Synthesis is the art of creating a sound from its component parts. It’s fun, limitless and creative – but also complicated. The following 10 tutorials will remove some of the mystery, and make synthesis more accessible.

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  How to Create Classic FX Synthesizer Patches

  Synthesis can certainly be a daunting subject. There are a huge number of software instruments on the market now, many of which feature different forms of synthesis and varying styles of interface. To the beginner this huge choice and tech jargon may be slightly confusing, to say the least.

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  How to Make a Trance Lead Synth in Reason 4

  Reason 4 is a brilliant synth-creating tool. The Thor Polysonic Synthesizer is one of the most powerful synths about and this tutorial will explain the basics of using it to create a massive trance lead synth patch.

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  Your Guide to Getting Started with Synthesis in Reason

  A synthesizer is an electronic instrument that reproduces a variety of sounds by generating and combining signals of different frequencies and waveforms. Propellerhead’s Reason features various forms of synthesis, and it’s often difficult for the user to decide which synthesizer to use. In this tutorial, we’re going to explore the art and the science of synthesis, as well as discuss how Reason’s synthesizers can be used, and in which situations you should use them.

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  Creating a Funky Synthbass Sound in FL Studio

  n dance music genres such as house, the bass plays an important role – in many cases being the key to a successful track. This depends not only on the bassline arrangement but also on the texture of the sound. The character of this instrument must fit with other components, that create – in this case – a complete soulful or funky house track.

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  A Basic Guide to Subtractive Synthesis (Part 1)

  This screencast is the first tutorial in a series on synthesis. This first installment shows a basic guided tour of Subtractor in Reason and covers oscillators, filters and envelopes.

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  A Basic Guide to Subtractive Synthesis (Part 2)

  This is the second part in a series of screencasts about subtractive synthesis. In this part we take a close look at modulators, LFOs and external controllers. Hope fully these two tutorials will give you a basic all round knowledge of a standard subtractive synthesiser.

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  How to Create a Multi-Instrument in Logic’s Environment

  When producing, it is often desirable to stack different instruments to create more unique and textured sounds. The process of editing the MIDI data that controls those instruments can become tiresome and interrupt creative work flow as you are forced to update all corresponding MIDI regions before even the smallest of MIDI edits can be previewed. There are a few ways around this in Logic, one of which provides us with the opportunity to take a look into Logic’s Environment.

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  An Introduction to Metasynth

  Metasynth has been around since 1999 but has so far remained a bit of a secret to most people. It’s ‘paradigm-smashing’ tools allow you create sounds that no other synth or software could even dream of doing. In this tutorial I’ll give you quickstart tour and some examples and show you why Metasynth is the coolest piece of software you’ll ever own!

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  Creating Sample & Hold Synth Effects in Reason

  Even if you are not familiar with the term ‘sample and hold’ it’s pretty likely you have heard one of these effects in action. If you know the classic track ‘Rez’ by Underworld then have most certainly come across the technique, as the entire track is based around a resonant synth line modulated by a sample and hold LFO.

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  How to Create Acid Synth Sequences

  There seems to have been somewhat of a resurgence in acid style synth programming of late. So … I thought I would do a tutorial on how to create that classic acid sound with a standard subtractive soft synth, a heavy dose of glide and some distortion.

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