Eurobeat Prime :: Forum

Alright, I know there have been various posts about this sort of thing before, but I'd like to have a topic just related to this sort of thing.

Basically just discuss different leads that you use in your productions and which VSTs and/or Hardware Synths you use/prefer. I'd like for people to maybe post examples and discuss techniques that they use to make their leads and more in the future.

I'll start this off.

For the majority of my productions I use the lead synth "Supersaw X4" from Nexus with a bit of Delay/Reverb and a few other various effects added to it. I usually layer it with 1 or 2 other brassy synths and add a bit of portamento. I feel like I get a really nice, raw, and classic sounding Euro lead from that combination.

You can hear some examples of this synth lead in Euro Demo 3 on my Myspace page (www.myspace.com/johndtrax).

So yeah, let the discussion/tip sharing begin!

I use the few things I've got. =\

For rougher synths (and for pretty much everything I write), I use the Saw Wave General MIDI patch on my Korg O5R/W. I modify the reverb and chorus as necessary, which is seldom but increasing lately. (Check out "Ghosts of Suburbia" for the most recent example)
In other cases I'll either use SuperWave P8 exclusively ("I'm Gonna Get You") or in tandem with the Korg ("Nitro"). In this case, I use one Square wave and one Saw Wave, both on "Superwave" form, with the resonance just about maxed.
For ballads/more symphonic pieces, I use the "Crystal" GM patch on the Korg. (Hear "Dreams" for that case).

I've used other patches too... I once blended the Korg's Saw Wave with my E-MU Audity's "Poly" high-portmanteau sound in "Something Wicked" for a more "slippery" sound that worked well with the song's speed. But for the most part, if it's not the Korg, it's Superwave.

Although it has been a while since I touched on eurobeat, back when I did some remixes I had layered instruments such as "Eurosynth" patch from NI FM7 (now up to FM8 I believe), I know I've tweaked some Supersaw-like presets from Albino 3 and reFX Vanguard as well, those were the only synths available to me back then.

Also you might get some good results using some synth brass sounds from reFX Nexus.

Other than choosing the lead sound itself, I use the basic techniques that seem to reoccur such as the occasional use of quick portamento, use of vibrato, and octave layering.

It took a lot of experimenting, but it is worth the tweaking to find that sound you want...

I know this is not lead synth related, but I found a good "brightness" preset is the "Chillin Bells" patch from reFX Nexus.

leads can be many things, the most important is not to make any "hanging" reverbs on it. I often use a stereo limiter on my leads.
Bass amp effect can also be very cool on lead sounds. pretty much it´s all about what you what, there will be thousands og answers to this, but the simpel ones are in my opinion the best, but I like them fatt and crispy.

i usually use a pairing of a saw lead from synth1 or something panned slightly right and a sine lead from morphine palled slightly left. i like the contrast you get with the two

One of my favorite ripping lead sounds is the FM8 "Eurosynth" preset, with the amount of voices cranked up to something ridiculous like 23-25. I hit it pretty hard with some compression and play a lot of really fast chords.

Any Mac users ?
Has anyone been able to find a good synth on GarageBand ?
It seems pretty limited in my opinion...

I liked the sounds that FM7/FM8 gave me when i had Windows ... been able to get some ''Akyr-like'' sounds with Trance Lead.

Will154 wrote:Any Mac users ?
Has anyone been able to find a good synth on GarageBand ?
It seems pretty limited in my opinion...

http://eurobeatblog.com

I discuss this briefly there.

Is there any good free lead synth and bass from Fruity Loops? I don't have anything to work with... So, I kind of... abandon anything I start because of lack of good material.

i've seen people do some pretty amazing things with the 3xosc in FL, but if that doesn't cut it, there's always synth1. just have a look on kvraudio.com for free synth vsts and see which ones you like.

Lebon14 wrote:Is there any good free lead synth and bass from Fruity Loops? I don't have anything to work with... So, I kind of... abandon anything I start because of lack of good material.

Depends. Does FL work with VSTi's?

yeah, reason is the only one i can name that doesn't

zoupzuop2 wrote:

Lebon14 wrote:Is there any good free lead synth and bass from Fruity Loops? I don't have anything to work with... So, I kind of... abandon anything I start because of lack of good material.

Depends. Does FL work with VSTi's?

It does because I have Nexus installed.
Anyway, after playing with it again yesterday, I concluded I really lack the "Composer talent".

This is why I prefer the childish and noobish Dance Ejay 7.

FL Studio can give you some great results if you have the patience (a little bit of musical composition know-how helps too I guess).

I can't really say anything about emulating the sounds of the big labels as that's not what I want to do, but my advice is just to get the bare bones of the melody down and then experiment with different plugins and sounds until you find something you're happy with - I'm pretty sure everyone could find something they like in a program as large as FL.

I work solely with reason, So I have to create my own patches. To make a decent Lead Synth you run a sawtooth at PM 64 through a low pass filter, At roughly 2.9 KHz, then to a Low comb filter at about 2.1KHz and 42 RES