How do you make that sound?

Captain Iggy · 12-01-2012 03:31PM #1

I thought a good idea for a thread would be advice on getting a particular sound heard in a song.

Perhaps someone looking to recreate a vibe or a particular effect could share a link to the song and the more experienced producers here could give advice on how to attain that.

E.g. "That's a Rhodes keyboard", "That's a heavily compressed vocal doubled with slight distortion"

krd · 12-01-2012 09:04PM

Captain Iggy wrote: »

E.g. "That's a Rhodes keyboard", "That's a heavily compressed vocal doubled with slight distortion"

I assume. As they way you've stated those sounds, you already know how to do them.

Why don't you get the ball rolling with a sound you don't know how to do.

Or, what would be cool, post a weird sound you've figured out how to do.

TroutMask · 12-01-2012 09:50PM

Easy! That's a Bass Harmonica!

Captain Iggy · 13-01-2012 10:31AM

The examples I gave we're just technical sounding things that might be a bit advanced for us mere novices

To get the ball rolling, How would I re-create the effect on John Lennon's voice in @ 1min 17sec of 'Tomorrow Never Knows'?

splitrmx · 13-01-2012 10:41AM

Captain Iggy wrote: »

The examples I gave we're just technical sounding things that might be a bit advanced for us mere novices

To get the ball rolling, How would I re-create the effect on John Lennon's voice in @ 1min 17sec of 'Tomorrow Never Knows'?

Put your vocal through a Leslie speaker. Or else some software Leslie speaker emulation.

krd · 22-01-2012 06:48PM

How do you make a convincing orchestra - without hiring an orchestra?

Captain Iggy · 23-01-2012 01:01PM

krd wrote: »

How do you make a convincing orchestra - without hiring an orchestra?

Midi Keyboard and some very high class plugins e.g http://www.waves.com/content.aspx?id=10260

or an instrument called the Chamberlain (used in Chili's 'Road Trippin' song)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamberlin

Both of these would cost a lot.

A cheaper option (and I'm taking a guess at this one) would be to layer the string sounds that can be found on a keyboard, paying close attention to arrangement and harmonisation.

Then bus them into a roomy sounding reverb effect to try and give it an air of authenticity.

madtheory · 23-01-2012 02:01PM

Not a bad guess, but not correct. An orchestra is a lot more than just the strings! A Chamberlin is basically an early sampler. For orchestral work, Kontakt and a few TB of HD space is way better. That JJP plugin is for simple pop/ rock stuff where it's meant to sound like a keyboard.

What you need is:

1. Training in orchestration.
2. Music theory: harmony, counterpoint etc.
3. Good keyboard skills (grade 6 ABRSM at least).
(So basically, a music degree).
4. A copy of Adler's book plus the CDs.
5. The complete VSL library. Not Quantum Leap or Garritan.
6. Intimate love of and familiarity with all of the great orchestral works i.e. own the score and the CD.
7. Intimate love of and familiarity with all of the great film sound tracks.
8. Lots of friends who play orchestral instruments, so you can rope them in to play your composition for clarinet or WHY and show you how to make it idiomatic.

danabrism · 13-03-2012 12:29PM

Depends on how far you want to go with it - the more variation you have, the more realistic it will sound. Blending a variety of different patches, with different articulations, will enhance the quality - and layering even one actual live violin over a MIDI string section has a huge impact...

George Strezov has an interesting post about the epic cinematic track on AudioTuts:

http://audio.tutsplus.com/tutorials/production/a-guide-to-producing-an-epic-orchestral-track/

pistonsvox · 19-03-2012 05:43AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mIY3dqfnT0

1.13 on, when he goes "oohh" whats that effect that has a long decay to it? is it a guitar with pitch shift/reverb played over the vocal line or is it a vocal effect?

madtheory · 20-03-2012 01:44PM

danabrism wrote: »

...and layering even one actual live violin over a MIDI string section has a huge impact...

Good point. So I've added a ninth* to my list:
9. Lots of friends who play orchestral instruments, so you can rope them in to play even one real instrument your composition, which makes it sound a lot more realistic.

*Does it make it sound jazzy?

krd · 20-03-2012 08:58PM

pistonsvox wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mIY3dqfnT0

1.13 on, when he goes "oohh" whats that effect that has a long decay to it? is it a guitar with pitch shift/reverb played over the vocal line or is it a vocal effect?

It's a vintage tape delay effect.

There's lots of plug-ins where you can do this on a DAW.....Its probably more fun to have the delay in a rehearsal studio and do yar thing.

The whole vocal is muddy - and maybe the voice was recorded pristine or maybe through a PA, where the reverbs and delay were wet.

krd · 20-03-2012 09:16PM

madtheory wrote: »

Good point. So I've added a ninth* to my list:
9. Lots of friends who play orchestral instruments, so you can rope them in to play even one real instrument your composition, which makes it sound a lot more realistic.

The reason I asked the question in the first place, is I've heard very convincing fake orchestral stuff in the past. It wouldn't be convincing enough that you could do orchestral work with it - but it might be convincing enough to lay beneath other stuff.

There was a CASIO keyboard (high end stage CASIO) from years ago that could do really uncanny stuff. The quality was absurdly high - I played around with one in a shop. It could to do light orchestral arrangements - I'm not really sure how it was doing it. BUT.. There was this really old guy, who used to go around with a keyboard player, doing Frank Sinatra stuff - and the orchestral backing sounded really spot on. The keyboard player wasn't doing anything spectacular - tinkles with the right hand but triggering the chords/orchestra with simple left hand stuff.

madtheory · 20-03-2012 09:34PM

It's how you voice the chords, and little rhythmic touches- the thing is not to play block chords. If you have even a vague knowledge of how a stringed instrument is played, that helps a lot. When recording, it works great to not play chords at all, but play each line singly.

krd · 20-03-2012 10:32PM

madtheory wrote: »

It's how you voice the chords, and little rhythmic touches- the thing is not to play block chords. If you have even a vague knowledge of how a stringed instrument is played, that helps a lot. When recording, it works great to not play chords at all, but play each line singly.

No........The CASIO had mini arrangement in there, that were triggered by making the chord pattern with the left hand. They were slightly varied each time - and switch was more or less seamlessly. So there was an easy kind of fakery.

I know how a stringed instrument is played.

madtheory · 20-03-2012 11:02PM

Would be interesting to know which Casio...

krd · 21-03-2012 08:02PM

madtheory wrote: »

Would be interesting to know which Casio...

So would I.

The thing about keyboards. Is sometimes they can start the engineering completely from scratch - or the original designers are gone. And new generations of the keyboards are not necessarily better or even have anything like the same features.

The other thing, is none of the keyboard manufactures make millions of these things - only very occasionally. Mostly, they may only make a few thousand - even a few hundred.

BumbleB · 23-03-2012 02:56PM

Captain Iggy wrote: »

The examples I gave we're just technical sounding things that might be a bit advanced for us mere novices

To get the ball rolling, How would I re-create the effect on John Lennon's voice in @ 1min 17sec of 'Tomorrow Never Knows'?

Sing into a metal barrel of half full of water. Thats how it was done. has a slight modulating and high passs freq effect.When I was a teen I used to do it all the time.

spence101 · 25-03-2012 01:56PM

Just wondering what my best bet for getting this bad ass guitar sound is? best seen at 29 seconds.

Using a Fender Dynatouch III Champion 300 Guitar Combo Amplifier,

Strat or Telecaster.

Shure 57 mic, I have a few condensers also and an akg d112 bass drum mic.

On Pro Tools LE 8, standard plug ins.

Any ideas?

Cheers.

krd · 25-03-2012 02:06PM

spence101 wrote: »

Coil reverb. Or spring reverb... It's a kind of an analog reverb circuit you'll find in some amps that have reverb. Newer amps probably have digital reverb

WasterEx · 31-03-2012 01:22AM

Hey lads can anyone figure out what the sound around 1:33 - 1:50 of this track is.

http://soundcloud.com/djproject46/project-46-slide-original-mix

It's like a clicking/punchy sound you can hear while the bass and compressor are in action.
Cheers

TelePaul · 26-04-2012 07:34PM

How do I get this kick-snare combo?

evolving_doors · 27-04-2012 09:09PM

BumbleB wrote: »

Sing into a metal barrel of half full of water. Thats how it was done. has a slight modulating and high passs freq effect.When I was a teen I used to do it all the time.

Hmm is it the Leslie Cabinet....?

Check out " Howard Goodalls 20th Century Greats - The Beatles (Part 6) " on youtube 4'40 secs in .. (this part deals with the beatles use of the studio...)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffZQWDDQwWM

Dam fine analysis of the beatles too

krd · 27-04-2012 10:05PM

TelePaul wrote: »

How do I get this kick-snare combo?

I would say, it's an 80s drum machine. Plasticky kick, snare sounds like it's been through some a little reverb. I would say it's a Roland TR909....And I would say there's an extra bassier kick added underneath - which also could be the TR909.

It definitely is a drum machine. And there are limited options for that time period.

TelePaul · 30-04-2012 10:24PM

krd wrote: »

It definitely is a drum machine. And there are limited options for that time period.

Awww really? That's disappointing in a way! But it's strange, it never struck me that it could be a drum machine. Makes sense now that I think of it.

TelePaul · 30-04-2012 10:26PM

spence101 wrote: »

Just wondering what my best bet for getting this bad ass guitar sound is? best seen at 29 seconds.

Had to have a shot at this myself! Tele in the bridge, some form of OD pedal set pretty light, massive amounts of spring.

krd · 01-05-2012 07:03PM

TelePaul wrote: »

Awww really? That's disappointing in a way! But it's strange, it never struck me that it could be a drum machine. Makes sense now that I think of it.

Yeah. But the interesting thing is, it doesn't automatically sound like a drum machine. And it's the same for a lot that kind of thing from that period. People like Sisters of Mercy, and any of the Goth bands all used drum machines. They had real drummers too, but what you hear on the recordings is a drum machine.

Toms and cymbals would tend to be real - as they sound awful on early drum machines.

How do you make that sound?

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