they say some synths are better for bass some are better for leads etc...

is there any course that explains this clearly as to the why

thanks

 

There is really no such thing, but some come with more polished stock sounds (reverb, delay, eq, compression).
Many old synths don't even have such effects section.

 

cause for example on massive website it says

"MASSIVE is a sonic monster – the ultimate synth for basses and leads."

i don't understand why they say that...is it something to do with oscillators?

 

from the experience you get by doing......

 

600 is a low number actually ;p but i understand what u're saying and where u coming from, so all good...i indeed ask a lot

 

You should rather start by figuring out what each synth you have *already* is good at. Like Adam Ford posted, certain ones are "known" to be good for certain things. Then figure out what you are missing to make the sounds you want.

If you want to get further into it, you can start to look into each component and parameters of a specific synth. But babuk's opinion is somewhat valid, this is not paint-by-numbers. Understanding basic synthesis lets you look at a synth and have a reasonably good idea of what you could do with it.

 

They are good advice in this thread, but you have to remember, that the best bass synths are less than 20 models.

Korg MS20 / Ms10, SH101, Pro-One, Minimoog, CS80, polivolcs, korg Monopoly, roland SH09, roland Promard, roland 100m, ARP Odyssey, roland alpha juno1, roland TB303.

I have the Waldorf wave and the Waldorf blofeld, and I can do really good bass with both machines, but there is a big difference between having a fully digital machine and having a hybrid machine like the Waldorf wave (digital oscillators + analog filters and amplifiers ), in The output of the amplifier and filters is analog, it does not work with a digital to audio converter, this makes the output volume better assimilate the bass volumes, while a digital system if you set it too high, internally the channel is cracks.

The DAC (digital audio converter) is the limit of a digital, if the DAC is better for the job the synthesizer is more expensive.

for cheap digitals like microkorg, there are tricks to how to use good analog preamps for better volume if you need to put the machine to the extreme, then if you have the right equipment to reproduce a digital without problem, any digital machine that sounds good can sound just as good like an analog, for example. using pre-avalon or neve channels.

 

It's because they want you to buy their product.

It's up to you to determine which synth you want to use for a specific sound.
The only restriction is that say an analog (soft)synth (for example u-He Repro) will not give you the complex sounds of some other synths (for example Massive X, Pigments, Ana).

The rest is personal taste (that you have to develop)

 

So how are any of those in Neuro/IDM bass department?

 

Use any synth and run it through auto-tune - this guarantees a HIT SONG. Just ask Cher and T-pain

 

If you get a synth and learn it, you can do all sounds on it. Go make some music and tweak 'em knobs. This is how you learn.
Edit: Needless to say, you also need to learn how to layer and process the sounds (with DSP) in order to get where you want to go. It's the salt, spices, color, plates, decoration and arrangement to your main ingrediences.

 

Last edited: Jun 22, 2021

even this is more like a sales pitch, Massive X is one of my favourite synth for hard crazy sound. It is probably because of the routing options, unique modulations and the oscillator's mode plus it is a wavetable synth to start with, it is quite complicated (nowhere near Bitwig Grid though IMO) but they are telling the truth, it is a sonic monster when you really understand all the modes, modulation and its full capability.

I think the best way to start to learn what synth for what is by looking at your favourite artist (or band), see how they pick their synth. Then move on to another artist after awhile you'll realize some similarities among their choice, and you'll know how to make yours.

Also learning the music making gears culture also important. Like all the old Akai samplers, EMU, TB303 etc and understand why they are legendary piece of gears and highly sought after. Doesn't mean you have to get them, but at least you acknowledge the gear's character and know how to replicate it to add some spice.

I've just watched Sonic Academy Tech Tips Vol. 60 and 61 (if im not mistaken), they share some history of gears used (synth, sampler, drum machines) for the Techno and Trance early days that shaped the genre. Also they shared how to replicate the sound in the plugin land.

 

Last edited: Jun 22, 2021

The secret of these sounds is in the processing and manipulation of the source.

a simple korg MS-20, it can sound like anything not modest kind of a funny serum, right? imagine anything else in the world.

 

Last edited: Jun 22, 2021

You sound like a troll, honestly. Not sure if I want to spend more time arguing. Despite all the patching going on, it obviously can't even touch digital FM, even as simple as what Serum has to offer, let alone some *proper* FM/PM synth like Bazille, for example.
I don't think any of your synths can do something like this:

Or even something like this:

Saying they're all that's need for basses only means you don't comprehend what bass could be.

 

Goddammit, I'm trading in my Moog for a Brostep 2000 .vst immediately!

 

As harsh as this comes off, I have to say, yes.. stop over thinking it, Samsome.

The answer though is Serum for everything. (Kidding)

 

They don't.
It was big-up advertising, as someone has said.

 

Last edited: Aug 29, 2021