Screech House - SYNTHESIZER COOKBOOK: How to Use Filters

SYNTHESIZER

COOKBOOK

(Sound Design for Beginners Vol. 2)

How to use filters

By Cep from Screech House

Copyright 2019 Screech House

All rights reserved.

https://screechhouse.com

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review. While all attempts have been made to verify the information provided in this publication, neither the author nor the publisher assumes any responsibility for errors, omissions, or contrary interpretations of the subject matter herein.

The views expressed are those of the author alone and should not be taken as expert instructions or commands. The reader is responsible for his or her own actions.

ISBN-13: 978-1797509891

ISBN-10: 1797509896

To help you kickstart your music productions, Ive created a free hardstyle sample pack (EDM samples included) to share with you. If youre into making EDM, feel free to download your copy by clicking the link below.

Click here to get the free hardstyle sample pack

W elcome to the Synthesizer Cookbook Volume 2. Volume 2 is the second installment in a series of 4. It will teach you how to use filters on your synthesizer. Thereby, you will learn all the essential settings to do the second important part of high-quality sound design.

The remaining volumes will teach you the three other major synthesizer sections. Whereas volume 1 will explain how to use oscillators. Volume 3 will show you how to use envelopes. And volume 4 will reveal how to use LFO (Low Frequency Oscillator). If you want to learn about these topics, you can make your series complete by getting all copies. Just visit the link below. While youre there, feel free to read my other best-selling books as well. This will shortcut your producers journey tremendously to get your songs to that ultimate level.

Get my books here:

https://screechhouse.com/books

Learning how to do synthesis (the fundamental part of sound design), can be quite overwhelming, especially when youre a beginner. Thats why I decided to split up my book Sound Design for Beginners into these 4 smaller booklets. This way, you can start with one subject first and move on to the next one once you understand it. Besides, it gives you the opportunity to access one specific topic for an advantageous price. Nevertheless, if you want to have all the essential synthesizer information in one complete bundle, simply get your edition of the Sound Design for Beginners guide. Above all, it includes bonus topics that cannot be found into this 4-part series.

Now, all booklets in this series are tailor-made for beginners, but will also benefit intermediate or advanced music producers. Theyre written in such a way that they can be understood by anyone at any level. This also means its possible you could find some advanced settings on your own synthesizer that arent necessarily covered here. Each synthesizer is (slightly) different and usually comes with (slightly) different options and layouts. To cut through that, we will only focus on the options that are at the core of synthesis. This also includes any names, descriptions or images presented herein. They may (slightly) differ from the synthesizer(s) youre using. Thats why you have to take things with a grain of salt. Only focus on the concepts and try to translate it to your own situation.

Furthermore, this book solely discusses subtractive synthesis and not additive synthesis or any other form. Subtractive synthesis is the most common form and typically the easiest to learn and implement, especially when youre just starting out. For the sake of simplicity, we will also only look at synthesizers from the angle of virtual instruments (VSTi). Virtual instruments are software synthesizers (soft synths) that usually only need a D.A.W. (Digital Audio Workstation) to function. They work out of the box and are widely and cheaply available to get the job done. Luckily, most of the settings on software synthesizers can be exactly translated to hardware synthesizers as well.

With that being said, its about time to dive in. But first, allow me to explain whos words youre reading and why you can benefit from my work. My nickname is Cep and Im a qualified music producer with more than a decade of valuable experience. I was born in the Netherlands (beware of my crooked English) and my background is in FL Studio, the application (D.A.W.) I use for making songs. Im also the creator of a popular YouTube channel and website related to making professional electronic dance music (EDM). The name for these channels is Screech House where I help people to become successful at making their own music. If you also want to be part of the group of successful individuals, consider sticking around and using all my resources. Starting with todays assignment: learning how to use filters. Lets begin!

Youre here. Youre reading this. Youre doing this. Youre ready. Thank you.

How to use a synthesizer

T his introduction chapter comes partly from the Sound Design for Beginners guide. It forms the necessary foundation to understand this book, as well as the other ones in this 4-part series.

Before we can explore the essential basics of synthesis, we first need to understand what a synthesizer is and does. To keep it simple, a synthesizer is a sound creator and modifier. Its an electronic musical instrument able to produce a wide variety of sounds. Therefore, its a valuable piece of equipment for music producers and audio engineers.

How does a synthesizer work

B y using a synthesizer , you can generate soundwaves and modify them with all the available settings. You see, a soundwave is just an air vibration, reaching your ears. It represents the audio information your mind interprets as a certain sound. To get a certain sound, you have full control over many variables allowing you to change these soundwaves. Each change results in a (slightly) different sound.

Instead of using the word soundwave, you can also use the word waveform. A waveform is more of technical or visual way of looking at the same thing. When you look at a waveform, you will find a drawing that represents the specific audio information of a sound. Usually, the drawing looks like a graph and shows patterns and shapes. These patterns and shapes represent the signal that gets send to your speakers. In other words, your speakers cone will move/vibrate in the same manner the waveform dictates. This is how waveforms represent soundwaves.