ORG Instruments and Styles

So I've noticed through my time here that the resident musicians in this forum tend to have varying styles when it comes to ORGmaking. When it comes to original music, as well as in some cases transcriptions, you can usually tell who wrote the ORG if you're familiar with that person's other work.

In my case, because I work primarily with transcriptions, my original ORGs tend to be organized like a song with a defined bass line, melody, and supporting instruments. Unfortunately that limits my ability to create unique and dynamic ORG tracks like @Safusaka and @Tpcool make.

I've also found that I tend to use certain ORGmaker Instruments for certain purposes and only for those purposes. For example, I only ever use WAV20 as a melody instrument, especially for higher-pitched melodies, and in most of my songs, WAV 91 is the bass line.

So, what do you all think? What's your style? And do you tend to designate roles to different Instruments, and if so, which ones do you use for what purpose?

I've included my general delegation for Instruments below. I rarely use any instruments other than the few listed here.

Spoiler: Instruments

WAV 00: high-pitched supporting instrumentals
WAV 05: softly-played grand piano (melody)
WAV 06: high-pitched supporting instrumentals or soft melodies
WAV 12: electronic-sounding melodies
WAV 14: electric/grand piano (supporting instrumentals)
WAV 20: melody, high-pitched melody
WAV 21: very low bass line
WAV 25: mid-range electric piano (supporting or melody)
WAV 72: brass instruments, melodies
WAV 75: mid ranged melodies, harpsichord, electric guitar
WAV 91: higher-pitched bass line (above C1)
WAV 92: low-pitched melodies or high-pitched bass line (a mix between WAV 75 and WAV 91)

EDIT:
I have yet to find an Instrument that decently replaces violins and other high-pitched string instruments. Has anyone found a decent Instrument that can play the high-pitched and long lasting notes of string instruments without grating one's ears?

 

Yeah I agree that most people who consistently make ORGs have a certain sound and style to them. Some people like @Random-storykeeper and @Safusaka have such consistent styles that you'd totally know right away it's them who made it. More so them than me because they primarily make original songs while I almost exclusively transcribe songs, but I totally have my instrument preference.

Like, for bass, I always use 26 and 67. The former is just a good slap bass-type instrument and the latter is good for a more techno song. For piano... it can vary (there's a lot you can use depending on the situation). For the most part I use 14, 15, 34, and 43.
I agree with you that 20 is good for melody. A lot of those chiptune-sounding instruments sound really quiet when placed at the lower octaves anyway. I also like 66, which is your standard sawtooth instrument for OrgMaker (also good as a bass); 47, 57, and 58, which are nice sounding trumpets/horns; and 36, 37, and 86 for a more jazzy-sounding lead.
For guitars, I like using 85 for mid-low range octaves. I typically don't delve into the abyss that is the latter 90's instruments, but sometimes I'll use 98 as a sort of gritty sounding guitar used best again at the mid to low octave range. As for a more high-pitched guitar?... I dunno, maybe something like 70 or in that 70's range.

But yeah, that's basically the rundown of my instrument selection. When I transcribe songs that have more than 8 instrument tracks or change instruments a lot (which OrgMaker can't do), I have to try and find a good instrument that will maybe work as 2 instruments. Which really sucks sometimes (like my transcription nightmare: this Pokémon song).

I highly recommend trying out as many different instruments as you can when making songs. Even if it sucks and you think it's awful, it's still worth doing because it'll give you a better idea of how to use that instrument (or how not use it) in the future. This is why I feel comfortable transcribing most songs and why I have an instrument of choice for pretty much any situation.

I have yet to find an Instrument that decently replaces violins and other high-pitched string instruments. Has anyone found a decent Instrument that can play the high-pitched and long lasting notes of string instruments without grating one's ears?

I'm not gonna comment specifically on the high-pitched instruments part, but as for violins, I think that 42 is an alright wave for that.

 

I haven't consciously been relating certain waves to certain instruments, but I like to think of wave 15 as the closest sound to a piano as can be, with a finer resolution and a very steep decay curve. I'm a bit like zxin, fumbling around with the instruments and lengths until I get something that is decent enough to proceed. Though I think, from memory, the waves I tend to use more often are 35, and 59, the latter which makes for a great lead because it tends to be able to "cut through" most of the instruments. Instruments like 66 and 69 have a very resonant buzzy sound, but tend to not make very good leads. I find their actual "note" sound gets drowned out by other instruments, but they can give a bassline extra punch.

As for style, I think my music tends to be more structured and more, I dunno, calming? I have a tendency to play around with secondary dominants and blues notes.

my original ORGs tend to be organized like a song with a defined bass line, melody, and supporting instruments. Unfortunately that limits my ability to create unique and dynamic ORG tracks like @Safusaka and @Tpcool make.

Does a "unique and dynamic" ORG not consist of a defined bass line, melody and supporting instruments? These basic elements are pretty standard for a composition, unless you're trying to go for a monophonic texture or something. Safu's ORGs even have these elements; they're just made into his own. Having organisation alone doesn't necessarily constitute an entire compositional style.

 

For bass I like to use of 47, 49, 57, and 58 as well as 73 and 82-84, usually mixed in with smoother instruments like 24 or something like that. The first group can also work really well in higher ranges sometimes too. Out of that group I've probably been using 49 the most recently. 66 is great too but I've been using it less and less by itself recently. 59 can be good sometimes too if you need a really strong sound.

For the melody my instrument selection is a lot less defined. I usually pick the melody after I'm done with the rest of the song and just try out all sorts of different waves until something sticks. I guess though I like to use 35-37 or 25-26.

For supporting tracks I pick by trial and error, though I do have some favorites. 28, 67, 46/48/52, and 30-32 and maybe some of the tracks in the late 80s are good to use. I actually do like to use 97-99 sometimes. They work well in higher ranges with a higher decay and can also sound cool in lower ones (I'm happy with how it worked out in Procrastination especially). 27 is also a good track if it's used correctly.

Layering tracks on top of each other and detuning is also really interesting to use. For techno sort of tracks I think 28, 66, 67, and 81 are the best tracks to layer. I don't know if it's the best way to get a better sound though; Safusaka's tracks always seem to have a non-ORG feeling to them and it seems he gets that sort of effect mostly by playing the sound of all the different tracks off of each other in a certain way. Seems like you can only really learn that from experience but I'd be interested to hear what he has to say about it.

I guess in terms of my style of orgmaking, I mostly go for fast paced, intense pieces. I'd probably do better to focus on making different types of stuff rather than sticking to what I'm familiar with, because I feel like my music is usually pretty formulaic. Like RSK, I don't go out of my way to find waves to replicate certain instruments. I don't know, choosing instruments doesn't seem to be a matter of "wave x should always be used for this type of track" because the way everything sounds depends so much on all the other tracks.

 

Does a "unique and dynamic" ORG not consist of a defined bass line, melody and supporting instruments? These basic elements are pretty standard for a composition, unless you're trying to go for a monophonic texture or something. Safu's ORGs even have these elements; they're just made into his own. Having organisation alone doesn't necessarily constitute an entire compositional style.

By "unique and dynamic" I mean that I designate one track for melody, supporting, and bass line instruments and keep them there. @Safusaka and sometimes @Tpcool tend to give instruments different roles, and I just haven't mastered that yet.

 

The instruments that I use most are:
00 (Basic Sine Wave)
06 (Smaller Sine Wave)
10 (Basic Triangle Wave)
20 (Basic Square Wave)
34 (Slightly distorted Sine Wave)
47 (Melody Wave)
57 (Melody Wave)
63 (Counter Melody?)
66 (Basic Saw Wave, no frequency limit)
72 (Melody Wave)
84 (Distorted Sine Wave)
95 (Distorted Saw Wave, no frequency limit)
Of course I also put instruments on top of others for reverb and other effects.