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What is the typical structure of your project..?
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golem
IsraTrance Full Member
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Posted : Jun 3, 2010 13:16:18
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When you compose music, how do you usually organize tracks, synths, effects, etc..
I use Live, end up having huge amount of tracks. I use return busses, and put almost all reverbs and delays to return busses (typically bus1, ping pong delay + short/medium reverb, bus2 maybe 3-4s reverb, bus3, very long, 20s reverb.
Live compressor and Voxengo GlissEQ almost on every track, with the exception of linear phase EQ at bass/kick track. I have maybe typically 2-5 Sylenth instances, 2-6 synth 1 instances, and few other (maybe FM8, Albino),all drums I put now to Lives impulse, sometimes simpler if I need spread or pitch envelope. Crash cymbals and reverse cymbal sounds (and psysounds with similar roles) I have in audio tracks as samples.
I just got enlighting experience when I saw a guy having totally different approach in composing, he has very few tracks, does not use effects in busses at all, but has basic drum and bass channels, THEN, in addition he has a reverb channel, delay channel, longer reverb channel, and pretty much put a random mixture of all possible kind of psychedelic sounds as audio clips to these channels, totally different approach than I have used until now.
So how do you organize your projects..?
Very often in full-on psy you notice a short silence in the end of uplifting part (just before the beat comes back), an effect very typical for Eskimo, but also for many other artists, some time it sounds, like somebody draws master channel down, some times, it sounds like everything is routed to a group that has reverb, and the group is pulled down (so that you still hear the reverb), some times it sounds like you crossfade to another tune for 1 second and then back. I now many ways to implement these effects, but what is the easiest and fastest way?, I think this has a lot to do with the stucture of your project and that is why I write it here.
What do you think? 
 
http://www.soundcloud.com/dreaml4nd
http://www.mixcloud.com/aegonox-peter-pan |
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PsyGalaXy
IsraTrance Full Member
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Posted : Jun 3, 2010 13:27
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Quote:
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Very often in full-on psy you notice a short silence in the end of uplifting part (just before the beat comes back), an effect very typical for Eskimo, but also for many other artists, some time it sounds, like somebody draws master channel down, some times, it sounds like everything is routed to a group that has reverb, and the group is pulled down (so that you still hear the reverb), some times it sounds like you crossfade to another tune for 1 second and then back. I now many ways to implement these effects, but what is the easiest and fastest way?, I think this has a lot to do with the stucture of your project and that is why I write it here.
What do you think?
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FOr htat suddenly stop with reverb, i think the easiest way is to mute all the clips&patterns in a certin bar and leave rev channel untouched
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https://soundcloud.com/opalmoonproj |
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Padmapani
Started Topics :
2
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431
Posted : Jun 3, 2010 16:13
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i organise my project similarly to you.
lots and lots of synth tracks (>60 usually) each with eq and effect chain plus 2-3 tracks controlling gates and maybe 3 audio tracks for reversed cymbals/kicks.
i don't use sends that extensively and rather have the delays in the effect chain (or the synth) of each track. typicall i use them only for sidechaining and reverb (1-3 different reverb tracks usually) |
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slavagrisha
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
20
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28
Posted : Jun 3, 2010 16:57
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Kick--Bass--fail... Close flstudio...
But when it goes well, i write everything in bars in fl-studio, bars upon bars, kick--bass--hats and percussion--background melodys or amb with gator effects---main melodys--psy style fx---voices---intro stuff---then fx for breaks..
and then export everything as wav into acid pro 6 and enjoy arranging everything, and thats where i get stuck alot..
Along the way theres too many buts and what ifs, that i endup not finishing the track, or it never gets exported from fl
The dancing ones were thought to be mad, by the ones that couldent hear the music |
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Kryten
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
11
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333
Posted : Jun 3, 2010 17:49
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On 2010-06-03 16:13, Padmapani wrote:
(...)
lots and lots of synth tracks (>60 usually) (...)
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Wow...dude, are you layering every sound 10 times or how do you get to >60 synth tracks??
I mean, Im still a noob, maybe I can't judge it right...but in my projects and in the videos I see from time to time, its far less.... "less is more" comes to my mind(Great track from Ticon btw^^)
In my biggest project I maybe have like not even 10 synth tracks and maybe half of that audio tracks...and I dont think I will add more than 2 or 3 tracks until its done....
And how do you make them all sit in the mix? Must be Hell adjusting 60 tracks with EQ so they dont clash.... |
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Padmapani
Started Topics :
2
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431
Posted : Jun 3, 2010 19:28
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i'm making goa and don't like minimalistic sounds very much so my tracks are more busy by default.
also if i have some synth playing at 3 points in the track i just duplicate the tracks for every part and eq those differently so they sit better in the mix.
another point is i use synths for percussion and recently started using a track for each sound which has greatly improved my sound.
but yes, if i have like 6 melodies playing at the same time it is hell to eq |
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kabbalisticvillage
IsraTrance Senior Member
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231
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611
Posted : Jun 3, 2010 21:31
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im still doing everything in fl studio ...........just making music......i organize it neatly and label and sometimes color code tracks and patterns cuz if you dont it gets really messy. I only finished one song and have another 2 in the making and am still debating whether to get them prof. mixed and mastered or learn how to do it myself |
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willsanquil
IsraTrance Full Member
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93
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2822
Posted : Jun 3, 2010 21:53
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I would say its not abnormal for you to have that many synth channels, I regularly see people post ~50 as being their normal number for a full length quality psy track.
The way I organize my tracks inside ableton is to create major groups first:
Kick/Bass
Leads
Percussion
FX
Pads/Atmosphere
Typically 4+ channels in Kick/Bass if the bass changes enough to merit it,
in my last project I had probably 20+ tracks in Leads, though 17 of them or so are to support a multi-timbre vst with 8 parts...
Percussion is probably another 20+ tracks
FX usually has around 10-20 as well...
pads/atmosphere is usually under 10
So yeah definitely can get up there in number of tracks quite quickly, but with track grouping its easy to organize
I Do a mixture of on-track processing and sends...I usually have around 5-6 sends (two delays sent to themselves, two reverbs, a couple of autopan+redux or +freq shifter)
If you want to make an apple pie from scratch...you must first invent the universe
www.soundcloud.com/tasp
www.soundcloud.com/kinematic-records |
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supergroover
IsraTrance Junior Member
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39
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1505
Posted : Jun 4, 2010 11:24
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I usually have at least 40+ tracks indeed. Sometimes a channel only has one sound. Sometimes I use one channel for many sounds. Depends on the lazyness or fx used on the channel.
I use busses (grouptracks) as well. These work really nice for adding processing to one group of sounds. Mostly eqing.
soundcloud.com/supergroover |
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knocz
Moderator
Started Topics :
40
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1151
Posted : Jun 4, 2010 18:26
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I usually follow my own standard template for the amount of tracks.
I use ableton live, a apc40, a bcr200, a behringer 49 key controller and a e-mu 25 key controller.
So I can be able to see everything on my apc I limit the track to 8 audio files with 2 groups:
Beat(Kick, Bass), Drums(Drum kit, perc), Lead 1, Lead 2, Lead 3, FX, Raises.
The drums group track is usually minimized.
All of these tracks contain audio only, and I limit a track to 5 scenes. So playing live is playing and arranging these 8 tracks and 5 scenes into a timespan, putting fx on them, playing around, etc.
To create those 8 tracks and 5 scenes I use an indeterminate number of synth/audio tracks.. I can use a synth track, glitch it out, bounce it to audio, glitch it again,glitch and bounce it more, extract the groove from if (bouincing back to a synth track) and go on "indefinitely". DUring the process, when I like something I save it to one of my 8 tracks I mentioned in the beginning, building ideias on ideas and into a track that can still be manipulated live.
For the drums loops I can use again a indeterminate number of tracks, but in the end I want to end up with one track with the crashes+snares+hats and all the other f#cked up perc stuff goes on the perc track. So in the end I can combine with 2 * 5 loops of drums. that, with 5 baselines and 4 * 5 synth loops.
On the raises track I can put normal synth ups and downs and ou vocal samples.
Or in another perspective I can create a track with the same method, tweak every little bit of it, then route and record all the tracks into those 8 tracks I mentioned, chop them up into scenes and put them into the same logic as the 8*5 (although most of the times 5 scenes aren't enough for this method).
All the loops are already eq'ed and compressed, so I try to leave the 8 tracks without FX. To FX a track live, I use the returns channels. On the bass track i sidechain compress it with the kick. On the kick track I use alot of beat repeats configured to glitch out the kick on demand.
On the master track I have a 3 knob eq with kills and freq cuts, and 4 Effect racks. All of these fx and the fx on the kick and bass tracks are linked to my bcr2000 for full control.
Using this approach I know that every track has the same mixer structure, so I can load one underneath another playing live.
Super Banana Sauce http://www.soundcloud.com/knocz |
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Medea
Aedem/Medea
Started Topics :
127
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1132
Posted : Jun 5, 2010 21:32
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ohshit
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
45
Posts :
605
Posted : Jun 6, 2010 09:07
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I spotted the Reaper ninja! 
I am using an almost identical structure in the same host, the differences are that i haven't a microQ and, as a theme, i use Apollo (Blended is nice but no so clear with subfolders). Now i am thinking to save the project as a template with samplers on drum channel (ReaSamplomatic) and Zebra on the others: even if i start from scratch everytime, i find my self repeating the same structure.
http://soundcloud.com/alphadelphi |
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Medea
Aedem/Medea
Started Topics :
127
Posts :
1132
Posted : Jun 6, 2010 14:52
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Quote:
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On 2010-06-06 09:07, ohshit wrote:
I spotted the Reaper ninja!
I am using an almost identical structure in the same host, the differences are that i haven't a microQ and, as a theme, i use Apollo (Blended is nice but no so clear with subfolders). Now i am thinking to save the project as a template with samplers on drum channel (ReaSamplomatic) and Zebra on the others: even if i start from scratch everytime, i find my self repeating the same structure.
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Yes, i also have NI Battery on drum channels at the default template. And kick+bass sidechain adjusted
http://soundcloud.com/aedem |
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