Well, I noticed through experimentation and drawing random patterns in the harmonic tables in the padsynth that if you draw sine wave-like figures or ascending and descending lines, it usually sounds pretty nice. You can get a lot of "natural" and choir-like sounds this way. Also, increasing the width of the pads in the main mixer panel usually sounds good (about 1 o'clock - 3 o'clock) In addition, adding a lot of reverb and delay makes the pad expand and enhance the atmosphere...at least in my experience.
Honestly Edgey, all of the music i make is NAFF but then again, so am I. That said I think I have used it in everything since it was new. I really like the grainy stuff like the sand pad preset and the bell things it can do. I love vintage synths sounds and you can get it to sound a little like old Fairlight CMI which is fun. But to answer your question, in the song I am working on now I use it to double other sounds. In this one the PadSynth (using Skarabees wonderful "Crazy Diamond" preset tweaked a bit) it doubles a pad with the Saw Synth and doubles a couple of leads done on the sub synth. What I also did is when the 'hero synth' has reverb and delay, i double it with the padsynth totally dry and mono. Fattens things up without being obvious and obnoxious. This is the first song where i used the padsyth and still my favorite example of what it can do: https://soundcloud.com/wardini/petrichor
I find the highest harmonics in the PadSynth grate on me; so most PadSynth patches grate on me. I used it on a couple of EDM tracks while I was still learning the ropes of Caustic, but lately it's hard to make a patch for it that I don't hate.
Actually the padsynth is the most misused machine in caustic, maybe the name is the culprit here because it's easy to think it's only useful for pads. But you can sculpt just about any type of sound with it. By adding harmonics rather than subtract them you get better controlled over your sound. With subtractive synthesis you remove harmonics from the top or the bottom depending on the filter chose, with additive synthesis you can scoop out some mid harmonics or anywhere you want.
By using the envelope you can then sculpt your sound even further, for percussive sounds you set fast attack and fast decay for example. Then you have the awesome morphing feature that adds movement to your sound, you can even use this function as a filter is you do it right.
Spend some time with this machine and you will wonder how you managed without it.
try to create harmonics using the right 3/4 or 1/2 half of them, and set your octave to the lowest or second lowest, for many new options and "longer" wavetable by a factor of x2 or x4.
As Pan65 said, you can make a TON of unique sounds with this synth, and I have done so in my C3 Essentials Series.....
I made a bell sound with it for my track "Sorry Wrong Number". I actually made it so the bells were tuned to a different pitch, but when I shifted all the harmonics one space down it tuned the patch to C.
I still hate what the highest four or five harmonics bring to the sound; I usually leave them out when trying to make a new Padsynth patch.
I've used it before for lead chorus kinda sounds, but most noticeably on Air of Life with both versions as the only synths alongside the beatbox to trigger the drum samples. Makes me want to start messing around with it again.
Stereo chorus, reverb and delay, I believe that removes the 'naff' sound :P the harmonic tables are down to experimentation and learning what generally sounds good.
I make creative EDM utilising Caustic and many other Daws. See for yourself on my SoundCloud, you may like it :) https://soundcloud.com/xandyaudio thanks!
What I have noticed about sound designing Additive synths is there is usually a lot of "mashing" of the signal after the raw harmonics are determined. So what I am saying is, unfortunately Caustic doesn't allow enough post processing on the sound to mix the higher harmonics into smoother butter.
As Pan noted, a lot of Additive sound design has to do with "adding", you only add what you want, you don't take away what you don't want. The LFO and morhping are key ingredients to additive design as well.
Reverb is about the best thing you can do as an insert to smooth the top end, other choruses might help as well.
Pan65 said it best that spending time with it is key. Of course, that's the same answer for all the machines and I also feel like I've used it a lot but haven't really understood it like I should. I have used it primarily to create more atmosphere and depth. I've never used PadSynth dry, at a minimum a healthy dose of reverb but usually other FX as well.
I read the posts, and I decided to share with you some of the PADsynth sounds I have made..
The "song" I join in this post, is not really interesting by itself, but by adding it to the post, I can show you some of my Sounds.. They are nothing exceptional too, but feel free to save them if you want..
The Bass sounds are just ok, other synths can do better bass sounds.. The drum sounds are really basic, that's sure not the best that the PADsynth can do..
It will always be better with "mass" sounds.. and it can be rather good with lead sounds..
Some good electric pianos and electric organs can be achieved..
For vocal sounds and/or choirs, I noticed that a dominant 2nd harmonic, or even 3rd harmonic, ie slightly louder than the 1st harmonic, can lead to good results.. Especially in the C2-G3 range.. And very high harmonics will add some "breath" to the sound.. But this, I suppose you already know..
The Lylish sound, tries to imitate the sound that Lyle Mays uses in "Highland Aire", "The Search", and, very shortly, "September 15th".. and on some other songs..
The secret is ; a high detune on wave table 2, for the short attack, and almost no detune on wavetable 1, for the steady phase of the sound.. I achieved better results with the FMsynth.. (in fact, whenever I touch a new synth, I try to imitate that Lyle Mays sound.. I like it sooooo much...)
padsynth is great synth even for trap...it can be used as ambiente,pad or Arp...try to pick a bell or string and make an Arp...but dont forget to pull down the atack knob
Well, I noticed through experimentation and drawing random patterns in the harmonic tables in the padsynth that if you draw sine wave-like figures or ascending and descending lines, it usually sounds pretty nice. You can get a lot of "natural" and choir-like sounds this way. Also, increasing the width of the pads in the main mixer panel usually sounds good (about 1 o'clock - 3 o'clock) In addition, adding a lot of reverb and delay makes the pad expand and enhance the atmosphere...at least in my experience.
my music
Honestly Edgey, all of the music i make is NAFF but then again, so am I.
That said I think I have used it in everything since it was new. I really like the grainy stuff like the sand pad preset and the bell things it can do. I love vintage synths sounds and you can get it to sound a little like old Fairlight CMI which is fun. But to answer your question, in the song I am working on now I use it to double other sounds. In this one the PadSynth (using Skarabees wonderful "Crazy Diamond" preset tweaked a bit) it doubles a pad with the Saw Synth and doubles a couple of leads done on the sub synth. What I also did is when the 'hero synth' has reverb and delay, i double it with the padsynth totally dry and mono. Fattens things up without being obvious and obnoxious. This is the first song where i used the padsyth and still my favorite example of what it can do: https://soundcloud.com/wardini/petrichor
I find the highest harmonics in the PadSynth grate on me; so most PadSynth patches grate on me. I used it on a couple of EDM tracks while I was still learning the ropes of Caustic, but lately it's hard to make a patch for it that I don't hate.
Actually the padsynth is the most misused machine in caustic, maybe the name is the culprit here because it's easy to think it's only useful for pads. But you can sculpt just about any type of sound with it. By adding harmonics rather than subtract them you get better controlled over your sound. With subtractive synthesis you remove harmonics from the top or the bottom depending on the filter chose, with additive synthesis you can scoop out some mid harmonics or anywhere you want.
By using the envelope you can then sculpt your sound even further, for percussive sounds you set fast attack and fast decay for example. Then you have the awesome morphing feature that adds movement to your sound, you can even use this function as a filter is you do it right.
Spend some time with this machine and you will wonder how you managed without it.
try to create harmonics using the right 3/4 or 1/2 half of them, and set your octave to the lowest or second lowest, for many new options and "longer" wavetable by a factor of x2 or x4.
As Pan65 said, you can make a TON of unique sounds with this synth, and I have done so in my C3 Essentials Series.....
I made a bell sound with it for my track "Sorry Wrong Number". I actually made it so the bells were tuned to a different pitch, but when I shifted all the harmonics one space down it tuned the patch to C.
I still hate what the highest four or five harmonics bring to the sound; I usually leave them out when trying to make a new Padsynth patch.
I've used it before for lead chorus kinda sounds, but most noticeably on Air of Life with both versions as the only synths alongside the beatbox to trigger the drum samples. Makes me want to start messing around with it again.
i believe u use the style of what others would use the padsynth for and u probably nail it!!
my person uses it for the aloft sound.
not spacey but kinda like elemental sounding machine. of wind or water.
but u probably have found other ways two create such a sound.
I just use it as a space filler in most of my tracks. High passed and sidechained to the drums
Check out mah soundcloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/josh-oelal
Stereo chorus, reverb and delay, I believe that removes the 'naff' sound :P the harmonic tables are down to experimentation and learning what generally sounds good.
I make creative EDM utilising Caustic and many other Daws. See for yourself on my SoundCloud, you may like it :) https://soundcloud.com/xandyaudio thanks!
What I have noticed about sound designing Additive synths is there is usually a lot of "mashing" of the signal after the raw harmonics are determined. So what I am saying is, unfortunately Caustic doesn't allow enough post processing on the sound to mix the higher harmonics into smoother butter.
As Pan noted, a lot of Additive sound design has to do with "adding", you only add what you want, you don't take away what you don't want. The LFO and morhping are key ingredients to additive design as well.
Reverb is about the best thing you can do as an insert to smooth the top end, other choruses might help as well.
Just my 2 cents.
Pan65 said it best that spending time with it is key. Of course, that's the same answer for all the machines and I also feel like I've used it a lot but haven't really understood it like I should. I have used it primarily to create more atmosphere and depth. I've never used PadSynth dry, at a minimum a healthy dose of reverb but usually other FX as well.
JHS
https://soundcloud.com/jhsound-2
I read the posts, and I decided to share with you some of the PADsynth sounds I have made..
The "song" I join in this post, is not really interesting by itself, but by adding it to the post, I can show you some of my Sounds.. They are nothing exceptional too, but feel free to save them if you want..
The Bass sounds are just ok, other synths can do better bass sounds.. The drum sounds are really basic, that's sure not the best that the PADsynth can do..
It will always be better with "mass" sounds.. and it can be rather good with lead sounds..
Some good electric pianos and electric organs can be achieved..
For vocal sounds and/or choirs, I noticed that a dominant 2nd harmonic, or even 3rd harmonic, ie slightly louder than the 1st harmonic, can lead to good results.. Especially in the C2-G3 range.. And very high harmonics will add some "breath" to the sound.. But this, I suppose you already know..
The Lylish sound, tries to imitate the sound that Lyle Mays uses in "Highland Aire", "The Search", and, very shortly, "September 15th".. and on some other songs..
The secret is ; a high detune on wave table 2, for the short attack, and almost no detune on wavetable 1, for the steady phase of the sound.. I achieved better results with the FMsynth.. (in fact, whenever I touch a new synth, I try to imitate that Lyle Mays sound.. I like it sooooo much...)
Have a nice time..
Thierry
Caustic Song file (optional):
Hello Guys..
This song is another PADsynth-only tune..
Thanx to REJ, it's in 7/4..
Caustic Song file (optional):
I've been using this one quite a bit, lately.
http://www.singlecellsoftware.com/node/13455
https://soundcloud.com/andy-zamora-5
https://andyzamoron.bandcamp.com/eyelid-movies
Padsynth is great for trap, I use it all the time, the dirty ambient of it reminds me of nexus,
Watch "S.L.P.GroundSoundMusic CAUSTIC MOBILE Instrumentals" on YouTube S.L.P.GroundSoundMusic CAUSTIC MOBILE Instrumentals: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKJjDuQ5TdeOCS19kHX2PJ-e942SNzfzh
padsynth is great synth even for trap...it can be used as ambiente,pad or Arp...try to pick a bell or string and make an Arp...but dont forget to pull down the atack knob
ellbee