Lead Sounds??

[narrator]

Right so i've been making tracks for over a year and i feel confident enough to make a solid bassline when needed(see below for a bit of an example) but i realise that i'm completely shit at making lead sounds. i end up making another spectrum filling bass sound, which puts me back at square 1.

besides starting in the higher octave is there any tips to making nice lead sounds like Doctor P or even some nice pad sounds for intros ala Bar 9/Nero??

cheers

[DjTrainWreck]

Here is a topic on dance pads http://www.dubstepforum.com/dance-pads-t145842.html
I was also curios how nero did it. I cant really help you on leads, i thought the octive was the ony thing that seperates em, maybe some portamento n shit n i think reverb n delay would spice it up a bit. Sorry for not helping much. Square waves? Detuned? Pitch modded by lfo? Maybe?

[BLAHBLAHJAH]

Start by isolating the untouched frequencies... Use your lead to fill that void then compliment the things around it. Start simple with a piano-generated beep that can sustain, EQ/filter so it's voice is clear. Once you can visualise how it nestles into the song, start tweaking until you get a sound that really does what you want it to. What I often do in 'instrumental music' is to treat the instruments as voices, so take some time to understand how singing is used to portray a message regardless of the words used. Always remember that to be a lead it must cause other things to 'follow' in the flow

[jsills]

think of leads as a way to fill in the higher frequency range. i think the idea here is to add texture and frequencies that your bass is lacking. ie if you have a huge buzzy bassline you might want to us a sine wave or triangle thats more thin and hollow and go up 2 or 3 octaves with it so it sits over your bassline. or lets say your bass is only a deep sine wave, well then you have a lot of room to add leads with different textures to play off each other. oh and tweak presets, no need to go crazy with synthesis for a simple lead sound, you just want something bright that cuts through the mix.

[narrator]

thanks for the replies and advice guys. i guess when it comes to making a lead i've no idea what it would take to compliment the bassline i've made. i would hear varied lead sounds and think thats nice but when i sit down to make my own nothing comes out.

2 lead type sounds that stick out for me at the moment would be these 2

[main drop 1min in)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4x88TKFH64


[or that warm second lead sound that drops in here at 40 seconds]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8DlnVIu_iw

[vly]

You can use simple wave forms with very simple fx processing and it would still sound good..
The pattern and harmony with the rest of the elements is the leading factor here imo..

[narrator]

You can use simple wave forms with very simple fx processing and it would still sound good..
The pattern and harmony with the rest of the elements is the leading factor here imo..

yeah i agree with ya there. i always pick up on those warm lead sounds you'd hear from the valerie guys like Russ Chimes, Futurecop or Anoraak, nearly 80's sounding leads. feels like a whole other area to learn..

and as i have a tendancy to make up the riff using the bassline(s) i can never think of anything complimentary to work around it.