Baffled by plugins

[jonbongjovi]

Hi Guys,

I'm getting a little confused by the variety and range of plugins available.. they seem to do everything and there seems to be such a wide range i dont really know where to begin.

I'm trying to make music like the BOC sound.. Anyone know the best plugins to help me achieve?

Cheers,
Jon

[eddiex]

i just got absynth 5 from native instruments....its reeally really good....i dig boards of canada quite a bit too....i think that would be a good place to start for that type of sound (IMHO)....
its also really easy to use with live....it just automatically recognizes it.....i am kind of a fanboy for it right now, because i just got it...but its good....some of the presets sound like they could be on a BOC album.
anyhow you can buy it for 199
and you can even demo it here http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/ ... absynth-5/ so you can make your own opinion about it.
i feel you on the wide world of plug ins..i am in the same boat......wow....yeah there is a lot out there.....i think i am just going to start with absynth and i also downloaded native instruments "reaktor" which i believe is a sampler...and it is free to demo...and then i am going to go from there

[jonbongjovi]

Thanks man I'll check out that demo..I suppose its a nice problem to have but at the same time its a little annoying to think you might be missing out on *the* plugin..

All the mags and reviews rave about different ones.. I guess its just seeing what comes up and what suits your style etc.

[dentaku]

I depends on if you're talking about particular synth sound or if you just mean their "sound" as in the way they process their songs to give them that old and worn feeling.
I'm guessing they just use old messed up samples allot and probably just sample themselves using perfectly decent sounding instruments then mangle these recordings by transferring them to old tapes then dumping that back into computers.
You can always try the free Wow N Flutter plug-in to mess up your sound. http://www.interruptor.ch/vst_overview.shtml

Just for fun try this
Drag an Analog into a track using just the default preset
Set Pitch Mod LFO 1 to a small amount like 0.08
Turn on LFO1 and set the rate so something slow like 1t
Add some nice effects after the Analog like Delay, Reverb and maybe Vynil Distortion


Once in a while you'll stumble onto a preset in a certain instrument that reminds you of BOC.
OP-X PRO has one called Xpanded Mod Bell NSR1 that has a very BOC sound.

[antarktika]

If you have the cash, and are thinking of getting absynth, you should really consider Komplete 7, it's an entire suite of instruments by the same company, it includes the latest version of Absynth, but also Reaktor, which IS NOT A SAMPLER, it is a modular programming environment for building synths and effects from the ground up, and people regularly share their creations in the user library, so it's always getting new stuff added to it. There's tons of stuff in there covering all sorts of instrument types, effects, etc... Now, while Reaktor is as I said before NOT a sampler, the package includes a sampler, oh wait it includes THE sampler that is regarded by many as the industry standard, Kontakt, which is AMAZING. You also get Massive, which is great for all manner of basses and leads, FM8 (an FM synth) which will give you all sorts of great shimmery pad sounds among other things. You also get Guitar Rig, for amp modelling, The Finger, which is a ridiculous multi-effect device, and a number of sound libraries. If you are considering absynth, I'd say this is a far better option because for what it contains it is ridiculously cheap, and will solve a number of your "what plug-ins should I get" questions all at once. A lot of people inclined more toward idm-ish sounds will seek out Reaktor, Absynth, and FM8.
Camel Audio's Alchemy ain't bad either, similar to absynth, less flexibility in the envelopes, but lots of other goodies to compensate.

[jestermgee]

I would agree on the Komplete 7. Think of it as a huge sound toolbox..

Before any of that though it depends on your experience level. Here is a small test:

Do you know what all these things mean and do:

- CUT\FILTER
- RES
- LPF12
- LPF24
- Q
- HPF
- LFO
- ENVELOPE
- MODULATION
- APPEGIATOR
- KEY
- LEGATO

If you are unsure on any then more plugins is not what you need. You need to do some study and it should be a fun process. If it's not then perhaps music production isn't for you.

Youtube and the internet is overloaded with info to get you going. I have no idea of the BOC youare talking of but I can probably safely assume they did not open a program and expect to load a plugin and get the sound they use straight away. They would have experimented like all musicians.

[ErnstEiswürfel]

BOC's sound is based on sampling. They have been especially inspired by old films & TV stuff, like documentaries by the National Film Board of Canada (even took their band name from that).
So if you're looking for that vibe you should maybe get some 1$ used obscure records, rather than installing a truckload of software, none of which can give you that sound, even if you throw on another ton of plugs to make it all sound dirty (btw Ableton Amp is good at that).
Maybe a good starting point is to drag ANYTHING into sampler/simpler and play the keyboard. Even some random crap you rip off youtube, or http://www.archive.org

Before any of that though it depends on your experience level. Here is a small test:
Do you know what all these things mean and do:
- CUT\FILTER
- RES
- LPF12
- LPF24
- Q
- HPF
- LFO
- ENVELOPE
- MODULATION
- APPEGIATOR
- KEY
- LEGATO
If you are unsure on any then more plugins is not what you need. You need to do some study and it should be a fun process. If it's not then perhaps music production isn't for you.

So why does he need to know all of that? Agreed, maybe it helps to know some basics, but most people I know that do amazingly creative & striking music do not know how a synthesizer really works (to stay with your example).
Apart from that, this is 2011 and most of especially NI's synths offer thousands of presets, all available through an effective preset management system.
Right, your sound might not be very unique if you just use all presets & loops. But that comes next, not first!
Bottom line: Nobody needs to know anything. Please resume..

[jestermgee]

@ErnstEiswürfel

Don't get me wrong with these words, not saying one has to know all/any of these things. One can purchase a preset library and simply click through presets to find someting that sounds nice and there is nothing wrong with that at all. BUT wanting to better yourself through learning is only beneficial in these endevors.

Knowing the basics of something helps to understand just how a synth produces its sound and how you can get the sound you need. Anyone can start tweaking knobs and loading presets in the same way anyone can pick up a guitar and start strumming strings. The ones that know at least the basics find things MUCH easier (and there's no need to know everything).

All just my opinion but based on what the OP originally said "I'm trying to make music like the BOC sound" in order to create a sound that you have in your mind you can either:

A) start gaining an understanding of sound & synthesis rather than just what "produces the exact sound"
B) Click through librarys of presets and samples until you find the sound you are after.

I guess it's choice.

[jonbongjovi]

Thanks for all the feedback guys, I've been playing around with the sampler in ableton and its pretty cool how you can have samplers within drum machines so you can browse and match your samples mega quick. Also how it auto chops stuff for you and maps straight to the keyboard.. makes it pretty easy to do mashups etc.