Workflow?

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hey everyone. looking for electronic synth-pop music workflow. Mostly I work with softsynths, but I do have a few analog ones too that I record in.

I feel like I don't have a workflow (or a good one anyway)... especially when it comes to WHEN to bounce to audio, WHEN/WHERE to add effects, etc...

I'm always afraid to bounce to audio because what if I want to change a note or a synth parameter? For softsynths its not a huge deal because I can save the patch as a preset, but what about my hardware synths? I'm literally taking pictures of the knobs because I may need to go back to it and alter a note or something.

Same thing for effects. I see people recording through effects on the fly (delays, reverbs, choruses),.... but I am always afraid too because what if I want to change it after.

Some effects are truly musical (such as delays) because they actually add notes to the melody - but reverb and chorus can all be added once printed to audio, right?

Just wondering what other people do here for their workflow. I just want to get more organized and have a steady way of doing things.

thank you!

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adamgrossmanLG wrote: Sun Oct 28, 2018 6:12 amI'm always afraid to bounce to audio because what if I want to change a note or a synth parameter? For softsynths its not a huge deal because I can save the patch as a preset, but what about my hardware synths? I'm literally taking pictures of the knobs because I may need to go back to it and alter a note or something.

Same thing for effects. I see people recording through effects on the fly (delays, reverbs, choruses),.... but I am always afraid too because what if I want to change it after.
Sometimes you have to just commit to a certain decision. While it's nice to be able to go back and tweak something later, that could lead to the mindset that something is never actually finished (because you can always change it).

Bouncing is fine, just bounce as a new take/track and then turn the FX offline. That way, you don't lose the original setup if you really must go back and adjust things.

I take it your hardware doesn't support program change messages or have patch management? If that's the case, then you must accept the limitations you've chosen to impose upon yourself by using that particular hardware; you don't get to enjoy all the modern amenities if you insist on using ancient tech :wink:

Nothing wrong with taking pictures, anyway; that's not too far removed from the old-school workflow of using patch/overlay sheets and a pencil. There's even a free plugin designed for the sole purpose of loading images (presumably of hardware settings).

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Yeah I got a complicated workflow because I'm always bouncing. I write the song and usually use my creative effects then print. I save my midi seperate tho. Then I mix and eq once the stems are audio. Then after I bounce that song, i do it without dither cuz I open it again and tweak more in a mastering style with limiters and broad stroke eq.

Compose->Print
Mix->Bounce
Master->Upload

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funky lime wrote: Tue Oct 30, 2018 4:23 pm Sometimes you have to just commit to a certain decision. While it's nice to be able to go back and tweak something later, that could lead to the mindset that something is never actually finished (because you can always change it).
Very well summed up. Think of bouncing as restricting yourself. Restriction drives creativity and bold decision making!

Sometimes I challenge myself of using only one or two synths for the whole songs and the results are interesting at times. I think of all the different VSTs I have as ways to get started so that I can commit to the ones that do justice to the song's character.

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Infinite possibilities is another kind of prison. If I don't render and commit I tend to get stuck in the hell of minor tweaks to everything forever. Moreso if I'm looping.

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dirtysnow wrote: Sun Nov 11, 2018 10:47 pm Infinite possibilities is another kind of prison. If I don't render and commit I tend to get stuck in the hell of minor tweaks to everything forever. ...
Yes, I think the key is to separate songwriting into different phases:

1. Phase: sketch only the "big picture"
2. Phase: put the sketched parts together to a full song
3. Phase: edit in detail
free mp3s + info: andy-enroe.de songs + weird stuff: enroe.de

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Bouncing soft synths to audio isn't a must, it's actually workaround to save resources, so get better machine and stop worrying about that, don't let stuff like that dictate workflow for you.
This entire forum is wading through predictions, opinions, barely formed thoughts, drama, and whining. If you don't enjoy that, why are you here? :D ShawnG

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