James Blake - Retrograde | Lead | Recreación de sonido de sinte

Recrear el lead de sintetizador del tema de 2013 llamado "Retrograde" de James Blake puede ser un reto emocionante para cualquier fan de los sintes. Aquí tienes cómo programar el patch "Retrograde" lead y tocar este sonido icónico en la mayoría de sintetizadores sustractivos, tanto hardware como software (Serum, Vital, Pigments, Prophet, Korg, Moog, etc.). Ofrecemos la descarga del preset a continuación por comodidad, pero te recomendamos encarecidamente que uses nuestro tutorial de programación para recrearlo tú mismo en tu sintetizador favorito.

Audio original

James Blake’s “Retrograde” features a haunting and ethereal synth lead that is particularly prominent during the song’s climactic moments. The synth lead can be heard most distinctly as the song approaches its peak, particularly around the line “Suddenly I’m hit.” Although it sounds polyphonic, the pad is actually monophonic, with three detuned oscillators slowly converging to the same note.

Before diving into the creation process, it’s essential to understand what makes the “Retrograde” synth lead unique. It involves an extreme and slow bending of multiple pitches at once to create an intentionally out-of-tune sound that eventually resolves into one still-kind-of-out-of-tune sound. This intentional dissonance creates an intense tension that adds to the song’s emotional depth.

Nuestra recreación del sonido Lead Synth

Este clip de audio muestra lo cerca que hemos logrado igualar el tono original del lead sintetizador de la canción "Retrograde" de James Blake, Te da un punto de referencia para diseñar tu propio preajuste de sintetizador. Tócalo tantas veces como necesites para familiarizarte con los matices del sonido.

Receta de programación del patch de sintetizador

Para empezar

• Empieza inicializando tu sintetizador con una sierra simple, sin filtro, modulación ni efectos. En sintes software, usa el preset “init”/“default” o el botón que restablece todos los parámetros a sus valores predeterminados de fábrica.
• No hay dos sintetizadores exactamente iguales, así que toma los valores de abajo como aproximados y guíáte por el oído.
• Los valores en porcentaje (p. ej., 50%) representan la posición relativa de un knob o fader dentro de todo su recorrido. El recorrido total de cada parámetro puede variar de un sintetizador a otro, así que usa el oído.

To recreate this sound, you’ll need a synthesizer with three oscillators, and the ability to route an envelope to those oscillators’ pitch. The envelope will also need to allow for both positive and negative modulation. Vital is a great choice. Additionally, a basic understanding of synthesis is beneficial.

Creating the Patch

1. Oscillator Settings: Enable three oscillators, all with saw waves.
2. Filter: 24 dB Low Pass Filter. Bring the Cutoff down a little, just enough to take a bit of bright edge off the top.
3. Pitch Envelope: Modulate the first Oscillator’s pitch with an envelope. Set the Envelope’s Sustain to 0 so that the pitch jumps up and decays back down to the pitch you played. Adjust the modulation amount so that it jumps just the right amount. Make the Decay very slow, around 5 seconds. And if your synth allows it, give the Decay a pretty steep curve so that its descent moves faster at first and then really slows down as it approaches the Sustain.
4. Repeat the same thing for Oscillator 2 and 3 with one difference: use negative modulation so that the pitch jumps down and decays upward. For Oscillator 2 use just a small level of modulation amount. And for Oscillator 3, use more.
5. Smear and Pulsate: Tune Oscillator 1 up 10 cents, and Oscillator 3 down 10 cents. This will create a smearing, kind-of detuned sound as the pitches approach the Envelope’s sustain level.
6. Filter Envelope: Modulate the Filter Cutoff using the same pitch-routed envelope above (or an additional envelope with the same ADSR settings) and give it a healthy amount of negative modulation. This will start the sound dark and get brighter over time.
7. Amp Envelope: Lastly, swell in the sound by adding about 1 second’s worth of Attack.

Nota: la configuración del parche puede diferir ligeramente en el desafío Syntorial.

Explorar más

• James Blake Retrograde Synth // ASM Hydrasynth (YouTube)
• Synth Tutorial: James Blake “Retrograde” (Syntorial)
• James Blake Synth Sounds (Reverbmachine)

Descargas de presets

¿No quieres aprender programación de sintetizadores ahora? Usa nuestro preset como punto de partida y ajústalo desde ahí. Regístrate para crear una cuenta en Audible Genius y descarga gratis los presets para los siguientes sintetizadores:

• Vital