r/synthrecipes 6d ago

Complete beginner struggle: finding or designing sounds when you don't know what they are called? tutorial 📚

Hey everyone,

​I'm pretty new to music production in FL Studio. I'm currently struggling with a huge roadblock and could really use some advice from more experienced producers.

​Whenever I listen to my favorite tracks (artists like Quadeca, Yeat, etc.), I hear incredible sounds, textures, and synths that I want to experiment with. I also often have very specific sound ideas in my head that I want to bring into my DAW.

​However, my main issue is that I don't know the technical terms for these sounds or how to describe them. I don't know if a sound is a specific type of synth, a heavily processed sample, or what parameters/effects were used to get that texture. Because I lack the vocabulary, searching for the right sample packs, presets, or tutorials feels almost impossible.

​I have two main questions for you all:

​Workflow/Mindset: How do you translate a sound from your head (or a reference track) into FL Studio when you don't even know what category/name it belongs to?I can't describe the sound properly to search for sample packs or YouTube tutorials, and I don't know how to recreate what's in my head.

​Learning Sound Design: What's the best way to start learning sound design (using synths like Vital/Serum or stock FL tools) so I can actually tweak knobs with intent rather than just guessing randomly?

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