Help: Looking to create"Retro" sounding music

[adavil3]

Hey guys,

I'm looking to create some Electro-pop dance music, however, I'd like some help on where I can find the proper instruments so that I can make this style of music come to life in my Ableton Live 8 Suite edition. The instruments I got really aren't helping me get that sound I want, are there any packs or any suggestions on where I can get instruments I can use on Live that can help me reproduce this style of music?

-Thanks

[yur2die4]

Try taking what you have and dirtying it up just a tad via some biased EQing and different types of amp modelling. Also you can use the bit reduction. I think that in order to keep it sounding tight by today's standards still, you might want to have a wet/dry for all of these so that you can have an 'amount' of retro.

Remember specifically that most older tracks did not necessarily have the most crisp transparent highs. Either dip or roll off some EQ, or if you are feeling crazy, just use the autofilter in LP.

Old equipment often times relied on MIDI. Computers today are fasttt. You might want to VERY minutely tweek some of the timing if your samples to reflect that.

For actual synth sounds, sit with a synth of choice and really spend time with it, maybe come up with a retro melody and just keep busting it loose while adjusting parameters until you get things going. Analog might be the better choice, but if you can find anything that sounds like a vintage sampler, you could have fun with that kind of sound too.

... i feel like a lot of what i just typed is pretty vague. sorry heh

[oddstep]

Operator is pretty good at 80s style fm plinks and analog is good as well. 80s synths were big on step sequencing and arpeggiators. Also check out the linn drum in drum machines, the cowbells and snares are pure retro.

[Dombleton]

I love this free VST "Wow and Flutter"
http://www.interruptor.ch/vst_overview.shtml

"A VST plug-in which emulates the playback speed imperfections of the pre-digital era. "

It makes instruments sound very analog and 80's. Sometimes I use it just for one synth, or heavily and stick it on the master channel. Listen to Vortex on our myspace for an example of how it sounds when heavily used - http://www.brobots.co.uk

[milfhuntr]

I think you can make any Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, etc. song or music like that using a $50 synth VST from Waldorf. If you scroll through Ableton's Analog there are some sounds that just need a tweak to do the same thing.

[2be]

I love this free VST "Wow and Flutter"
http://www.interruptor.ch/vst_overview.shtml

"A VST plug-in which emulates the playback speed imperfections of the pre-digital era. "

It makes instruments sound very analog and 80's. Sometimes I use it just for one synth, or heavily and stick it on the master channel. Listen to Vortex on our myspace for an example of how it sounds when heavily used - http://www.brobots.co.uk

Sorry for the offtopic, but I really like Vortex. It's awesome!
And I love the whole Brobot thing. Very creative

[Dombleton]

Sorry for the offtopic, but I really like Vortex. It's awesome!
And I love the whole Brobot thing. Very creative

Thankyou very much!
Its a bit of fun that lets me vent my ableton creations on to the world!

[jdb83xl]

get an 80's/90's digital synth. ie, DX7, CZ1 . alot of the sound from that era were digital. but still had there own fuzzy colour. that omputers are too clean for.

[Guff Tong]

I often record old school vsts (Prophets, Moogs etc...)onto audio or video tape then record the results back into live.

Can get some real tape saturation and some old sounding compression that way.

Great for drum compression too. (especially video tape for some reason?)

VST emulations of old fx always sound too 'digital'.... tho I have just tried that 'wow and flutter' vst and love it!

[Dombleton]

I often record old school vsts (Prophets, Moogs etc...)onto audio or video tape then record the results back into live.

Can get some real tape saturation and some old sounding compression that way.

Great for drum compression too. (especially video tape for some reason?)

VST emulations of old fx always sound too 'digital'.... tho I have just tried that 'wow and flutter' vst and love it!

I would imagine VHS would give the most uneven(best) results. I think I'll be adding my old video player to my recording setup!

[crushtest]

the arturia analog factory has 80's presets for days, but not much tweakability. I've bumped tracks to tape (cassette, haven't tried vhs, but i imagine the sound quality is just too poor) and there are definitely timing problems with long passages which means you will have to warp the audio when you put it back in ableton, and that just makes it sound digital again.

[Guff Tong]

the arturia analog factory has 80's presets for days, but not much tweakability. I've bumped tracks to tape (cassette, haven't tried vhs, but i imagine the sound quality is just too poor) and there are definitely timing problems with long passages which means you will have to warp the audio when you put it back in ableton, and that just makes it sound digital again.

Not poor, just different; I think the compression the audio/video heads does a little too.

True, warping does digitise the results so I tend to cut/paste un warped material where possible. I also avoid consolidation.

I also get interesting results compression wise from an old Tandy Dictaphone.

Try anything...

One of my best tools I have is an old audio tape I have of me playing a bog standard yamaha electronic organ through an original 70's Electronic Mistress peddle. Some of the sounds would be near impossible to create with as much warmth. The filters on the Elec Miss are insane... wish I still had it!

[eggnchips]

Use retro sounding drummachine sounds. Suite's drumkits has some, i.e. DMX, TR 707.
Read this interview from MsTRKRFT.
http://www.eqmag.com/article/retro-resp ... 2009/96433