Live Instruments vs. Synth Live Instruments

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H

HOOLY

Guest
I'm a 19 y.o. musician/producer here in Chi-town who's been playing instruments of various types since the age of 5. One of the instruments I play is piano/keys and I use a Korg MicroKorg for my synth tones. I like my synth because it's just a synth and not a keyboard that plays synth live tones. For example, it doesn't play a cheap sounding, inferiorly recreated guitar tone. I play guitar as well, which is my main instrument, and I could never resort to using a "keyboard created guitar tone".

My argument is that synth tones that are just synth tones are hot. I love what Pharrell does with his synths. Sometimes the tones he uses are tongue in cheek. Sometimes they're appropriately honoring the classic Moog tones that you can hear on classic songs from the 60s and 70s. If you are looking for a guitar tone to make yer next "99 Problems" or "Get In My Car", look for a real guitarist or any live musician to lay down those trax. Most of my other producer friends who want guitar in their song, go to me for assistance. People have said that the guitar in their beat is what pushes their track over the edge. Gives it that "better" sound. I figure it's the fact they're using a real guitar and not a keyboard one.

Most of the music I create will have all the instruments played by me. Like the bass, guitar, keys, percussion, drum programming. There's times I can't play something well, like horn instruments, live drum kits, certain stringed instruments, or parts for instruments I can play but all would better suit another musician's touch. I also like to even throw in my favored field recordings, which are recordings made outside of sounds that we hear everyday. Because I live in an urban environment, I'm surrounded by so many great "tones" or "samples". Trains, cars, machines moving, people talking/laughing, along with others are things that I can incorporate into my songs to make them more original, interesting, cinematic, and realistic. If you listen to songs off of '2001', you'll hear what I'm talking about.
 

bigdmakintrax

BeatKreatoR
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 123
Exactly, the dillemma is having the ear to go with a sound I think one of the important aspects is to know what sound to use and when.....I look at my motif...its great but sometimes you have to make that call on a sample.....but sometimes you want a riff that would be better off fitting your song with something originally composed and played by either a "PRO" live guitar, keyboard or piano player.....this is why people like Dr. Dre and others with the money started doing this......get the musician have them play it....then put it in your sequence.....but when you cant you have to either play it yourself, hopefully have a real piano or bass...record live correctly and then insert into sequence....(to record a live piano, bass or acoustic guitar is an art in itself).....

With that said if you dont have access to live players your only choice is sampling and then blend your synths in using the right tones with pitching, bending and voicing as to not to make it sound synthesized.

A sample bass is superior to a synth in a good mix because the harmonics created from a plucked string and the ambience of the room it is recorded in cannot be easily synthesized .....same with a guitar or piano.....

On the Neptunes a lot of what they play as far as riffs, melodies, progressions and keys it reminds me IMO a lot of some of the stuff you heard from the 70's but brought back by bands like Jamoriqui and some of the others ones out in the 90's...a lot of their stuff actually has that sound and I think its influenced them, but on their use of the club synths it sort of reminds me of the elektro music in the 80's....if you really listen to a variety of music from back then you can hear a lot of that incorporated in their music and sometimes pick out a riff thats almost identical to an old record but slightly altered.
 

Qwerty

Sshsh-Straight fiya!
ill o.g.
I don't want to bash on the thread starter, but I think that this doesn't even have to be an issue, it's obvious that everyone giving the chance would take Live Instruments over Synth, it's like....Masturbating vs Real Sex .....
 
H

HOOLY

Guest
Qwerty, most definitely. Haha, well put. It's just a topic that so many producers don't utilize though. If people want to be a hot producer, get off the synth shit so much. You know? Just look at Dre. People scratch their heads, thinking of how Dre is so good. A lot of it is in live instruments. Things sound that much more pleasing to listen to when there are live instruments instead of synths. You do want yer music listened to, don't you? A nice mix of live and synth is where it's at. It's the best of both worlds.
 
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