The beast that is Trent Reznor

[Figurehead]

First off, I'm a rabid Trent Reznor fan.
Having played almost every sound that came with Live, I must confess myself disappointed.
I am not looking to reproduce the Nine Inch Nails sounds, but make my own.

Now, how do I get on with that? Does Live have any sound design mode?
I've tried many VSTs but none have any distortion/fuzz/weird synth NIN has.

I know Trent is a beast who has every guitar pedal/analog synth in the world (Dewanatron anyone?)

I'm just looking for a place to start.

[TheDriller]

Reznor seems to use a lot of analog gear, obscure bits of kit and outboard equipment.
He especially likes running synths out through mic'd guitar amps for buckets of filthy distortion.

Try taking a synth VST and running it through a few distortion effects and maybe an Amp Sim, like Amplitube or Guitar Rig.

[3dot...]

I'm just looking for a place to start.

get familiar with different types of distortions...gates and compressors...
also...learn some synthesis/sound design...if you want to "build" sounds..

[Figurehead]

Thanks, I'll try that.

You've used one of my favorite words. Obscure.

What kind of kits do you mean? Where can I discover and buy them?

[Angstrom]

I'd say if you watch this video you might see why there are no 'presets' in Live to work this way.

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2011/02/ ... score.html

it's a way of working, not a preset, or a thing.
I would say that the best methods to investigate are really wide and varied - how do you get a blend of organic and artificial? The answer is partly in the question, you need to make sure you step out of the box a bit. I make my own temporary instruments from guitar parts, for example. resample the awful noises that come out.

Meanwhile inside Live you can look into things such as how you can insert a separate track within the Looper's feedback path (it's in the manual), use vocoder to pitch track badly, investigate sending sends back on themselves and onwards.

Don't do what everyone else does.

[3dot...]

a BIG +1 ..

I do believe.. that you can achieve life-like results if wisely combining analog and digital techniques..
a studio like trents' is surely a luxury..
but also having a such large digital instrument palette...(like we have today..)
let's not forget that he got his starters in the early 90's..a totally different era !(technology wise)

[Nilus]

Did you get Live for Christmas?

[Tarekith]

There's a TON of interviews with Trent OT there where he talks about or shows what synths he used on certain sounds. Start googling, will give you a rough starting point to try and mimic with the tools you have at your disposal.

[simmerdown]

i started with the stems and samples that he has made available for remix

[Capitan Mission]

The important thing is to learn about sound design and production. With Live, actually, you have more than you need now. Learn how to program Operator & analog, and all the DAW basics, like sends. The amp simulator is pretty useful too.
I wont recommend you buy massive or another vst now, maybe ohmcide (best software distortion?).

[simmerdown]

where can i find a 16-foot grand piano vst?



jk

[mholloway]

Now, how do I get on with that? Does Live have any sound design mode?

The whole program itself is "sound design mode," dude.

As for NIN style sounds, it's really all about the FX processing, IMO. And Live comes bundled with awesome FX. Start playing with them, stuff like Grain Delay in particular, and see what happens.

-M

[antarktika]

I've tried many VSTs but none have any distortion/fuzz/weird synth NIN has.

Are you talking about vst synths? or distortion units?

because

ohmcide (best software distortion?).

*this*

[arafel]

Check out 'Poke in the Ear with a Sharp Stick'

http://www.rarefaction.com/products.html

Some of the samples are surprising similar to NiN works.

[eddiex]

http://beta.media.nin.com/item/index?g_ ... em_id=8893 yeah you can't get that sound out of live alone.