I've been trying to figure out what I've been wanting, but I suppose. it's been tough to explain.

I've been making my synths dry sounding. or have been trying to. using ott/multiband, higher end noise, or eq. but at some point, this is getting more and more difficult as to what I am trying to do when layering synths together. I want these synths to just have a brighter tone, but not harsh. Slapping on something like satin to the bus is something I like doing. I like everything sounding warm, lush and bright, instead of dark, cold and wet.

I've been trying to figure out what that is. but I guess it's almost like crosstalk, eq, satuartion, multiband compression. it's been confusing. multiband delay has definitely helped the process but I am trying to make things sound so different from the norm. really warm and dry.

is there anyone that understands what I am trying to say?

 

Reading your title, I thought: you need a de-reverb (like from Acon). But I guess you mean something else. I would say: try different pre amps, EQ's, and also layer sounds with different components. Your issue could also be in your monitoring/room - lacking proper acoustics causing build-ups in certain high frequencies, making your work sound harsh. Do you have examples of other music with said effect?

 

Gate !

 

And maybe an example of the current attempt. comparing the start and the target will possibly make it easier.

To shorten any reverb tails? This could help, too . Also, instead of using your reverb and delay across the entire region of audio in the DAW; automate the effect so it is only on the tail. in conjunction with the noise gate snapping shut it might be either cool or disorienting.

Going for warmth, in general; the saturation plugin and settings can be something to look into tweaking parameters or even using a different plugin. And which Multiband compressor is being used, settings you can look at there. Anytime I have a good amount of compression happening, and I start noticing an abrasive harshness I can't really identify; the first thing I usually will try is a de-esser on the 6K-10K sort of range. Usually Fabfilter Pro-DS for me. Some people say it is like plastic sounding, but if I got that result I would probably remove it from the channel. Since you are using some multi-band dynamic processing; I might also try duplicating the track and eq'ing them to be processed separately. You are already doing pretty much the same thing with your multi-band comp, you will just be able to get more separation between the bands. Satin is very nice, but sometimes I will end up trying either Kramer Tape or Saturn2 instead. Usually Kramer. Trial and error.

 

Er, me not. Drier usually means less reverb, less delay but I assume that's not what you mean.

 

learn principles of ADSR,
and upward and downward expansion

 

I think i know what you mean, like something that evokes the feeling of dryness?

When i think dry (aside from the typical fx thing), i think "distorty-noisy" sound with strong content in the 1k-3k area, either without fx or with discrete modulation effects and/or filtered delay/reverb. And yes, a little bit of harshness might actually be beneficial for this, if neither overwhelming nor overcontrolled.

 

"I want these synths to just have a brighter tone, but not harsh"

Imho what you're dealing with is EQ. You're at a stage where you hear that something is wrong but you don't know exactly why (and how to fix it). Just make more music to the best of your current ability (as opposite to trying to perfect a song for weeks or months). This is the only process that will train your ears, and after a certain number of mixes (in the hundreds) you're going to be able to eq things properly.

The fact that you're actualyl able to hear that something is wrong is good news, because it means you have taste and gives you direction to improve. You only lack the experience. Many don't hear after a certain level of detail and their development in mixing is pretty much stopped. Just make more music, feel free to experiment with stock basic tools (eq, comp, dist) and 3rd party and, in time, select your own go-to tools

 

I guess the OP should link an audio file or a YouTube video

 

Try to find out what you mean and then get back to us. At the moment it's a frikken guessing-game. For all I know it could be a narrow bandpass at 800Hz and making it mono.

 

Last edited: Sep 28, 2023

Maybe give an DSEQ a go for taming harsh frequencies, than maybe even try some transient/enveloper tool too.

 

Last edited: Sep 28, 2023