Synthesis process evidence
Pad:
For my main Pad sound, I used Retro Synth to create a wavetable based subtractive synthesis pad. Two oscillators were blended together to create a fuller tone suitable for a sustained pad sound.The oscillators were kept at the same pitch with only slight detuning adjustments, as I liked the nice harmonic sound with a slight movement. This gave me a warm layered pad, which fit the 80’s style synth pad sound I was going for. I added a low-pass filter to remove some high-frequencies and soften the tone, with the cutoff frequency being set pretty low to give the pad a warm character, and resonance staying at zero as I wanted a smooth sound, instead of something quite harsh.
I used a filter envelope with a slow attack and long decay and release times. The amplitude envelope also had a slow attack and long release, allowing the sound to fade in and out gradually and smoothly, which meant the pad sat nicely behind other instruments in the mix. I also added some chorus to widen the stereo image and to get closer to that layered analogue sound like the 80’s synthesisers.
Bass:
I used FM synthesis in Dune 3 to create my bass, combined with subtractive filtering to get that 80’s style synth wave tone. I used a multi-voice unison configuration with 5 unison voices, some detuned and some spread to make the bass more full, whilst also giving it a natural chorus. I then added a low-pass filter with a medium cutoff and some resonance to allow higher frequencies to be controlled. Drive was also added to add saturation to help the bass cut through the mix. I created a plucky movement through my filter envelope, which had a fast attack, medium decay and low sustain. The amplitude envelope had a short attack and moderate decay to keep the punch in the bass. I added modulation routing through low frequency oscillators, bringing subtle movement and stopping the sound from becoming boring.
I made this bass sound using subtractive synthesis in Retro Synth. I blended two oscillators together to create a fuller tone. I added a low-pass filter to remove the higher frequencies and focus the sound on the low and mid frequency range, with the cutoff frequency being set fairly low, which gives a deep bass tone, and the resonance was kept at zero tp keep a clean sound. I had a filter envelope with a fast attack and medium decay, which created a pluck at the beginning of every note, helping it cut through the mix. The amplitude envelope had a fast attack and short release.
Synth:
I used Dune 3 to create my main synth lead for the chorus. I used a sawtooth waveform, as this gives great clarity and presence in the mix. Multiple unison voices were added with detuning and stereo spread to try get this synth to sound like the 80’s style layered charactered synths. I added more movement using a multi-stage envelope generator routed to oscillator detune, making the sound start with greater pitch variance before it stabilises, which makes it more expressive in my opinion. Subtractive synthesis was used as I used a slight low-pass with moderate resonance, allowing higher frequencies to be shaped without removing brightness. I used a filter envelope with a fast attack, medium decay and medium sustain to create a slightly plucky sound. My amplitude envelope had fast attack and sustain to support melodic phrasing.
Granular synthesis:
I used a little bit of granular synthesis in my intro, where I sampled the riff my main synths played in the chorus with the pads. I slowed this down and then set a low grain size with a high density. I also changed the grain shape to triangle to make this sound smoother. I then messed around with the taps, spacing and stereo offset until I achieved a sound I was happy with.
Synth Section:
Just before my final chorus, I have a synth section. For this, I used Studio 109 (synth room), in which I recorded synth sounds using the Juno and the Korg Monologue. I created a bass using the Juno, two pads, one being Juno the other with the Korg, and two Korg synth sounds playing the lead.
This is the short video of my piece being played in its DAW (proof):
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