Duran Duran RIO arp on R3

robert_hirst · Post by **robert_hirst** » Tue May 10, 2011 11:34 am

hi all,
been trying to get an approximation of the famous duran duran Rio arp going on the R3, but can't quite get it. I've got the sound itself not far off (though not quite bang on), but the arp is quite hard to replicate - originally done on a Jupiter 4 set to random arp, however the R3 random setting seems more genuinely random and doesn't really work, the Alt1 actually sounds a bit better but still not right. So, just wondered if anyone else had ever tried this and had any tips on getting it like the original. I wondered about combining the arp with a pitch mod sequence instead, or having a fairly slow delay working in conjunction with the arp - is this a reasonable approach?? Also any tips on getting the sound just right would be appreciated!
Many thanks,
Rob

axxim · Post by **axxim** » Tue May 10, 2011 6:20 pm

Hmmm...

usually "random" stands for a sequence that always is imprevisible. So from the definition itself, recreating a true random sequence is impossible.

Depending on the numbers of steps you need, maybe you can copy of a part of the sequence from RIO using the MOD-Sequencer applied to the pitch and the ARP on TRIGGER to gate the notes

Re-Member · Post by **Re-Member** » Wed May 11, 2011 8:19 am

I'm sure there's plenty of MIDI files out there you can download that has those arp notes on a separate track. They are probably not as random as you think. Just load it into a DAW and dissect it.

robert_hirst · Post by **robert_hirst** » Wed May 11, 2011 8:30 am

Hi guys thanks for the replies. I should probably have been clearer and mentioned that this is for live performance so I do need it to be an arp rather than just a midi file. Whilst the original is a 'random' arp, these things are never truly random as there is a common seed for the 'random-ness' it's just that each make/model of synth has their own way of doing it. I might try Axxims suggestion though - sounds an interesting alternative.

Re-Member · Post by **Re-Member** » Wed May 11, 2011 6:50 pm

The thing is you can use the MIDI file as a guide to understand what chords are being held to achieve the sound.

http://rock.mididatabase.com/duranduran/

I just popped the MIDI file into Ableton from the link above and the arp notes are on MIDI channel 6. The arp is set to a 16th rate being triggered by three note chords. With it being "random" it won't be exactly same, but it shows the right chords that need to be held to achieve a similar effect.