Downtempo ambient pads/question

Callifes · Post by **Callifes** » Sun May 22, 2011 11:31 pm

Hello! I just got myself an R3 and am trying to recreate some of the ambient style pads that are typical in Downtempo/Acid Jazz style music. A lot of the pads I'm interested in are also used in softer trance songs. Does anybody know if there are any patches available that I should look into for that specific genre?

The one sound I'm really interested in recreating or finding is in the background of this Puff Dragon song starting at 3:55:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHjfkKFo9m8

I've heard it used many times before would be willing to bet someone on here knows where to find it or how to recreate it. Any help with this and any other tips in general for downtempo sounds on the r3 is welcome. Thank you for your help!

X-Trade · Post by **X-Trade** » Mon May 23, 2011 8:15 am

There aren't really any pads in that track until halfway through. The rest is clever use of reverb and a tape-like delay effect.

The pad that comes in to the track later sounds like it has a very strong phase and flange on it. Flange is fairly fast swirling whereas the phase is the low sweep - or it could be a sweeping bandpass filter which is highly resonant.

The basis of the pad is probably just detuned sawtooths though.

Callifes · Post by **Callifes** » Mon May 23, 2011 5:45 pm

Thanks, yeah I'm mainly just struggling to figure out that sound that comes in late in the song at 3:55, I know how he accomplishes everything else for the most part. I hear this sound all the time from other artists and it consistently sounds like that, which leads me to think it might be some sort of preset on some synth, or is at least easy to create.

To my ears it sounds like the basic sound used is strings with a low pass filter applied and some Wah, but I think you're right that it's Flanger since you can hear him sweep it up at parts.

I can get close with a low pass filter and then some flanger on a strings pad... but then it sounds too muddled.

zalo · Post by **zalo** » Mon May 23, 2011 7:22 pm

I am having a hard time picking out exactly what you are talking about, is there another track that I can hear this sound you are talking about?

Callifes · Post by **Callifes** » Tue May 24, 2011 1:33 am

EDIT: I think its the same pad that is featured heavily in this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAwTddIOedM

Is it maybe a choir pad with some sort of filter or flanger on it?

zalo · Post by **zalo** » Tue May 24, 2011 3:26 am

My guess is unison saw and tri slightly detuned. Slow LFO routed to the detune control. Filter: long attack and decay. Amp: short attack and decay. Just a little flanger.

Callifes · Post by **Callifes** » Tue May 24, 2011 4:02 am

Could be. I'm new to the r3 though, will I be able to do all that with it? I'd love to be able to save this as a pad in the r3 even if I have to read the whole manual to figure it out.

zalo · Post by **zalo** » Tue May 24, 2011 5:56 am

I have a Radias and I know it is possible with that, i am not certain about the R3 though.

xmlguy · Post by **xmlguy** » Tue May 24, 2011 6:09 am

Your best bet is to use the DWGS VoxPads, #51-#53, with a lowpass filter and FX. Putting the filters in serial mode with a COMB on filter2 might be worth trying. The high frequencies sound quite muted, so I'd tune the centerpoint on Filter1 rather low.

xmlguy · Post by **xmlguy** » Tue May 24, 2011 7:00 am

I don't have my R3 on hand at the moment, but I was able to reproduce that pad rather easily with Synth1 using SoundBank0 Patch #53 Choir. I added reverb, flange, and stero delay. I added a -12 pulse suboscillator, and a slow LFO with a small intensity on the Filter1 center point.

Callifes · Post by **Callifes** » Tue May 24, 2011 7:54 pm

Thank you, I appreciate all the help on this. I have to admit ignorance though... I don't know what you mean by SoundBank0 Patch #53 Choir.... Or DWGS VoxPads...

tpantano · Post by **tpantano** » Tue May 24, 2011 8:05 pm

Callifes wrote:Thank you, I appreciate all the help on this. I have to admit ignorance though... I don't know what you mean by SoundBank0 Patch #53 Choir.... Or DWGS VoxPads...

When he was talking about SoundBank0 Patch #53 Choir, he was talking about a preset on a different synth he used.

As for DWGS voxpads- you do know how to edit your patches, right? Well, for your first oscillator in each timbre, instead of sine, square, saw etc you can set it to DWGS, and within here you can choose from a variety of sounds. choose a vox timbre for a sound similar to a voice.

Callifes · Post by **Callifes** » Tue May 24, 2011 9:33 pm

I've been messing around with my R3 for about an hour with the Sound Editor open, I'm able to get it close to the Puff Dragon sound but not exactly right.

Also, I think there might be Wah on it. I honestly had better luck matching the sound when I was using external effects modules, but I really want to replicate it and save it into my R3.

X-Trade · Post by **X-Trade** » Tue May 24, 2011 9:47 pm

Try using a bandpass or a lowpass with higher resonance. Depending on the type of 'wah' that is what would be involved.
Note it is unlikely for an actual 'wah' effect to be used, but such effects are based on lowpass or bandpass filters.

Callifes · Post by **Callifes** » Tue May 24, 2011 10:30 pm

I didn't know that, thanks. I think where I'm going wrong is that I haven't been adding much resonance to either the LPF or BPF when I mess around with them. Also, not being able to nail the sound exactly might be because I'm using a different "Choir Ahh" sound, or Vox or whatever, as my base to start with. I might need to play around with different levels of reverb too.