MusicTech Synthesis Master Class

Studio Technology Synthesis

Creating your own sounds from scratch is one of the best ways to master the complex and occasionally daunting art of synthesis. Mark Cousins throws away the presets.

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hile it’s easy enough to comprehend the mechanical building blocks of a synthesizer – the filter, envelopes, oscillators and so on – it’s much harder to understand how to successfully combine these ingredients to create a finished sound. All too often, a first attempt at sound design involves a few tentative tweaks to an existing preset or blindly adjusting parameters until something sounds ‘right’ – often leading to a sound that lacks both character and definition. By contrast, the skill and experience of a good sound designer enables them to draw on a palette of key sounds and effects, each of which can be finetuned to match the musical objective in mind. If you want more of a creative say over the sounds you make with your synthesizer, therefore, there’s help at hand. In this feature we’re going to highlight the three defining sound categories that a synthesizer can be used for – namely, bass lines, pads and lead sounds – offering practical guidance, techniques and tips on how you can create these sounds using the software or hardware you have at your disposal.

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the skill of a good sound designer enables them to draw on a palette of key sounds and effects. We’ve also rounded up what we feel to be the best tools in their particular category, enabling you to expand your set of sound-design tools in an informed and effective way. Rather than tying the techniques to a specific model of synthesizer, we’ve tried to keep the scope and application of the techniques as broad as possible to cater for the many and varied synths out there. And with many synthesizers sharing common features, you should find that the majority of the techniques described are transferable between different devices (although, of course, the precise results will inevitably vary to some extent). Although we’ve tied certain techniques in with a sound category, it’s also worth remembering that they can be applied in any number of applications, so it’s well worth experimenting to see what you can achieve. MTM

BIOGRAPHY ■ Mark Cousins is a composer of production music for BMGZomba. His work has been used on BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Five.

MusicTech MAGAZINE September 2009 23


Synth bass

Producing the deepest, tightest bass sounds

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iven the frequency range a synth can extend down to, it’s no surprise that it’s become one of the most effective ways of filling out the low end of a track. The two principal ingredients of a good bass sound are some well-chosen waveforms and inventive use of the filter to bring depth and movement to the sound. Try to keep your choice of waveform confined to one of the four main types – sawtooth, triangle, square, pulse – so the sound is clear and distinctive. It’s also worth using a sub-oscillator tuned an octave below the first and set to either a square or triangle wave to give extra depth to the patch. Remember, though, to fine-tune the mix of your sub-oscillator – this extra depth is often best deployed in small, considered amounts. A filter often forms an important part of the character and interest in a bass sound. Given the raw, almost buzzy output of the oscillators, the filter is essential for removing excessive upper harmonics that can clutter a mix, leaving the bass to sit neatly at the

The filter section forms an important part of many bass sounds. Extra resonance at low cutoff settings can add bass energy to a patch.

principal ingredients of a good bass sound are well-chosen waveforms and inventive use of the filter.

bottom. To make this filtering effect more dynamic you’ll need to apply some form of envelope modulation – usually with a fast attack and medium decay setting to give the note some shape at its start. Although you can use envelope modulation over the entire range of the filter, it’s worth keeping the depth relatively subtle. Along with cutoff, you’ll also want to experiment with resonance. Even a small amount of resonance can be a useful ingredient as it helps to make any filter modulation (in this case, coming from the envelope generator) more noticeable. With greater amounts of resonance, though, you’ll start to experience radical differences to the sound based on the ‘average’ filter cutoff. At low cutoff settings, large amounts of resonance can actually add bass energy to the patch, which is useful for deep, almost subsonic lines.

TECHNIQUE Effectively combining oscillators Are three oscillators always better than one? Although your synth might have two or three oscillators, it isn’t always beneficial to use all of them in the sounds you create. Deciding on the number of oscillators to use has a big effect on the end results – and as always, it’s often good to mix-andmatch your approach to get a sense of colour and diversity in the music you produce. Although simple, single-oscillator sounds can often be surprisingly effective – as demonstrated by Roland’s distinctive TB-303 Bass Line. Despite having only one oscillator, the sound of the TB-303 tends to cut through a mix where other layered bass sounds would add further complication. Of course, by adding more oscillators you can increase the relative warmth (and depth) of the bass. The classic Moog bass sound, for example, often blends two or three oscillators set to a sawtooth waveshape, each marginally out-oftune with one another. The ‘soft beating’ effect created by the tuning brings power and warmth to the bass sound.

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Going all-out for power and impact is the so-called ‘unison’ bass sound, which stacks multiple oscillators to create a particularly rich and powerful effect. Most software synths feature some form of unison control, which usually places the synth into monophonic playback, with the number of stacked oscillators defined by the voice count. Using a large number of voices combined with heavy detuning certainly creates a roomfilling bass sound, but it’s important that other sounds in the mix don’t also make too much use of the unison feature or they will detract from its effectiveness as part of the bass line.

Use your synthesizer’s unison feature to achieve an impressively big-sounding bass line, but remember to account for the space it consumes in the mix.


Studio Technology Synthesis BUYER’S GUIDE – BASS LINE SYNTHS

TECHNIQUE Waveshape lowdown

Arturia MiniMoog V, £171 2Twenty2 0845 299 4222 The original MiniMoog is a classic synth for bass lines, used on countless records in the early 80s. The MiniMoog’s charm was down to the powerful sound it produced, having three oscillators and a 24dB filter. Use a snappy envelope setting, a good dose of filter modulation and a touch of resonance for a sequencer-driven bass line. Now reaching its second revision, Arturia’s MiniMoog V is faithful to the original Moog, as well as bringing new features that extend what you can achieve with this synth.

Understanding why the right waveform is the most important ingredient Each of the four key waveform types – sawtooth, triangle, square and pulse – brings its own flavour to any sound you’re trying to create. While an inexperienced synthesist will often turn to the most alluring waveform – the rich and buzzy sawtooth – it’s interesting to note the uses for the other waveform types and how these impact on the bass sounds you can create with them. Given its relative purity, the triangle wave is great for deep bass lines that sit at the bottom end of a mix; alternatively, you can use it as a sub-oscillator on an existing bass sound made from any one of the other waveshapes. As a general rule, however, the deeper you go the better it is to use a purer waveform, as its upper harmonics won’t interfere with the other low-mid information existing in the track. By comparison, a sawtooth wave tends to eat up large amounts

of ‘frequency space’ in the mix – which is fine if you want it to be dominant, but less beneficial if you want it to take a more supportive role. Like a sawtooth wave, a square wave has a healthy collection of harmonics, but with a distinct hollow sound to it. In the context of a bass line, it provides a powerful, almost ‘angular’ sound and can also be interesting when used as a richer, more powerful sub-oscillator to a sawtooth bass sound. The pulse wave, (which is closely related to the square wave) tends to sound increasingly nasal as you decrease the pulse width. While this isn’t so useful when it comes to creating powerful bass sounds, the pulse wave is a sensible choice if you want the bass to stay in the low-mids, possibly leaving room for a deep kick drum to sit beneath it, for example, or for use on busy sequencer-driven bass lines.

Native Instruments Massive, £171 2Twenty2 0845 299 4222 Given some of its more aggressive digital traits and a powerful unison mode, NI’s Massive is a great source of aggressive, contemporary bass sounds that can fill out the bottom end of a track. Based on a variation of wavetable synthesis (like the original PPG Wave), Massive produces some unique sounds that bridge the worlds of analogue and digital. Rob Papen SubBoomBass, £89 Time+Space 01837 55200 If you’re a serious fan of bass, Rob Papen’s SubBoomBass is well worth closer examination given its unique slant towards the subsonic end of the mix. Based on the same sound engine as Predator, SubBoomBass has a twooscillator subtractive architecture, although the second oscillator can draw on tuned percussion samples to add bite and percussive interest to its output.

Waveforms define the principal qualities of your sound, so it’s important that you make a considered selection rather than just randomly combining waveshapes.

STEP-BY-STEP Synthesizing your first bass sound with Reason 4’s Thor

OSCILLATOR SETUP Working from an initialised Thor patch, set up three analogue oscillators – two set to a sawtooth waveshape and the third set to a square waveshape. Now turn your attention to tuning the three oscillators: finely detune the two sawtooths and place the square wave an octave below them.

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CHARACTER BUILDING With all three oscillators routed to an instance of Low Pass Ladder Filter, start experimenting with the cutoff frequency (FREQ) and resonance (RES) to bring a darker timbre to the bass. Add just enough resonance to introduce some extra character, but not so much that it becomes too dominant.

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ENVELOPE MODULATION Now add some envelope modulation (ENV) to the filter, keeping the amount relatively subtle (51, in this case). Configure an accompanying envelope setting with a fast attack and a quick decay and release. Use a faster envelope and more modulation to create a filter click at the note’s start.

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Pads

How to create sumptuous textural pad sounds

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ood pad sounds form an instant ‘musical filler’ for your tracks, bringing width, front-to-back depth and a sense of harmonic structure to your music. Arguably, the most well-used synth pad sound is created from a combination of two or three oscillators set to sawtooth, slightly detuned (usually by no more than 4–6 cents either way – just enough to add some warmth) and heavily filtered using a low-pass filter. This characteristically dark sound is completed with a

slow-moving envelope (slow attack and release settings combined with a healthy amount of sustain) and a touch of vibrato on one oscillator applied from an LFO. To increase the pad’s relative warmth and width, it’s often beneficial to add a touch of stereo chorus as well as plenty of reverb so that it sits firmly behind other instrumentation in the track. Indeed, it’s interesting to note that many of the classic string pad sounds from the 70s and 80s made extensive use of devices like Roland’s Dimension D chorus unit and the Electro-Harmonix Small Stone phaser pedal.

Although the sawtooth pad forms a good starting point, there are plenty of other approaches you can take. Although the sawtooth pad forms a good starting point, there are plenty of other approaches you can take. One is to use pulse width modulation (PWM), whereby the width of a pulse wave is modulated by an LFO. This was originally used on one-oscillator synths to replicate the ‘beating’ effect of two oscillators outof-tune with one another, but it also forms a useful, slightly thinner variation on the sawtooth pad. Another approach is to stack several pure waveshapes (usually triangle and/or square) and try to create an organ-like pad sound using the principles of additive synthesis. Here, the coarse tuning of each oscillator is vital, as each effectively forms one of the harmonics from the harmonic series.

Additive synthesis techniques involve stacking two or more simple waveshapes tuned an octave or so apart.

TECHNIQUE Layering sounds

Adding depth and interest to your pad with further layers To create texture and interest in a pad it’s often beneficial to layer several different elements, but how do you do this to best effect? The key to success here lies in creating distinction between the layers, as an arbitrary layering of elements only ever creates a muddy and ill-defined sound. A quick and easy way of creating a sense of space and distinction between the layers is to use different filter types – a low-pass filter combined with a resonant high-pass filter, for example. If your synth supports multiple filters this might be possible to achieve in the same patch. Otherwise, stack two separate instances on two adjacent MIDI channels and change each sound accordingly. Once you’ve established your two filter types, it’s also important to create some subtle differences in how these filters change over time. The low-pass filter, for example, could be modulated by a gentle ADSR envelope, while the high-pass filter is modulated by a slowly undulating LFO. Another good layering technique is to try to pick contrasting sound elements, each fulfilling a different sonic objective. On a S+S synthesizer (Spectrasonics’ Omnisphere, for example), it’s often easy to contrast different elements – a warm pad generated by a sawtooth oscillator combined with some ‘textural’ noise (like breathing or E-Bowed piano strings) added in a sample-based layer. Again, this might be further enhanced by selective filtering, perhaps using a low-pass filter on the sawtooth pad element and a high-pass filter to accentuate the top end of the samples.


If you’re a little more adventurous, you can also explore the possibilities offered by layering the different qualities of contrasting methods of synthesis, including granular synthesis (this is another great way of adding texture) and FM or additive synthesis (for its ability to create harmonics that fall outside the conventional harmonic series).

Combining different synthesis methods is a good way of creating layered sounds. In the case of Camel Audio’s Alchemy, this can all be done within the same patch.



STEP-BY-STEP Layering pad sounds in Omnisphere

CHOOSING A SOUNDSOURCE In Layer A load a string-like Soundsource – in this example we’ve selected the OB-8 PWM Big Strings from Omnisphere’s library. Be sure to apply plenty of low-pass filtering to make the sound much darker, as well as a gentle Amp envelope with a gradual attack and slow release.

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FILTER PLAY In Layer B we’ve selected one of the more abstract Soundsources – the Tesla Coil Synthesizer – to provide texture for the pad. We’ve also added a little granularity to the layer, as well as apply a high-pass filter to emphasise the character-imparting noise elements in the Soundsource.

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IN EFFECT Balance up the two layers with the mix control, using Layer B as a subtle addition to Layer A. To add yet further depth and interest, you might also want to apply some effects using the FX section. In this example we’ve applied a phaser, followed by an instance of the Retroplex delay.

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TECHNIQUE Modulation for movement Using tempo-sync’ed LFOs and envelopes to make your sound groove Any sound that doesn’t change over time instantly becomes ‘sterile’ and uninteresting to the ear, which is why tools such as LFOs and envelope generators are so important when you’re creating a pad sound. The key thing to remember is to think about how the sound should evolve over time – this could be something as simple as a gradual change of volume combined with a slight vibrato (applied by an envelope and LFO respectively) or a more complex modulation that radically changes the pad in time with the track. Most synthesizers enable their LFO to be sync’ed to the host’s tempo, so you can set the rate in musical divisions (1/8th, for example) rather than in Hertz. Try using a 1/16th sawtooth LFO, for example, routed to the amplifier and filter cutoff to make the pad pulse in time with the track. Of course, you can keep the effect fairly subtle by changing the relative depth of modulation, enabling you to preserve the ‘pad-like’ qualities of the original sound but

adding in a suggestion of movement. Also, try combining two sync’ed LFOs running at two different speeds (1/16th and 2 bars, for example), with the slower LFO creating additional undulating movements. Going a stage further, some synthesizers – Native Instruments’ Massive and Spectrasonics’ Atmosphere are just two examples – also feature tempo-sync’able rate-level envelope generators. Rather than simply defining a conventional ADSR curve, these complex envelopes enable you to create a 16-step pulse effect (just like the tempo-sync’ed LFOs) but with the additional interest of a variable depth and curve for each step. Patched through to filter cutoff, for example, you can add an exciting level of animation to the sound; alternatively, you can apply the envelope to less conventional parameter destinations – the density of ‘granularity’ applied to sample, for example, or the amount of ring modulation.

Complex envelope generators enable you to add movement and animation to your pad sound, especially when routed to less typical destination parameters.


BUYER’S GUIDE PAD SYNTHS Native Instruments FM8, £171 2Twenty2 0845 299 4222 Designed to replicate the cold, digital sound of Yamaha’s original FM-7, Native Instruments’ FM8 is a distinctly more versatile and interesting beast. As with the original, you can combine several sine wave operators (FM-speak for oscillators) to create an additive pad, but you can also create superwarm pads by switching the operators to sawtooth waves and applying the built-in lowpass filtering to great effect. Arturia Prophet V, £171 2Twenty2 0845 299 4222 The original Prophet 5 was a classic polysynth from the 80s and a great source of warm synth pads. As you’d expect, Arturia’s Prophet V is faithful to the original, but also brings further interest in the form of a re-creation of Prophet’s innovative vector synth, the Prophet VS. The two synths layered work wonders on pad sounds, creating an analogue/ digital hybrid effect. Spectrasonics Omnisphere, £299 Time+Space 01837 55200 As the name suggests, Omnisphere is a rich and diverse software synthesizer that includes a wealth of sample-based content as well as a powerful DSP engine. In particular, Omnisphere excels at pad sounds, either using inspiring combinations of raw subtractive waveshapes and its textural ‘psychoacoustic’ sample content or via its unique granular synthesis capabilities. A comprehensive effects engine and flexible modulation routing completes the package.



Leads

Aggressive, mix-slicing lead synth sounds

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ore than any other patch you create with a synthesizer, a lead sound needs to cut through the mix and demand your attention. An interesting solution, therefore, is to opt for a relatively simple sound – almost akin to a pure waveshape – that attracts your attention through brazen presence rather than any particularly deft use of modulation or complex layering. On a softer track, this is why a sine wave can be highly effective, although if the track is busier, you might need to opt for something harmonically richer (a square wave or a sawtooth wave, for example). You’ll need to keep the filter open, with any enveloping set to act as a simple organ-like ‘gate’ – quick attack and decay, maximum sustain and a quick release. If this waveshape still isn’t cutting through, try two additional techniques. One is to add even more harmonic information, using techniques like distortion (either within the synth itself or via a plug-in), ring modulation, FM and oscillator sync. Even small

Think carefully about the use and control of pitch in a lead sound. Add vibrato with an LFO as well as small amounts of glide between notes.

opt for a sound that attracts your attention through brazen presence rather than deft use of modulation.

amounts of this harmonic ‘grunge’ can push a sound to the front of a mix. Failing that, try the Unison solution, whereby you stack multiple versions of the same oscillator, all slightly detuned. Another approach is to try to make the sounds as expressive as possible – try to add the same levels of expression that might be heard in a violin or vocal performance. You’ll need to think about the use of modulation, particularly in respect to pitch, which tends to be a defining part of an instrument’s ‘expression’. Vibrato, applied via an LFO, is a good starting point, although it’s worth controlling the depth using a mod wheel so that the vibrato can be faded in over the duration of a note. You might also consider applying soft portamento between notes to replicate the natural slide between notes that occurs with a ‘real’ instrument.

TECHNIQUE Synth effects

How to improve your sound with additional effects In many ways, an effects section should be regarded as a vital part of any synthesizer’s sonic architecture – often they’re just as important as more traditional modules like a filter or an LFO. However, the specific effects you have access to can vary tremendously between different synthesizers – some might provide little more than a splash of delay and chorus, while others provide a comprehensive set of FX algorithms and various patching options. If you’re trying to create a powerful contemporary lead sound, it’s well worth exploring options in relation to distortion. Some of the more flexible software synths – like Native Instruments’ Massive or Arturia’s Jupiter-8V – enable you to embed distortion in the signal path of the synth, adding a little ‘analogue crunch’, for example, between the oscillators and the filter, or some aggressive bit-crushing after a dark lowpass filter setting. All of these possibilities add extra colour to the synthesizer’s output as well as providing a more up-front sound that helps push the patch to the front of the mix. Chorus, flange and phasers are useful ‘fattening’ tools and primarily tend to be used on pad sounds where this is of most benefit. If your lead sound has plenty of high-frequency energy, though, it might be worth exploring the addition of phasing or flange as these can bring an additional sense of movement and colour. Reverb and delay add a spatial dimension to your patch, sitting the sound in some form of acoustic space. If you want to keep your lead sound at the front of the mix, it’s worthwhile


exercising a degree of caution with the application of reverb, although small reverbs can add a subtle sense of space without making the sound recede too greatly. Delays, on the other hand, avoid the blurring quality of reverb, although it’s worth reserving its use for a few key sounds rather than applying it to multiple synth lines.

Distortion is a great way of producing an aggressive lead sound. Some synths – like Arturia’s Jupiter-8V – even enable you to embed distortion in the signal path of the synthesizer.


Studio Technology Synthesis BUYER’S GUIDE HARDWARE SYNTHS

TECHNIQUE Extreme sounds

Roland SH-201, £519 Roland 01792 702701 The Roland SH-201 follows in a long line of affordable synthesizers produced by Roland, including the Juno 106 and original SH-101 from the 80s. As with all Roland classics, the architecture is easy to understand. Under the bonnet, the SH-201 is an impressive beast, being much closer to that powerhouse 80s synth, the Jupiter 8, than the original SH-101.

Exploring the sonic limits of sound design Pushed to the limit, any number of synthesizers can deliver some exciting and extreme sonic textures that are impossible to achieve elsewhere. A self-resonating filter – where the resonance is pushed so hard the filter begins to self-oscillate – is often a fundamental ingredient in many extreme sounds. By itself, the sine-like qualities of self-oscillation aren’t particularly interesting, but add a fast-moving LFO – forcing the pitch to oscillate wildly – and the results become far more distinctive. Ideally, the LFO should be capable of being pushed high enough so that it enters the audio spectrum range – that’s to say, the speed is as fast as 100–200 cycles per second rather than the 3–4 cycle used for vibrato. If the speed of the LFO’s then modulated by another component (another LFO, for example, or an envelope generator) the results are even more complex and interesting to the ear. This extreme ‘audio frequency’ modulation is carried through to two other key synthesis techniques – ring modulation and FM (frequency modulation). Ring modulation principally involves modulating the amplitude of one oscillator with the output of another. The result is an output that contains harmonics based on the sum and difference of the two oscillators. In short, this means that two separately pitched oscillators will produce an output with a complex series of overtones, which is a great way of creating bell-like sounds or abstract synth effects. Rather than modulating amplitude, FM synthesis varies the pitch of a destination oscillator (called the carrier) using another oscillator running in the audio spectrum (called the modulator). Again, the result is additional harmonics, with the precise qualities of the harmonics based on both the tuning relationship between the two oscillators and the relative amplitude or strength of the ‘modulator’ oscillator. Although you’ll need to turn to something like Native Instruments’ FM8 to fully explore the potential of FM synthesis, it’s still well worth injecting small doses of FM using the more rudimentary FM features found in software synthesizers like Reason’s Thor.

Arturia Origin, £2,141 2Twenty2 0845 299 4222 More than just a hardware synth with knobs on, Arturia’s Origin is the culmination of ten years’ experience developing some of the most well-respected software synths. Origin’s architecture is based on the ‘modular’ components of Arturia’s software synths – albeit a Moog filter, for example, or an ARP oscillator – which can be patched together to create your own sounds. Given the processing power involved, it’s no surprise that Origin has two TigerSHARC processors.

Techniques such as FM synthesis enable you to create some unusual bell-like harmonics that are a useful contrast to traditional subtractive waveforms.

Waldorf Blofeld, £349 Hand in Hand 01752 696633 Having disappeared for a few years, Waldorf is back with its latest take on the hardware synth – the Blofeld. Despite its small size, Blofeld has plenty of muscle behind it and sounds every bit as good as the MicroWave XT, Pulse and Q synthesizers produced by Waldorf in the late 90s. If you’re a fan of hard-hitting sounds, shifting metallic pads or chunky synth bass, Blofeld is worth a closer look. Also look out for Largo, which presents the same signature sound in virtual form.

STEP-BY-STEP Creating an aggressive sync-sweep lead sound with the Prophet V

PITCH MATTERS For the oscillator sync effect to be noticeable, we first need to configure the pitch of oscillator A to be controlled by the filter envelope. You can achieve this in the Poly-Mod section by raising the Filter Env amount and selecting Freq A as the destination.

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CUTTING OFF Leave cutoff at its highest setting and set the Env Amt to 0 so that the filter envelope doesn’t affect the filter. Next, adjust the envelope, setting a slow attack and decay, no sustain and medium release. The pitch of oscillator A should now sweep up and down.

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SLAVE DRIVING With the pitch sweep in place, activate the Sync control on oscillator A. This ‘slaves’ its pitch to oscillator B, with the rise in pitch on oscillator A now creating an timbral sweeping effect as the waveform is retriggered by oscillator B

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MusicTech Synthesis Master Class

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