Synths on the left, guitars on the right!

[Morgan C]

Ok, so this basically started because I like underappreciated instruments like bass and synth. And synth is always a background instrument underneath the guitars unless its a solo. So this song has a synth as a the counterpart to a guitar. Anyway, have a listen, let me know what you think of the mix and music.

Everything is fake but the guitar. I mostly used Synth1 for the synthesisers, really useful once you learn how everything works. I'm happy to share any patches you'd be interested in.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/324723/SynthGuitar17.mp3

 

[Vicioushead]

Sounds good to me. Wish I could get my mixes to sound big and bright like this.

 

[Backe]

could sound a bit weird on headphones, maybe the guys over at abbey road would like this! i'd dub the guitar part and the synth part and pan them like i would with quadtracked rythms (although i never do that), maybe with two different synths even, if they were both rythm oriented. the synth that's playing with the guitar still sound like a lead that should be centered to me. still an ace sounding mix!

 

[AceFireForce117]

i find the ambiance great in this

 

[TwoGOneSee]

Sounds AWESOME. what was your *writing* process? did you start from the synth side? start with the ambiance or the main driving section?

 

[thefalloftheheretic]

PLEASE MAKE AN ALBUM OF THIS.

On a more serious note, I would pan the synths in a little bit, as it sounds weird as fuck in headphones.

 

[Morgan C]

Thanks a lot guys, glad you like it, it means a lot.

could sound a bit weird on headphones, maybe the guys over at abbey road would like this! i'd dub the guitar part and the synth part and pan them like i would with quadtracked rythms (although i never do that), maybe with two different synths even, if they were both rythm oriented. the synth that's playing with the guitar still sound like a lead that should be centered to me. still an ace sounding mix!

I don't think so - you can hear at the end it all gets really messy like that. I wanted it to be a kinda live feel with one guitarist and one keyboardist. Also if I do that it'll become like most metal bands + keyboards, which is not what I want.
Also listening back at the end there it sounds a little weird, I might have pushed the volume too hard, because it's lacking the impact it had before. Might have to back off a couple dBs.

PLEASE MAKE AN ALBUM OF THIS.

On a more serious note, I would pan the synths in a little bit, as it sounds weird as fuck in headphones.

Which synths sound weird in headphones, or just the general synth against guitars? I mixed this mostly on headphones, there are a few balance issues between the synths and guitars that still need to be sorted out, but as they're different instruments they'll never be totally balanced. Glad you like the music

Sounds AWESOME. what was your *writing* process? did you start from the synth side? start with the ambiance or the main driving section?

If you're curious, here's the first version of the song I did (it says 3, but 1 and 2 were 'ideas' that were completely deleted). http://dl.dropbox.com/u/324723/SynthGuitar3.mp3


If you want any details about any aspect of the mix, just let me know.

 

[Plankis]

Wow, you've done like + 17 mixdowns then, crazy haha! I think the synths is a little bit louder than the guitars, making the balance tilt a wee bit. Not much at all though. I thought it sounded great, digging the drum sound a lot. Very refreshing hearing so distinct tones on the sides. And I listen in headphones most of time.
Definitely need to give Synth1 a serious try.

 

[Adrian Warren]

Very nice song and mix! The intro synth and the beeping synth in the middle are amazing! Would you mind sharing the patches?

 

[Morgan C]

Wow, you've done like + 17 mixdowns then, crazy haha! I think the synths is a little bit louder than the guitars, making the balance tilt a wee bit. Not much at all though. I thought it sounded great, digging the drum sound a lot. Very refreshing hearing so distinct tones on the sides. And I listen in headphones most of time.
Definitely need to give Synth1 a serious try.

Yeah I usually work like that, very minor changes at a time. That's including writing, recording, mixing, etc. as well

Very nice song and mix! The intro synth and the beeping synth in the middle are amazing! Would you mind sharing the patches?

Can you be a bit more specific on which ones? I might share screenshots instead because the synths have a lot of processing going on outside the actual synth.


I could not have done this mix without this plugin, it's by far the best distortion plugin I've ever heard. It's used on pretty much all the main synths.
http://www.noisesoft.com/

 

[22km Tombstone]

Holy shit, this sounds AWESOME. I love it. Even the L/R balance, sounds fresh. Seemed pretty balanced to me overall.

EDIT: what did you use for the piano? Sounds nice.

 

[AllanD]

I love how it sounds, and how it's so against the norm!

 

[Cyanide_Anima]

I love this. Sounds really fucking good. Sometimes the synths sound too loud on the noodley soilwork-ish synth parts when the guitars are playing sparse power chords, but I suppose that could be desired and what you are going for. It does draw focus to those awesome synth lines.

Do more of this kind of stuff, it rocks so hard. \m/

 

[oroinvictus]

Sounds really good, Morgan. Definitely carries that life show feel really well. I didn't know how I would feel about this kind of panning, but I think it sounds pretty great. Synth writing is very cool, overall this feels like 'soundtrack metal' to me. Please don't take that as an insult or anything, I mean that in the best possible way. I might automate the kick volume a bit if you haven't already, as it kind of tends to stick out really hard during some parts and get a little smushed during other parts, but that's just me. Good stuff either way.

 

[Morgan C]

Holy shit, this sounds AWESOME. I love it. Even the L/R balance, sounds fresh. Seemed pretty balanced to me overall.

EDIT: what did you use for the piano? Sounds nice.

I love how it sounds, and how it's so against the norm!

I love this. Sounds really fucking good. Sometimes the synths sound too loud on the noodley soilwork-ish synth parts when the guitars are playing sparse power chords, but I suppose that could be desired and what you are going for. It does draw focus to those awesome synth lines.

Do more of this kind of stuff, it rocks so hard. m/

Haha, this means so much to me, I'm sitting here with a huge grin . Now I have to come up with more songs like this.. I tried today and failed, writing synth/guitar riffs does not come naturally to me at all.
@Tombstone, I'm using a piano called CV Piano GVI Modeled. It was free.

Sounds really good, Morgan. Definitely carries that life show feel really well. I didn't know how I would feel about this kind of panning, but I think it sounds pretty great. Synth writing is very cool, overall this feels like 'soundtrack metal' to me. Please don't take that as an insult or anything, I mean that in the best possible way. I might automate the kick volume a bit if you haven't already, as it kind of tends to stick out really hard during some parts and get a little smushed during other parts, but that's just me. Good stuff either way.

No offence taken at all in regards to 'soundtrack metal'. I drew a lot of influence from Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross' soundtracks on Social Network and Dragon Tattoo, especially in the ambient bits.
I'll take your suggestion about the kick, might just drop the lowend a bit for the faster bits, as the mix has a pretty huge lowend.

 

[Adrian Warren]

Can you be a bit more specific on which ones? I might share screenshots instead because the synths have a lot of processing going on outside the actual synth.

The first synth right at the start of the song at 0:00 and the second synth making these beeping sound which starts to play at 0:15 and 1:16. It would be great if you could share the sylent presets for these as it might be a bit hard to accurately recreate the sounds from screenshots. Thanks a lot!

 

[Mago]

Great stuff man, but the left side feels a LOT heavier than the right side.
Mix is hanging to the left on the first half of the song, and then again after the solo
Really digging this otherwise!
Both mix and musicwise!

 

[Skinny Viking]

I can dig on this big time ... reminds me of a hyped up, angry MUSE tune

there is a balance issue, although not in volume .... its the actual sound of the left side synth, it really does make you start tilting your head while listening

seriously though I'm REALLY enjoying this ... outstanding composition

 

[vindennl48]

Wow! That sounds fantastic. I do also agree its left heavy as well but out of speakers/monitors, its definitely sick

 

[Morgan C]

I'll take another look at the L/R balance. Need a couple of days to regain my perspective on the mix.

The first synth right at the start of the song at 0:00 and the second synth making these beeping sound which starts to play at 0:15 and 1:16. It would be great if you could share the sylent presets for these as it might be a bit hard to accurately recreate the sounds from screenshots. Thanks a lot!

The synth making the beeping noises I've lost the patch on unfortunately, but it is easy to recreate.
I used Synth1 for this, IIRC I used around 50/50 mix of sine and triangle waveforms, no filter, short notes, play around with the ADSR on the amp til it sounds nice. Then a highpass filter to make it not too boomy. Then the trick is - reverse the MIDI notes, then bounce it down, then reverse the audio. THEN apply some delay and reverb.
In the interlude bit, a similar effect is used (but without the reversal of audio/midi), except with a BitCrusher making it a little distorted. This comes in at the very end again.

The very first synth was actually meant to be a guitar, but it kept sounding out of tune, and noisy, so I went with a synth.
I've got screenshots here:
This is the main sound.

This is then bounced down, and duplicated. The duplicate you apply to following settings to:

Note, I've got +18gain before all of this, because the NoiseSoft distortion doesn't save settings, so I've gotta keep it on minimum and use a gain plugin before it to set the distortion level. The impulse used there is a free Bricasti one.