Synth Effect vs external effect

VST, AU, AAX, CLAP, etc. Plugin Virtual Effects Discussion
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@BONES, How many effects? It all depends on the situation. You have outlined one of those scenarios, where effects are used sparingly, or just to add spacial placement to a vocal, a corrective EQ to another instrument, levelling on the master bus, etc. And, this is one valid application.

Myself, I often end up using effects like a synthesiser, so for me a long chain of effects is about the creative process one that gives me a new sound. In this situation, there is no worry about ending up with a 'muddy' mix, as I use EQ carefully to cut troublesome frequencies that may pop up. This is often the case when I use spectral effects, or some combination of comb filters, formant filters, phasers or ring modulation.

This creative use of effects can be done as a way to create a new sound in a DAW, that is, I have a simple synth sound, which is then transformed into something else with a chain of live effects. But other times, it's about using elaborate chain of effects in order to sample the result as a new multi-layer sample set (for use in other sample-loading synths, or samplers).

But when it comes to the idea that lots of effects = a muddy mix, I have to say that this does not have to be so. Careful use of EQ, placed at strategic points in the effect chain, can solve all such issues. So personally, I never worry about ending up with a 'muddy' mix. However, this can only work if people have the ability to hear into the mix and spot any issues, and then be able to deal with them. This is a skill in itself. I have seen composers who are adept at adding effects, and maybe creating a good start to a mix, but then, they would be unable to spot areas that need to be equalised. So, it's a definite skill (being able to recognise what needs to be equalised in order to balance the mix/chain of effects).

Now, speaking of internal synth effects, one area where a lot of the synths I've used really lack (when compared to external effects), is EQ. I'm rarely happy with an internal EQ module in a synth.
http://www.electric-himalaya.com
VSTi and hardware synth sound design
3D/5D sound design since 2012

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el-bo (formerly ebow) wrote: Fri Apr 05, 2019 9:55 am
BONES wrote: Fri Apr 05, 2019 2:17 am[Seriously? How does a delay "sound"?Shouldn't it just sound like whatever you input to it? That's what it's for, after all. If it doesn't, might you not consider it broken?
Some delays have a 'sound', by design, or just due to limitations of the technology involved e.g tape delays which will always present a somewhat lesser, 'degraded' representation of the original sound. However, what once might have been seen as a flaw i.e not being able to present a facsimile of the original sound, is now a desired effect in it's own right - Seemingly, the more artefacts the better.

Just one example of how a delay may have a "Sound"
im a little worried you even had to explain that :scared:

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