Chapter 1: Subtractive Synthesis Fundamentals
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Waveforms (4:02)
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Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) (2:15)
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Filters (5:30)
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ADSR (3:18)
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Filter Modulation (7:09)
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Amplitude Modulation (4:49)
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Velocity Effects (2:19)
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Scaling (2:35)
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Stacking & Detuning (3:05)
Chapter 2: Other Synthesis Types
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FM Synthesis (4:24)
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Wavetable Synthesis (5:42)
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Granular Synthesis (4:24)
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Sample Based Synthesis (3:18)
Chapter 3: Creating Sounds
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Creating a String Pad (7:08)
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Creating a Brass Sound (3:17)
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Creating a Bass Sound (6:23)
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Creating a Synth Lead (3:50)
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Creating an Arpeggiator Sound (4:34)
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Retro Drum Sounds (7:09)
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Build Your Own Retro Beat Box (7:03)
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Create an FM Bass Sound (6:03)
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Create an FM Bell Sound (4:11)
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Create an FM Piano Sound (8:48)
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Create a Granular Choir (4:32)
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Create a Synth Soundscape (8:25)
Have your ever wanted to get under the hood of your synths? Are you tired of using presets and wished you knew how to make the changes needed to get the sound you want? Well look no further. "Synths Explained" is aimed at the beginner who wants to understand what synths are, how they work and how to program them to get the sound you want.
This awesome series by synth master Russ Hughes covers everything from the basics right though to complex sound design including subtractive, FM, wavetable, granular and sampled based synthesis. The series is aimed at anyone who lacks the confidence to start taking control of their synths.
This collection is useful to anyone using synthesisers in their productions and is not limited to any one product. Even better, much of the training is done using the Fxpansion DCAM: Synth Squad synths, specifically so that users can download a fully working 30 day trial and use them to follow along with the video examples.
By the end of this series you will be creating your own sounds and pimping your presets, so get "Synths Explained" today!
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Reviews
Submitted 3 months ago
One of the best I've seen in my life
It's just outstanding tutorial, very in-depth, informative, comprehensive, you see everything what he is doing to change or build sounds. I learnt a lot and highly recommend this series!
I am a: Semi-Pro, Musician, Producer, Ableton Live, Studio One
Submitted 10 months ago
Just what you need if you are new to synthesis
Combine this with the program Syntorial and you will be ready to shape any sound that you can imagine in your mind.
I am a: Student, Hobbyist, Musician, Beat Maker, Audio Engineer, Ableton Live, Reaper
Submitted 1 year ago
SYNTHS, YES PLEASE!
Ive been looking for tutorials like this. PERFECT, only thing is that I was transferring what I learned here to SERUM. Make more tutorials like this...
Submitted 1 year ago
good info
good
I am a: Semi-Pro, Musician, Producer, Audio Engineer, Ableton Live, Studio One
Submitted 2 years ago
There's something here for everyone.
I'm fairly new to the art of synthesis / sound design so from my point of knowledge this series was pure gold. This course is a gem for beginners and intermediates especially but I believe there's something here for the advanced crowd as well. It won't take you long to observe that the instructor KNOWS HIS STUFF he's very well studied and practiced on the topic at hand. This course was designed to cover a diverse range of topics in synthesis so it kind of serves as an overall primer into the world of synthesis but I assure you it's not just another run-of-the-mill tutorial course it most definitely succeeds in scratching more than the surface. I especially enjoyed the bits on granular synthesis and I'm now anxious to delve deeper into that particular method. I'm confident that anyone who views this course will most definitely learn at least a few new things from it. Many thanks and much appreciation to the instructor for taking your time to share your valuable knowledge I enjoyed this course.
I am a: Beginner, Hobbyist, Beat Maker
Submitted 2 years ago
More playing around than explaining
The course starts out by saying it will explain how synths work, and that while this specific synth is used for the course, the same principles can be used on any synth. It starts out well, explaining what different waveforms are and how filters work, but it pretty quickly starts skipping things. "We'll go through LFOs in a later video, but let's just do this and this and this with it..." Another video or two later the explaining part seems to have disappeared altogether, and the session now consists of the narrator very quickly doing a gazillion things (that seem to be very specific to this particular synth) to a sound, like "and if you do this and this and this, then it sounds really cool..." By now any beginner will be pretty much lost, and the videos have become more about playing around with all the cool stuff you can do with this synth than about actually explaining how synths work. Great for getting new ideas if you're already familiar with synths, I guess, but hardly "synths explained".
I am a: Producer, Musician, Hobbyist
Submitted 2 years ago
Interesting & enjoyable.
I bought this just a few days ago, and today got around to watching it in full. As somewhat of a synth beginner, I found the course interesting, and easy enough for me to understand. I also felt it to be thorough enough, such that I definitely intend watching in full again soon.
I am a: Hobbyist, Beginner
I started young. My father was a Jazz piano player who would play Oscar Peterson on the piano, I would go in as a kid and sit and listen to him in wonder. When he left the room I would try and knock out tunes myself. When I was 15 I swapped my bike for a really bad electric guitar which I went home and plugged into my sister's hi-fi, she was not impressed. From there I started having bands in the garage and the rest, as they say, is history.
2. What training have you had?
As a musician, no formal training, I just picked things up by ear. Over the years I've been lucky to work and play with some of the best musicians around, that rubs off on you, playing with great people means you either get better or get a different job! As a trainer I've done a lot of public speaking, presentations and seminars to groups of anything from 10 to 3,000 people. Again, you either get good or get hungry.
3. When did you get into recording?
When I was 17 I bought myself a Tascam 244 Portastudio, that was a 4 track cassette based recording system that cost around $1800! In those days that was a miracle being able to record and mix on separate tracks. Once I got that then I was hooked, in fact I forgotten the stuff I've bought over the years, I just look music and technology and so recording ticks both of my passion boxes!
4. People you have worked with/for?
It's a long list and to name drop would sound like throwing pans down a stone staircase. I've worked with and for, in a technical and programming capacity UB40, T-Pau, Elton John, The Beat, New Order, Jools Holland, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Duran Duran, and Japan to name some of those blasts from the past... I'm old!
5. Why are you so good at training people?
I didn't know I was, perhaps it's the combination of my passion for the music and the gear coupled with a genuine desire to help people to use their gear without any barriers. I read the manual as a last resort (often because they are so badly written) so I guess that other's may feel the same, so I try to find a way of making things as simple as possible, I try not to pretend to be an expert, more a guy who's just figured it out. I also have a terrible sense of humour, which means when I train live there are a lot of laughs.
Products by Russ
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tutorial videoAlloy 2 Explained
iZotope just made the mixing world way better! DAW master Russ Hughes shows you all there is to know about iZotope's amazing new Alloy2 essential mixing tools. Get ready to make your tracks and mixes sound even better.
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tutorial videoBFD Eco Jump Start
Learn how to use BFD ECO fast! In this no-nonsense series by DAW master Russ Hughes, you'll learn all the important basics and not so basic features and functions of the incredibly powerful BFD ECO virtual drum instrument by fxpansion.
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tutorial videoHybrid Explained
Updated for version 2.0, Pro Tools Instrument legend Russ Hughes is back with this highly anticipated 'Explained' title. Russ takes you through the Hybrid power synth plug-in from start to finish, exploring every part of the synth and finishing off with some sound creation examples that will get your creative juices flowing.
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tutorial videoIris Explained
A new Synth is born! Russ Hughes takes you deep inside the revolutionary iZotope Iris virtual synth plug-in. Unlike other synthesis types, iZotope has created something very special and this series will teach you the ins and outs of the unbelievable new technology.
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tutorial videoLoom Explained
Untangle the creative possibilities of additive synthesis and produce something amazing with Loom. Synth master Russ Hughes takes you on a journey and helps unlock the synth secrets of this cool new take on additive synthesis. This series includes a full, in-depth explanation of all the features and some practical sessions on designing sounds from scratch.
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