What's Your Sound Design Pipeline?

[SunkLo]

I scoured the forums and there doesn't seem to be much discussion on this.

Lately I've been thinking about the benefit of having a library of building blocks ready to go when you start a session. Saving yourself from having to do a bunch of technical work during that initial window is a big boost to productivity. But using all sounds that someone else made is bumba mode. So the name of the game is doing separate sound design sessions to beef up your library and then being able to draw from your own sonic palette in the heat of the moment. Productivity aside, it also helps to craft your identity as an artist. Drawing from the same audio pool over a span of time will give cohesion to your output.

Obviously a crucial facet here is organization. If it takes you forever to find a sound, you might as well just make a new one in that time. Over the past several months, I've been trying to think of an ideal system for building a sound library. If you've got a good system going, share any tips you've got. If you've got an unorganized mess with no real process, maybe we can analyze why that is and brainstorm some solutions.


Something that my ideal system would have to accommodate is varying levels of polish. From a raw field recording to a full layered drumkit and the intermediate steps in between. I've been trying to think of ways to have things tiered depending on need. An audio primitives folder will be necessary. Categories like tonal, rhythmic, percussive, textures, edges (short transient attacks). Then a tier up from that would be dedicated layers, like snare tops, bass midrange, incidental effects, pads, vocal cuts, convolution IRs, etc. Then the tier above would be fully fleshed out sounds, made of multiple layers, including effects processing, ready to drop in and go. These could be rendered samples, a saved instrument rack, or a Kontakt preset.

With this tiered approach, I can drop in a ready to go snare, swap out the body sample with something different from the layers tier, or add in a gated texture or extra snappy transient from the primitives tier. Material available from micro to macro.

The other thing to consider is organizing sounds as they make their way into the library. I'm thinking a dumping ground folder as basically a sample inbox. Any new sample packs or audio rips go here. After being cleaned up and trimmed, any useful audio gets sent to a workbench folder which holds the raw audio to be crafted. During a sound design session, audio is pulled from here and manipulated, with different variations being saved to a subfolder. The idea here is to go for volume so you have lots to pick from during the pruning process. This phase is more about generating lots of interesting material without spending too long tweaking any one thing. Once you're done the bulk processing, you'd sift through the results and find the best bits. These can be combined or polished up, then categorized and saved into the main library. Having this staging folder allows you to go for a shotgun approach when doing sound design without cluttering up the main library with mediocre sounds.

Obviously there's a fair bit of work that would go into maintaining a system like this. But this actually seems like the most efficient way to do it. In the first phase you're just concerned with making a ton of sounds and archiving them. I'd probably have a dedicated sound design project file with lots of processing return tracks. Import a sound, run it through a barrage of effects, and save it after some experimentation. The second phase you're acting as an editor; pruning out the shit, taking the best stuff and preparing it to be used in a musical context. Stuff like trimming fat with an EQ, tweaking the keytracking in a sampler, or setting up macros to control important parameters. Then come production time, you've got a really simple interface to work with. Your library's organized depending on function and just contains the hash that you've already prepared. No time wasted trying to shoehorn it into your project, it's already ready to go.

Does anyone have a system like this for sound design? Or even just a system for organizing samples and presets? I'd be interested to hear what your barriers and solutions are.

[zosomagik]

I wanna follow this and see what people say. Also I don't have a very technical system, even though I should organize more. For sound design stuff I use Ableton, so I'll use a folder labeled "My stuff" under the instrument rack folder which is where everything stays until I think it's finished. Then when It's finished it goes into another folder labeled "My stuff" in the drop down section of preset for the appropriate plugin I used to make the sound i.e. Drum rack>My stuff>The sound or Simpler>My stuff>The sound etc. It obviously doesn't really categorize the type of sound, but I'll usually throw like "synth lead" or "plucks" in front of the name, you know, just cliche words describing the sound a bit

[SunkLo]

Yeah I wish Ableton had a tagging system. You're pretty much stuck with having everything in one folder, or having to make a bunch of subfolders and clicking in and out of them while trying to find a sound. Both very inconvenient in different ways. Bitwig is supposed to have tagging in the browser which should hopefully make this process a lot more streamlined.

[zosomagik]

Yeah I always just throw them in one folder for the corresponding plugin because I'd rather scroll than click in and out. I'm a bit undecided about Bitwig, but that sounds like a dope feature to have. Anyway, I won't hijack your thread by going off-topic.

[blinx]

My Pipeline/workflow:

I have a root level, Music Production folder that houses ALL my Music Production materials, ableton projects, sample libraries and my own sounds/presets i have designed in the past. This folder is not structured really in ANY meaningful way, except MY STUFF that i created is ina folders name AAAMySTUFF so its at the top of the ableton browser. Otherwise i just "know" where things are and i can get ot them when i need them... my brian works in a K.I.S.S. mode so having self induced "rules" or schema would just piss me off... i deal with that at work... dont need it in my music but thats just me.

My sound design pipeline is, open ableotn create a patch/preset and save it, and continue that processs with other synths/samples/drums. I never have an "exact" goal when i do this it just ends up being a day where the only thing i did was create noises, dont know what context they have yet but atleast theys ound badass. Also sometimes i dont even know im doing a session as a "design" session but instead write lackluster track that might have 1 redeming element, so ill save that element and move on with life.

My entire music workflow is far to "organic" and freeform to start introducing any real "logic" behind it. I did spent time developing my production template and have streamlined my "workflow" process for writing tunes, but thats not set in stone either. I like to go with the flow and keep my music fun (to me). I could = see where having such structure could be "fun" and productive to other individuals, but i am just not those ppl.

My dj folders (housing dem 320s) are in even more dissarray then my production folder... but i find it energizing when i am digging for songs before an event and creating a new folder to house my tentative playlists. Keeps me on my toes and my sets sound different each time... cause sometimes i forget where a song went lol.

[SunkLo]

I do that too except I use ` or ! to keep a folder at the top of the list.

I definitely don't want things to get too complicated or structured. But I want to be able to effortlessly grab sounds while I'm producing so if that means outsourcing some of that technical effort, then it's worth the extra overhead to keep everything maintained and organized. It's also good for when you're feeling uninspired, you can work on polishing up some samples for later. And you'll probably hear something that sparks your ear and reignites your inspiration.

I'm hoping that the bitwig tagging thing is really useful because eventually my library's gonna get really large and unwieldy. It'd be really useful for items that belong to several different categories. Instead of having to duplicate it and put it in several folders, you can assign it a few tags and have it pop up when you search.

It would also be cool to tag samples according to where they came from, so if you've got a wav that you wish you could go back and edit, just search the tag to find the original raw audio or track preset you used to make it. That way you've got flattened audio files in your browser that you can audition quickly, but you don't have to commit to the current state of the sound and forfeit the ability to go back and tweak things.

[nowaysj]

I haven't liked tagging. Perhaps if someone did it for me, I'd like it.

I've got a lot of samples, and I've got a lot of my own samples. In my stuff folder, I have subfolders for functions of sounds/types of sounds. From my experience I know types of components that I use, so I've got folders for those. File names get tempo/notes or key/specific type of sound or function.

But my favorite sound design folder is sliced beats which has thousands of "dragged sample xxxx" samples. This is where fl defaults to saving files that are dragged out of edison into an fl project. So as you are working, and lets say you resample a bass note into edison, the audio editor, and then drag it into the playlist, a file will be created. I love just cruising through that folder. The files are sequential, so you'll hit like 30 samples in a row from the same previous project. So everything is kind of similar or in the same vein. This makes a great source to sample from. It is like slicing your drums from a break, there is already a cohesion to the sounds.

My sound design: It varies. I do it all, everywhere.

But like, sound design is largely motion within a sound, and the fastest way to get the right motion in the sound for that particular point of the song is to design it there and then in place. Build it to fit exactly. Said it so many times, this is why speed in a daw is a HUGE factor for me. I think it is so important.

Very tired, sorry for the shotgun approach.

[dca]

I like to build channel strips, I have a nice collection of channel strips with different basses, leads, etc made with different synths with different types of filters or effects and I keep them in a library and so whenever I want I can audition anything with midi just cycling through channel strips of whatever im trying to work on.

And if im not feeling like composing, I will open a channel strip ive made, play with it for an hour or two swapping out fx or synth settings then save the new channel strip if I like it

[gen_]

Like DCA above I use Channel Strips. The difference though is that I save them according not to the sound that they are, but the type of sound. I have separate subfolders for leads, basses, wubs, white noise, FX, and I have buss channel strips for any drum FX and mix presets, (so I can swap through drums and use multiple samplers etc and still buss them all to the same thing).

It's pretty quick, by I advise you to do spring cleaning every now and then, moving older sounds to a 'old' folder under that. It really helps you keep stuff in order and allows you to get to the stuff you use most, fast.

EDIT: Just to add why, it's so that i can browse through my channles strips using the next and preious shortcuts, and all the sounds I'm browsing through suit the melody I put down. If I'm doing a lead and I want something for it, I can throw all my leads at it just by kitting the keyboard shortcut (or next button on my keyboard) repeatedly.

[SunkLo]

That's something I've been wanting to implement as well. But I wanted to wait till Bitwig comes out so I can save them as effect racks there instead of investing a lot of time in Ableton and having to migrate them over.

NWJ I agree it's ideal to custom fit your sound design, but in the interest of simplifying the initial composition period, I think it's useful to have some prefabbed stuff. You can always swap stuff out down the line. At least have some starting points to jump off of while you get the initial ideas out.

[titchbit]

This is my system for organization. Works pretty well for me.

In ableton's library, I have folders for bass, lead, pads, fx/weird sounds, arpeggios, brass, etc.

Then I have folders by song. Like for every song I've made, I'll make a folder that has all the sounds i used in it.

This way if i want a specific sound, i can look in the songs folder, or if i just want some kind of pad but don't feel like making a new one, i can look in the broader pad folder.

Also keep in mind that often there's no need to have 2 sounds that are really similar. Like I used to save two wobble patches where the only difference between them was the type of distortion i used. no need to do that. if you have patches like that, just save one of them & customize it whenever you use it.

[nowaysj]

in the interest of simplifying the initial composition period, I think it's useful to have some prefabbed stuff.

I don't disagree. But I've had SO many tracks come out of sound design sessions. But also, my ego is secure enough that if I need to use a kick, I can use a commercial sample pack's kick, or the kick off a record.

[titchbit]

But I've had SO many tracks come out of sound design sessions. But also, my ego is secure enough that if I need to use a kick, I can use a commercial sample pack's kick, or the kick off a record.

It's a great feeling innit?

[SunkLo]

Yeah I'm not that alpha.

I also think it's cool to just stay in that lane. Work on building a palette of sounds that work together and then start painting with them. You're just thinking on a purely timbral and textural basis. Then once your aesthetic is formed, you switch lanes and arrange those swatches in a way that reinforces and builds upon what you've got so far. Of course things will need to be tweaked or added, but choosing your substrates at the very beginning gives you a direction to go in before you even start moving.

It's the idea of making a choice before you make a choice. Picking up a guitar will affect what you play vs sitting at a piano. Inserting a certain style compressor will dictate the result you coax out of it. By filling your palette before you even start painting, you're ensuring cohesion on a base level.

I think it makes arrangement easier too. If you think about writing for a band, it's incredibly simple. Every instrument has a predefined role and the arrangement is distributed across them. By setting up your instruments prior to writing, you're already aware of the breadth of the arrangement and can make intelligent choices on what parts are played by what. I find if I do sound design sequentially as I compose, I overcrowd each instrument because I'm not aware of all the other sounds that I haven't made yet which also have to fit in the box.

[nowaysj]

I find if I do sound design sequentially as I compose, I overcrowd each instrument because I'm not aware of all the other sounds that I haven't made yet which also have to fit in the box.

Yes yes and yes, but this last line - consider this - after producing track after track, on a weekly basis, you start to know what will be needed, what will later be brought into the mix, and thus know to leave empty spaces both in time and timbre.

[SunkLo]

Smells fishy.

[Aufnahmewindwuschel]

the run for layers is imo the same as the run for loudness but thats just my

[nowaysj]

Smells fishy.

Producing tracks, you should try it some time.




===

Bud - and it is layers in fact that diminish loudness.

[Aufnahmewindwuschel]

:3 true i think the people who dont give a fuck about either are the ones making the most complete music

[nowaysj]

That might exclude you then...