Software to improve outdated sounds

[DrJeff]

Good day,

I had my song returned because my sounds were outdated.

Comment: I know the tools don't make the artist, but sometimes I think we have to invest on the tools. In this case, it would be good to upgrade on your sample libraries because it sounds quite outdated. For the strings, I also think in terms of composition, we can make it more interesting than just chords. Maybe also consider varying your piano performance as well.

Comment 2: It needs work for it to be broadcast ready

Does anyone have recommendations on certain plug ins that will give me the sound quality I need for this level of performance? I was told by one person that plugins are the way to go, as I was using my keyboard sound effects for this song.

I am specifically looking for plugins for piano and symphony to create movie soundtrack/TV show music.

Please see link to hear my song for a reference point: https://on.soundcloud.com/YrZ5r

I appreciate any feedback you can give!

Thank you,
Jeff

[PaulyB]

I understand you were using the built-in sounds from your keyboard. Can you share some specs on your set-up? What DAW are you using? I ask because if you have Logic Pro, you've already got some pretty good stock plugins to work with. BTW, Native Instruments has a decent factory orchestral library that can get you started.

[AlanHall]

Comment 2: It needs work for it to be broadcast ready

Before investing heavily in sounds, I'd recommend you evaluate your recording, editing, and other 'workflow' practices to see if they are broadcast ready. Are you recording to a click, for example? From my listening, it sounds as though the tempo wobbles a bit and that there is no quantization on any of the tracks. The performance needs to be as tight as that of a professional chamber orchestra in order to be believable, great sounds or not. There's a lot of sweat that goes into getting a performance that sings, and IMHO that matters more than the sounds in use.
hope that helps!

[Telefunkin]

Hi Jeff,
Dated sounds is probably the most common reason for returns, so you're far from alone. Listening to music on current TV shows and current sounds on radio that plays recent music is one way to 'tune' your ears away from dated sounds. However, orchestral instruments don't date (a violin still sounds like a violin all these years after they were first played ). Simulations of violins have improved a LOT though and are now far better than those in home keyboards or some synths. Also, the production of orchestral sounds might be different these days.

Its always dangerous when the temptation is to try and buy your way out of a problem. I do understand the recommendation, but as alluded to by Alan, there are a number of things that would all need to be in place to get this track from where it is now to where it would need to be to get a forward, followed by a library deal and a placement on TV. Having great tools for the job is part of it, but there's also having the vision to know what the end result should be like, knowing what tools you want/need to get there, and also knowing how to use those things. I don't doubt that you're perfectly capable of it, but be cautious that depending on your starting point it can be quite a steep learning curve with the potential to splash out on the wrong things and waste money along the way.

The term 'broadcast quality' really means nothing more that good enough to be broadcast on TV. However, when the TV editors have their choice of music from all the best composers using all the best equipment available they have no reason to choose anything that isn't high quality, however subjective the terminology is. Have a listen to background music on TV and see whether you hear anything like your track - in terms of both recording quality and sounds. I doubt you'll find anything. Also, you can easily find music libraries online and listen to their content. Search for tracks like yours and listen to the quality of recording and sounds as a guide to the standard that they are looking for.

In order to get the required recording quality and also the sounds, the easiest path these days is to equip yourself with a DAW (e.g. Cubase, Studio 1, Logic, etc). They can take some getting your head around but its worth it for the flexibility they offer. They all come with a suite of tools (FX plugins as well as sounds) that can get you a long a way. Learning to use those first is not only good practice but is also part of developing your own working methods and finding out what you really want to get to the next stage. For example, the orchestral strings provided with Logic are pretty good, and the more you 'work' the articulations to get the realism, the better the result. If you only want background strings then you might never need any others, but if you want the most realistic strings for serious orchestral compositions you might want to invest (and they can be very expensive) in a premium sample library, and learn how to get the most from it. Understanding orchestration and string players helps with the realism - more learning. Do you really want to splash out on expensive things like this yet...?
https://www.spitfireaudio.com/spitfire- ... ic-strings
..when maybe this far less expensive library would do for now...?
https://www.spitfireaudio.com/originals-epic-strings
...or even this free one....?
https://www.spitfireaudio.com/bbc-symph ... a-discover

[There are differences, and many more examples of sample libraries in all price brackets, but only you can decide what you want/need.]

Of course, having a DAW doesn't just involve buying that software. Many highly desirable sampled sounds run in the Kontakt sampler that is a separate purchase. You need a good spec computer to run things, SSDs with TBs of storage space for big sample libraries, a recording interface, some decent studio monitors, and a room to work in that has some level of sound treatment to make the acoustics suitable for the monitors to give you a 'true' sound. Then there's recording, mixing and mastering skills, and when you get to the point of having music accepted by a library they'll ask for the full mix plus some alternate versions and some cut-down versions in their preferred file format, so you also need some basic IT skills. All these things need to be in place to be able to progress, and if you've already got most of them sorted out, that's great. If not and it sounds daunting then ask for some help from someone who has a little more experience in such matters, but its probably not as bad as it sounds.

Consequently, there's a lot of things to invest time and money in, and its best to do it wisely and in stages when you're more sure what might work best for you and your chosen path. Just remember though, that a cheap (or even free) orchestral library with properly arranged orchestration and properly used articulations has a good chance of sounding better than the most expensive library used badly.

Good luck with your journey .

[cosmicdolphin]

Oh boy.

Graham has given you a lot to think about there. I will echo what he says but be more succinct. You can get much better for little to no outlay assuming you have a reasonable computer , an audio interface and some studio monitors or headphones.

1. Ditch any sounds that are built into any keyboard as generally they won't cut it and are harder to work with.

2. If you're not using a proper DAW then you need to get one and learn it well. Cakewalk by Bandlab is FREE on PC and fully professional with no strings attached with plenty of tutorial videos and a helpful community online. If you're a Mac user then you can start out with Garageband. Other than that you're into buying something , Reaper is the least expensive paid option and highly capable but an acquired taste although it does have a long demo period.

3. Get the free BBC Discover library linked in the post by Graham

4. Google " Free Piano VST " as there are a few good ones

5. Now try remaking your track with these improved tools and see if you can achieve "Broadcast Quality " - I suspect the sounds are not the only issue with your track but it will be easier to assess once they are improved.

6. Post it in the forum for further feedback.

7. Good luck.

Mark

[DrJeff]

I understand you were using the built-in sounds from your keyboard. Can you share some specs on your set-up? What DAW are you using? I ask because if you have Logic Pro, you've already got some pretty good stock plugins to work with. BTW, Native Instruments has a decent factory orchestral library that can get you started.

Hi Pauly B. I am using Garage Band as my DAW and my keyboard is a Yamaha PSR-E363. I have a Cakewalk by Roland UA-25 EX audio interface, and Samson HP30 headphones. Thanks for your comment.

[DrJeff]

Comment 2: It needs work for it to be broadcast ready

Before investing heavily in sounds, I'd recommend you evaluate your recording, editing, and other 'workflow' practices to see if they are broadcast ready. Are you recording to a click, for example? From my listening, it sounds as though the tempo wobbles a bit and that there is no quantization on any of the tracks. The performance needs to be as tight as that of a professional chamber orchestra in order to be believable, great sounds or not. There's a lot of sweat that goes into getting a performance that sings, and IMHO that matters more than the sounds in use.
hope that helps!

Hi Alan. I actually never knew about quantization which I'm sure is pretty basic after looking it up. So thank you for that advice. I will work on that most definitely. Take Care.

[DrJeff]

Hi Jeff,
Dated sounds is probably the most common reason for returns, so you're far from alone. Listening to music on current TV shows and current sounds on radio that plays recent music is one way to 'tune' your ears away from dated sounds. However, orchestral instruments don't date (a violin still sounds like a violin all these years after they were first played ). Simulations of violins have improved a LOT though and are now far better than those in home keyboards or some synths. Also, the production of orchestral sounds might be different these days.

Its always dangerous when the temptation is to try and buy your way out of a problem. I do understand the recommendation, but as alluded to by Alan, there are a number of things that would all need to be in place to get this track from where it is now to where it would need to be to get a forward, followed by a library deal and a placement on TV. Having great tools for the job is part of it, but there's also having the vision to know what the end result should be like, knowing what tools you want/need to get there, and also knowing how to use those things. I don't doubt that you're perfectly capable of it, but be cautious that depending on your starting point it can be quite a steep learning curve with the potential to splash out on the wrong things and waste money along the way.

The term 'broadcast quality' really means nothing more that good enough to be broadcast on TV. However, when the TV editors have their choice of music from all the best composers using all the best equipment available they have no reason to choose anything that isn't high quality, however subjective the terminology is. Have a listen to background music on TV and see whether you hear anything like your track - in terms of both recording quality and sounds. I doubt you'll find anything. Also, you can easily find music libraries online and listen to their content. Search for tracks like yours and listen to the quality of recording and sounds as a guide to the standard that they are looking for.

In order to get the required recording quality and also the sounds, the easiest path these days is to equip yourself with a DAW (e.g. Cubase, Studio 1, Logic, etc). They can take some getting your head around but its worth it for the flexibility they offer. They all come with a suite of tools (FX plugins as well as sounds) that can get you a long a way. Learning to use those first is not only good practice but is also part of developing your own working methods and finding out what you really want to get to the next stage. For example, the orchestral strings provided with Logic are pretty good, and the more you 'work' the articulations to get the realism, the better the result. If you only want background strings then you might never need any others, but if you want the most realistic strings for serious orchestral compositions you might want to invest (and they can be very expensive) in a premium sample library, and learn how to get the most from it. Understanding orchestration and string players helps with the realism - more learning. Do you really want to splash out on expensive things like this yet...?
https://www.spitfireaudio.com/spitfire- ... ic-strings
..when maybe this far less expensive library would do for now...?
https://www.spitfireaudio.com/originals-epic-strings
...or even this free one....?
https://www.spitfireaudio.com/bbc-symph ... a-discover

[There are differences, and many more examples of sample libraries in all price brackets, but only you can decide what you want/need.]

Of course, having a DAW doesn't just involve buying that software. Many highly desirable sampled sounds run in the Kontakt sampler that is a separate purchase. You need a good spec computer to run things, SSDs with TBs of storage space for big sample libraries, a recording interface, some decent studio monitors, and a room to work in that has some level of sound treatment to make the acoustics suitable for the monitors to give you a 'true' sound. Then there's recording, mixing and mastering skills, and when you get to the point of having music accepted by a library they'll ask for the full mix plus some alternate versions and some cut-down versions in their preferred file format, so you also need some basic IT skills. All these things need to be in place to be able to progress, and if you've already got most of them sorted out, that's great. If not and it sounds daunting then ask for some help from someone who has a little more experience in such matters, but its probably not as bad as it sounds.

Consequently, there's a lot of things to invest time and money in, and its best to do it wisely and in stages when you're more sure what might work best for you and your chosen path. Just remember though, that a cheap (or even free) orchestral library with properly arranged orchestration and properly used articulations has a good chance of sounding better than the most expensive library used badly.

Good luck with your journey .

Thank you for this information Graham. I appreciate this. I'm using Garage Band at this time as my DAW so I'm going to use the free plugin that you recommended in your link above. I'm now realizing there is much much more than jut sound quality. I'll continue to work on my flow, recording, mix, and mastering which is a big part of music production. Thanks again!

[DrJeff]

Oh boy.

Graham has given you a lot to think about there. I will echo what he says but be more succinct. You can get much better for little to no outlay assuming you have a reasonable computer , an audio interface and some studio monitors or headphones.

1. Ditch any sounds that are built into any keyboard as generally they won't cut it and are harder to work with.

2. If you're not using a proper DAW then you need to get one and learn it well. Cakewalk by Bandlab is FREE on PC and fully professional with no strings attached with plenty of tutorial videos and a helpful community online. If you're a Mac user then you can start out with Garageband. Other than that you're into buying something , Reaper is the least expensive paid option and highly capable but an acquired taste although it does have a long demo period.

3. Get the free BBC Discover library linked in the post by Graham

4. Google " Free Piano VST " as there are a few good ones

5. Now try remaking your track with these improved tools and see if you can achieve "Broadcast Quality " - I suspect the sounds are not the only issue with your track but it will be easier to assess once they are improved.

6. Post it in the forum for further feedback.

7. Good luck.

Mark

Hi Mark. I will take your suggestions. Thank you. Recreating my song with this new knowledge and reposting here is a great idea. Thanks again!

[DrJeff]

Hi everyone,

I have a Yamaha PSR E363 without MIDI capability.

I believe I need to buy a new MIDI to use the plugins that Graham recommended. If so which MIDI would you recommend to for movie/TV sound production?

Thank you,
Jeff