How do AE make those sounds? : the Thread

fart in the mic

  On 8/31/2012 at 3:29 AM, sweepstakes said:

Oh, sweet, this thread just got "funny".

lol

booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooobssssssssss

  On 8/31/2012 at 2:08 AM, vamos scorcho said:

this is probably the main one I'm trying to figure out

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIdsDXKr39g

All those sounds could easely be made on one synth with two oscs and some modulation possibilities. And reverb.

  On 8/31/2012 at 5:29 AM, Awepittance said:

maybe futureimage or someone else could examine the monomachine theory. The reason im pretty sure on that is that Richard Devine did a live set in SF with a machinedrum and monomachine and he managed to get the exact same snarling acid sound from his that appears on that track. As far as being an obsessive AE fan and someone extremely capable of reverse engineering their sound, i'm going with this theory

Both the Monomachine and the Machinedrum do that whole bandpass-acid thing really well due to their kick-ass variable bandwidth/shelf filters. Probably my favourite digital filter, out of the ones I've heard.

I'm not disputing that the drums are MPC or not, but the Machinedrum could do all that hi-hat spaz out very easily - a lot of the Untilted/Quaristice stuff abuses the UW sampling facilities so much. Some of it is beyond imagination, but it's clearly UW, it just sounds like it. There's so much automation/LFOing/general FSU-ing that makes is Aewsome

See what I did there?

  On 8/31/2012 at 5:22 PM, zemudene said:

All those sounds could easely be made on one synth with two oscs and some modulation possibilities. And reverb.

I guess that depends on how closely you're listening - there's a lot of processing going on beyond "And reverb".

  On 8/31/2012 at 9:11 PM, futureimage said:

Both the Monomachine and the Machinedrum do that whole bandpass-acid thing really well due to their kick-ass variable bandwidth/shelf filters. Probably my favourite digital filter, out of the ones I've heard.

 

I'm not disputing that the drums are MPC or not, but the Machinedrum could do all that hi-hat spaz out very easily - a lot of the Untilted/Quaristice stuff abuses the UW sampling facilities so much. Some of it is beyond imagination, but it's clearly UW, it just sounds like it. There's so much automation/LFOing/general FSU-ing that makes is Aewsome

Yeah the part that made me not so sure that the drums were MPC was in the middle with that Untilted-style post-reverb stutter effect on the drums. I guess that could just be pre-reverbed samples getting retriggered.

One of the tricky things about this kind of analysis is that we tend to think of how this stuff could be done live, from soup to nuts, especially since the tools available are so advanced at doing all that now. But there's still lots that can be done in pre- or post-production that can't be done purely live, at least not easily. And this is a recording, like a movie, so techniques like that are certainly available, especially when we're talking about samplers.

And it's also a matter of sensitivity. Surely some of us don't give a shit about the differences between this filter and that one, just that it's a bandpass, or of things residual details (or lack thereof) resulting from differences in workflow. Some aren't into going deep and investigating and analyzing, and are just happy to get the general idea of the track, or that of one specific sound in the track

maybe i'm missing something, but where on any mpc does it have such an extreme Q setting sounding low-pass filter?

Chenc9 on quaristice sounds like several monomachine synths stacked on top with machinedrum drums

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8RjKtl9CMk

bnc Castl is without a doubt made primarily using the stock monomachine drum kit (a funny very old school sounding sampled short decay drum lib)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p30vM4-csdE

Also, what would be the sample source material to achieve that acidy synth sound on an MPC?

the mpc theory doesnt hold water, at least for this track's acid line. The drums who knows, the mpc and machinedrum are both capable of that kind of jittery automation

edit: correction, i keep saying low pas filter but Futureimage is right the monomachine and machinedrum both have a clever band pass filter that can sound like a very high resonance low pass filter. the 'bite' on it is far sharper than pretty much any other digital filter i've heard

what we know for sure is that the AE 2005 tour kit was a nord g2, an mpc, monomachine, machinedrum with a (i forget which kind) midi controller fader box. The Nord g2 is capable of pretty much any sound so pretty much all of our theories could be wrong.

  On 8/31/2012 at 10:07 PM, sweepstakes said:

 

And it's also a matter of sensitivity. Surely some of us don't give a shit about the differences between this filter and that one, just that it's a bandpass, or of things residual details (or lack thereof) resulting from differences in workflow. Some aren't into going deep and investigating and analyzing, and are just happy to get the general idea of the track, or that of one specific sound in the track

and some people just like the way it sounds. :)

like a piece of art in a gallery. some people just like the way something looks... and don't need to get all pretentious about it ;P

whereas others will stand there stroking their chins talking about how it was made and what the artist was trying to convey, what it all means, etc. etc.

yadda yadda yadda.

lol

The BPF acid bass was made on an MPC1000 with JJOS2. That's a fact. I understand that fact or at least my assertion that it's a fact might seem obnoxious, but, yeah, it's true. I have no idea what the sample source was but it could have been anything, that's the beauty of a sampler :)

The controller they used on the Untilted tour was a Bitstream... I forget the model number, something with a 3 and an X in it, I think. Maybe 3X.

  On 8/31/2012 at 10:42 PM, sirch said:

and some people just like the way it sounds. :)

like a piece of art in a gallery. some people just like the way something looks... and don't need to get all pretentious about it ;P

whereas others will stand there stroking their chins talking about how it was made and what the artist was trying to convey, what it all means, etc. etc.

I resent this use of the word "pretentious". Pretending to... what? Be able to have an inkling of understanding about how the art is made? About the meaning of the piece to the artist? The idea that either of these things can't begin to be understood by anyone but the artist, has some very ugly implications about art and music that I don't believe in.

I've gotten rather close to the sound I wanted.

I really like Ultrabeat for programing drums. Honestly it's way better than something like Battery, because the sequencer is so easy to use. A few more features, I would pay a lot for something like Ultrabeat that was maxed out with a synth inside of it, or something. That would be fucking brilliant.

I just like being able to drag the MIDI from the sequencer.

Anyway, so I used different rhythm modes and kind of tried to replicate that sound. They I put a filter on it, as well as some sort of bandpass like you guys might have said. Just experimenting. I don't want to sound like Autechre... I just want my drums to have more soul and this is something that has been annoying me.

I feel like I gained a lot from doing this.

Unfortunately digital sound is nowhere near analogue or hardware through something else. I wish I could make it sound better.

  On 8/31/2012 at 10:07 PM, sweepstakes said:

  On 8/31/2012 at 5:22 PM, zemudene said:

All those sounds could easely be made on one synth with two oscs and some modulation possibilities. And reverb.

I guess that depends on how closely you're listening - there's a lot of processing going on beyond "And reverb".

I simply think that judging by the sound of quaristice ae goal wasn`t use usual dsp fuckery but push synthesizers to limits. And you can get a lot out of synthesizer when you really try.

  On 9/1/2012 at 2:25 AM, zemudene said:

  On 8/31/2012 at 10:07 PM, sweepstakes said:

  On 8/31/2012 at 5:22 PM, zemudene said:

All those sounds could easely be made on one synth with two oscs and some modulation possibilities. And reverb.

I guess that depends on how closely you're listening - there's a lot of processing going on beyond "And reverb".

I simply think that judging by the sound of quaristice ae goal wasn`t use usual dsp fuckery but push synthesizers to limits. And you can get a lot out of synthesizer when you really try.

Hmm I seem to be almost completely contrarian in this thread, but I'd say that's true for Cichlisuite, LP5, EP7 and Confield (somewhat), not so much Quaristice.

Quaristice seems to be more about pushing samplers to the limit, with creative DSP and a restrained amount of synths (except like Altibzz, paralell Suns, chenc9, etc.). They are exploring complex, chaotic textures similar to those in Draft and Chiastic, and those generally require samplers. This is just me and my ears, though.

ok, I listened to some more tracks I see what you mean. BNC Castl definetely sounds like it is sampler gone wild. So it`s not only synthesizers, at least not in all tracks. Oh well somehow sounds in that first track reminded me of the track I made few years ago using only one synth so...confirmation bias or smth...

  On 9/1/2012 at 3:25 AM, zemudene said:

ok, I listened to some more tracks I see what you mean. BNC Castl definetely sounds like it is sampler gone wild. So it`s not only synthesizers, at least not in all tracks. Oh well somehow sounds in that first track reminded me of the track I made few years ago using only one synth so...confirmation bias or smth...

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

that old track of mine: https://www.box.com/...89ed3bfb59f6515 (I made it for myself, it`s shit)

 

Oh yeah, I totally agree that you could get basically the same sound with a synth. I was kind of contradicting myself there - I think it's awesome to try to do the detective work and try to figure out how they got these sounds or at least come close, but I just happen to know how that ONE sound was made. Pretty much the only Autechre track where that's the case, except like the 606 in Incunabula ;)

Cool track, btw. Bassline reminds me of the Archer theme, lol.

  On 9/1/2012 at 12:30 AM, vamos scorcho said:

Unfortunately digital sound is nowhere near analogue or hardware through something else. I wish I could make it sound better.

I dunno about this. It's certainly possible to get some really great non-clinical sounds out of software alone. Clever routing and using effects in different ways to what was originally intended tends to work for me.

i have a feeling that me and sweepstakes are basing our firm opinions that this track was done on an mpc on the same source.

sweep thinks it might be only the acid bass line that was done on the mpc but i'm pretty sure that this entire track was created & sequenced entirely on an mpc, no external gear involved. anyone who has spent a decent amount of time with the mpc will instantly recognize the 'swish' of the filter on the snares, and just the sound & shape of the filter response in general. adjusting loop points, sample start/end times, & general q-link tweakery will account for the other 'skittish' sounds. i could point to quite a few other tracks & parts of tracks on quaristice / versions / quadrange that are almost certainly mpc, but that's just because i am very familiar with that piece of kit. i'm sure other people could do the same for the machinedrum/monomachine. the nord g2 however is almost impossible to pin down, soundwise.

and regarding getting acid sounds on the mpc:

i've heard stuff like this before on an mpc, but the line in that track the original poster posted screams monomachine to me. It doesn't have the same 'bite' that the monomachine filter has as far as im concerned.

I'm sure they used a lot of mpc on the album but they also use a lot of machinedrum, it appears almost all the way through Untilted as well. Chenc9, and Perlence are 2 tracks which use distinct machinedrum sounds.

Asking Mr. Booth and Mr. Brown what they use to make their sounds is like asking Area 51 personnel to take a tour of their facility. I highly doubt the odds of getting a definitive answer are in our favor.

just found this on reddit:

About five years ago, the not-quite-'authentic' electronic music all the kids were into was Justice, and forums were inundated with newbies asking "how do I get that Justice sound?"

I'd read those requests, because I wanted to know myself. Not to be a super-cool French producer, but just to see if I could. I'm no electronic artist and I never wanted to be, but I knew my way around a couple of programs and liked to dick around for fun. How hard could it be?

Among all the flaming and complaints about casual fans, most answers were the same. Lots of compression! Sidechaining! This program! This piece of hardware! Expensive mastering! Microsamples! Distortion! Try these settings on this VSTi! None of them worked. But one answer has always stuck with me, which I'll paraphrase here:

*"You can't sound like Justice, not even with the same equipment and programs they use. They sound the way they do because of the arrangements they use and the way they sequence their tracks. That's far more to do with the 'Justice sound' than any amount of equipment."*

After I read that, I pretty much gave up trying. Whoever wrote that, they were so, so right.

There is an entire industry that preys upon you wanting to sound like your heroes. "If you want to make beatz like Skrillex, watch my video and subscribe! If you want to sound just like Zakk Wylde, use this amp!" And yeah, maybe if you give them a bunch of money, you'll sound *kind* of like Zakk Wylde, but it won't make you Zakk Wylde. Similarly, no two or three factors, closely imitated, will make you sound like Skrillex. Skrillex sounds like Skrillex because he is Skrillex.

My advice? If you want to recreate the sound of your heroes, focus more on their arrangements, style and feel than their equipment or settings. You can play a bass line that screams "Paul McCartney" on anything and people will go "Yeah, that sounds like him all right!" They don't really care if you have the Hofner violin bass.

Or, better yet, don't worry so much about sounding like someone else. If you put enough time and concentration into your instrument, be it analogue or digital, you *will* develop your own sound. **I guarantee it.**

You won't sound like Skrillex, but you'll sound like you. And, even if you don't believe me, that is a hundred times cooler than the fleeting sense of cool your imitation will bring. You just gotta give it time.

It's still fun to think about how it's done, especially since ae's music is complex and unique sounding.

OK guys, I admit it: the anti-curiosity angle is completely lost on me.

Does anyone actually believe in the cargo cult idea that owning the same gear Autechre uses makes you magically sound like them? Or that if you were actually trying to imitate them, and not just enrich your understanding of both Autechre and your gear (and audio techniques in general), that you should start by acquiring the same stuff they use?

Equipment used and synthesis techniques are aspects that are fairly easy to discuss.

You're projecting agendas on to the discussion that aren't necessarily there.