all my synths sound metallic

[sp303]

so im really new to synths am im really not getting it. ive been using es2 and and trying to make my own sounds but all i get these nintendo sounds when thats not what im going for.i posted earlier asking how to make this synth at 1:30 but i didnt get it and i dont wanna clog that thread up cause theres probably alot i dont understand. i also dont know the right terms to describe the sounds im trying to get so ill just post some more videos


some more sounds
at 1:13




you get the point. should i be using some other synth or what am i doing wrong?

[wub]

A mono synth can get you close. Use a Saw wave or triangle/saw combo for a slightly smoother sounding whine. add some gentle low pass filtering and a touch of reso. Then turn on your portamento to make it glide.

Adjust to taste.

[stevemac]

Forgive me if this is too obvious, but when you say 'nintendo' sounds I think of relatively high pitched sounds - have you tried turning down the octaves of the oscillators?

[sp303]

A mono synth can get you close. Use a Saw wave or triangle/saw combo for a slightly smoother sounding whine. add some gentle low pass filtering and a touch of reso. Then turn on your portamento to make it glide.

Adjust to taste.

I got alot closer with this advice the rest is probably just good mixing or maybe adding some effects...

[wub]

A mono synth can get you close. Use a Saw wave or triangle/saw combo for a slightly smoother sounding whine. add some gentle low pass filtering and a touch of reso. Then turn on your portamento to make it glide.

Adjust to taste.

I got alot closer with this advice the rest is probably just good mixing or maybe adding some effects...

It's just practice, trial & error. Once you've got the basic sound down, you can save it as a preset then use it as your starting point. Try layering 2 versions, EQing then differently, adding efx (as you've said) and just trying different things.

[nowaysj]

First synth is pretty low, like low pitched, one of the oscs might be an octave higher, and just poking through the low pass or a band pass, it sounds chorused and reverbed, and is moving all over the stereo field, and then is doubled up with a quieter unfiltered raw synth panned left, a little later on, that synth then goes into heavy chorus.

Don't be afraid to chop your sounds with your filter, work with less aggressive filter slopes if you want to retain some higher freq information.

[sp303]

A mono synth can get you close. Use a Saw wave or triangle/saw combo for a slightly smoother sounding whine. add some gentle low pass filtering and a touch of reso. Then turn on your portamento to make it glide.

Adjust to taste.

I got alot closer with this advice the rest is probably just good mixing or maybe adding some effects...

It's just practice, trial & error. Once you've got the basic sound down, you can save it as a preset then use it as your starting point. Try layering 2 versions, EQing then differently, adding efx (as you've said) and just trying different things.

this is what i got so far


added a litttle reverb chorus compression and some eqing.atleast it doesnt sound metallic

[sp303]

any ideas on the ahnnu synth??

[Genevieve]

Try smoothing out the envelopes, slower attack, longer decay.. etc.

[sp303]

Try smoothing out the envelopes, slower attack, longer decay.. etc.

are you talking about the rustie synth? i pretty much nailed that one already by detuning the waves i had in the above video.


now im asking about the second vid i posted Ahnnu - Runaway

[BevOh]

filters and resonance imo

[amphibian]

A mono synth can get you close. Use a Saw wave or triangle/saw combo for a slightly smoother sounding whine. add some gentle low pass filtering and a touch of reso. Then turn on your portamento to make it glide.

Adjust to taste.

I got alot closer with this advice the rest is probably just good mixing or maybe adding some effects...

It's just practice, trial & error. Once you've got the basic sound down, you can save it as a preset then use it as your starting point. Try layering 2 versions, EQing then differently, adding efx (as you've said) and just trying different things.

Although sound advice - I never, ever save anything I make as a preset. That way you're ALWAYS having to re-learn.

[wub]

A mono synth can get you close. Use a Saw wave or triangle/saw combo for a slightly smoother sounding whine. add some gentle low pass filtering and a touch of reso. Then turn on your portamento to make it glide.

Adjust to taste.

I got alot closer with this advice the rest is probably just good mixing or maybe adding some effects...

It's just practice, trial & error. Once you've got the basic sound down, you can save it as a preset then use it as your starting point. Try layering 2 versions, EQing then differently, adding efx (as you've said) and just trying different things.

Although sound advice - I never, ever save anything I make as a preset. That way you're ALWAYS having to re-learn.

See, I find it way more beneficial to save every preset I make as a go along. Next day, listen back to them - if they're shit, laugh and delete and move on.