Creating a nice pad sound

Fridel1987 · 2014-04-12T10:26:24.000Z

hey elektronauts,

i have recently tried to create a suitable pad sound for one of my kits and i never was satisfied with the results . my main problem is to get a rich and warm sound for some kind of background thing in a pattern. the second issue i had was dealing with the attack. for my padsound i had chosen a longer attack and it works fine with the first note but when i trigger a second note, the sound appears instantly without the programmed attacktime. this only happens as long as the first note fades out. is there a possibility to have the right attack with every triggered note? i hope you got my point (sorry for the poor english)

Best regards

t · 2014-04-12T10:40:52.000Z

For the sound, use two detuned saws, both with the PWM turned up, a bit of vibrato, all at slightly different LFO speeds. Then close filter 1 with maybe a bit of resonance until it goes from “trance lead” to “mellow pad”. You might want to add some subtle LFO to the filter cutoff. Also, you probably want to set the tracking (close) to 100%.

You can make envelopes rest to zero by choosing a shape with a dot at the beginning; see the manual for details.

gigerbone · 2014-04-12T10:47:58.000Z

Use the envelopes with dots next to them, in the amp envelope page, that way they’ll always start from the beginning of your attack phase no matter where they are up to at the next note-on point. However, it can still sound a little unsatisfactory depending on where the last note is decay/sustain/release wise, such are the limitations of working with monophonic tracks.

Advice on the pad sound you’re trying to create could only be given with detailed knowledge of exactly what it is you’re after and that stuff is just as hard to put into words as it is for others to accurately interpret.

EDIT
Wow I type slowly.

wintermute · 2014-04-12T11:06:42.000Z

The Elektron guys tweeted this recently:

Someone’s made a nice recreation patch of a CS80.

He says the key is “Oscillator retrigger” Which I guess means sync.

Would like to know how he did it! I think he’s going to sell some patch banks

t · 2014-04-12T12:27:59.000Z

“oscillator retrigger” is not the same as sync. It means that the oscillator wave is reset every time a new note is triggered. This makes any detune between two oscillators sound consistent every time the note is triggered. From the manual:

TRG (Oscillator Retrig) lets the two oscillators start each note in phase with each other. This can give a stronger and more con- sistent bass punch thanks to constructive interference, and can also change the sound character in other ways.

Fridel1987 · 2014-04-12T15:23:42.000Z

thank you very much, i tried the two detuned saws and i like it very much…shame on me i didn´t notice the difference between envelopes without and with the dots

junovhs · 2014-04-12T16:38:49.000Z

hey there, this is my video

the oscillator retrig was essential for have a really clear and strong attack. Each note becomes a tiny bit more punchy

its a very subtle thing, dialing in just the right sound. But in general you want to try what the others have mentioned, slightly detuning, using either envelopes or LFOs to introduce movement to the sound, some slow vibrato, chorus, slow attack and release, etc.

basically your goals should be:

establish timbre
set amp
thicken the sound
add movement

at least thats how i do it anyways

tsv · 2014-04-13T01:01:11.000Z

Nice work!

Holograms · 2014-04-14T00:17:07.000Z

Wow! Will definitely purchase these if they ever become available.

Soju · 2014-04-15T21:42:54.000Z

""junovhs"":

hey there, this is my video

the oscillator retrig was essential for have a really clear and strong attack. Each note becomes a tiny bit more punchy

its a very subtle thing, dialing in just the right sound. But in general you want to try what the others have mentioned, slightly detuning, using either envelopes or LFOs to introduce movement to the sound, some slow vibrato, chorus, slow attack and release, etc.

basically your goals should be:

establish timbre
set amp
thicken the sound
add movement

at least thats how i do it anyways

I like these simple patch design steps.