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The pad in question is the one from the song’s beginning.
I detect qualities imprinted by effects such as chorus and panning, but I can’t just get that genuine tone that stands out, in subjective terms as warm but also a bit metallic. Using a sine oscillator for these chords renders a dull result, failing to provide that subtle movement emphasized by the chorus, with pulse width oscillators rendering a “nasal” sound.
I also think he’s playing power chords, i.e. root + fifth sustained, or root + fifth + octave. What does the community think?I agree that it’s probably not using a sine wave. I would say it’s a minor triad though, as I’m hearing a minor 3rd in there. And there could be a combination of unison and chorus happening as the tone is pretty smeared.
I see what you mean by “metallic”. I’m thinking it might be a combination of saw and square, giving you both the warm saw vibe, as well as the more artificial square vibe which might add that subtle metallic-like nature.
Can we hear what you have so far?
Playing a C# minor, with the fifth inverted.
And here is the resulting sound. On a different note (pun intended), should I try to switch away from my 100% usage of Ableton’s Analog when trying to recreate synth sounds? I always feel like I’m missing out, since I get such “cold” and “digital” sounds from build in soft synths.
And here is the resulting sound
That sounds really close to me. Only changes I might make would be to bring the 5th up an octave so you’re in root position with the 5th on top. And try lowering the filter cutoff a bit. Or, if you’re using a 12dB low pass, try switching to 18 or 24. I find that of all the parameters I always tweak and adjust the filter the most.
should I try to switch away from my 100% usage of Ableton’s Analog to recreate synth sounds?
Depends on what you’re recreating. That being said, some of Analog’s filter’s have a Drive option, and turning that up will give a more saturated analog tone. At the end of the day, I find that a digital synth’s ability to sound warm is mostly determined by its filter.
CORRECTION: I was thinking of Operator when saying “some of Analog’s filters have a Drive option”. After looking at Analog I see the Drive option is there for all Filter types. What do you currently have that set to?
I don’t usually use the Drive option. I’m not sure what are the use cases, or some industry standard practices when it comes to this option.
Coming back to the topic of discussion, I feel like my attempt has a ‘muddy’ or ‘hairy’ sound, compared to dBridge’s pad. His sounds clean and clear, mine sounds too muddy. Any suggestions on how to achieve this?
I feel like my attempt has a ‘muddy’ or ‘hairy’ sound, compared to dBridge’s pad. His sounds clean and clear, mine sounds too muddy. Any suggestions on how to achieve this?
An EQ cut is usually the best way to de-mud a sound. Try around the 300-500 range.
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