The Music Making Corner

[KeplerElectronics]

Realized there wasn't a thread for musicians to chat here on Deskgen, so now there is!

I know there's at least a few of us on here that make/play music, it'd be cool to share techniques and info on free plugins and samples and whatever :)

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Personally, I make basically every genre, and I make everything in Reason 12 (which is not a very popular DAW these days). I've been doing music for 9ish years, taking it seriously for about 6.

I have two projects currently:

Unnamed breakcore/chiptune/shoegaze(?) project, trying to write this with no soft synths and minimal VST effects, trying to do everything with a guitar, some pedals, gameboy with LSDJ, and Korg DS-10 on a 3DS. Nothing released yet, but it'll be similar to this track from 2023 with better production and no reeses from serum :)

Harpuia: Ambient/Melodic dubstep project, ongoing since 2020 (though the early albums were vaporwave/mallsoft somehow lmao). Currently working on the fifth LP, which should sound like the latest few tracks on the Harpuia soundcloud

If anyone wants to trade patches or samples or collab or whatever hmu :)

 

[jadd]

That's right it was missing a musician thread!

I basically do jungle/dnb inspired tracks for the most part lately. (I say inspired because I sometimes take elements from these genres to make different sounding stuff) I would also like to dabble in ambient and 4 to the floor house/trance but projects are not fruitful yet... My discog is up on my website.

I use ableton live 12 and basically synthetize everything using serum for some reason. I might use some other VSTis such as Ob-XD or K1v for example if I need a more obscure sound. I like using VSTs or AMXDs that are not widely known and implement effects cheaply with artifacts, adding some digital character to the sound. (I got my own broken VSTs too hehe)

Right now I'm still looking for the overall art direction for my next album project... Might want to maybe have some features on it who knows.

 

[KeplerElectronics]

I use ableton live 12 and basically synthetize everything using serum for some reason. I might use some other VSTis such as Ob-XD or K1v for example if I need a more obscure sound. I like using VSTs or AMXDs that are not widely known and implement effects cheaply with artifacts, adding some digital character to the sound. (I got my own broken VSTs too hehe)

How are you liking Serum 2? I downloaded it and played with it for maybe 20 minutes, just been too focused on guitar lately

 

[jadd]

idk it seems cool but I still have the reflex of pulling serum 1 instead of the new one lol. I guess I'm not ready for change. so many new knobs to learn

 

[src_recision]

How are you liking Serum 2? I downloaded it and played with it for maybe 20 minutes, just been too focused on guitar lately

i tried it - it's aight but i'm a little bored of the whole spectral thing now (which is its strong suit), seems like it's being spammed just like wavetable synthesis was a few years ago. not to say it sounds all the same as well but there's a specific "property" it has that is innovative and cool and "wow" sure, but it's not very musical anymore? not that i have a problem with atonal/noise stuff, i think it's not musical in a different sense that i can't quite put into words lol

 

[KeplerElectronics]

Incredible Serum 2 trick, super fun to play with. I messed around with it last night, resampling a Virtual Riot patch and came up with this:

Whenever I open serum it inevitably ends up being dubstep, it's the way i work i guess.

 

[jadd]

omg i didn't know this, incredible

 

[KeplerElectronics]

Found a sub $1k fretless nylon classical guitar with acoustic-electric pickups and am trying extremely hard to not make a foolish financial decision right now. The options for fretless guitars either seem to be hyper budget options with zero sound demos and questionable build quality or pro-tier $1k plus options for professional classical players.

link to the decent one for those interested

The hyper budget options look decent, but I have zero faith in them after ordering a fretless stratocaster neck only to have the account close and not ship the goods. at least ebay gave me my money back :/

My quest for a fretless guitar has been ongoing for a few years now since I saw the above video in 2021 or so, but kind of petered out once I saw most fretless guitars costing over a grand. something about the fingerpicked style with the smooth pitch changes makes it sound both alien and cozy.

I randomly stumbled upon a microtonal telecaster a couple months back that had a fretless portion above the 14th fret or so, and that thing was so much fun to play. I almost bought it on impulse, but there were some grounding issues and scratchy potentiometers that would have needed to be replaced. (Image of guitar below, you can almost see the fretless portion at the bottom)



anyways, I had a blast with this guitar in the store and have been trying to find out how to get ahold of a full fretless guitar since. Fretless basses are common enough, but guitars seem to be really uncommon. My original plan was to try and track down a really cheap Squier strat and throw a fretless neck on it, but after factoring in the amount of labor required for that and the fact, and nearly losing $100 on a dodgy ebay seller a few weeks back :/

The classical guitar option seems like it's not the worst idea in the world, but seeing as I'm effectively unemployed for right now neither option is particularly wise lmao.

 

[KeplerElectronics]

I ran out of characters when commenting on @SoleVictim 's status, so here's my recommendation for a solid budget setup for rock music.

• Electric Guitar
  
  • I recommend just getting a Squier stratocaster. I've tried a handful of other cheap guitars and the strat is just the best. I have a 2004 one, and the pickups (the things that convert the string vibration into electrical signals) are a lot more full than some other cheap electrics I have (my first electric was a Washburn that is atrocious, both in sound and feel). I routinely see them for between $100 and $150 USD used, though you can get them new for about 200ish
  • Depending on your genre, an LTD MH-17 could also be fun for a seven string. I bought mine for like $130 used and it's definitely not "nice" but you can get some real studio-quality sounds out of it when paired with a good amp
  • I use a Rogue SX-100B Bass guitar for recording bass, and it's definitely not great, but it sounds excellent in a mix and I spent about $60 on it at a pawn shop
• Microphone
  
  • I use a Shure SM58, they're about $110 new, I paid about $60 used.
  • I've heard good things about the Behringer XM8500, it's like $20 new and I trust AudioHaze's judgement so I'm passing on their recommendation
• Audio Interface
  
  • This lets you plug your microphone and guitar into your PC to record
  • I use a Scarlett 2i2, I convinced my brother to get a 2i4, they're pretty solid. I paid $60 for my 2i2, my brother paid $80 for his 2i4. The first number is the number of inputs, while the second is the number of outputs. Unless you're doing something complex, either of the above models will be totally fine.
• Some sort of recording software
  
  • MacOS, just use Garageband to get started
  • Windows, Reaper is basically free
  • I use Reason 12, it's very good and I like it a lot, but they got rid of the stripped down version, so the only option is like $400 or a subscription
  • Ableton Live is also incredibly popular.
  • If you're on iPad, Garageband is pretty decent I think
• Amp Simulation
  • Guitar Rig has an excellent free version with a pretty good amp simulation I used to use, now I'm running a tube preamp and doing it all in hardware, but their setup is honestly pretty solid.

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In terms of tracking down gear, I use a three-prong approach to minimize my personal cost and let me play with as much cool stuff as I can afford

1. Look at local music stores that sell used gear
   
   1. This works best for guitars and other instruments that would be "unfun" to ship cheaply
   2. Test out the guitar before buying it, make sure it feels good (i.e. nothing sharp enough to cut your hands, it sounds good when plugged into an amp)
2. Guitar Center's website
   
   1. they sometimes price things at absurdly low rates. Most Digitech Whammy pedals (Rage against the machine used them) sell for 200ish used, I found one for $125
   2. This works best for guitar pedals and audio interfaces. Look for a Scarlett interface here
3. Garage Sales / thrift stores / Estate sales
   
   1. I've found a whole bunch of really awesome stuff at garage sales. A Marshall amp, an epiphone guitar, my brother found a violin at a thrift store, I found a keyboard at an estate sale for like 1/50th its market value

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To give an idea of what the above gear can do, here's the intro of a track I've been working on lately. Kind of a post-hardcore/breakcore/hyperpop-adjacent thing, hoping to turn it into a full LP eventually

All bass was recorded on my $60 Rogue, all guitar was the $130 LTD 7-string (granted, they both ran through my pedalboard but you can do all that in software). I used a Shure SM58 for the vocals (pitched up and autotuned because its easier to record quietly and also I can pretend I'm Laura Les / Porter Robinson), and the Scarlett 2i2 was used to get the guitars and mic into my PC. Lots of effects on the vocals in Reason, very few on the guitars. All drums are samples

I will preface that it is still being mixed/mastered/polished, I need to do some work on the vocals and rerecord a bunch of them for consistency

https://soundcloud.com/falldiver%2F7st-power-chordcx_intro

I need to finish mixing this track, but that requires recording more vocals in my car for the chorus first. It'll happen eventually