How to layer synth sounds?

The Lounge General Discussion
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In this thread, I’d be interested in reading about people’s synth sound layering techniques. The focus would be on how to choose the right layers and what to do with them. In my small personal research, I have come across the following ideas for discussion or further elaboration.

Note: layering can be a sound design technique on your synth (provided it has the necessary layering functionality) or a production technique in your DAW.

The key of layering is adding contrast.

Complement rather than duplicate. Choose sounds having opposite properties on a specific component or on several components.

Frequencies: prefer clarity and minimise mud and volume.

The simpler and clearer each layer is, the better the overall composite sound gets.

Layer totally different sounds but keep the same rhythm: bass and kick drum, piano and pad, etc.

Add key-tracked noise or sound effects slightly filtered by bandpass as a layer.

Combine sounds of different temperature: thin + fat, warm + metallic, etc

Combine sounds of different complexity: single oscillator + detuned oscillators, saw wave + PWM modulated pulse wave, etc

Voicing: spread layers over the note range

Transpose the second layer up or down by a few notes or octaves.

Have each layer play a different set of notes of the same song part. Have an overlapping range where both sounds mix with or into each other.

Layer on specific accents or notes. For this purpose, define specific note ranges for certain sounds or use the velocity range for triggering layers. Same as for note range, have an overlapping velocity range where both sounds mix with each other, or not.

Have each note played by a different layer in round robin fashion.

Transient energy: combine sounds with different envelopes.

Combine contrasting types of transients: fast + smooth attack, short + long release, dry + wet effects.

Apply separate effects to each layer.

Call and response. Duplicate and reverse each chord into the next. The call chord’s release becomes the response’s chord’s attack and vice versa. Use the same or a different sound for the response.

Stereo field: add width to sounds and avoid density

Combine pan-spread and mono-centered sounds.

Double-track the same or a similar sound and hard-pan left and right.

Have each note of a layer play in a different pan position either in a round robin fashion or randomly.

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For me it’s as simple as trial and error, in everything I do.

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I also ran across this article relevant to this context:

According to the article:

‘ Layering isn’t just a matter of “turning knobs until it sounds good.”
Learning to combine multiple sound sources often requires a degree of forethought: What does each layer contribute? How can you emphasize specific elements of the sound?
As with mixing and engineering, there’s also the matter of how do you keep your sound from getting too “muddy”? ‘

“Three common approaches to layering (…) will help you stay organized and methodical as you design your presets.”

“##### The Three Cs: Contrasting, Complementary, and Cohesive”

“They’re not the only options, but they’ll definitely make you more aware of how relevant a coordinated design process can be.”

I like this school of thought because it can help get a sense of direction when trying to build layered sounds.

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Aye it.
Try it, if it sounds good, then it is. No rules.

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In arts I think if you follow the same approach as others you’ll get the same results as others.

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This x 1,000.

Also, as with any kind of orchestration, “take care of the octaves”—i.e. Notice what frequency ranges the layered synth is taking up, and see if you need to actually make the composite sound smaller, to leave room for everything else.

It’s strange how layering isn’t talked about more, I’m glad this thread exists. People seem to want one instrument to serve a role in a mix by itself, whereas once you give yourself permission to layer, your synth rig becomes exponentially more powerful…

One tip: It blew my mind (hippy talk) reading an old Keyboard magazine article decades ago, by a guy named Freff, where he pointed out that using a really cheesy synth sound as a layer actually can work real well, mixed in with something more substantial.

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