Electro, gothic, noise, darkwave from the Side-Line
dodd
offlineTACOS!
All pads I do sound the same and are very "synthetic" or too basic.
WHat tips can you guys give to create atmospheric pads like those used by Tangerine Dream and Brian Eno?
They say it's all about the filters and amp envelopes but fiddling with those is not helping
Any ideas?
really depends on what the type of synthesis and the power of the synth doing it.
multi-timbral patches can be really cool for pads. depending on the sound.. different types of modulation in certain areas of the filter's frequency can produce impressive and even rythmic results
for me pads are all about the slow gentle movement of sound... ebbing and flowing, in and out, rising and crashing. layer sounds with different envelopes and modulations, loop envelopes to make new LFO like effects.
oh and good FX can do a lot. reverb just seems like something that is good on almost everything
pads can be pretty long too.. the longer they are the more complex to make.
here's some i just programmed since you inspired me to do so.
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=8785905
being able to record is fun
Things like Eno and Tangerine Dream rely heavily on subtle (or not so subtle) modulation to bring things to life. Though not just on the filter, modulate everything, subtle pitch modulation can really bring a pad to life, esp if you use different LFOs on different OSCs. Take things a bit too far and you end up in that rich detuned Boards of Canada world.
Good reverb is a must for that smooth Eno sound. In fact, it's practically drowning in reverb...in a good way. :)
Putting a nice phaser on pads was a very 70s trick too. Used subtly it can really warm a pad up and give it movement.
A bandpass or notch filter on a pad can sound great if you have the option to run parallel filters on your synth.
Granular synthesis is great for adding complexity.
Don't just play notes, play the filter, play the modulation as much as you would play the keys.
I do know Eno has a particular fascination with FM synthesis and the DX7.
http://www.interruptor.ch/vst_overview.shtml
The wow and flutter plug in here can really turn a mundane pad into something pretty organic.
KryonikMessiah23
offlinemember
LFOs. Delay. Reverb. Phaser.
dodd
offlineTACOS!
Blargh... I keep hearing that FM synthesis is the best for ambient pads and I'll my synths are subtractive. I guess it's time to stop being lazy and find the manual for the FM8.
Shit...now I want to a buy a DX7 =\
@ Tsarik
Did you do that pad with a Feedback oscillator of the SH 201?
that pad was done with the Future Retro XS and Eventide Eclipse.
the XS is patched pretty simply.
Osc1 set to saw wav, set 1 octave below osc2.
Osc2 set to saw wav, detuned slightly and hard sync'd to Osc1.
Osc1 modulates Osc2's frequency @ 25% intensity
Osc2 modulates Osc1's frequency @ 48% intensity
both Osc are mixed equally
Filter is set to low pass (2 pole) and set about 40% open
set amp env to taste
Filter Envelope stats out completely open and slowly decays to it's 40% open state
a triangle wav LFO modulates the filter as well and the filter is also being over
driven.
the FX on the Eclipse is one of the multiplex delay algorithyms.
i think people like FM for pads because they lend themselves to their production rather easily. being digital... chances are you'll have extra envelopes, LFO's, etc.
plus the nature of FM synths and their sets Operators which are made of a carrier and modulating pair.
so within a single Operator you have a sound... a sound modulator... your sound has an envelope.. the modulator has an envelope.... so you are able to bring in multiple timbres with multiple types and rates of modulation and different envelopes bringing in and taking out certain elements. Filter's aren't even needed when using FM.. BUT.. you can use a filter and one of my favorite things is to rythmically animate specific frequency bands in pads.
also if you prefer working with your subtractive synths.
just multiple recording and then combine them all into 1 sample
here's an example. 2 diff patches. recorded seperately with different FX then combined into 1 sample.
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=8787664
this is why polyphonic and multi-timbral synths are great for pads i think. basically anything with lots of sounds and lots of modulations for those sounds will make great pads.. so if your synths cant do it in 1 shot.. make a sample of multiple takes.
If you have an ensemble effect and detune on the synth I highly recommend using that. With enough voices you can make a boring pad sound hugely epic and horribly broken (depending on what you're going for). And of course constant modulation is key as well. Keep it changing, keep it alive.
You don't need FM to get an organic pad. What FM does allow is plenty of modulation and that is the key. LFOs to pitch, LFOs to filters, ideally separate LFOs to separate OSCs or filters. Modulate the effects, have velocity determine the amount of 'something'...maybe a subtle change in pitch, maybe a subtle shift in the filter frequency. If you listen to Eno's pads there is an almost constant sense of subtle movement. While a lot of old analogue synths had that in built instability that gave them a rich character you can emulate that by detuning the OSCs, adding chorus, adding phase, whatever, use your imagination.
dodd
offlineTACOS!
I've been able to make some progress with some of the tips here. I'll try to upload something later. Thanks a lot guys and if anybody has more tips please share!
dodd
offlineTACOS!
SO here's a pad I made
http://www.soundclick.com/doddus
Its far from a Brian Eno pad but I guess its a start. At times it gets too faint, other times the resonance is too loud, that's because of the LFO settings I guess...I'm still learning how to master all the necessary settings.
soillodge
onlineTech Moderator
Very creepy :D
`michael
dodd
offlineTACOS!
Lol. I was aiming at relaxing instead of creepy but ok :D
soillodge
onlineTech Moderator
It is a bit cold to be relaxing I think. It reminds me of an asian horror film.
`michael
yeah it has a whole glassy sheen to it that needs to be warmed up to be more relaxing.
try a single osc pulse wave with the pulse width modulated by a sine or triangle lfo
set filter cutoff to middle and control fitler with mod wheel
amp env with medium attack and decay/release
hit that with some good reverb and you'll be in business
dodd
offlineTACOS!
I still don't exactly know what terms such as "warmth", "cold" or "glassy" mean because I'm a n00b.
try a single osc pulse wave with the pulse width modulated by a sine or triangle lfo
Did that already. Sometimes it works for me some times it doesn't depending on the other settings.
set filter cutoff to middle and control fitler with mod wheel
Getting the right filter settings is a hard part for me, it hardly gets the way I want. But controlling it via mod wheel seems like a good idea.
The amp envelope and effects are no big deal I got that figured out.
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