#1August 14th, 2007 · 02:24 AM
1 threads
Liechtenstein
Making FL studio output seem less synthetic.
Hi all. New member here.
I run a couple of electronic grind projects, where I make use of FL studios "slayer" guitar plugin.

I need some help in making the final FL studio output sound less synthetic and more organic. Most of the people who have reviewed my stuff tell me that it sounds too much like video game music.

I tried EQing it in sound forge and basically tried making it sound very muddy with layers of filthy distortion, but it still has that "electronic" feel. I understand that this comes with making guitar sounds on the program, but does any one know of a way I can solve this problem?

Would appreciate any help. Thank you.

P.S - Im pretty new to this, so please keep your advices/tips/info easy enough for me to understand. 
#2August 14th, 2007 · 04:58 PM
341 threads / 59 songs
4,361 posts
Cymru (Wales)
Hi! You don't seam to have any songs up! Maybe if you let every one hear what you mean, this is a music site after all! With that possibility and for that reason! 

Have you tried going through the individual notes, tweeking and tuning, lessening and lengthening etc? After that you have the Fruity ParametricEQ which, I think funks any Frutiy sound up nicely. You could also try GuitarRig as a plug-in in a Wrapper? That thing makes anything sound amazing!

But I do think letting people 'hear' what your on about might bring better results.

Why don't you get a 'real' guitar and make it sound more 'synthetic'? lol
#3August 20th, 2007 · 08:34 AM
131 threads / 114 songs
295 posts
United Kingdom
It will be difficult, it would be better asking someone on the forums to record you some samples to use, then slice them and reaggange chord patterns, that what i would do, to emmulate real intruments, especially guitars it's hard cause you'd have to input all the strumming data, and its just a bad VST for realism but you can use it for other things
#4August 22nd, 2007 · 08:19 PM
65 threads / 2 songs
1,062 posts
United States of America
HMMM....well, all is not lost.  It all starts with getting out of FL's stock sounds.  Devo is right about high quality samples BUT.....  using the right VSTs helps.  Look into tube emulators and warmers.  There are several virtual instruments that have a warm sound....  Atmosphere, Absynth, Fm8, Massive and several others have a good sound, as well as several free instruments (check out kvraudio.com).  Also adding the right effects will help.  Using chorus will add depth to your sound but dont over do it.  Reverb adds space.  These are all tricks to make your stuff sound a little more realistic.  Kings is spot on about the parametric eq.  Also look into the Stereo Enhancer and compressors.  I say "compressors", because Fl compressor is not the only thing out there.  There are several free compressors out there that emulate vintage equipment.  I think you'll find that compression will make a major difference in your sound.

Proper EQ'ing is also key.  My stuff sounded rather synthetic when I first got started, and it will never sound completely analog, but you can go along way towards warming it up with proper mastering and eq.  Make sure you are making room for all the sounds in your project by panning to the left and right and raising and lowering volumes. (loud is not always good)  Every sound needs its space.  It took me awhile to figure that out.  My best advice is to start reading about eq and mastering.  It doesnt sound like much fun, but its very enlightening.  It made a major difference in my sound.  

 I hear alot of people talking trash about FL for this reason and in my opinion its cause they dont know enough about the prog to make it sound good. (Devo, your stuff is warm, im not talking about you and Kings I havent heard anything you've done in FL so I wouldnt know).  You cant stop at the surface level and hope that the prog will make your stuff sound good.  Try to stick to a few favorite VSTs and learn them the best you can.  That way you can bring the most out of them.

I would tell you more, but then Id be digging into my bag of tricks and well, Im just too selfish.  This is a good start, though.  Its not impossible.  I swear by Fl Studio.  I dont use much else.  keywords for today are PLUGINS, MASTERING, and EQ.  Stay away from stock sounds and weak samples!
#5August 23rd, 2007 · 12:02 AM
64 threads / 13 songs
669 posts
United States of America
At the end of the day, you're using Slayer.  I've found that, with few exceptions, the bundled generator plugins are pretty weak.  On top of that, a guitar is a very difficult instrument to emulate.  Slayer is pathetic for the most part.  If, by some incredible chance you manage to get a good sound out of it, play a R5 chord and it goes muddy.

If you have no access to a guitar, then the best you can do is use Slayer, try output the cleanest tone, and route that through a VST made for guitars.

But use a real guitar if you can.
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