【SynthV Original】ナイトメアフーディー【Yamine Renri】

[inactive]

There’s definitely a lot to say about this track.

Work began many months ago, but that was put on a lengthy hiatus due to school. When I finally managed to finish the song, I had to wait a few extra weeks for the lyrics because りくりくりhad become busy with work. In the end, however, things turned out well and I am very pleased with his contribution.

Originally the track was supposed to be in sonata form, but by the time my writing had reached the development section I realized that the finished product was heading toward a seven- to eight-minute length. Yikes! As a result, the track was truncated to include only the introduction followed by ABA. If you’re familiar with textbook sonata form, you will recognize a transition section between A and B, as well as a closing section leading to the repeat of A. The second appearance of the transition has been changed into something that resembles a coda, finishing with a brief return of the introduction.

This is the first (and so far only) music project that I’ve created using Reaper. My first day with Reaper was frustrating, but by the end of the first week I was more comfortable with Reaper than I had ever been with FL Studio. Everything is quicker with Reaper, and I’m learning more shortcuts and workflow enhancements with every session. Going forward I will only be using FL Studio for its ZGameEditor Visualizer plugin.

Choosing to use Reaper also meant leaving FL Studio’s plugins behind. (Although some are available in VST versions.) At first I was going to stick to TDR’s free plugins and Reaper’s built-in plugins, but I then discovered the wonders of the SSL E-Channel strip. I absolutely love it! (TDR plugins are also used here and there.) If you don’t know what the SSL E-Channel is, this video gives a practical introduction to the real hardware. Officially-licensed simulations are available from Brainworx, Universal Audio, Waves, and SSL themselves. Unofficial versions are available from IK Multimedia, Acustica, and more. There’s even at least one free version kicking around.

Moving right along, this track contains the most detailed SynthV tuning that I’ve ever done, but only by a tiny amount. (To be honest, I always keep my tuning pretty simple.) The first difference in detail can be found at various moments were I drew pitches directly onto the piano roll. This was a last-minute change that happened only after I discovered the “Freehand (overlay)” option just a few days before uploading the video. It definitely helped to clean up some rapid notes here and there. The second difference was finding a way to use the breath function in a useful manner.

One final change happened 24 hours before uploading the video: I swapped out all the cabinet impulse responses. Prior to that I was using the IRs that came included with my amp sims, but something about them seemed kinda messy. After a bit of research I picked up some OwnHammer IRs, and they were worth every penny. Yay!

Now to resume work on my other in-progress SynthV projects...

 

[Krin]

Oh wait I recognise this, I think you made a profile post with a wip of it? Anyways this sounds really cool, and I love that you used Renri to sing lower notes because her low voice is SO underappreciated yet so so lovely. I think the simpler tuning was a good choice for this (and imo you usually don't need a lot of crazy tuning for lower notes anyways).

This is the first (and so far only) music project that I’ve created using Reaper. My first day with Reaper was frustrating, but by the end of the first week I was more comfortable with Reaper than I had ever been with FL Studio. Everything is quicker with Reaper, and I’m learning more shortcuts and workflow enhancements with every session. Going forward I will only be using FL Studio for its ZGameEditor Visualizer plugin.

Choosing to use Reaper also meant leaving FL Studio’s plugins behind. (Although some are available in VST versions.) At first I was going to stick to TDR’s free plugins and Reaper’s built-in plugins, but I then discovered the wonders of the SSL E-Channel strip. I absolutely love it! (TDR plugins are also used here and there.) If you don’t know what the SSL E-Channel is, this video gives a practical introduction to the real hardware. Officially-licensed simulations are available from Brainworx, Universal Audio, Waves, and SSL themselves. Unofficial versions are available from IK Multimedia, Acustica, and more. There’s even at least one free version kicking around.

I thought it was interesting reading this since I've also been looking at Reaper as a possible choice of a different DAW for me to use. (mostly because it seems like everybody's using Reaper but dkdjsj new DAWs feel intimidatinggg). Actually I'm still using a few of those TDR plugins you recommended to me awhile back because they felt so much better to use than whatever stock plugins FL Studio had. Although now as I say that, if I actually did make the switch to Reaper I feel like I'd still miss some of the FL Studio plugins. Still, if it only took you a week to learn Reaper then maybe that means I'll have the slightest chance of learning it too

 

[inactive]

I'll tell ya, my first day with Reaper was horrid. It took a while before I could even get it to make a sound. But by the second day things began to rapidly fall into place. And the interface turned out to be a lot more drag-n-drop than it first looked, especially once when I discovered that the fader section could be expanded upward, exposing all the plugins and routings in a manner similar to Pro Tools.

I still accidentally hit a random previously-unknown shortcut key from time to time, which can cause something wanted to hide or something unwanted to appear. But once the initial panic passes, I quickly find the correct option to reverse the change either through browsing the menus or googling for the answer. Thankfully this happens rarely, and in the long run it serves as a way to learn the multitude of shortcut keys. (All of which can be customized, but I haven't yet ventured that far. And I haven't tried any interface skins either, in case you're wondering.)

In regards to TDR, they may not have the marketing of Waves, but their plugins are fantastic. I used Kotelnikov to tame the bass DI before sending it to the amp sim; I used Nova to surgically remove a metallic resonance from the DI of one guitar; and I also used another three Novas to tame both the SynthV shrillness that happens at ~D5 and above, as well as the upper frequencies of the lead guitars. For these three uses I selected the De-ess (split) preset, then adjusted the frequency and threshold to where it was doing just enough to keep my ears happy.

When using FL Studio I used Maximus to master, but I decided to splurge and bought both TDR's Slick EQ Mastering Edition and their Limiter 6 plugins. (Limiter 6 took the most time to learn.) I ain't great at mastering, but I think I got some respectable results. It was also my first time using LUFS. If you right click on the above video (regardless of whether or not it's playing) and select "Stats for nerds," you can see that my volume is at 100%/100% with no minus dB rating.* Hurrah for TDR!

*As it turns out, YouTube only does volume normalization when you watch videos on YouTube itself. Videos embedded in other websites, such as this very site, will have volume normalization turned off. Of course, YouTube may change this behaviour at a later date without notice.