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With all the VA synths out there...


Synthoid

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Where are the screaming leads? I haven't heard anything close to what Keith Emerson or Rick Wakeman used to do. Even Heart's "Magic Man" seems more exciting than what's serverd up on the airwaves.

 

What groups that receive serious airplay are using these new synths? I've heard a few songs with filter sweeps, but that sound was buried so far in the mix.....hardly worth it. Someone please recommend a current artist or band (no goth or "death-rock" please) that really understands and uses the technology--including the new "all analog" Mininoog.

 

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There are TONS.

 

anything that is produced to any level above basic instrumentation has gear like this involved.

 

Take a listen most any recent pop album... britney, nsync, timberlake, agulara... tons of hip hop albums, r&b... pretty much all of these.

 

in the rock arena it's really huge right now too... the produced sound is in. The Flaming Lips, Beck, Radiohead, U2, Juliana Theory... these are just a few that I personally listen to.

 

Now perhaps you're not hearing a seering lead and the sounds you're looking for are a little less obvious. Quite frankly, your seering lead sounds just won't fly with most crowds... it's too cheesy and/or characteristic of electronic music. But the latest V.A. synthesizers are all over the top music out today...

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Originally posted by Synthoid

Good soaring synth leads are cheesy huh.....well, there's no accounting for taste. I'll take the cheddar, thank you.
:D

 

oh yeah, that's something I could be castrated for in this forum, isn't it ;)

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Originally posted by TheRain



Take a listen most any recent pop album... britney, nsync, timberlake, agulara... tons of hip hop albums, r&b... pretty much all of these.


...


But the latest V.A. synthesizers are all over the top music out today...

 

I guess that this kind of music deserves softsynths...

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The music of today no longer calls for searing leads, though *any* VA can do them. Today's music is all about getting a weird sound to call your own before someone else gets that sound. Guess it's an inevitable byproduct of machine-based music - after all, no one is actually *playing* those sequenced synth lines anymore.

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Originally posted by coyote-1

The music of today no longer calls for searing leads, though *any* VA can do them. Today's music is all about getting a weird sound to call your own before someone else gets that sound. Guess it's an inevitable byproduct of machine-based music - after all, no one is actually *playing* those sequenced synth lines anymore.

 

I thoroughly agree with the first part. However, I partly disagree with the second. While life without sequencing would be unimaginable to most electronic artists, many still record aspects of the songs live and without any machine help.

 

But again, this isn't the era for solos and leads. The guitarists complain about the same thing, too. :D

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Originally posted by coyote-1

The music of today no longer calls for searing leads, though *any* VA can do them. Today's music is all about getting a weird sound to call your own before someone else gets that sound. Guess it's an inevitable byproduct of machine-based music - after all, no one is actually *playing* those sequenced synth lines anymore.

 

 

I dont know about you but I take Rick Wakmen searing leads all the time in my band. In all seriousness I do take the ocassional lead when I'm not soloing on the rhodes, it can be cathartic and a lot of the time when used sparingly, the crowd eats it up.

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Originally posted by coyote-1

The music of today no longer calls for searing leads, though *any* VA can do them. Today's music is all about getting a weird sound to call your own before someone else gets that sound. Guess it's an inevitable byproduct of machine-based music - after all, no one is actually *playing* those sequenced synth lines anymore.

 

 

 

sir, please understand that im not defending people who use presets and downloaded loops. i would simply like to remind (or inform) you that although some people use machines to do things they cant, that isnt the case with everyone. some people use these machines as tools, not to cheat. and also keep in mind that your fingers dont make many noises by themselves so those sequenced synth lines that everyone should be *playing* are pretty obsolete without the help of the machine.

 

this post isnt meant to have a negative slant.

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Originally posted by sheepshears


i would simply like to remind (or inform) you that although some people use machines to do things they cant, that isnt the case with everyone. some people use these machines as tools, not to cheat.

 

So do you suppose classical composers should be able to actually PLAY all the parts in their music? Are you expecting them to excel at every single instrument that they orchestrate for? Of course not!

 

It's the same with electronic artists. You might have a great knack for melody, but your fingers just aren't mechanically capable yet, to play it live, so you sequence it. Is it cheating to use drum machines? Should you either learn to play them yourself, or always hire a drummer to play for you? That would be ludicrous!

 

The ONLY way you can *cheat* is if you directly and shamelessly copy someone elses tracks, ideas, riffs....

 

The next time you include a cello ensemble in one of your tracks, I wanna make sure you'll be playing them 4 cellos simultaneously by yourself. If you ain't, you're cheating! :D

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Originally posted by DeepSleeper

So do you suppose classical composers should be able to actually PLAY all the parts in their music? Are you expecting them to excel at every single instrument that they orchestrate for? Of course not!

:D

 

 

the original post that i was responding to was talking about sequenced keyboard parts. not orchestral arrangments.

 

cut and paste

 

good day.

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Originally posted by sheepshears




the original post that i was responding to was talking about sequenced keyboard parts. not orchestral arrangments.


cut and paste


good day.

 

 

I'm aware of that! But I'm asking, what is the difference?

 

Composer writes dots and stuff on paper and gives directions for musicians in orchestra to play what and when.

 

Composer enters dots and stuff on the computer screen and gives directions to the computer to play what and when.

 

Well?

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Well, this has been interesting. But my question is, if people consider electronic music so trite and corny, what's the point of the Minimoog, Alesis Andromeda, and the vast selection of VA's?

 

Why....even the elitist Kurzweil company is making a VA.....

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I agree with this assessment.

 

Originally posted by DeepSleeper

I'm aware of that! But I'm asking, what is the difference?

Composer writes dots and stuff on paper and gives directions for musicians in orchestra to play what and when.

Composer enters dots and stuff on the computer screen and gives directions to the computer to play what and when.

Well?

 

However, when a composer scored a concerto people actually had to play those parts! But I was not addressing the legitimacy of using sequencers. They have their place. But they have also changed the nature of music to the point that the "searing lead" that used to be performed routinely by a live musician has become a non-factor.

 

In answer to RicJangle, the music I play is rooted in the progrock and fusion of the 70s - so I do get to play the stuff you're talking about! This is a sample (not great playing on my part, but fun nonetheless):

http://www.geocities.com/coyote-1/funkysynth.mp3

 

Fortunately, my band's rhythm section is awesome. :)

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Originally posted by Synthoid

Well, this has been interesting. But my question is, if people consider electronic music so trite and corny, what's the point of the Minimoog, Alesis Andromeda, and the vast selection of VA's?


Why....even the elitist Kurzweil company is making a VA.....

 

People don't: elitist people do. :)

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Searing synth and guitar solos are not out of style because of sequencers, it's just what the current trends dictate. Will they come back? I don't know. Personally, I'd be happy if I never heard a bad wanking metal guitar solo again.

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You don't think the available tools have influenced those trends?

 

Look at it this way: in 1971 there were almost NO preprogrammed music tracks. Therefore, people had to actually PLAY those parts. And those people wanted to play searing solos, and because it was fairly new listeners wanted to hear those solos.

 

In 2004, sequencers are ubiquitous. Almost every pop track, along with almost all neo-soul and rap, is created in a sequencer. There was no mass demand for sequenced music prior to their mass availability...

 

The tools always influence the product, and therefore the desire for that product. It could hardly be otherwise.

 

 

Originally posted by Chris100

Searing synth and guitar solos are not out of style because of sequencers, it's just what the current trends dictate. Will they come back? I don't know. Personally, I'd be happy if I never heard a bad wanking metal guitar solo again.

 

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Bottom line, a lot of today's music is too animated--cut, copy, paste....yuck. And some musicians have become lazy. I love my sequencer, but onstage, I'm gonna play as much live as I can.

 

I really enjoy reading a post where a synth player is looking for advice on how to get that perfect Steve Winwood, Keith Emerson, etc. sound. Keep programming!

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If you're listening to Local Top of the Pops ClearChannel Station #44904-B, maybe you're not hearing 'searing solos'....but if you get down into the street, into the underground and down into the clubs, people are soloing left and right: I see countless house/drum and bass dj's rocking out on oxygen 8's and Kontakt and I see plenty of rock bands shredding guitars with violin bows.

 

 

{censored} Tv and {censored} the radio.

 

Who cares whats pooopular anyway?

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Originally posted by Synthoid

Anyone know what synths Darude uses?

 

 

I remember reading somewhere a few years ago that live on stage he uses a Yamaha RM1X and the Korg Electribe series. In the studio, however, he's got a massive arsenal, because his producer is "the man". On his first album, Darude had actually made only two of the tracks. One of these happened to be Sandstorm though, but I'm sure his original demo was nothing close to the final product. Darude is just the messenger, and the actual music is created by someone totally different.

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