Adding Warmth to your Synth
Adding Warmth to your Synth
I just wrote an article on adding warmth to your synth and wanted to share it with poeple. Also wondering what you might do to get that analog sound.
To start lets define Warmth:
Warm comes from electronics and synths that have tubes in them. When you play the instrument it always sounds different and has varity because as the tubes, which is part of making the synth, warm up there are slight changes in sounds. Warmth has come to refer to dynamic changes in your synth as well as a solid fill mid range that is not over driven in the highs. Warmth also refers to a natural and analog sound.
Now lets move on to techniques for warming it up.
Adding Analog sound to your Mix
Amp Modeling is one of the simple and amazing tricks is to add warmth. Programs like Live's Amp, Native Instruments’ Guitar Rig. Also Wave's does a good job with a there guitar plugins as well. Images below of those three programs.
Ideally you can actually send your music out of a cabinet and then record it with a microphone. That adds a really nice quality and "air" to it. If you can't then these plug ins help. Giving just that touch of distortion will give your music a realistic touch.
Equalizing is another technique to give your synth a warmth. Cutting back the top end can add more mellowness. Also using a low-pass filter with a resonant peak can add a nice touch. Adding a a hump or different strong Q cuts can make it sound unique as well.
Tape Distortion can be another cheap and rad effect. By taking your synth and running it through an 8 track, tape cassette, or even VCR you can add a nice warmth. Then run it back into your DAW. If you want to get more experimental you can even record at 1/2 speed and then record back in full speed and such. Will make really cool effects.
Reverb is also something that adds a nice quality. Using a good IR Reverb can give that realistic quality. I have also seen some nice gear emulations with IR as well. Here is a list of free IR library of gear emulation http://irlibrary.org/index.php?cat=amps_preamps
Layering techniques can also be used to fill out your sound. Take one synth and maybe another synth that has a more wispy top end, or deeper low and and mix them together. I have a tutorial on Layering Drums, and the same concepts apply.
Final Touch with Compressing By adding a good compression to the mix it will mellow out any frequencies that are hitting to hard and smooth out the sound. There are tons of ways to compress, so just play around with it. A golden rule to keep in mind is: If the gain reduction meter doesn't return to zero several times a bar, you’re almost certainly using too much compression This means that the signal is being compressed all the time, and will probably sound squashed or flattened as a result. Try a higher threshold, and then higher ratio if it’s not doing enough.
Final Thoughts on Warming your Synth Sounds
By using a mixture of these techniques you can give your synths a much fuller and realistic sound. Remember at the end of the day though, what sounds good is good. Don't get to lost in what you can do, and just do the right amount to make it good and move on.
I also have an article on adding a crunch to your drums which can be applied to your synth to give it a cool quality as well.
Got any other techniques you like to use?
To start lets define Warmth:
Warm comes from electronics and synths that have tubes in them. When you play the instrument it always sounds different and has varity because as the tubes, which is part of making the synth, warm up there are slight changes in sounds. Warmth has come to refer to dynamic changes in your synth as well as a solid fill mid range that is not over driven in the highs. Warmth also refers to a natural and analog sound.
Now lets move on to techniques for warming it up.
Adding Analog sound to your Mix
Amp Modeling is one of the simple and amazing tricks is to add warmth. Programs like Live's Amp, Native Instruments’ Guitar Rig. Also Wave's does a good job with a there guitar plugins as well. Images below of those three programs.
Ideally you can actually send your music out of a cabinet and then record it with a microphone. That adds a really nice quality and "air" to it. If you can't then these plug ins help. Giving just that touch of distortion will give your music a realistic touch.
Equalizing is another technique to give your synth a warmth. Cutting back the top end can add more mellowness. Also using a low-pass filter with a resonant peak can add a nice touch. Adding a a hump or different strong Q cuts can make it sound unique as well.
Tape Distortion can be another cheap and rad effect. By taking your synth and running it through an 8 track, tape cassette, or even VCR you can add a nice warmth. Then run it back into your DAW. If you want to get more experimental you can even record at 1/2 speed and then record back in full speed and such. Will make really cool effects.
Reverb is also something that adds a nice quality. Using a good IR Reverb can give that realistic quality. I have also seen some nice gear emulations with IR as well. Here is a list of free IR library of gear emulation http://irlibrary.org/index.php?cat=amps_preamps
Layering techniques can also be used to fill out your sound. Take one synth and maybe another synth that has a more wispy top end, or deeper low and and mix them together. I have a tutorial on Layering Drums, and the same concepts apply.
Final Touch with Compressing By adding a good compression to the mix it will mellow out any frequencies that are hitting to hard and smooth out the sound. There are tons of ways to compress, so just play around with it. A golden rule to keep in mind is: If the gain reduction meter doesn't return to zero several times a bar, you’re almost certainly using too much compression This means that the signal is being compressed all the time, and will probably sound squashed or flattened as a result. Try a higher threshold, and then higher ratio if it’s not doing enough.
Final Thoughts on Warming your Synth Sounds
By using a mixture of these techniques you can give your synths a much fuller and realistic sound. Remember at the end of the day though, what sounds good is good. Don't get to lost in what you can do, and just do the right amount to make it good and move on.
I also have an article on adding a crunch to your drums which can be applied to your synth to give it a cool quality as well.
Got any other techniques you like to use?
Re: Adding Warmth to your Synth
Hi 2beats, thanks for sharing your knowledge in a great article.
Do you find you can use Live's Amp effectively on a synth? I find it doesn't just add warmth, but sort of makes the sound "thin". Maybe I am not using it correctly. What settings do you use? Thanks
Do you find you can use Live's Amp effectively on a synth? I find it doesn't just add warmth, but sort of makes the sound "thin". Maybe I am not using it correctly. What settings do you use? Thanks
Re: Adding Warmth to your Synth
H20only said the only way to add warmth to your synth is to put a blanket on it.
Anyway, thanks for the post man, its awesome.
Anyway, thanks for the post man, its awesome.
Re: Adding Warmth to your Synth
i also occasionally use hardware to add "warmth". i have some guitar pedals (distortion) or transformers that i run audio through. for my hardware synths, i usually hit a DI box with transformers, then a mic preamp and adjust the levels until i get the amount of grit i need. sometimes i'll even hit another pair of transformers after the preamp
i thought i should point out, too, that its not only tubes that add "warmth". actually, "warmth" is just a nice way of saying "musical sounding distortion". this kind of distortion can be achieved with solid-state op-amps, tubes, magnetic elements (transformers, tape, etc.). here is a great article on various analog technologies that add "warmth" (note that all of the digital methods below mimic the analog world, or at least the ones i would consider as truly adding "warmth"): http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb10/a ... warmth.htm
i thought i should point out, too, that its not only tubes that add "warmth". actually, "warmth" is just a nice way of saying "musical sounding distortion". this kind of distortion can be achieved with solid-state op-amps, tubes, magnetic elements (transformers, tape, etc.). here is a great article on various analog technologies that add "warmth" (note that all of the digital methods below mimic the analog world, or at least the ones i would consider as truly adding "warmth"): http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb10/a ... warmth.htm
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Re: Adding Warmth to your Synth
perplex wrote:H20only said the only way to add warmth to your synth is to put a blanket on it.
Setting fire to it works.
Re: Adding Warmth to your Synth
yep ...gasoline works wonders..
but what do you use to add "coldness" to the sound..?
I ask because it's a problem in a warm climate ..
and couldn't find a fridge large enough for me+synths to fit...
advice?
for "depth" I usually go down to the basement...
and "definition" could easily be obtained by using a dictionary..
but what do you use to add "coldness" to the sound..?
I ask because it's a problem in a warm climate ..
and couldn't find a fridge large enough for me+synths to fit...
advice?
for "depth" I usually go down to the basement...
and "definition" could easily be obtained by using a dictionary..
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Re: Adding Warmth to your Synth
Air conditioning?3dot... wrote:but what do you use to add "coldness" to the sound..?
I haven't seen a real-life synth with A.C. built-in yet. It's not as popular a feature as burglar alarms... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRkFZA4CoTY
Re: Adding Warmth to your Synth
...Piplodocus wrote: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRkFZA4CoTY
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Re: Adding Warmth to your Synth
Good articles, thanks for sharing.
One little thing that I've been doing is running my hardware synth through a hardware compressor when tracking. 2-1 ratio, high threshold, it's barely there but tames peaks and rounds out the sound w/ just a touch of added harmonics.
The same could be achieved by re-amping or sending a soft synth out to a hardware comp. and recording the result. I've actually never tried re-amping a soft synth, which is strange cos I play guitar & have the gear.
Keep the tips & articles coming, good stuff.
One little thing that I've been doing is running my hardware synth through a hardware compressor when tracking. 2-1 ratio, high threshold, it's barely there but tames peaks and rounds out the sound w/ just a touch of added harmonics.
The same could be achieved by re-amping or sending a soft synth out to a hardware comp. and recording the result. I've actually never tried re-amping a soft synth, which is strange cos I play guitar & have the gear.
Keep the tips & articles coming, good stuff.
Re: Adding Warmth to your Synth
yep... I use that a lot... even at 1.1:1 ..anybody human wrote:Good articles, thanks for sharing.
One little thing that I've been doing is running my hardware synth through a hardware compressor when tracking. 2-1 ratio, high threshold, it's barely there but tames peaks and rounds out the sound w/ just a touch of added harmonics.
also used to do this a lot...
pass the signal through the bass amp>>>cabinet..
and mic it back in..
or simply route it out to a mixer/amp with a hot input and nice eq..
in the box...
eq/comp/saturation gets me there..
there are many many different combinations of fx plugins I like..
Re: Adding Warmth to your Synth
Good of u to share
Re: Adding Warmth to your Synth
Good ideas here, gents.
The only problem I have found with running through an analog compressor is that compression, itself, can thin out a sound. But then, thats where the 1:1 setting comes in, and you're just getting the circuitry to add a little "warmth" without addional processing.
As to whether this truly adds up to making the sound better obviously also depends on the quality of the compressor and converters. My experience has been that my "project studio" gear hasn't really made the sound better.
The only problem I have found with running through an analog compressor is that compression, itself, can thin out a sound. But then, thats where the 1:1 setting comes in, and you're just getting the circuitry to add a little "warmth" without addional processing.
As to whether this truly adds up to making the sound better obviously also depends on the quality of the compressor and converters. My experience has been that my "project studio" gear hasn't really made the sound better.
Re: Adding Warmth to your Synth
I would also try "Saturator" that comes with Live. There are even presets in the default library for "A bit warmer", "Warm up highs", and "warm up lows".
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Re: Adding Warmth to your Synth
synths with tubes inside??? great!
To start lets define Warmth:
Warm comes from electronics and synths that have tubes in them. When you play the instrument it always sounds different and has varity because as the tubes, which is part of making the synth, warm up there are slight changes in sounds.
Re: Adding Warmth to your Synth
actually i said the only way to make perplex worth a damn is to put a cup in his hand, a dirty blanket on him and wait.twisted-space wrote:perplex wrote:H20only said the only way to add warmth to your synth is to put a blanket on it.
Setting fire to it works.
+ 1 for setting fire to it.
@ perplex: i've told you before Music and Audio Production isn't the place for your petty bullshit. you sure were talking tuff sending me all those PMs about all the people you know, getting me banned and hacking my computer. is this the joy you claimed to bring to the forum in your PMs? now you've resorted to (more) random attacks in threads i'm not posting in. coward.
@ 2beats nice thread. thanks. sorry about perplex and his next post...