good musical foundations, but most of my formal training was in percussion and choral music.
I'm sure you've heard "drummer" jokes, and they're funny, but they're not true.
Through a lot of self learning, I have been able to tie together what I first learned in now, with a lot of aspects of electronic music making.
Knowing how to tweak a patch to your liking, work in a particular scale, or improve mix, is not that hard to learn.
Check out my Pearltrees: http://www.pearltrees.com/johnfromberkeley/ios-music/id11256944
TL; DR don't consider yourself unteachable, this stuff is fun and easy to learn if you want to.
Consider us all upon a circle without a finish line, each in different spots, taking steps forward and back, some passing others, some resting, some waiting for pay day. Mostly all doing our best even if we are not always convinced we are. Some impatient, some replete. Some brilliant yet beginning. Others grizzled but still willing. Between us we have many, many apps: Someone somewhere is putting one to good use right now. Perhaps you're next. Perhaps the next app will make it so.
Just one more.....
Oh man, are you ever not alone.
I will say, for me, these iOS apps were like a gateway drug - I am all about the hardware now. With hardware, even though I have no clue what's happening under the hood, it doesn't bother me - I just tweak away, and when good sounds come out, it's bliss.
People who know synthesis sometimes make it out to be some kind of arcane magic and by doing so scare others away. Truth is its not that difficult or scary. Very few people can imagine a unique timbre in their head and then automatcally twist the knobs exactly right within seconds. That's not how it works. its more about simply knowing the terminology and what each knob does and then screwing around until you like the sound. I think the confusion stems from people making tutorials on how to recreate sounds from songs they like. People see that and imagine the artist turning knobs based on sheer technical knowledge, as if they already know the end result and it's a matter of executing a complicated series of commands in a predefined specific way. NO. You just learn what does what and mess around till you hear something you like. It's not solving an equation. It's playful, it's experimentation. That being said, once you lean it, and realize it's all up to the opinion of your ears, you'll be like " screw it this preset sounds fine, no need to waste time." Comes around full circle.
Lots of people seem to swear by Syntorial, but I must confess I wasn't much impressed with what was in the free bit.
I've had plenty value from the "How to make a noise" book series (only a few quid on Kindle) and setting up some oscilloscopes & spectrum displays in my DAW. (As an aside I couldn't figure out a fully iPad solution for this, so even when messing with ipad synths I have to run them into the Mac). The displays are particularly useful when experimenting with FM where the possible results can be very unintuitive.
Also, getting the Microbrute has really helped me build synth intuitions. There is real value in knob-per-function control and the feel of real knobs.
OTOH all this messing about with synths has seriously cut into the time I should be spending trying to make actual music.
Modular synths FTW, the best tool to learn sound synthesis. Once you learn the basics, you'll be able to tame almost any synth in no time. Don't know about you guys, but I hate working with black boxes - I need to know what's inside and how it works
There's tons of learning materials in the internet. You just need time and desire to learn.
I particularly like Rob Papen's beautiful book and DVDs called The 4 Element Synth - it's not free obviously but worth every penny
Type in Sound on Sound Synth Secrets....enough to keep anyone going for a while