What to do when synths are or go out of tune?

[Christov Adelar]

Hi there!

I have a question:

I am working on this song, and sometimes I think the lead is slightly out of tune with the pads.
The VSTs I am using are Dune 2 and Diva.

Is there a technique to make them go in tune? (Maybe it is ear fatique, maybe a mixing mistake, etc.)
I am not a sound designer, so I do have difficulties with it, and I did not find any tutorial on Youtube.

Any advice is welcome!
Thanks in advance!
Chris

[Jagwah]

Hi there!

I have a question:

I am working on this song, and sometimes I think the lead is slightly out of tune with the pads.
The VSTs I am using are Dune 2 and Diva.

Is there a technique to make them go in tune? (Maybe it is ear fatique, maybe a mixing mistake, etc.)
I am not a sound designer, so I do have difficulties with it, and I did not find any tutorial on Youtube.

Any advice is welcome!
Thanks in advance!
Chris

There are lots of ways to make a synth out of tune, first thought is the semi tones and fine tuning of the oscillators, they could have been moved or could be automated, same with the pitch bend. You also could have equalized so much of your lead or pad that the fundamental frequencies have been removed or pushed down too far to distinguish the pitch of the sound. There are other ways too and some more complex in nature, but usually a patch made by someone else would be ready to use and not 'out of tune' (assuming you're using patches) which leads me to think you may have accidentally moved one of the above mentioned parameters. Then again it's pretty hard to tell without listening and seeing what is going on in your project. Screenshots of your VSTs might allow someone to quickly see your problem, perhaps try that

[Benedict]

I'm with Jag in that it is hard to answer based on your words alone. Can we hear the issue?

Seeing digital synth are essentially in-tune all the time (not wandering with moon-phases like Model D) your synths are most likely in tune. You may well, however, have not taken Harmony into account as you put in your notes so may be experiencing note combos that are uncomfortable (minor seconds being the most ree, ree, ree of the lot).

There can be issues with heavily Unison-Detuned patches that sound fine alone but together with another sound get too much to bear.
Or, if there is an Analog Drift knob you may have that set a bit too high for melodic sounds.

[Christov Adelar]

Thanks for the responses, you are right, here is the part of the song I am talking about:



Do you think it sounds ok?
Maybe because the synth who plays the low arp and the melody is the same and has a sharp attack?
(The mixing of the song has not been done properly yet.)

[Christov Adelar]

It was a wrong chord!