I've been meaning to ask this for a long time, but how do envelopes work?
I use FL Studio(yes, I'm a huge noob :P gimmie a break.), and I'm trying to make some dance music, but I don't know how to do shit with envelops so I'm obviously not getting far.
Someone help me please?
:D
You put a letter in them, seal em' up, then put a stamp and address and people get them in the mail
In recording terms, an envelope is all of the settings that change the application of an effect, or volume, or panning. "Change the envelope of that reverb so that it just hits at the end of the track," (for example)
Envelopes can be used in a number of ways. You've probably already used envelopes on your volume and pan settings, whether you're aware of it or not. With effects, they can be especially valuable; you can increase effects during certain parts of a song, giving you almost unlimited, easy-to-use power over the sound of your recordings.
As with anything else in recording, you should be careful with envelopes; don't overuse them. With that being said, experiment in your own recording program to learn about them and get a feel for them. Try setting your effects to extreme levels, then use the envelopes to scale them back (and vice-versa). Set up a few envelopes for various reasons on a single track. You'll start to get used to them, and you'll get some absolutely brilliant ideas to add a unique feel to your song. They're one of the most interesting ways to have fun while mixing your home recordings, and well worth a bit of exploration time.
But now you´re thinking. Err what the hell did i just ask??!! And i haven´t learned anything about how to use an "Envelope"
-I say, Chill man =)
Try this link. It leads to a vid explaining much that you need to know about ADSR and AHDSR Envelopes in Fl Studio and other DAWs.
Knowing how an "Envelope" works is knowing how to manipulate the sound in any way...
It determines how the sound changes in time by modifying some parameter, like volume or filter cutoff, but you can certainly also use it to change stuff like LFO speeds, distortion, how much FM you want or really anything in the world. If your synth/instrument supports that.
Let's say your envelope controls the volume of a synth, and the press of a key triggers the envelope (which is usually the case). An envelope typically has some certain parameters and this is what happens when you change it:
Delay - If set to 0, the sound will start playing immediately. If you set it higher, you won't hear anything for a moment (the moment will be longer the higher you set the "Delay" value). Not all envelopes have this parameter.
Attack - if set to 0, the sound will be at its loudest as soon as you hit the key. If you set it higher, the sound will fade in and hit the peak volume after some time. How long it takes for the sound to hit the peak volume depends on how high you set the attack value.
Decay - After the Attack "phase", if Decay is set to 0, the sound will immediately go to the volume determined by Sustain. If you set Decay higher, this will happen gradually. Decay determines how long it takes for the sound to go from peak volume to the volume determined by Sustain.
Sustain - After the Decay "phase", if Sustain is set to 0, the sound will gradually fade out and become silent while you're still pressing the key. If Sustain is set higher, the sound will be audible as long as you press the key. The Sustain value determines how loud the sound is after the Decay "phase".
Hold - Not very many envelopes have this. It determines how long the sound will stay at the Sustain level after the decay phase.
Release - Determines how long it takes for the sound to fade out after you've let go of the key. If you set it to 0, the sound will abruptly stop as soon as you let go. If you set it to it maximum, it might never fade out but stay at a constant volume forever or at least until you change the release value again.
If the envelope controls the amplitude/volume/level of an instrument, it's typically called an "Amp/Amplitude Envelope" and if it controls the cutoff value for a filter, it's typically called a "Filter Envelope". Some synths may have envelopes that can be assigned to any parameter, these will most likely just be called "Envelope" or "Mod Envelope".
At 3/19/11 12:36 PM, SineRider wrote: You put a letter in them, seal em' up, then put a stamp and address and people get them in the mail
Funny
At 3/19/11 12:45 PM, hamstercake wrote: As with anything else in recording, you should be careful with envelopes; don't overuse them.
I disagree. Overusing them results in massive beauty. It's pretty much impossible to mess up an envelope setting.
Take for example my song. Those wobbles were created with beautiful envelope manipulations: http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/4 07318
Check out Morphone music on my page and on Youtube. All varieties of music here.
At 3/19/11 12:45 PM, hamstercake wrote: As with anything else in recording, you should be careful with envelopes; don't overuse them.
I disagree. Envelopes are a core foundation in any sound you make. There is no "limit" to how many you should use, it's not as though the sounds will suffer if you use too many (although it will if you don't know what to do with them :P ).
bork bork bork
That wiki article is like two paragraphs of gratuitous technical terms and then an essay on the history of envelopes in synthesizers
At 3/19/11 07:48 PM, Quarl wrote: this thread is a joke.
Thanks for that, Wiki-tard.
bork bork bork
OK, look, here is what I'm looking for:
In the song Melodytest, on the piano in the beginning, there's an envelope there. I want to know how to do that: how to manipulate the treble, mid, and bass. And I would also like to know how to apply it.
Oh yes, one more thing:
Not to sound rude, but I asked for you're help, not you're opinions. Stop fighting you sissies.
At 3/19/11 08:39 PM, Cynus wrote: OK, look, here is what I'm looking for:
In the song Melodytest, on the piano in the beginning, there's an envelope there. I want to know how to do that: how to manipulate the treble, mid, and bass. And I would also like to know how to apply it.
OHHHHH! You're talking about equalisation, not envelopes.... you silly boy...
Can we get a link to said song?
Also what program are you using?
bork bork bork
He's using FL studio, like he said in the first post :P
Need some music for a flash or game? Check it out. If none of this works send me a PM, I'm taking requests.
At 3/19/11 09:06 PM, Gario wrote: He's using FL studio, like he said in the first post :P
My bad :P
Anyways OP, what you need to do is get into youre mixer and plug in either an EQUO or a Fruity Parametric 2, or any other equalisation VSTs you have floating around. I'd recommend Parametric 2, gives you more control. Once you got that open, you can see a spectroscopic view of all the different frequencies (high treble, medium, low bass, etc) and you can manipulate the controls to get the right sound. This is just a basic gloss over, you could probably find good results by searching for wither Parametric 2 tutorials or equalisation tutorials.
bork bork bork
OHHHHH! You're talking about equalisation, not envelopes.... you silly boy...
Can we get a link to said song?
Just search the song in the audio portal :P
And yeah, my bad. Thanks for helping :3
take a high pass filter and automate the filter cutoff
The following tutorial on ADSR envelopes should be of great help to you and others, regardless of DAW/synthesizer/sound editor:
At 3/19/11 08:39 PM, Cynus wrote: OK, look, here is what I'm looking for:
In the song Melodytest, on the piano in the beginning, there's an envelope there. I want to know how to do that: how to manipulate the treble, mid, and bass. And I would also like to know how to apply it.
No envelope really.
Just a high pass filter.
At 3/27/11 10:22 PM, sugarsimon wrote:
the brilliant songs who create a production for music
Wat
At 3/19/11 12:36 PM, SineRider wrote: You put a letter in them, seal em' up, then put a stamp and address and people get them in the mail
bahahahah synonym based jokes just never get old
