When the percussion kicks in, it’s much more professional sounding than my own efforts, in that my own efforts pretty much sound like samples coming straight off a drum machine with a little reverb, maybe some compression, and EQ.
Can anybody point me toward more information on the type of fx approach, instrument layering, etc. needed to achieve this? Thanks.
I think, some parts come from side chaining compression (suing signal follower + gainer on
the lead saws). But most of it comes from careful selection and synthesis
of the timbres that are used - I think thats probably where it start to sound less like
“samples coming from a drum machine”. The lead in that short example is quite strong and
right on spot for trance. Same with the kicks and the auxiliary percussion. Professional
trance producers with an optimized workflow easily spend half a day with getting
the drums and percussion sounds right, and the rest with synthesizing their leads and
basses, all with only preliminary mixing.
Others use pre-composed sounds from samplers like vengeance or presets from nexus or vanguard…
And another thing is, that the mixing of your track starts at the point you choose
and synthesize your timbres/instruments.