KVR Audio

BBFG# · Post by **BBFG#** » Mon Jan 26, 2015 6:25 pm

Back to topic...
I find 'pads' often fit in three main categories for me.
High end sweeteners.
Mid range fillers.
Low end saturates.

So each category can have a range of which ones I go to first and/or last.
And regardless, it's always the last one I choose that gets used.

fluffy_little_something · Tue Jan 27, 2015 12:56 pm

Low-end pads tend to sound messy, except if the pad is only one note

Is that even a pad? I have heard people say that, but for some reason pad to me means playing a chord.

Why is it called pad in the first place? In the sense of cushion? Cushion for what?

I distinguish only between background pads and rhythem pads.

garryknight · Post by **garryknight** » Tue Jan 27, 2015 8:23 pm

Wikipedia says that a pad can be a chord or a tone, for what it's worth. I've always thought it was meant to 'pad out' the sound when all you've got so far is a TB-303 backed with a TR-808.

Flying George · Post by **Flying George** » Tue Jan 27, 2015 8:48 pm

ES2, vector baby!

yessongs · Post by **yessongs** » Wed Jan 28, 2015 11:09 am

Been looking at helix and LuSH101 lately as possibilities to add to my arsenal they sound like they are way more versatile than just doing pads. Also looking at the lin plug stuff like crx4 and spectral there are just so many good synths to use for pads and I will just play presets till I fall in love with a preset and then I will save the template with that preset loaded in that synth and look for another synth / preset to add to it and I do this this till I have 16 sounds on 16 tracks all on a different midi channel so I can now use my midi channel switching on my keyboard to change presets and play around with my top 16 sounds that get saved as a template and then I can always bring that group of sounds back up by loading the template.

Rapture, Synthmaster, Sampletron, Dune be, Synth 1, PG8X, and Alchemy are still my go to choices depending on what I am wanting to do. I will even layer orchestral strings in with pads to spice it up.

fluffy_little_something · Wed Jan 28, 2015 12:34 pm

If I had good orchestral strings, I would barely need pads

Actually, I think string machines are the original pad synths

BlackWinny · Post by **BlackWinny** » Wed Jan 28, 2015 3:26 pm

fluffy_little_something wrote:If I had good orchestral strings, I would barely need pads
Actually, I think string machines are the original pad synths

Yes ... and the Mellotron.

BlackWinny · Post by **BlackWinny** » Wed Jan 28, 2015 3:38 pm

What characterizes a pad? It's a question of perception from the mind (and its dosage in the mix of the song).

In fact I think that depending the auditor and his culture, almost all keyboards (except the pianos and all kind of mechanical keys using hammers or mallets) can fit for pads. It's a question of choice of timbre and softness of the envelopes. Of course it's better rendered with a paraphonic instrument. Even a single electric organ could do some very nice pads. Even many traditional instruments of the world (celtic, indian, armenian, iranian, chinese...) made for drones fit perfectly for pads in certain cultures and also for certain occidental ears.

But the masters of the pads as we know in the last 50 years period in the occidental music are the string machines and the Mellotron, since their timbres an envelopes are the closest of what we perceive as pads. And a good musician can certainly make pads with any synth by an excellent choice of timbres and envelopes, and his mastering of the chords and their inversions.

BlackWinny · Post by **BlackWinny** » Wed Jan 28, 2015 3:55 pm

Remember these splendid pads from Rick Wright with nothing else than a Farfisa Combo Organ:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj7q3POIZL0

BlackWinny · Post by **BlackWinny** » Wed Jan 28, 2015 4:16 pm

And for those who would doubt of the ability of organs to make superb pads, here is the master of the pads:

Klaus Schulze - Organ Studies (1970 - 1973)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCmfByeDr28

BlackWinny · Post by **BlackWinny** » Wed Jan 28, 2015 4:34 pm

I could add the famous "organ drone" in the first part of his wonderful album "Irrlicht":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHTaCVTqolA

There are only pads in that song. Listen especially to the superb electric combo organ pad which begins at the 10th minute...

BlackWinny · Post by **BlackWinny** » Wed Jan 28, 2015 4:40 pm

And the incredible Mellotron pad solo "Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares" from Edgar Froese in the Tangerine Dream album "Phaedra". Nothing else than a Mellotron, with the addition of a phaser and a flanger:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8J2doVjui4

With a good practice it can be done with G-Force M-Tron Pro or IK Multimedia Sampletron or simply... with the excellent free Redtron MKV with a phaser and a flanger behind.

wagtunes · Post by **wagtunes** » Wed Jan 28, 2015 4:58 pm

BlackWinny wrote:And the incredible Mellotron pad solo "Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares" from Edgar Froese in the Tangerine Dream album "Phaedra". Nothing else than a Mellotron, with the addition of a phaser and a flanger:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8J2doVjui4

With an good practice it can be done with G-Force M-Tron Pro or IK Multimedia Sampletron or simply with the excellent free... Redtron MKV with a phaser and a flanger behind.

Oh come on. You're not playing fair. Tangerine Dream. LOL.

Yeah, we're all Edgar Froese. LMAO.

Great memories. But personally I liked "Stratosphere" a lot better.

BlackWinny · Post by **BlackWinny** » Wed Jan 28, 2015 5:14 pm

You can also create wonderful pads... with a delay behind an electric guitar (or a good emulation like AAS Strum Electric or Xhun Audio IronAxe):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-nIoAZdK1o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyIGcCknaPI

I currently use that technique (with IronAxe) in several songs of a project I'm working for a collection of DVDs for a producer of nature and environment videos.

BlackWinny · Post by **BlackWinny** » Wed Jan 28, 2015 5:21 pm

wagtunes wrote:
BlackWinny wrote:And the incredible Mellotron pad solo "Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares" from Edgar Froese in the Tangerine Dream album "Phaedra". Nothing else than a Mellotron, with the addition of a phaser and a flanger:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8J2doVjui4

With an good practice it can be done with G-Force M-Tron Pro or IK Multimedia Sampletron or simply with the excellent free... Redtron MKV with a phaser and a flanger behind.
Oh come on. You're not playing fair. Tangerine Dream. LOL.

Yeah, we're all Edgar Froese. LMAO.

Great memories. But personally I liked "Stratosphere" a lot better.

Yes, my too. I fully share your opinion, for me "Stratosphere" is the summum of the Tangerine Dream albums (with "Rubicon"). I just wanted to show here an example which came to my mind of wonderful pads among others with simply a Mellotron.

Pads: your first choice?