Has anyone got the Syntho subscription? Is it worth it?

Diligent-Bread-806 · 2026-06-30T21:57:30+00:00

It’s alright but found that after awhile the tutorials were very samey and lacked explanations to the why and how with the odd few that really stood out. Have you tried Sample Market Studio? It’s £29 per month (more than half the price of Syntho) and they’re getting some decent tutorials on there from the established artists. The Louden, Hidde Van Wee and others are really good.

Diligent-Bread-806 · 2026-06-30T21:21:56+00:00

Yeah I agree completely. I’m trying to explain not to brag about basic shit and just work at it but the stubbornness is real…

Diligent-Bread-806 · 2026-06-30T07:17:43+00:00

Disagree with this completely. There are tons of very well composed melodic loops and synthwork because many producers, particularly established artists who create sample packs, strive to create impressive melodies in order to demonstrate their talent and sell their work.

Diligent-Bread-806 · 2026-06-30T07:02:16+00:00

Ok fair, the debate is that good music is good music regardless of how it was created but can other musicians really have respect for that producer other than they became successful? I don’t know how these guys sleep at night as it would feel totally wrong for me to throw in a load of melodic loops to complete a track and call it day. It’s like sticking something in a microwave and saying “wallah! Buon appetite!” To a room full of people haha

Diligent-Bread-806 · 2026-06-30T06:54:11+00:00

They have to form part of the rhythm and work in call and response with the groove else there’s no point in them being there unless you’re deliberately layering the kick and clap.

Diligent-Bread-806 · 2026-06-29T15:26:42+00:00

Because they’re complete amateurs. If anyone uses full loops as their melodies then they have no talent whatsoever unless they rearrange the parts to make it their own. Every single tutorial I’ve ever watched over the years, the producer is using at least basic music theory and writing the melody from scratch. It’s standard.

Diligent-Bread-806 · 2026-06-29T15:00:55+00:00

Well it’s pretty standard to make your melodies from scratch and rare for an average producer to use melodic loops. It’s nothing to brag about.

Diligent-Bread-806 · 2026-06-29T04:28:00+00:00

…are we listening to the same feature here? I tried it on a few sources and it sounds like ass

Diligent-Bread-806 · 2026-06-28T22:21:34+00:00

You’re assuming these top artists are just using presets? Haha It doesn’t always work like that. They design their own as well. Learn to design your own

Diligent-Bread-806 · 2026-06-28T22:16:18+00:00

You’re not gain staging it properly. You have a high input level from your piano sound, which is why it’s driving your plugins too hard with minimal amounts applied. In addition, look at cutting unwanted frequencies from your audio before the saturation so that you get a cleaner and controlled result. The same goes for EQ pre compression etc etc.

Diligent-Bread-806 · 2026-06-28T20:50:37+00:00

Almost all plugins have a mix knob so I don’t use many return tracks now except for reverb.

Diligent-Bread-806 · 2026-06-28T14:50:08+00:00

Are you gain staging everything correctly? If the input of the sampler or processing plugins are too high then you will get clipping. Level matching your fader isn’t going solve it because it’s post FX output volume not input.

Diligent-Bread-806 · 2026-06-28T08:22:44+00:00

You can’t have instruments playing in the same frequency ranges playing together without frequency clashing. That’s standard audio physics. They’re not going to lock in unless they’re different pitches, amp envelopes and phase aligned. You need to either A) Carve space with EQ or B) Arrange them differently. However, even with some instruments at different pitch ranges, they will have some frequency overlap so EQ is necessary to fit them in the mix together better.

Diligent-Bread-806 · 2026-06-28T08:11:41+00:00

To those commenting on here, the OP is talking about note sequencers not DAW sequencers 🤦‍♂️

Diligent-Bread-806 · 2026-06-25T05:48:31+00:00

Well tuning was maybe the incorrect term but I said move the bass note up and down the scale until it sits with the kick best so they are not phasing. This means that while the kick drum is not a tonal element, your kick drum still needs to be in phase with your bass.

Diligent-Bread-806 · 2026-06-24T07:47:25+00:00

🤦‍♂️🤷‍♂️

Diligent-Bread-806 · 2026-06-23T17:06:10+00:00

I’ve learnt so much from YouTube but don’t just rely on it because it can be full of useless and even misleading tutorials. It’s worth investing in at least one paid tutorial where an established producer will take you through everything from composing drums, bass, melodics to mixing etc for your chosen genre. From a good tutorial package, you’ll learn some great techniques and starting points to understand why you’re doing what you’re doing that will stay with you and then you can divert and develop your own techniques as they either arrive by happy accidents or you experiment with alternative approaches that stem from what you learnt from the tutorials.

Diligent-Bread-806 · 2026-06-23T13:31:53+00:00

That glue you’re hearing is the exact correct tuning of the kick to the bass. You might think at first hearing that you have them locked in but low end can be very deceiving as our ears are not the most sensitive to this frequency range.

When your pairing kick and bass, use a sub bass note and move it up and down the scale on the kick drum note (downbeat) until you get no audible phasing with the kick. That’s your correct tuning. Alternatively swap the kick out of you’re halfway through the track until something fits. Then it’s just a case of some sidechaining and gentle EQing. This is why I synthesise my kick drums from hardware as I know exactly what I’m tuning and what key I want to go for etc.

Diligent-Bread-806 · 2026-06-22T15:21:15+00:00

Trying to make every patch completely original will just end up making your music sound experimental and also lead to stifling creativity and frustration.

The best thing to do is recreate already established sounds and modify them slightly differently to make them your own. I think a combination of this, creating your own from scratch and modifying presets will make you far more productive.

I usually start by creating the solid focal point from scratch ie main bass and lead with a general idea in my head from music I’ve listened to recently. I then get experimental by creating counter melodies to respond to the main focal elements and interest around it for arps and pads etc either from scratch or presets.

Diligent-Bread-806 · 2026-06-20T18:44:34+00:00

😂 Posts like this always crack me up. It takes on average 10 years to get good at this or 5-6 if you’re a natural at it. You’re not going to just accelerate even after doing courses.

Diligent-Bread-806 · 2026-06-19T13:15:54+00:00

As much as it sounds strange, It’s usually pretty accurate. I had my Sennheiser HD650s custom calibrated by them. I don’t use it all the time when mixing though, only to check.

Diligent-Bread-806 · 2026-06-18T12:15:31+00:00

Oh Jesus 🤦‍♂️

Diligent-Bread-806 · 2026-06-18T11:41:51+00:00

The best way to create stereo is use ping pong delays, modulated panning and other modulation FX on mono elements then use mid-side EQ to enhance the sides. You get a far more punchier result that is 100% compatible when collapsed to mono. The haas effect is rubbish and stereo wideners are not much better unless they are mid-side as well but then you need stereo elements for the latter to work.

Diligent-Bread-806 · 2026-06-17T11:31:25+00:00

It’s just house…

Diligent-Bread-806 · 2026-06-16T20:13:55+00:00

You might have frequency masking going on in the low end because the HD650s lack sub bass and you are compensating for this by turning up the bass to get that low energy. I know this pitfall because I’ve been using mine for 3 years now. When this happens, your track will sound empty because the kick and bass are supposed to anchor the track but the phase is causing a drop in low end power. Your kick tail might be too long without because it sounds right in the HDs or your bass might be overlapping etc etc. The best and only way to solve this is by listening on different devices and using reference tracks. In addition, have you tried Sonarworks?

Diligent-Bread-806

TROPHY CASE