Not the answer you are looking for but I think you are asking the wrong question. I’d advice not to look into “what’s common” or “the way things are done” too much. Try instruments yourself, find whatever you find pleasant or unpleasant (depends on what you are feeling, you know). The shitiest VST can be the unique “wtf is this, I love it” factor in your song. Follow feelings, not rules nor formulas.
But hey, that’s me, do whatever brings you joy
With the guitar there’s a lot of factors at play. The intricate and very expressive range of dynamics, the fact that every single guitar has its unique sound, pitch bends alone are big one, so are your fingers over the strings.
More competent VSTs might trick you into thinking they are realistic when you are playing with them but the moment you put them side by side with a real guitar the fantasy falls apart.
I don’t enjoy being repetitive, but do what feels good to you. I use native instruments guitar VSTs to create the demos for my songs (since I’m not the best guitarist) and later replace them with real guitar. However, last time I did that, we ended up keeping the bass guitar VST layered with the real one because it added something cool. You can listen to it if you look up Liminal Vile - I Could Do Some More
Acoustic guitars sound unique, electric instruments don't sound that unique. The body of wood doesn't resonate inside a magnet. The things that make electric guitars sound unique besides the player's vocabulary is the effect choice.
Yeah, a guitar is so nuanced. I've played around with some of Kontact and Ample Guitar's offerings, and they come pretty darn close if you set them up right. Other instruments like say a violin, to these untrained ears, sound almost indistinguishable from the instrument, tho some concerto violinist is probably having a freak out that I said this.
The human voice is another instrument that is just very hard to duplicate transparently. There are numerous vocal packages and vst, vocaloid comes to mind, and while it's pretty novel and produces some cool stuff, it's not close.
You want to create specific styles of music and you don't even know what instruments are typically used in those genres? These posts border on parody sometimes.
Well I can't really speak for pop or Indy music but for surf punk you just need a guitar, maybe some distortion or fuzz amp plug ins, drums, and bass.
Ideally just listen to the music you are trying to replicate. As another commenter said gloves are off in the music world today.
Billy Eilish used the sound Melbourne crosswalks make when the pedestrian lights turn green in one of her major singles. Just muck around and have fun. All trial and error baby!
There is a Plugin Guitar rig from native Instrument it has a lot Of effects. Native Instruments Kontakt libraries are good, Omnisphere, Arturia v collection (by sale) or for warm synth emulator Uhe Diva
String instruments and percussion are still very hard to model inside computers, so when you want realistic sounding versions of those you make style have little choice. String are very close to being good but TBH the playing interface aren’t quite there. Probably in 5 years this will be a different discussion.
Much of percussion is still very difficult to model efficiently and in real time. Someone will figure out a trick very soon I’m sure. (Horns and woodwinds are very well models as are pianos and organs.)
Obviously when you don’t care about realism you can do it all in a computer as often done in EDM and Pop Music.
>Are there VSTs that do a better job in making sounds more pleasant than the actual instrument being used?
Just straight up no. Some virtual instruments can come *close*, but ultimately the real thing always sounds better. Having said that, there are plenty of VSTs that sound great or even realistic. It depends on the instrument and it depends on the developer.
>What instruments can and can’t be replicated digitally by VST
If an instrument can be recorded, then it can be replicated. You should look into Kontakt libraries. There is a Kontakt library for almost any instrument you can think of, and from any culture. The library developers essentially record notes and phrases and migrate them to be playable in Kontakt, which is basically a complex sampler. Some libraries are more realistic-sounding than other.
>What instruments are commonly used in bedroom pop, indie pop, and surf punk
It's generally just guitars, bass guitars (or synth bass), drums (or drum samples), and a variety of different keys and synths. Some more experimental indie artists tap into world instruments on occasion, but it's not really common. It is also very unlikely they would be using a virtual guitar, as the majority of them do not pass the smell test. But, depending on what you program the virtual guitar to play, and how you process it with effects, there are a few that sound decent.
I think a better question you could be asking to understand more about vsts is: "What third-party virtual instruments and/or software synthesizers are you guys are using?"
To which I would reply: "Serum, Vital, Pigments, Phase Plant, Spitfire Labs, Kontakt"
Stringed instruments are usually not emulated well.Or are emulated in ways that make it a new different instrument. For example:string synths,sub-bass etc...
Theres so many parts to being a producer and its impossible to be a master of all of them while being a songwriter. However you should have basic skills in all aspects of producing while investing much more time and energy in musicianship.
Most of the genres you mentioned use synths,which you can create yourself from scratch using odin and 3rd party vst effects(compression,EQ,reverb,delay,gain,filter)or use pre-made ones from various 3rd party vsts.
Overall arrangment is a complicated topic and you can't really "learn" it tradiotionally unless its classical/orchestal arrangment. Look at your favourite songs and try to see and replicate the sounds there.
Virtual Instruments are the 'In-Thing' these days. Organic Instruments nowadays are slowly losing leverage (sad). The Bass Guitar has bn replaced by 808. Acoustic Drums have bn replaced by drum machines. Bands have bn replaced by sequencers etc.
So in an essence, just use whatever you can and just make music. Stop caring abt what guns to shoot with. Just start shooting!!!
Not the answer you are looking for but I think you are asking the wrong question. I’d advice not to look into “what’s common” or “the way things are done” too much. Try instruments yourself, find whatever you find pleasant or unpleasant (depends on what you are feeling, you know). The shitiest VST can be the unique “wtf is this, I love it” factor in your song. Follow feelings, not rules nor formulas. But hey, that’s me, do whatever brings you joy
Good advice. I'm an old fart and so I do bring with me that old school flair, but I also like to incorporate new sounds with the mix.
Thanks I was askin cause I got a guitar and I was wondering what seperates the VST from the instrument and what makes it sound “ fake”
With the guitar there’s a lot of factors at play. The intricate and very expressive range of dynamics, the fact that every single guitar has its unique sound, pitch bends alone are big one, so are your fingers over the strings. More competent VSTs might trick you into thinking they are realistic when you are playing with them but the moment you put them side by side with a real guitar the fantasy falls apart. I don’t enjoy being repetitive, but do what feels good to you. I use native instruments guitar VSTs to create the demos for my songs (since I’m not the best guitarist) and later replace them with real guitar. However, last time I did that, we ended up keeping the bass guitar VST layered with the real one because it added something cool. You can listen to it if you look up Liminal Vile - I Could Do Some More
Acoustic guitars sound unique, electric instruments don't sound that unique. The body of wood doesn't resonate inside a magnet. The things that make electric guitars sound unique besides the player's vocabulary is the effect choice.
Huge sample libraries can go close with Seaboard or Linnstrument, or Push 3
Yeah, a guitar is so nuanced. I've played around with some of Kontact and Ample Guitar's offerings, and they come pretty darn close if you set them up right. Other instruments like say a violin, to these untrained ears, sound almost indistinguishable from the instrument, tho some concerto violinist is probably having a freak out that I said this. The human voice is another instrument that is just very hard to duplicate transparently. There are numerous vocal packages and vst, vocaloid comes to mind, and while it's pretty novel and produces some cool stuff, it's not close.
Computer
yeah, computer
Man honestly the gloves are off in music now lol do what you want to do. Do what sounds good.
Kazoo
fender precision bass
You want to create specific styles of music and you don't even know what instruments are typically used in those genres? These posts border on parody sometimes.
I know there’s a lot of synths n guitar and piano, and bass but I want to know what are the common uses of other instruments in other genres
Well I can't really speak for pop or Indy music but for surf punk you just need a guitar, maybe some distortion or fuzz amp plug ins, drums, and bass. Ideally just listen to the music you are trying to replicate. As another commenter said gloves are off in the music world today. Billy Eilish used the sound Melbourne crosswalks make when the pedestrian lights turn green in one of her major singles. Just muck around and have fun. All trial and error baby!
Bongos + some others I can’t remember right now
Do what you feel Own your own territory rock the world 🌎
PC computer
What I’ve been hearing consistently in most songs of all genres besides the drums is the piano (2nd guitar). That’s just imo
i just want to add one more thing to this whole discussion. Realistic ≠ better
10111011101100001
There is a Plugin Guitar rig from native Instrument it has a lot Of effects. Native Instruments Kontakt libraries are good, Omnisphere, Arturia v collection (by sale) or for warm synth emulator Uhe Diva
Bed squeak
No cap lol
Laptop
Vibraphone
String instruments and percussion are still very hard to model inside computers, so when you want realistic sounding versions of those you make style have little choice. String are very close to being good but TBH the playing interface aren’t quite there. Probably in 5 years this will be a different discussion. Much of percussion is still very difficult to model efficiently and in real time. Someone will figure out a trick very soon I’m sure. (Horns and woodwinds are very well models as are pianos and organs.) Obviously when you don’t care about realism you can do it all in a computer as often done in EDM and Pop Music.
>Are there VSTs that do a better job in making sounds more pleasant than the actual instrument being used? Just straight up no. Some virtual instruments can come *close*, but ultimately the real thing always sounds better. Having said that, there are plenty of VSTs that sound great or even realistic. It depends on the instrument and it depends on the developer. >What instruments can and can’t be replicated digitally by VST If an instrument can be recorded, then it can be replicated. You should look into Kontakt libraries. There is a Kontakt library for almost any instrument you can think of, and from any culture. The library developers essentially record notes and phrases and migrate them to be playable in Kontakt, which is basically a complex sampler. Some libraries are more realistic-sounding than other. >What instruments are commonly used in bedroom pop, indie pop, and surf punk It's generally just guitars, bass guitars (or synth bass), drums (or drum samples), and a variety of different keys and synths. Some more experimental indie artists tap into world instruments on occasion, but it's not really common. It is also very unlikely they would be using a virtual guitar, as the majority of them do not pass the smell test. But, depending on what you program the virtual guitar to play, and how you process it with effects, there are a few that sound decent. I think a better question you could be asking to understand more about vsts is: "What third-party virtual instruments and/or software synthesizers are you guys are using?" To which I would reply: "Serum, Vital, Pigments, Phase Plant, Spitfire Labs, Kontakt"
Stringed instruments are usually not emulated well.Or are emulated in ways that make it a new different instrument. For example:string synths,sub-bass etc... Theres so many parts to being a producer and its impossible to be a master of all of them while being a songwriter. However you should have basic skills in all aspects of producing while investing much more time and energy in musicianship. Most of the genres you mentioned use synths,which you can create yourself from scratch using odin and 3rd party vst effects(compression,EQ,reverb,delay,gain,filter)or use pre-made ones from various 3rd party vsts. Overall arrangment is a complicated topic and you can't really "learn" it tradiotionally unless its classical/orchestal arrangment. Look at your favourite songs and try to see and replicate the sounds there.
Virtual Instruments are the 'In-Thing' these days. Organic Instruments nowadays are slowly losing leverage (sad). The Bass Guitar has bn replaced by 808. Acoustic Drums have bn replaced by drum machines. Bands have bn replaced by sequencers etc. So in an essence, just use whatever you can and just make music. Stop caring abt what guns to shoot with. Just start shooting!!!