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  • the production thread

303abuser as for the ms20, yeah, i think you may have recommended it. it’s been good to learn on, the filters are amazing, and i really like the sound, but i find it a bitch to tame. all of my favorite patches are really tough to get to sit nicely the mix. i’m going to give it a real shot over the next month before i decide if i’m going to sell it or not.

You’d be a fool to sell that thing. It’s a classic synth for a reason.

Compression is your friend, as well as subtractive EQing. Roll off the bits you don’t need in EQ. …Or use a plugin such as Soothe2 to smooth out the resonant peaks. Add a bit of limiting too to even out the sound variation. The filter is a dirty evil beast of a thing, but you can also coax more tamed sounds out of it too. I mean, the keys player from Arcade Fire uses one all the time and their stuff doesn’t exactly scream and squelch. Using the MS-20 for bass alone is a no-brainer.

Good synths take work to get to fit into mixdowns properly. That comes with time. I really didn’t start becoming adept at mixing until about ten years into the process - even after I’d actually released music on vinyl. These days that can be reduced drastically by all of the information available online.

There’s some really good tutorials on the YouTubes about patching ideas for it. That may give you some more inspiration. Where it gets really wild is when you patch in something through the External Signal Processor section.

      I’ve not joined MPCS or PRS (yet…!). There is a £100 set up fee to join either, so £200 if you want to join both, and they recommend that you don’t consider joining until you believe you will exceed that threshold. Their examples being

      for prs

      _To earn over £100, your music would need to have:

      one play on a BBC 1 primetime show
      six plays on Sky 1
      two plays on ITV
      three plays on Channel 4
      five plays on BBC Radio 1
      150 plays on an independent local radio station
      200 plays on an MTV Music Channel
      For live performance, your music will need to be performed at:

      twelve small-scale venues that are registered in our Gigs and Clubs scheme, such as a local pub
      two or three larger venues, such as Barrowlands in Glasgow or The Deaf Institute in Manchester_

      £100 is a long long way away on that basis.

      MPCS more relevant if I was releasing on a label that I don’t own. I’ve only done that once before so again it’s not that relevant at the moment.

      Bit of a piss take if they are claiming royalties for playing tunes in the deaf institute, the mercenary cunts…

      loopdokter it comes down to workflow for me, which is why i’m going to really give it a shot over the next month. it’s not that i can’t do that stuff, the lead in ‘departure’ that i closed my album with was done on the ms20, i just find i can get the same result with diva as an example, much more quickly.

      i’ve watched every tutorial, many of them twice and i’ve tried a variety of setups from standalone, to sequencing with the electron gear, running the drum brute through the esp, feeding it back on itself for distortion, etc. it all sounds fine once it’s dialed in, but it’s not fast enough for me. i find my best work is done quickly, before i get sick of listening to it. i can sit down with the digitakt or a4 and sketch out a track in an hour or two and i like that immediacy.

      we’ll see. i’m still hesitant to sell it as i’m sure it’s a great box, i just don’t get on with it as well as i could.

        …excellent! just grabbed a (proper) copy of Diva, my most-used VST by a mile

        yeah diva is amazing. i don’t have the best ears, but i can’t tell it apart from analog gear. i sure don’t need it, but i’m going to really think about repro, it’s definitely a lot cheaper than a rev 2.

        loopdokter Sign me up for ’Loopdokter’s guide to risers and lasers in Ableton’. 😃

            Amps just discovered the ‘zap’ sound on the drumbrute does a pretty good laser impression. 🤣

            • Amps replied to this.

                303abuser I defo need to upgrade to the full Ableton, not sure when that will happen though ☹️

                    Amps ableton suite has everything you need. yes different plugins may speed things up or get you closer to a sound you’re looking for, but they’re not necessary. a good daw is money well spent, maybe check out bitwig too.

                      just an interesting note regarding the u-he sale … if you buy zebra2 and the dark zebra add on, the upgrade to zebra3 (when it’s released) will be free and it will be a separate, standalone synth, not just an upgrade to version 2.

                      5 days later

                      Don’t usually get excited about DAW stuff, but this is am awesome feature. Will really speed up the way I make tracks.

                        zackster yeah that feature sounds really helpful for those of us who work using a hybrid itb/otb setup.

                          Will cut time in my synth recording process, and I can already see the creative implications as well. Just watching the video gave me plenty of ideas.

                            4 days later

                            PA has a year end sale on and it’s pretty good. most stuff is on sale, more products added each day, and here’s a $20 voucher with no minimum (MEGA-SALE-20OFF). usually they allow a reuse of the code further into the sale, so if you plan to pick up more than one plugin, use the code now and wait for a reissue. lots there for $30 before discount, bx oberhausen is an amazing synth and it’s basically theft for $10.

                            https://www.plugin-alliance.com/en/products.html

                            Hey
                            serious question - I’m like, an absolute total novice (as in, never ever owned or used a DAW) when it comes to music production but I have some time on my hands and I really want to give it a go. I don’t have endless wads of cash to chuck away and I know that I will need some patience 🙂
                            I use Windows not Mac
                            What would be a good thing to start with. I was thinking Ableton standard and a midi keyboard/controller of some description. Thing is I’m totally clueless. Can any of you please point me in the direction of something to cut my proverbial teeth on that won’t leave me dribbling in the corner cos its too complicated.
                            thanks in advance

                              ArchimedesQ Live is a fantastic DAW to start (and continue!) on. As with all DAWs you can go as deep as you want. There’s no problem skimming the surface - everyone needs to find their own way in.

                              I just checked and Ableton standard doesn’t come with any of their ‘own brand’ synths (which are generally really usable - their presets are a bit naff - but that’s a good thing) - they are all included in suite. You really don’t need thousands of synths - but you do need some to learn on. There’s loads of free synths you can download to start on if you go for standard.

                              As for learning as a total newbie, ableton’s own site

                              https://learningmusic.ableton.com/

                              is a cool place to start - have a play around on it before you buy anything.