Do You Know What’s in Your Sound Library?
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As a producing musician you simply just can’t have enough sounds, right? And why shouldn’t you? Your girlfriend’s closet is spilling over with clothes, shoes and handbags, so it’s only fair that your hard drive is filled with sounds.
To each his/her fetish. 
This summer I upgraded my home studio. I took advantage of an EWQL 2 for 1 deal and got me Symphonic Orchestra Gold and Goliath. I drooled in anticipation while I was waiting for the last DVD to finally give me the “Installation complete” message.
Goliath alone has over 40 Gigs. That’s quite a sound library. 600+ patches of new sounds to explore.
The Problem with Having Too Many Sounds...
Here’s the danger...
Since there are so many sounds to check out, you rush through them, trying to get an overview. The most distinctive sounds you might notice and remember, but a lot of sounds slip under your radar and you don’t give them the attention they deserve.
For instance, in Goliath there are 51 patches in the electric guitar category. You select the “Lapsteel” patch.
The electric guitar category in EWQL Goliath
You play a few uninspired notes.
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It doesn’t sound like much so you move on to the next preset. After all, you got plenty of those waiting for you.
Big Mistake.
Here’s what the same Lapsteel patch sounds like with some convolution reverb, a smack of delay and the ADT chorus effect.
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Hard to believe, but it really is the same patch. It still amazes me every time what some processing can do to enhance a basic, somewhat plain sound.
Lapsteel patch with reverb, delay and ADT
Tweak the settings, adapt the playing style and you end up with a cool texture that sits well in a mix with drums, bass, Rhodes and a little flute fill.
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How Many Great Sounds?
How many great sounds are hidden on your hard drive collecting cyberdust?
Let’s find out.
Set aside some time to go through your library. Put a limit on the number of presets you are going to check out. Too many and they start to sound the same, anyways. Don’t rush!
Really dig into the individual sounds. Experiment with various playing techniques and styles.
- legato vs. staccato
- piano vs. forte
- slow vs. fast
- tremolo
- use different textures like clusters or open voicings
Keep your ears open. Listen!
- What’s the timbre?
- What’s the mood of the sound?
- Do the timbre and mood change when I change my playing technique?
- How responsive is the patch to dynamics?
- Are modulations already programmed?
- Do I like the sound? Why or why not?
- What can I do to improve the sound?
Keep asking yourself those questions until the process becomes automatic and subconscious.
Add/remove effects. You’ve just heard what powerful effect (pun intended) this can have. Learn to know when to use a specific effect. And don’t go overboard — apply effects tastefully. No effect is an option as well.
Whenever you came up with something you really like, save your new creation.
Most DAWs have some sort of Media Management system, like the Media Bay in Cubase SX5, where you can tag and categorize your sounds for easier retrieval. Start to use such systems or keep some sort of sound journal — a paper note book or a spreadsheet where you collect your findings.
Get a Feel for Your Sounds
Do this regularly and you’ll get a much better feel for the sound palette available to you. As a side benefit you’ll also sharpen your listening skills. This definitely never hurts.
Additionally, depending on how much you get into tweaking and fiddling, you’ll also gain a better understanding of your sound modules and effects processors.
Sooner or later — most likely sooner — the next impossible production deadline will loom over your head. Knowing what sounds are available to you will help to meet the deadline and make your project shine.
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Tagged with: digital audio workstation • goliath • organizing • patch • sound library • sounds
Filed under: Producing
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Thanks for the helpful post. I’m just getting into recording with my small home studio, and I’ll keep those questions in mind.
The 3rd sound example (the complete mix) sounds nice. Are all the sounds coming from the Goliath plugin? Do you think that Goliath is worth the money?
Thanks in advance,
Steve
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Twitter:markozirkovich
Hi Steve,
I’m glad you found the post helpful.
No, only the processed lapsteel sound came from Goliath. For the rest of the track I’ve used some loops from the Big Fish Audio “Suite Grooves” collection.
I’ve used Goliath extensively on a couple of my latest projects. I really do like it a lot. There’s other plugins that might be better suited for special purposes, since there aren’t really any extensive keyswitch patches programmed. E.g.: if you are into orchestral music, get the Symphonic Orchestra instead, for ethno tracks “RA” is a better choice, etc... But overall, Goliath is fun to work with.
Right now, EWQL is having a special until the end of October, where you can get 3 of their plugins for a greatly reduced price. Check out their Rocktober special. (no affiliate link)
Good luck with your recordings and please stop by again.
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