Ask VVITCH

Production, hardware & technical - tips and tricks.
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THE VVITCH
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Ask VVITCH

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Hello,

I am VVITCH (https://soundcloud.com/kingvvitch).
I hope to help revive witch-house.com. I've never used it before now, and this is the beginning of my contribution.

In this thread you may ask me any question about production.
You can ask me how I created a specific sound, where I get my inspiration from, or any other general question about all-things-witch.

I will reply as often as I can. If you do not wish your question to be public you may always send me a private message on any site - Soundcloud, Facebook, Twitter.

Blessed be
-VVITCH
VVITCH loves you.
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SENJI
Posts: 71
Joined: October 21st, 2016, 8:21 pm

Re: Ask VVITCH

Post Posted

Hey VVITCH. I'm beginning music producer however I would love to bring some activity and contribution here as well.
I don't have much questions to ask since I have learned most of the things related writing music yet I would like to ask is how to cut well acapella from a song. If you have some time to describe this process I will appreciate it.
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THE VVITCH
Posts: 8
Joined: October 21st, 2016, 12:36 am
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Re: Ask VVITCH

Post Posted

SENJI wrote:Hey VVITCH. I'm beginning music producer however I would love to bring some activity and contribution here as well.
I don't have much questions to ask since I have learned most of the things related writing music yet I would like to ask is how to cut well acapella from a song. If you have some time to describe this process I will appreciate it.
Most definitely!

Sampling is a large part of Witch House music, and in all actuality the internet Witch scene in general.
As a side tip to anyone reading this, you should never ever let someone talk you down from sampling. There is no harm in it; you take something and make it into something else - that is art. Still, there will be people trying to claim you are a lesser producer from it, which in that case you'll just give them the middle finger.

Now let's get to it ~
The largest part of sampling (especially an acapella) is the original track in itself. Some tracks, however badly you want to sample it, just cannot be cut and EQ'd enough to make it sound good. It might become cluttery, or muddy.

-So when you've found yourself a good track (most will work when you get everything down) then start by cutting out irrelevant parts.
-Throw it in the mixer and slap on an Equalizer of your choice. I use FL, so mine is Fruity Parametric EQ 2. (Don't use FP EQ 1.)
-Vocals are generally in the mid range, though it is different every time you sample something new, so this means there is no precise formula or preset. You have to go by ear.
-In general, cut the low-end frequencies until you feel you take away enough bass and kick sounds, but do not choke out the vocalist.
-If you wish to use reverb, make sure you turn down the "BASS" knob - this makes it so no low-end frequency is included in the reverb. It makes it muddy.

Great, now you've got an acapella. Kind of.

If you want to detail it entirely to your liking then there is something called Resampling.
This is a technique often used when creating synths of variety, though mostly in the Electro EDM scene. This can also be used for creating acapellas.
So, what you'll do is all of the steps up to the reverb part, so predominantly EQing basically, and then render that by itself.
-Use the new render instead of the first one and put it into your DAW.
-Repeat the process of the steps above - only this time you can fine-tune your acapella by boosting some of the EQ you originally cut away. The changes will be minor compared to earlier, but the difference is still significant in the end. To explain, simply put, the changes are minor because the frequencies you boost are barely there in your new render.

Last note:
Do not be afraid if there is some very low kicks or snares involved. All of your sounds that you'll put over it will have them fade out, or hopefully even enhance your sound. This is the case with my 'FOUNTAIN' remix, if you have heard it. The original snare is still very much able to be heard. This is a lot to take in so keep going at it. Sometimes it will be tedious but the more you do it, the better you become!

Blessed be
-VVITCH
VVITCH loves you.
Dingeman
Posts: 17
Joined: October 22nd, 2016, 6:57 pm

Re: Ask VVITCH

Post Posted

Sup VVITCH,

I was wondering if you know any good synth plugins that work for ableton live. ATM I'm making witch house with the default soundbank and its starting to become dull. I'm specifically looking for the rough/distorted bass synths and some nice salem-synths. It would be cool if you could recommend me some stuff.
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THE VVITCH
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Joined: October 21st, 2016, 12:36 am
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Re: Ask VVITCH

Post Posted

Dingeman wrote:Sup VVITCH,

I was wondering if you know any good synth plugins that work for ableton live. ATM I'm making witch house with the default soundbank and its starting to become dull. I'm specifically looking for the rough/distorted bass synths and some nice salem-synths. It would be cool if you could recommend me some stuff.
I've got you covered!

Making music with the same sounds over and over again, no matter if synth presets, soundbanks or drum samples, can and will become extremely dull after a while. Most of this all sits in the FX, but we will get to that in a second!

--I will put a list of Synth VSTs you can... 'buy'... at the end of this post!--

First of all I would like to point out just like in my previous post with Acapella sampling, that there is no harm whatsoever in using presets. It is what you do with them, or how you style them with FX & EQing, that makes it your own. There will always be people, but hopefully not many, claiming that you are a lesser of an artist just because you do not craft everything from scratch. This is untrue, and you have my permission to call them idiotic.

What you are looking for, for a rough & distorted bass, is not very much in the synth itself. They are FX that you slap on a synth, played in a low key, that are actually called 'bla bla Distortion'. On FLStudio there's a default one called "Fruity Fast Dist", which works very well. I am 100% sure that there is one alike that in Ableton as well.

One tip from me is that you use two separate synths for the bass. (Not always needed, but it gives you a lot more freedom.)

-One synth will host the very low-end of the bass. You cut away the freuquencies above like 200hz (different every time, use your ear for best results) and simply think of that one like a mattress for your rougher layer to 'stand on'.
-The second synth is now applied. You cut away the frequencies below 200hz (or whatever you chose earlier) to have this different synth of your liking to 'float' above the first bassy layer.

This gives you a lot more options - E.G you pick one preset and enjoy the texture of the low-end/sub bass, but you dislike the midrange. You then cut it out like instructed above, and chose another preset which midrange you enjoy more. You can even give these two synths separate FX now, making one use reverb while the other doesn't - one is stereo and the other is mono.

This also makes it so that there are no conflicts with two synths to make your track sound muddy and terrible.

Another secret protip, courtesy of yours truly, is to run metal guitar amps through FX into your synths. It has interesting results most of the time, and without a doubt roughens up your sound.

Typical VSTs. (You can download Preset Packs for most of these.)
---------------
-
  • Harmless
-
  • Harmor
-
  • Massive
-
  • Morphine
-
  • Nexus
-
  • PoiZone (v1 & v2)
-
  • Sawer
-
  • Surge
-
  • Sylenth
-
  • Sytrus
-
  • Toxic Biohazard
-
  • Z3TA+ (v1 & v2)
---------------
-Out of all these I recommend starting out with Nexus and Sylenth. They have a lot of preset packs to download and a good place to start messing around with synths, along with being easy to use.

Last note: A classical synth sound used in Witch music is called a 'Hoover synth', which you can easily look tutorials up on YouTube. BLVCK CEILING does these really well.

Blessed be
-VVITCH
VVITCH loves you.
Dingeman
Posts: 17
Joined: October 22nd, 2016, 6:57 pm

Re: Ask VVITCH

Post Posted

THE VVITCH wrote:
Dingeman wrote:Sup VVITCH,

I was wondering if you know any good synth plugins that work for ableton live. ATM I'm making witch house with the default soundbank and its starting to become dull. I'm specifically looking for the rough/distorted bass synths and some nice salem-synths. It would be cool if you could recommend me some stuff.
I've got you covered!

Making music with the same sounds over and over again, no matter if synth presets, soundbanks or drum samples, can and will become extremely dull after a while. Most of this all sits in the FX, but we will get to that in a second!

--I will put a list of Synth VSTs you can... 'buy'... at the end of this post!--

First of all I would like to point out just like in my previous post with Acapella sampling, that there is no harm whatsoever in using presets. It is what you do with them, or how you style them with FX & EQing, that makes it your own. There will always be people, but hopefully not many, claiming that you are a lesser of an artist just because you do not craft everything from scratch. This is untrue, and you have my permission to call them idiotic.

What you are looking for, for a rough & distorted bass, is not very much in the synth itself. They are FX that you slap on a synth, played in a low key, that are actually called 'bla bla Distortion'. On FLStudio there's a default one called "Fruity Fast Dist", which works very well. I am 100% sure that there is one alike that in Ableton as well.

One tip from me is that you use two separate synths for the bass. (Not always needed, but it gives you a lot more freedom.)

-One synth will host the very low-end of the bass. You cut away the freuquencies above like 200hz (different every time, use your ear for best results) and simply think of that one like a mattress for your rougher layer to 'stand on'.
-The second synth is now applied. You cut away the frequencies below 200hz (or whatever you chose earlier) to have this different synth of your liking to 'float' above the first bassy layer.

This gives you a lot more options - E.G you pick one preset and enjoy the texture of the low-end/sub bass, but you dislike the midrange. You then cut it out like instructed above, and chose another preset which midrange you enjoy more. You can even give these two synths separate FX now, making one use reverb while the other doesn't - one is stereo and the other is mono.

This also makes it so that there are no conflicts with two synths to make your track sound muddy and terrible.

Another secret protip, courtesy of yours truly, is to run metal guitar amps through FX into your synths. It has interesting results most of the time, and without a doubt roughens up your sound.

Typical VSTs. (You can download Preset Packs for most of these.)
---------------
-
  • Harmless
-
  • Harmor
-
  • Massive
-
  • Morphine
-
  • Nexus
-
  • PoiZone (v1 & v2)
-
  • Sawer
-
  • Surge
-
  • Sylenth
-
  • Sytrus
-
  • Toxic Biohazard
-
  • Z3TA+ (v1 & v2)
---------------
-Out of all these I recommend starting out with Nexus and Sylenth. They have a lot of preset packs to download and a good place to start messing around with synths, along with being easy to use.

Last note: A classical synth sound used in Witch music is called a 'Hoover synth', which you can easily look tutorials up on YouTube. BLVCK CEILING does these really well.

Blessed be
-VVITCH
Thanks a lot for the very detailed answer! I tried to use sylenth1 but everytime I open it in ableton it crashes. I'm going to try again soon! Check out my latest track on soundcloud by the way, would love to hear your feedback!
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THE VVITCH
Posts: 8
Joined: October 21st, 2016, 12:36 am
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Re: Ask VVITCH

Post Posted

You can PM me the link and I might take a look at it.

Let's keep this thread to production techniques for now, however!
VVITCH loves you.
User avatar
SENJI
Posts: 71
Joined: October 21st, 2016, 8:21 pm

Re: Ask VVITCH

Post Posted

THE VVITCH wrote:
SENJI wrote:Hey VVITCH. I'm beginning music producer however I would love to bring some activity and contribution here as well.
I don't have much questions to ask since I have learned most of the things related writing music yet I would like to ask is how to cut well acapella from a song. If you have some time to describe this process I will appreciate it.
Most definitely!

Sampling is a large part of Witch House music, and in all actuality the internet Witch scene in general.
As a side tip to anyone reading this, you should never ever let someone talk you down from sampling. There is no harm in it; you take something and make it into something else - that is art. Still, there will be people trying to claim you are a lesser producer from it, which in that case you'll just give them the middle finger.

Now let's get to it ~
The largest part of sampling (especially an acapella) is the original track in itself. Some tracks, however badly you want to sample it, just cannot be cut and EQ'd enough to make it sound good. It might become cluttery, or muddy.

-So when you've found yourself a good track (most will work when you get everything down) then start by cutting out irrelevant parts.
-Throw it in the mixer and slap on an Equalizer of your choice. I use FL, so mine is Fruity Parametric EQ 2. (Don't use FP EQ 1.)
-Vocals are generally in the mid range, though it is different every time you sample something new, so this means there is no precise formula or preset. You have to go by ear.
-In general, cut the low-end frequencies until you feel you take away enough bass and kick sounds, but do not choke out the vocalist.
-If you wish to use reverb, make sure you turn down the "BASS" knob - this makes it so no low-end frequency is included in the reverb. It makes it muddy.

Great, now you've got an acapella. Kind of.

If you want to detail it entirely to your liking then there is something called Resampling.
This is a technique often used when creating synths of variety, though mostly in the Electro EDM scene. This can also be used for creating acapellas.
So, what you'll do is all of the steps up to the reverb part, so predominantly EQing basically, and then render that by itself.
-Use the new render instead of the first one and put it into your DAW.
-Repeat the process of the steps above - only this time you can fine-tune your acapella by boosting some of the EQ you originally cut away. The changes will be minor compared to earlier, but the difference is still significant in the end. To explain, simply put, the changes are minor because the frequencies you boost are barely there in your new render.

Last note:
Do not be afraid if there is some very low kicks or snares involved. All of your sounds that you'll put over it will have them fade out, or hopefully even enhance your sound. This is the case with my 'FOUNTAIN' remix, if you have heard it. The original snare is still very much able to be heard. This is a lot to take in so keep going at it. Sometimes it will be tedious but the more you do it, the better you become!

Blessed be
-VVITCH
Sorry for the late reply, I was busy with my studies and couldn't try it out any earlier. Thank you for your detailed answer. Now I have starting point for playing around. I tried it out and to be honest the result didn't satisfy me. Probably I need more practice or\and song is too difficult to be edited. In case, here is my result. I didn't spend much time on it but I tried to fill the song with some synths and percussion to blend unwanted sounds. https://clyp.it/htn1qudl
I will try more songs and spend more time in getting better results. Thank you!
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THE VVITCH
Posts: 8
Joined: October 21st, 2016, 12:36 am
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Re: Ask VVITCH

Post Posted

Sorry for the late reply, I was busy with my studies and couldn't try it out any earlier. Thank you for your detailed answer. Now I have starting point for playing around. I tried it out and to be honest the result didn't satisfy me. Probably I need more practice or\and song is too difficult to be edited. In case, here is my result. I didn't spend much time on it but I tried to fill the song with some synths and percussion to blend unwanted sounds. https://clyp.it/htn1qudl
I will try more songs and spend more time in getting better results. Thank you!
I definitely see some potential in this clip!
What I would try is drenching the acapella in reverb, and using a stereo FX on it, but not like a full left+right deal - more so half & half.

Pitch bending acapellas makes it all the more difficult. this is because the background sounds, if any synths exist or the likes, also get detuned. This makes it blend awkwardly with the synths you lay over it later on!

I would recommend practicing acapella sampling with clips of guitars and singing ONLY; no drums or anything else, for starters. This can easily be found off of youtube with a bit of searching. Even amateur covers can be extremely fun to play around with, and successful.

In FLStudio there is a knob "PITCH", in the "Time stretching" section. (Refer to pic below.)
Image

If you wish to detune something, the most easy way to start understanding the process of this- and what works best in general- is if you turn it all the way down. This is because if you do it half way, or quarter way, the original chords & melody note do not land on a perfect scale.

To make it simple, take a note and set it to C5.
If you detune it fully, it will land on, say, C3.

BUT! If you detune it by lowering the PITCH knob 'roughly' quarter way, and you are not so precise, it will land awkwardly - perhaps on a G#4, or D4-- it simply does not line up with your own synths that you add later on.

You are free to send me more clips in PM! I know this post is a little bit messy since I'm in a hurry and it's difficult to explain, but if you have any further question then please do ask! No question is unwanted.

Blessed be
-VVITCH
VVITCH loves you.
User avatar
SENJI
Posts: 71
Joined: October 21st, 2016, 8:21 pm

Re: Ask VVITCH

Post Posted

THE VVITCH wrote:
Sorry for the late reply, I was busy with my studies and couldn't try it out any earlier. Thank you for your detailed answer. Now I have starting point for playing around. I tried it out and to be honest the result didn't satisfy me. Probably I need more practice or\and song is too difficult to be edited. In case, here is my result. I didn't spend much time on it but I tried to fill the song with some synths and percussion to blend unwanted sounds. https://clyp.it/htn1qudl
I will try more songs and spend more time in getting better results. Thank you!
I definitely see some potential in this clip!
What I would try is drenching the acapella in reverb, and using a stereo FX on it, but not like a full left+right deal - more so half & half.

Pitch bending acapellas makes it all the more difficult. this is because the background sounds, if any synths exist or the likes, also get detuned. This makes it blend awkwardly with the synths you lay over it later on!

I would recommend practicing acapella sampling with clips of guitars and singing ONLY; no drums or anything else, for starters. This can easily be found off of youtube with a bit of searching. Even amateur covers can be extremely fun to play around with, and successful.

In FLStudio there is a knob "PITCH", in the "Time stretching" section. (Refer to pic below.)
Image

If you wish to detune something, the most easy way to start understanding the process of this- and what works best in general- is if you turn it all the way down. This is because if you do it half way, or quarter way, the original chords & melody note do not land on a perfect scale.

To make it simple, take a note and set it to C5.
If you detune it fully, it will land on, say, C3.

BUT! If you detune it by lowering the PITCH knob 'roughly' quarter way, and you are not so precise, it will land awkwardly - perhaps on a G#4, or D4-- it simply does not line up with your own synths that you add later on.

You are free to send me more clips in PM! I know this post is a little bit messy since I'm in a hurry and it's difficult to explain, but if you have any further question then please do ask! No question is unwanted.

Blessed be
-VVITCH
Thank you so much for such details. In my audio clip I sent to you I lowered pitch by half. Here is how the original song sounds like https://vimeo.com/33337865.
You are definitely right about detuning acapella. I set the pitch knob half way down and now I have my synth sound strange. But here is my question regarding this, if you allow. If I change the Time knob in time stretching I can't set the manual note for it. Whether it is C3 or C6 it will sound same way. What would you recommend in this way?

By the way, I found ready acapella of that song, put it into my project and now it is almost complete! https://clyp.it/315yloaf

Also, I would like to ask you another question somewhat regarding to the music production but not really. May I pm you?
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THE VVITCH
Posts: 8
Joined: October 21st, 2016, 12:36 am
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Re: Ask VVITCH

Post Posted

SENJI wrote:Thank you so much for such details. In my audio clip I sent to you I lowered pitch by half. Here is how the original song sounds like https://vimeo.com/33337865.
You are definitely right about detuning acapella. I set the pitch knob half way down and now I have my synth sound strange. But here is my question regarding this, if you allow. If I change the Time knob in time stretching I can't set the manual note for it. Whether it is C3 or C6 it will sound same way. What would you recommend in this way?

By the way, I found ready acapella of that song, put it into my project and now it is almost complete! https://clyp.it/315yloaf

Also, I would like to ask you another question somewhat regarding to the music production but not really. May I pm you?
Generally, you don't want to detune something halfly when starting out, and let me explain why this 'is okay' later on, when the artist is a bit more experienced. The synth was just an example!

Now, the "Time" knob in Time Stretching section is something you should be very careful about. Generally this is used for stretching out whole samples. I will put in a few images to make this easier.

This is a simple crash sample simply put into FL Studio.
Image

Let us pretend this is a section taken out of an acapella track. A hook. You only want this part to sync up perfectly with the track, and loop it every bar or so. Now, quite obviously it won't sound good in this moment. Its timing is unmatched and if we put a metronome on it, it will sound horrible.

Look now in the far left upper corner, it says "Zero-cross" and "Stretch".
If we check "Stretch" (Currently unchecked), and then drag out the sample to one bar like so:
Image

You can clearly see the difference. If we have done a step prior to this one and set the sample to "Fit to tempo", then this will likely sound a lot better. It matches up with the beat etc.

Other than that, the "Time" knob should not be messed with all too much. Perhaps increase or decrease it a fantastically fucking minor amount on hi-hats etc, but on kicks and snares it will just sound horrible - same with all synths. (Never be afraid of experimenting however).

Keep in mind that after you stretch a sample like previous shown, you have to right click the "PITCH" knob and hit 'reset'. Otherwise it will sound detuned despite you not having messed with that particular knob. The sample will stay the same new length you se it to.
Image

^Notice also how the "Time" knob has changed, even though we just dragged the sample out using our mouse. This is far better than to fiddle with the knob, trying to get it to sync up perfectly.


And yes, you may PM me! Your new clip is definitely even more promising, good work so far. Remember, producing is like drawing - the more time and tiny details you put into it, the better it becomes.


EDIT: Totally forgot to explain why it's okay to detune things halfly, or a tiny bit, later on. This is because when you are a more experienced artist and you've worked your way through samples enough times to know the basic ins & outs, you can create things out of pure emotion. I do this all the time -- The notes and melodies and chords - not everything has to be perfect in terms of technicality. What is most important, in my own opinion, is that you express yourself through the music that you make. This cannot always be done by something that sounds perfect. I can write a hundred pages on this subject, but I think this will be enough for now!

Blessed be
-VVITCH
VVITCH loves you.
User avatar
SENJI
Posts: 71
Joined: October 21st, 2016, 8:21 pm

Re: Ask VVITCH

Post Posted

THE VVITCH wrote:
SENJI wrote:Thank you so much for such details. In my audio clip I sent to you I lowered pitch by half. Here is how the original song sounds like https://vimeo.com/33337865.
You are definitely right about detuning acapella. I set the pitch knob half way down and now I have my synth sound strange. But here is my question regarding this, if you allow. If I change the Time knob in time stretching I can't set the manual note for it. Whether it is C3 or C6 it will sound same way. What would you recommend in this way?

By the way, I found ready acapella of that song, put it into my project and now it is almost complete! https://clyp.it/315yloaf

Also, I would like to ask you another question somewhat regarding to the music production but not really. May I pm you?
Generally, you don't want to detune something halfly when starting out, and let me explain why this 'is okay' later on, when the artist is a bit more experienced. The synth was just an example!

Now, the "Time" knob in Time Stretching section is something you should be very careful about. Generally this is used for stretching out whole samples. I will put in a few images to make this easier.

This is a simple crash sample simply put into FL Studio.
Image

Let us pretend this is a section taken out of an acapella track. A hook. You only want this part to sync up perfectly with the track, and loop it every bar or so. Now, quite obviously it won't sound good in this moment. Its timing is unmatched and if we put a metronome on it, it will sound horrible.

Look now in the far left upper corner, it says "Zero-cross" and "Stretch".
If we check "Stretch" (Currently unchecked), and then drag out the sample to one bar like so:
Image

You can clearly see the difference. If we have done a step prior to this one and set the sample to "Fit to tempo", then this will likely sound a lot better. It matches up with the beat etc.

Other than that, the "Time" knob should not be messed with all too much. Perhaps increase or decrease it a fantastically fucking minor amount on hi-hats etc, but on kicks and snares it will just sound horrible - same with all synths. (Never be afraid of experimenting however).

Keep in mind that after you stretch a sample like previous shown, you have to right click the "PITCH" knob and hit 'reset'. Otherwise it will sound detuned despite you not having messed with that particular knob. The sample will stay the same new length you se it to.
Image

^Notice also how the "Time" knob has changed, even though we just dragged the sample out using our mouse. This is far better than to fiddle with the knob, trying to get it to sync up perfectly.


And yes, you may PM me! Your new clip is definitely even more promising, good work so far. Remember, producing is like drawing - the more time and tiny details you put into it, the better it becomes.


EDIT: Totally forgot to explain why it's okay to detune things halfly, or a tiny bit, later on. This is because when you are a more experienced artist and you've worked your way through samples enough times to know the basic ins & outs, you can create things out of pure emotion. I do this all the time -- The notes and melodies and chords - not everything has to be perfect in terms of technicality. What is most important, in my own opinion, is that you express yourself through the music that you make. This cannot always be done by something that sounds perfect. I can write a hundred pages on this subject, but I think this will be enough for now!

Blessed be
-VVITCH
Thank you so much, VVITCH, and for inspiring words. I honestly appreciate someone experienced like you can share his experience!
I have difficult times with filling music with small little details but I will definitely spend as much time as I can to make it sound well.
Casper_Morgan
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Joined: November 3rd, 2016, 3:24 pm
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Re: Ask VVITCH

Post Posted

VVITCH, you may have already mentioned this but maybe not, i didn't read through all these posts before posting. anyways, do you use any actual synths or sample pads when creating or do you do everything digitally on the DAW? I am brand new and plan on learning abelton to start creating my own and was wondering what benefits if any there would be using actual instrumentation rather than doing everything by hand on a DAW. Thanks in advance.

BTW im a big fan of your work.
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THE VVITCH
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Re: Ask VVITCH

Post Posted

Casper_Morgan wrote:VVITCH, you may have already mentioned this but maybe not, i didn't read through all these posts before posting. anyways, do you use any actual synths or sample pads when creating or do you do everything digitally on the DAW? I am brand new and plan on learning abelton to start creating my own and was wondering what benefits if any there would be using actual instrumentation rather than doing everything by hand on a DAW. Thanks in advance.

BTW im a big fan of your work.
Hello!

First of all, thank you for listening to my music :)

I won't go too in-depth in this, but essentially, no; I do all of my work directly in the DAW.
There's just endless (and I mean endless) possibilities within the DAW & VST world. You can make hit songs just using presets and putting some effects on them - which is done on a daily basis. You'd be surprised how many hit-producers out there that don't even make their own sounds -- WHICH, I should add, is totally A-Okay.

If you are starting out then I recommend that you never ever limit yourself. Sample your favorite tracks, pull them directly from the soundwaves if there's no free download - mess around, put on some weird FX you know isn't going to work in an actual song, just for the sake of experimentation.

And it might sound cliché, but patience really is the key. It will take a year or two to build up a fanbase most oftenly, so when you make music and release it, do it for yourself.

I've posted a brief paragraph on why sampling is okay and even encouraged in one of the earlier posts in this thread, so I recommend you skim through it until you find that.
There's also a list of VST plugins I recommended, with lots of Presets to work from in the post just above these ones.


Now to myself - I rarely make my own synths from scratch simply because the music I make relies more on emotional expression rather than how good it will sound. There are genres out there which require the sound to be more refined to sound good - E.G Dubstep, House, Trap. Witch House, drum & bass - genres alike these (and many other) is more reliant on the feel of it; chords, melodies, atmosphere.

I personally have nothing else rather than my trusty keyboard and mouse right now, and as you hopefully can tell & agree on, it is not something that limits me or creates a certain boundary.
That said, I am planning to buy a piano keyboard just because I'd like to learn how to play the piano!

Hope this helped and if you have any further questions, please ask here in the thread or via PM.

Blessed be
-VVITCH
VVITCH loves you.
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Joined: September 22nd, 2012, 5:29 am

Re: Ask VVITCH

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Thank you I re-learned a few stuff I forgot, and will try sylenth once I get off this eternal mind block.
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