I've always wondered about the pad sound in this track. I know the basics of making a decent pad sound - what oscillators to use, and how to introduce movement with LFO(s) to the filter cutoff(s) etc. But the pads in this track have a sort of depth and majesty that I love (at 1min20sec, 2min44sec, 3min50sec):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9KgEs3Zksg
Wondering if anyone has any thoughts specific to the pads on this track? It may just be the actual chords and voicings that make the sound so emotive to me, but I've always loved the sound.
Also, anyone know what synth Dave Ball used? It was 1981, so I'm guessing one of the early polysynths? I'm not that familiar with any of them.
Say Hello Wave Goodbye by Soft Cell - Pad Sound
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- Banned
- 10732 posts since 17 Nov, 2015
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- KVRer
- 3 posts since 7 Jul, 2004
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You might be suprised to know that a lot of Synclavier was used all over the album this track comes from.It was owned (at huge expense at that time!) by producer Mike Thorne. My gut feeling is that the sweeping
pad type sound your refering to sounds very like the Synclavier. The sounds it can make are often huge and very
rich and majestic. Check out the last link for Arturia as you might get a pleasant suprise!
Other gear used at the time was
Drums - Roland TR-808
Synth Basslines - Korg Synthe-Bass SB-100
Other synth stuff - Possibly Sequential Circuits Prophet-5, Korg 800DV,
Some info about Soft Cells early recordings
Mike Thornes recollections (Soft Cells producer)
http://www.stereosociety.com/nonstoperotic.shtml (http://www.stereosociety.com/nonstoperotic.shtml)
http://www.stereosociety.com/taintedlove.shtml (http://www.stereosociety.com/taintedlove.shtml)
Other articles
http://www.soundonsound.com/people/soft ... inted-love (http://www.soundonsound.com/people/soft-cell-tainted-love)
http://www.electricity-club.co.uk/dave-ball-interview/ (http://www.electricity-club.co.uk/dave-ball-interview/)
Arturia
https://www.arturia.com/store/analog-cl ... ynclavierv (https://www.arturia.com/store/analog-classics/synclavierv)
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 144 posts since 11 Mar, 2014
Many thanks Steeveeem, very useful and interesting.
I also liked the following: "I’m not a particularly competent keyboard player, but often found myself technically more capable than the musician whose recording I was producing. Very early, I made the rule for myself that I would never sit down at someone else’s keys and usurp their position. Most producers might not exercise such reserve, but I had recognized that the simple musical results would work only when a player of limited capabilities evolved them to the best of their abilities. That way, you don’t get dazzled and diverted by pure technique, as has happened often in too many pop music phases. Prog rock is a term that rightly sends shivers down any minimalist’s spine, and much of that genre seems to me to be a result of fingers moving faster than the heart."
I also liked the following: "I’m not a particularly competent keyboard player, but often found myself technically more capable than the musician whose recording I was producing. Very early, I made the rule for myself that I would never sit down at someone else’s keys and usurp their position. Most producers might not exercise such reserve, but I had recognized that the simple musical results would work only when a player of limited capabilities evolved them to the best of their abilities. That way, you don’t get dazzled and diverted by pure technique, as has happened often in too many pop music phases. Prog rock is a term that rightly sends shivers down any minimalist’s spine, and much of that genre seems to me to be a result of fingers moving faster than the heart."
