Fundamental Equipment for PE/Death Industrial/Drone/Dark Ambient

[EXU]

Just do everything the wrong way.

Here they come...how long before the juvenile crowds take over? This is not that noiseguide forum. Or at least I hope so.

Oh, sorry: you must use a synth.

We used a washing machine running through a cycle once, sounded great for dark brooding sounds mic'ed up into a few pedals with a bit of reverb.

I actually did this track recording my washing machine on a very strong tempest, and just added a little "hum droning" (made from a part of this own recording pitched down) on the background, if I remember correctly:

https://soundcloud.com/carrionblackpit/recording-found-stuffed-inside


But to the OP, you must start at the basic: You need an audio source.
It can be a tape/mp3/whatever recorder, radio static, an old keyboard, a synth, feedback from a mic or just the environment.

Starting with that you will need "tools" to manipulate the sound, be it pedals, filters or even the slow down function of the tape player.

What I say usually is that it's best if you start with what you have in hand, around, or can borrow. Some cheap mic, a distortion pedal and a multi-fx pedal will give you a lot to try and think about, so you can adapt your (initial) purchases around the sound you are after. You can also try working "in the box" with software to get the feel of it all.

But, if you want to buy something, aside from the audio source, get some delay for manipulating the sound, a distortion to mangle it and a reverb to give it cool ambiance. The Digidelay is cheap and gives you plenty of options of modes, it also loops 4 or more seconds. I have a Digiverb too that sounds ok and also have some modes to mess with. For distortion I would recomend something with some EQ controls, and the Boss MT2 is interesting because it has great EQ and heavy distortion, the usual suspects are DOD/Digitech Death Metal and Grunge because of their quality to really mangle the sound and achieve good high and low pitched dist.
It all also depends on the budget that you have.

Just try not to cripple yourself asking too much, searching too much info and experimenting/making too little, that's a problem with internet these days and I suffer a lot from it. The old guys didn't have that much knowledge (and bs) available so they made it all with what they could grab, they created their own methods, as obvious as it sounds, that's an approach that is easy to get lost with all the "internet experts" around.

Edit. I skipped the part where you said you are a guitarrist, so you may already have a lot of the "tools" necessary to start doing the sounds you are after. Also, the "early Current 93" sound is something I am pretty much into nowadays and thinking about getting a sampler may be more interesting than getting a synth for that matter. I didn't said anything about a mixer and they are very useful not only for recording various things at the same time and EQ/Volume controls, but also for making "feedback loops", something that can pretty much be used instead of synths.
If you don't have a mixer right now you can record your stuff and layer on a program like Reaper (free for evaluation) or Audacity (free), they are useful for that and also editing/mixing/mastering.

[cosmonaut]

Just do everything the wrong way.

Here they come...how long before the juvenile crowds take over? This is not that noiseguide forum. Or at least I hope so.

Oh, sorry: you must use a synth.

Try to read what I actually wrote, and don't impute to me things I never wrote.

I never said you "must" use a synth.

I do believe that telling a newcomer "just do everything the wrong way" is pointless and juvenile. There are hundreds of similar posts in the blue forum: someone asks "how do I start making noise" and tons of juvenile too-smart-by-halves replying "just do it wrong" and the like.

And let me expand on this a bit. Look at what bands/projects make the "best of the year" lists in this forum. I see a lot of mentions of professional-quality productions like Am Not and Kevlar, hyper-technical work like IFOTS, complicated sound-creation and layering like Grunt, tasteful exploitation of the limitations of obsolete equipment like in Alfarmania, and very few (or none) of these people who "do everything the wrong way".

And, on a more philosophical level: stating one has to do things "the wrong way" is assuming there is a "right way" of doing things. Much less rebellious than it seems, right?

[EXU]

Try to read what I actually wrote, and don't impute to me things I never wrote.

I never said you "must" use a synth.

I do believe that telling a newcomer "just do everything the wrong way" is pointless and juvenile. There are hundreds of similar posts in the blue forum: someone asks "how do I start making noise" and tons of juvenile too-smart-by-halves replying "just do it wrong" and the like.

And let me expand on this a bit. Look at what bands/projects make the "best of the year" lists in this forum. I see a lot of mentions of professional-quality productions like Am Not and Kevlar, hyper-technical work like IFOTS, complicated sound-creation and layering like Grunt, tasteful exploitation of the limitations of obsolete equipment like in Alfarmania, and very few (or none) of these people who "do everything the wrong way".

And, on a more philosophical level: stating one has to do things "the wrong way" is assuming there is a "right way" of doing things. Much less rebellious than it seems, right?

I guess the OP laid down very nicely his intents on what kind of sound he is after (Coil, Lustmord, Genocide organ, old Current 93) and looking at the "best of 2015" thread is pointless in that sense, I disagree that having the spirit of "doing things wrong" is juvenile, to me it keep things interesting and it is what experimenting represent on a basic level (and it is what "guided" the OP mentioned acts, even in a loose sense).
I did not manipulate any of the things you wrote, I just made a joke (sorry if that's juvenile to you).

Yes, there is an assumed "right way" of doing music/recording/etc (see "mainstream music for reference) and it's because artists started doing it the "wrong way" that we have industrial/noise/PE... And that it all can come full circle and start adopting more widely "accepted" techniques.

That being said, I guess my point of view upsets you too much and this parallel discussion is, perhaps, derailing the thread, so I guess we can agree on disagree.

[tiny_tove]

Yes, the pitchbox is a game changer to a certain extent, especially in "detune" mode in FB loops. But also as harmonizer or plain pitch shift, I use it a lot after delay within the modular.
Corrado is totally obsessed with those pedals indeed, he was suggesting the black secret to me. But I think he's the kind of guy who has an individualized pedal suggestion for each one of us...

In fact, he suggested the black secret, but I already had the pro co rat that does the same. But as soon I discovered the delay and, especially, the reverb they became mine in no time.
I will try some of them soon. Local shop gets them on regular basis. http://www.langolomusicale.it/ (don't get scared by the images on the homepage, they are the local Korg/arturia dealer, and one of the guys is into noise, if you want to take be my guest at lunch one day we can go there).

[BlackHole]

Thanks for the suggestions. Also what kind of amps are usually used? I'd imagine probably a keyboard amp or a guitar amp. I could even imagine just using a PA speaker would work fine.

[Jaakko V.]

Thanks for the suggestions. Also what kind of amps are usually used? I'd imagine probably a keyboard amp or a guitar amp. I could even imagine just using a PA speaker would work fine.

As with everything, different amps for different results. Bass amp is good for crushing low-end brutality, guitar amp can be good for more ripping feedback. Guitar amp is probably a good choice for general use. Just try them out yourself and see what suits you the best. I prefer transistor, as tube amps tend to get damaged more easily when blasting noise on high volumes.

[tiny_tove]

Thanks for the suggestions. Also what kind of amps are usually used? I'd imagine probably a keyboard amp or a guitar amp. I could even imagine just using a PA speaker would work fine.

In studio I use a Peavy Bass amp.

[Leatherface]

I read that we suggest you one analog synth.
You don't really need it, you have no idea how much "big projects" don't have one. ;)