The LFO (Advanced Synthesis)

Well I mentioned before that I started getting interested in the LFO's specific...

I started to look in to the history of the LFO ..as in how it was implimented, who made the best use of it and what kinds of sounds they were able to produce. This also lead me in to the realms of FM and I suddenly found my self reading manuals on TB303 and other quirky pieces of gear like that.

I looked at the way different instruments audio signal paths worked and where and when the LFO had been implemented. A few experiments later and I had a good idea of how certain 'unique' sounds were produced. After a day of two I had figured out how to produce some sounds that bewildered me for years... Sounds you only hear in Aphex Twin albums or big budget sci-fi films.



The typical uses of LFO implementation generally lay in the field of amplitude modulation based effect, that basically covers anything ADSR related, gated effects panning etc. The flip side of this is are the effects that are a result of modulated frequency, where the lfo is driving the pitch of the main oscillator(s) output.

More advanced effects can be produced when the LFO is patched elsewhere, depending on what hardware or software you have at your disposal you may even be able to use your LFO's output from one device to drive another... for example drive your compressor from your synth. ...or modulate the decay on your reverb.

If you have a synthesizer with no LFO but that does have two or more oscilators you may be able to use one of them (but it'd have to be an old synthesizer). And it IS possible to record the output of the LFO however the lfo is not designed for this and the low end tones produced will most likely wreck your sound system.

If your looking for realy unique sounds then I suggest using the LFO to modify the pitch of your main oscilator(s), adjusting the LFO rate to taste starting at highest rate for most dramatic effect.
You will soon notice the sounds being produced quickly enter into the realms of FM and ring-moddy arena.
If you then tie the Amplitude section in (ACO) then you can get some really amazing sounds.

**im in the process of writing this**

The LFO (Synthesis & Sampling)

The LFO

I've been doing alot of experimentation lately specificaly centering around creative use of the LFO, I'm not sure what started me off really... I think it might have been because I was listening to Tangerine Dream while reading the manual for a TB303. I started thinking about the way in which the LFO generated its signal and that lead me on to one thing and another...

To cut a long story short this is a brief explanation of what an LFO is, does and why it is an important tool for effective synthesis (or sampling):

Low Frequency Oscillator is one of those 'does what it says' components found in all modern synthesizers and it does exactly what it says, it generates a tone/signal/pulse just like your main tone oscilator(s) except this oscillator is confines to stricter parameters resulting in a slower wave.

The LFO will usually be lower than 20 Hz and the waveform produces will typically be sine-tri-sqr-saw waves although it will vary from instrument to instrument.

What will also vary is where you can 'patch' its output - this determins a number othings that I'll get in to in a bit.

So the LFO is basically another oscillator that produces a slower waveform whats special about that? - Unlike the other oscillators its output is not an audio signal that is to be shaped the LFO is the signal that drives the components that do the shaping.

It seems that every new piece of equipment or software if come across offer different ways to impliments its LFO (as in modular synthesis) so its best to think of it in terms of how its shape can be formed and manipulated. With a good grasp of how the LFO is basicaly behaving in real-time and how that is then influencing whatever device/module it is driving you can open the door top a world of new possibilities when it comes to shaping sounds and creating new ones.

Typical LFO controls:

• Waveform - The actualy shape may vary. This is actually quite important but distracting so I'll skip it as it will become apparent soon enough.
• Rate - The frequency or speed of the waveform generated.
• Amount - Also known as depth.

Once the LFO has been set to produce the desired waveform it is then routed (of patched) to a secondry device/module or for that matter anywhere that allows. The LFO signal can then be used to trigger notes, start sequences, modulate pitch/velocity, shape the ADSR anything you choose.

**Read my advanced LFO section**

FEEDBACK!!!

Not sure if the title counts as a pun, but excuse it anyway ^_^
This post has nothing to do with that annoying phenominom that occurs when a signal repeats on its self causing and infinit loop that escalates very quickly in volume and frequency until eaither your ear, speakers, amplifier or mixing device stop working ;)

All feedback and suggestions are appreciated,
anything I have missed out will be addressed if you let me know about it,
I also write these sections entirely from memory and dont consult any books or online resources so appologies for any spelling mistakes,.
When I get round to writting about sound production history I will be using books for refference at the moment I do not so if you spot an inaccuracy of blatant mistake please let me know so I can correct it as soon as possible.

many thanks,
Leon
(aka Beat Scientist, formaly known as LSD in the realms of techno)

PositiveF5 (original) from Beat Scientist on Vimeo.

Sound Synthesis (intro)

A brief introduction to
Sound Synthesis
(by Leon Dawson)

Sound Synthesis is a term used to describe the process or processes involved in creating sounds or recreating sounds using electronic means.
There are various types of synthesis and I will briefly explain what they are here before expanding upon the ideas in future sections/posts.
With the correct tecniques each and every sound that occurs naturally or un-naturaly can be re-synthesized. It may sound like rocket science but its actually pretty straight forward once we examine any given sound closely.
ALL sounds are basically made up from the same base sound-elements, these elements are either tones or noise (such as static).

Sound Synthesis techniques are being implimented all around you read this very sentence.
If your reading via mobile web, then the noises your phone makes will probably have their origins in additive synthesis.
If your using a pc, and you press the wrong button that annoying sound is synthesis.
Your clock/alarm. Your car alarm. Basically everything most things that produce tones/sound.
Keyboards often use Sound Synthesis you emulate bell sounds or to create exciting pad/bass sounds.

The 2 most common types of synthesis are 'Additive Syntheis' and 'Subtractive Synthesis', there is a 3rd less common technique called 'Granular Synthesis' which relies on sampling a sound then selecting parts of the sample (caputured sound) and effectivly loopng and fading those parts to create a sustained sound, a new sound out of the original sample.

Pure Synthesis Techniques

The term pure synthesis reffers to additive and subtractive synthesis techniques which can (in theory) if used correctly can be used to re-create any sound. From the human voice to thunder and lightning. Thunder for example is very easy to do, the human voice is a little more complicated but achievable non

Additive:
As the name suggests the process/technique involves creating tones by electronic means and then adding new tones/sounds until the desired sound is achieved, this final sound can then be manipulated or shaped until the desired final sound is achieved.
Additive synthesis is the most common type of synthesis.

Subtractive:
Yep you guessed it, the complete opposite of additive,
instead of taking a number of tones/sounds and adding them together we start with one tone/sound and then introduce a second only mathematically subtract the second tone from the first and so on..

Granular (the black sheep of the family):
Often overlooked or forgotten all together Granular Synthesis, it relies of a predetermined sound being loaded and manipulated. It is fundamentally different form addative and subtractive synthesis because both addative and subtractive synthesizers will generate tones from using oscilators, where as oscilators are only used in the shaping of the sound (ADSR stage).
Granular synthesis is essentially sampling technology.


FM Synthesis:
Frequency Modulation Synthesis basically works by taking an initial tone (the carrier signal) and modulating that using a second (or 3rd... etc) signal. It can result in some very dramatic sounds especially where metalic 'ringing' sounds are required.
In contrast to sub/add sythesis rather than thinking of it as adding or taking away its more like multiplying and dividing.

Physical Modeling Synthesis
PM synthesis is an attempt to recreate a real sound by the use of pre-written algorythms. It is more commonly found in hardware synthesizer keyboards and some drum machines. The algorythms recreate the conditions that shaped the sounds that is to be recreated.
This sound can then be shaped/manipulated further to create the sound desired.

((unfinished))

Sound Theory and Application (an introduction to)

Sound Theory and Application

- meathods & techniques -
((unfinished section))

This section to most people will read like a list of things that most would put down to common sense, and alot of what a sound engineer or aduio producer does is exactly that ...but the second you forget any of these the quality of sounds you create or capture will suffer for it.

The whole reason I am writting this particular section is because many people overlook the most obvious solutions to the problems that occur or fail to prevent quality related issues from arising in the first place. I have also recently seen alot of misinformation circulating on sites like youtube where people offer advice that is clearly false of uninformed (in other words people talkin' s**t).

So here is what I have to say on the subject:

Rule #1
KNOW YOUR HARDWARE

One day spent reading your manuals will improve the quality of your productions exponentially and that knowlege will stay with you and inform how you use that hardware ensuring that all future recording benifit from you understanding of it.
Follow the manufacturer's reccomendations.
Find out what it does and try and understand how it works.
Every piece of hardware you have ever seen/used/touched has an optimum running/recording level... find out what it is.
Are you using a microphone? What was that particular mic designed for and how will that effect the sounds you capture? Does it have a recommended distance? etc etc

Rule #2
UNDERSTAND THE LEVELS

its actually a little more complicated than it sounds, you have to read the manuals and it requires a little legwork but its not as simple as 'green = good, red = too loud'. in some cases it could be 'green = too quiet, red = about right', there might not even be a red/green system.
Each piece of hardware has its operating level, if you want a clean sound free of avoidable hiss or distortion you need to know what level things need to run at... If you want it done right you'll need something like a function generator. ...BUT once its done its done (as in hardware setup).

Rule #3
LEARN COMMON PRACTICES

No matter what instruments or hardware you use there are a handfull of tried and tested meathods of getting the best sound out of them, with a little leg work (reading) you can learn them and get the best sound out of what you have available to you.
Once you have established what you need to do to get a clear sound you can start experimenting with techniques safe in the knowledge that any problems that arise can be undone by reverting to the common practices.

And now to the meat and veg of the section... ^_^
Sound theory and how you apply that to your production:
It doesn't matter what level of knowlege you have on theory, techniques or even the hardware your using if you dont use it correctly... everyone shares the same goal and that is to get the best out of what we have.
We dont want to record something so hot (loud) that it distorts unless we specifically want that distortion,
We never want to record too low as this will allow noise to creep in to the mix and noise is particularly hard to remove one we've allowed it in.
...However if everything was 'done by the book' modern music would not exist, entire genres have been created from a little bending of the rules here and there.
Sometimes to get the sound you want you have to do the exact opposit of what tradition tells you, but if you dont know the difference your productions will suffer and problems will spring up that would have been avoided with a little knowledge about common practices, and techniques.

The Creative part of sound production comes when we play around with the status quo, its always going to be a hit or miss and thats what makes it so much fun, every situation is different.

A few ideas/suggestions:

• 
  

Beginers Guide To Music Sound production

My
Beginers Guide To Music Sound production

'Everything you want to know but never thought to ask'

This section is primarily aimed at people new to music/sound production or thinking about making their own music, however if you already have knowlege you may find it interesting too.. I always appreciate feedback/suggestions.
I've spent FAR TOO MANY years of my life studying sound production, so long infact that I cant remember life before music ^_^ Its 24/7 for me, I've even done RT60s in my dreams lol, anyways....


So your thinking about making your own beats, or recording your band to save on those pesky studio bills, or you just want to try and write/record your own song for whatever reason and you dont have a clue where to start...
I hope to explain everything (every last factor/element) required and a few other things to bare in mind when recording audio;
namely what you need, what it does, where to get it and most importantly how to use it correctly or atleast how to get the best out of what youve got.



What you need:
There are different meathods of recording that relly on specific types of hardware I will skip over these and focus on the most widely available (DAW) because 99% of people will find it the easiest meathod of converting their ideas into tangable audio.

• You need a daw (please read my section/post on DAWS).

- Any PC becomes a DAW the second you install the correct software and begin using it for audio/video production. In my section on DAWS I bang on alot about the hardware and its effect on your audio, however the high-res 'ideal sound' quality shouldn't be of too much concern at the early stages. One thing to remember though the better the PC/MAC the easier you will find it in the long run, audio/video production software is very processor (CPU) intensive and requires more memory or hard disk space (storage of your tracks) than you would expect.
But for your first recording(s) you must make do with what you have.

• You need the right software (sequencer)
  

- In the field of audio we call this software a sequencer, unlike your 'microsoft sound recorder' (or whatever macs use) a sequencer allows you control over the sound you have recorded, it also lets you layer up sounds you have recorded and if needed edit them... there are other features but at this stage you dont need to know about them.


Where can I get all this stuff? And How much will it cost?
There are lots of large chain distrobuters of these things as well as online companies that specialise in them, however I will not give them free advertising (hehe) so you'll have to look into what is available to you (in your city/country) or online.
Ebay however and Gumtree are a good cheap resource for people on a tight budget,
just check (if buying software) that it is compatable with your system... believe it or not every now and then you can pick up old sequencing software for under a £pound£.
If your unsure about compatability ask a technology savvy friend or the seller
(if all else fails I'm glad to help).

As for price it depends on what you have or can afford. For example if you wanted to try your hand at making some electronic music I'd say anywhere from £50-100 upwards that price covers buying a really cheap second hand PC and some free/demo software.
If you wanted to record a band, well that is slightly more expensive, you'd need a microphone or two, a PC & software (as above), probably a DI Box and perhaps an audio-in adapter (prices range from £30-to-£1000+)

Alternatives (the stuff i missed out)
The modern DAW is the center of every studio, because of the level of control it gives you however there are 'old skool' alternatives.

1. The good old Reel-to-Reel recorder
2. the multitrack cassete or DAT recorder
3. the multitracker (digital)
4. The MPC (backbone of HIPHOP production)

Out of the 4 choices above the cheapest by far is going to be the multitrack cassette recorder, you can pick them up for as litte as £20. If you only want to record a song and have no access to a computer this might be your only cheap option, there are millions floating around on the second hand market.

Technology - DAWs (an introduction to)

The term DAWs is widely used to describle the physical hardware you have at your disposal for creating sounds, manipulating audio and most obvious.. recording your sounds and playing them back.
DAW stands for Digital Audio Workstation (the same term applies to video).
A DAW in its most basic form consists of a computer and some kind of sequencing software, with a number of peripheral devices attached. The devices you use depend on your needs.

A typical BASIC DAW would consist of the following:

• PC/MAC Computer system running a sequencer.
• Mouse/Keyboard (possibly a midi controller).
• Computer monitor (aka VGA monitor).
  
• A pair of speakers (Monitors to use the correct term)
• relevent software.

in contrast my setup would read:

• Dedicated Audio production system (PC based) & Laptop running sequencers.
  
• Mouse/Keyboard/Midi Controllers/Audio & Midi Patchbays.
• Hardware Mixers (2).
• Hardware effects/dynamics processors.
• Samplers.
• MID Keyboard/controller.
• Drum Machines.
• MPC5000 <-- A standalone DAW in its own right, but in this situation acting as a synth/sampler.
• VGA monitors (multi-out).
• pair of Monitors (amplified, no need for seperate amp).

Being that the DAW is essentially the heart of your studio (home or professional) its well worthwhile thinking in advance of how the music/videos you create will be effected/hindered by your choice of hardware software. (*see AD/DA in my section on Samplers)

The components of your PC will have a direct effect on the rendering process of your audio or video. You may not realise that until you render the same audio/video on another DAW system.

My personal practice/routine goes as follows... 'If its a draft version it gets rendered on the laptop; byt 'if its important it gets rendered on the dedicated audio/studio PC'. Comparing files rendered on both systems using hi-resolution monitors will show you exactly how your rendered audio/video is being coloured by the components of your DAW.

Being an Audiophile I want to ensure that I get the highest qaulity I can from the sounds I create, however in practicle terms its not always nessary. Experiment, sometimes the lesser quality (coloured) sound sounds better than the ultra hi-res counterpart, its a matter of taste but always good to be aware of rather than not.

Technology - The Sampler (#1)

If you have read my previous post 'Technology - The Sampler (an introduction to)' you will have a better understanding of what I will be talking about here ..if you are new to samplers/sampling I suggest you give it a quick read before reading through this....

Technology - The Sampler

Now that your familiar with the basics of what a sampler is and what it is designed to do I will look at some creative uses for samplers.
Im going to cover ALOT of ground here, but will try to keep it simple enough that a sampling newbie can follow along without a sever migrain ^_^
I will also at this point start introducing audio, video and pictoral elements to the blog... when I'm satisfied that I've covered enough ground I will add a 'recommended further reading' at the bottom of the page.

What the Audiophiles know that you dont:

(AD/DA)

The sampler is an incredibly powerful tool when it comes to faithfully capturing a sound however the samplers real power becoms apparent when you start looking into how much ability you have over the sound. Having used hardware and software samplers for many years & studied them I have learned alot about the inner working of the machines.
Its not just a case of recording and playback ...well to some extent it is, but the meathod of recording, the digital processes that take place. even the parts used in the samplers construction all have a subtle effect on the sound you hear when the sound is played back.
This goes far beyond you samplers memory capacity and wether it is a mono or stereo sample.
The process of analogue to digital conversion then converting back to an analogue sound we can hear (or AD/DA) can have a dramatic effect of the 'colour' of the sound.

To use my own hardware as example...
My Akai S20's AD/DA process is not the same as that of my MPC5k, neither is it the same as my Akai S5k even though they are manufactured by the same company.
Infact NONE of my samplers capture and reproduce the sounds in quite the same was as each other, yet they are all designed for the same purpose. You may assume that the most recent sampler (in this case MPC5k) is better at AD/DA than its predecessors ...well in the context of creative use the answer is no. not nessesarliy.

Different samplers colour the samples in different way, depending on what kind of sound you want a 20year old sampler may be prefferable compared to one that rolled off the assembly line yesterday.

(Old vs New)

If you are considering buying your first sampler or are considering adding a new sampler to your setup I suggest firstly looking at what kind of application you are using it for and then look at who uses what, that way you can judge the kind of sound you might get out of it (if you dont have access to one to try/compare).

In some situations the second hand £50 sampler may be prefferable to the £2,000 sampler, its a matter of sampler specification as well as personal taste. Although it must be said you get out what you put in. both literaly and metaphoricaly.

(Software VS Hardware)

I use both, the way I see it if your a painter and you want a certain effect you need to get the right tools, different tools for different situation. saying that I have to add this..
The hardware sampler has always been and will always be superiou to the software emulation. the software emulator only excels in one department size/portability.
The ultimate flaw in sortware samplers is this... Your PC/MAC no matter how carefully assembled, no matter how much attention has gone into building your DAW is a computer non the less... It wasn't designed part by part, component by component for one specific purpose and the hardware samplers was., even taking AD/DA process colour into consideration (if thats a problem for your needs) it was build to do the job it does. ..and your PC has been adapted to handle audio.

(Cross format sampling)

Each sampler manufacturer has its own format/process for storing the samples you capture, even with 2 samplers made by the same manufacturer can have format incompatibility issues.
With this in mind you might assume that it would be impossible to load samples from one sampler to another eg EMU to Akai, depending on the age of the sampler and the format they save in it can be done with various degrees of success. however some information (like patches) might be lost but it can be done.
If you own 2 samplers that absolutly will not read each other format you can get round it by finding a 3rd sampler that can read the format of the first sampler and save in an acceptable format for the 2nd sampler. <-- this generally wont affect the actual audio, with the exception of inherent AD/DA colurisation.

(Synthesis Can Be Achieved)

Yes that is right your sampler has atleast some level of synthesis capabilities.
For example I can achieve granular synthesis on my dainty little S20, I can play with the ADSR on my MPC to form new sounds, or I can pull out my S5000 and do everything a moog can and more, create anything from 20second evolving pad sounds from a 0.5sec tone(thats additive synthesis), or achieve granualar synthesis via cubase/protools.
It depends on what you have and what it can do to start with... the S20 was never designed for granular sythesis yet it is achievable.

((to be continued))

Technology - The Sampler (an introduction to)

In this secotion I will be talking about the sampler, this section will also spill over into Sound Synthesis, Recording Techniques and other areas.

What Is A Sampler?
Why would I need to know about Samplers?
Who uses Samplers these days?
What types of samplers are available to me these says?

I currently own 5 hardware samplers, surely one is enough you may say, well the straight answer is NO and YES. ...They are VERY versatile machines and although they are pretty much designed to carry out the same purpose defferent samplers handle audio in defferent ways, and most importantly not all samplers allow the same level of control.



What Is A Sampler?
- A sampler is an electronic device originally designed to (hopefuly) faithfull cature sound, store it and then reproduce that same sound at a latter point when required. The history of the sampler is a lot older than you may initially assume, at this point I will be focusing on modern samplers and how you can use them creativly.


Why would I need to know about Samplers?
- The most obvious example is that of a string ensemble.. not every one can afford to hire one, with a sampler all you need to is capture a range of notes and use those notes to recreate the sound of an ensemble where evr and whenever required. The analogy can be applied to any instrument, or sound. As a matter of fact all modern music is reliant on sampling technology, be it your digital keyboard, your mobile phone ..your dum and bass album ...basically if it isnt played live by hand its probably sampled
Samplers are also rediculiously powerful where sound synthesis is concerned, most modern samplers applying the same technigues to shape/control a sample as an analogue or digital synthesizer would.


Who uses Samplers these days?
- Samplers are generally found in the studios of Film, TV/Radio and other audio/visual production apllications.
The are also found on stage, tucked away in the racks of equipment used by bands at pretty much every recent concert of festival.
Modern electronic genres such as HIP HOP, D&B/Jungle House/Techno are also dependent on samplers ..generally hardware samplers but there is a growing trend towards software samplers recently (last decade).

Producers such as Rhyuchi Sakamoto (YMO) Kraftwerk, Pete Rock, Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, RZA, Ritchie Hawtin, etc etc ...basically EVERYONE you can think of.


What types of samplers are available to me these days?
- the modern sampler is initaily broken into 2 categories 'Software' or 'hardware'.
Software samplers attempt to emulate hardware samplers ..but it should be noted they are reliant of your pcs processing power & memory (and installed audio hardware) where as a hardware sampler is a dedicated machine that is built for the saoul purpse of faithfuly capturing, storing, manipulating then reproducing those sounds.

The hardware sampler can be split into 2 categories: 'Rack Sampler' and 'not-rack'.
- the rack sampler is generally the more powerful of the two, being controlled by either your midi sequencer or another piece of midi hardware (anything from a drum machine to a midi controler or hardware sequencer'

An example of a non-rack sampler would be an Akai MPC range sampler (i.e MPC2500)as opposed to an Akai 'S' range sampler (i.e S950)

The MPC range for exaple has a built in sequencer (for playback)just like the akai S range does however it allows you to record that sequence directly into the sampler without the need of an external sequencing hard/software to create that sequence.
In order to record a sequence into a S2000 for example you must hook it up to something like say a pc running logic/cubase, create the sequence and then trigger that sequence directly or save as midi sequence on disk and then load that sequence from disk from within the S2000. The MPC sequencer works the same however it has alot of 'big-ass pads', buttons, and dials that allow the sequence to be recorded without external hardware software.
However from my experience rack samplers are far superior to MPC style samplers where sonic manipulation/control is concerned ...you will gain the ability to record sequences directly but this is traded off against the range of power you have over the sounds you are using.


What hardware samplers do I own/use? (for general interest):
Rack Samplers:
Emu ESI-4000T
Akai S5000
Others:
Akai S20
Akai MPC5000
Korg ESmk2

Whats it all about?

I do not expect anyone to have stumbled upon this page by accident, but if you have your probably wondering what exactly is Creative Sound Production? And why would it be of interest to me?

I will now briefly explain, and outline what kinds of subject I will be covering in this blog (and associated blogs).

Creative Sound Production is a term coined to cover a vast area of sound production, it involves elements of theory, practicle meathods/techniques and is also used to describe various jobs (vocational) done within the Creative Arts Industries.

To avoid confusion at this point I will give some examples of Creative Arts Industries : Film / Video Games / Drama/Performace / Live Music / Audio Production (as in albums etc) ...basically anything involving people using their imagination to apply sound effectivly and creativly to enhance a project.

Creative Sound Production may also be reffered to as Sound Production depending on the role/job you undertake Sound Engineering, the terms are interchangable however it should be remembered that confusion can arise within specific areas of work.

For example I have studied Sound Production, Creative Sound Production and Sound Engineering ...and their focus was in slightly different areas, while studying Sound Production I frequently worked in the capacity of a Sound Engineer ^_^ but I suppose at this point thats besides the point...


So now that we have that out of the way I will out line the general areas I will be blogging about:

The History of Sound Production - The facts and my views on them.

Sound Theory and Application - meathods & techniques.

Abstract Theory - My personal thoughts on sound.

Sound Synthesis - The holy grail of sound! *I cannot hold back my enthusiasm lol*

Recording techniques - Building upon 'theory and application'

Beginers Guide To Music Sound production - Everything you wanted to know but never thought about asking ^_^

Technology - Looking at the different types of technology available to you (encompasing all of the above).

Your rights as a creator of audable material - pretty much self explanitory.

Jobs - Different kind of jobs within the Creative Arts Industries.