How to synthesise a drake/mallard duck call? Will settle for a crow or raven.
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- addled muppet weed
- 105878 posts since 26 Jan, 2003 from through the looking glass
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 15135 posts since 7 Sep, 2008
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- KVRist
- 309 posts since 9 Nov, 2018 from Colorado
I decided to see if I could synthesize some crows. I added some other synthesized ambient sounds to make it sound like some machines are nearby, maybe a breeze, and so on.
https://soundcloud.com/user-260326741/c ... F47OLJLnBx
The crows were done with Serum only. The ambient noises were done mostly with Serum and other effects.
The crow sound is basically a saw with a bit of FM from a second oscillator, some carefully tuned filtering, and some envelopes to control pitch, volume, filter, and so on. Lots of adjusting by ear.
I attached a Serum preset for the basic Crow sound if anyone is interested. Only notes within a limited range sound realistic.
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 15135 posts since 7 Sep, 2008
JO512 wrote: ↑Tue Jun 16, 2020 10:42 pmI decided to see if I could synthesize some crows. I added some other synthesized ambient sounds to make it sound like some machines are nearby, maybe a breeze, and so on.
https://soundcloud.com/user-260326741/c ... F47OLJLnBx
The crows were done with Serum only. The ambient noises were done mostly with Serum and other effects.
The crow sound is basically a saw with a bit of FM from a second oscillator, some carefully tuned filtering, and some envelopes to control pitch, volume, filter, and so on. Lots of adjusting by ear.
I attached a Serum preset for the basic Crow sound if anyone is interested. Only notes within a limited range sound realistic.
Holy moly!!! This is sublime. Downloading the patch now. I'm blown away
"I was wondering if you'd like to try Magic Mushrooms"
"Oooh I dont know. Sounds a bit scary"
"It's not scary. You just lose a sense of who you are and all that sh!t"
"Oooh I dont know. Sounds a bit scary"
"It's not scary. You just lose a sense of who you are and all that sh!t"
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- KVRist
- 309 posts since 9 Nov, 2018 from Colorado
Thanks! Hope it helps! You can fiddle around with that basic idea and make other bird sounds too. Much of it is just a matter of drawing differently shaped envelopes for pitch, filter, and whatnot. The filter is extremely important! It might help to use something else to filter it just right. Using something like Reaktor to give you multiple BP filters in parallel can help.Mushy Mushy wrote: ↑Tue Jun 16, 2020 10:49 pm Holy moly!!! This is sublime. Downloading the patch now. I'm blown away
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- KVRist
- 309 posts since 9 Nov, 2018 from Colorado
I tried to make a realistic duck quack, and at least for the moment, I am defeated! I can get a pretty cartoony sounding quack easily, but a realistic one is harder than I expected!
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- KVRist
- 309 posts since 9 Nov, 2018 from Colorado
I made another attempt at ducks, this time using Reaktor instead of Serum, along with MConvolutionEZ and MWavefolder. I just couldn't get Serum's filters to give me the right sound. This kind of thing needs more flexible filter routing, with the option of parallel.
https://soundcloud.com/user-260326741/d ... KWmNjMHNeC
This Reaktor ensemble won't work for you unless you have Reaktor 6 and the ToyBox stuff, unfortunately. Let me know if you do have those and I'll share it. The multi-breakpoint envelopes are critical for this, as are the 8-pole filters with distortion.
I found that using two carefully tuned bandpass filters with a bit of distortion in parallel works pretty well, with these then routed into a high pass. The oscillator is a saw with a little FM from a second osc that is roughly a saw. I also found that applying some FM from that same oscillator to shake the filter cutoffs helps. Adding a bit of wavefolding distortion improves the sound, as does convolution with the right IR. I used the "radio" IR in the "sound design" folder of Melda's free MConvolutionEZ.
https://soundcloud.com/user-260326741/d ... KWmNjMHNeC
This Reaktor ensemble won't work for you unless you have Reaktor 6 and the ToyBox stuff, unfortunately. Let me know if you do have those and I'll share it. The multi-breakpoint envelopes are critical for this, as are the 8-pole filters with distortion.
I found that using two carefully tuned bandpass filters with a bit of distortion in parallel works pretty well, with these then routed into a high pass. The oscillator is a saw with a little FM from a second osc that is roughly a saw. I also found that applying some FM from that same oscillator to shake the filter cutoffs helps. Adding a bit of wavefolding distortion improves the sound, as does convolution with the right IR. I used the "radio" IR in the "sound design" folder of Melda's free MConvolutionEZ.
Last edited by JO512 on Wed Jun 17, 2020 6:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 15135 posts since 7 Sep, 2008
Yes absolutely. In fact I've replaced the sample I was previously using with this preset nowJO512 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 17, 2020 12:47 pmThanks! Hope it helps! You can fiddle around with that basic idea and make other bird sounds too. Much of it is just a matter of drawing differently shaped envelopes for pitch, filter, and whatnot. The filter is extremely important! It might help to use something else to filter it just right. Using something like Reaktor to give you multiple BP filters in parallel can help.Mushy Mushy wrote: ↑Tue Jun 16, 2020 10:49 pm Holy moly!!! This is sublime. Downloading the patch now. I'm blown away
"I was wondering if you'd like to try Magic Mushrooms"
"Oooh I dont know. Sounds a bit scary"
"It's not scary. You just lose a sense of who you are and all that sh!t"
"Oooh I dont know. Sounds a bit scary"
"It's not scary. You just lose a sense of who you are and all that sh!t"
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 15135 posts since 7 Sep, 2008
JO512 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 17, 2020 6:38 pm I made another attempt at ducks, this time using Reaktor instead of Serum, along with MConvolutionEZ and MWavefolder. I just couldn't get Serum's filters to give me the right sound. This kind of thing needs more flexible filter routing, with the option of parallel.
This Reaktor ensemble won't work for you unless you have Reaktor 6 and the ToyBox stuff, unfortunately. Let me know if you do have those and I'll share it. The multi-breakpoint envelopes are critical for this, as are the 8-pole filters with distortion.
I found that using two carefully tuned bandpass filters with a bit of distortion in parallel works pretty well, with these then routed into a high pass. The oscillator is a saw with a little FM from a second osc that is roughly a saw. I also found that applying some FM from that same oscillator to shake the filter cutoffs helps. Adding a bit of wavefolding distortion improves the sound, as does convolution with the right IR. I used the "radio" IR in the "sound design" folder of Melda's free MConvolutionEZ.
Absolutely superb.
In fact it's so good you made my dog bark
I have Reaktor 6 but not ToyBox unfortunately.
"I was wondering if you'd like to try Magic Mushrooms"
"Oooh I dont know. Sounds a bit scary"
"It's not scary. You just lose a sense of who you are and all that sh!t"
"Oooh I dont know. Sounds a bit scary"
"It's not scary. You just lose a sense of who you are and all that sh!t"
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- KVRist
- 309 posts since 9 Nov, 2018 from Colorado
Thanks!
In fact it's so good you made my dog bark
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- KVRian
- 518 posts since 23 Apr, 2017 from Eastern US
For a lower pitched honk or squawk type bird sound like a duck you'd want FM synthesis or gritty wavetables like Serum or Massive.
I once made a goose sound using squares with 20 percent pulse width and FM with a pitch envelope on the squares using Synth1. I replaced that preset with another and cant remember the oscillator pitch settings other than there was also ring mod.
For a little bird trill or chirp maybe a sine or triangle wave (no saw or it'll sound like a squeaky toy) with a pitch envelope and an LFO on the pitch with a sine shape.
For duck sounds I'd see a sawtooth wave with a band pass filter setup creating formants.
For duck quacks I have a low pitched reed attached to an air cushion I use that is basically a bass squeaker.
That crow is pretty good though! Sounds like the ones that hang around my bird feeder.
I once made a goose sound using squares with 20 percent pulse width and FM with a pitch envelope on the squares using Synth1. I replaced that preset with another and cant remember the oscillator pitch settings other than there was also ring mod.
For a little bird trill or chirp maybe a sine or triangle wave (no saw or it'll sound like a squeaky toy) with a pitch envelope and an LFO on the pitch with a sine shape.
For duck sounds I'd see a sawtooth wave with a band pass filter setup creating formants.
For duck quacks I have a low pitched reed attached to an air cushion I use that is basically a bass squeaker.
That crow is pretty good though! Sounds like the ones that hang around my bird feeder.
Many paid and free VSTs as well as Kontakt libraries. As well as HW synths/drum machine and acoustic instruments.
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- KVRian
- 629 posts since 15 Jun, 2017
Semi off-topic:
Alfred Hitchcock - The Birds (1962) was pretty revolutionary. Both visually and soundwise.
It has no musical film score in the traditional sense all (with themes and melodies and so on). And all the "bird" sounds are actually synthesized. Alfred Hitchcock contracted electronic music / synthesizer / sound design pioneer Oskar Sala, who created all the eerie bird sounds on a Trautonium (a precursor to the synthesizer as we now know it).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trautonium
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oskar_Sala
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Birds_(film)
Crows Attack the Students - The Birds (6/11) Movie CLIP (1963) HD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hplpQt424Ls
Alfred Hitchcock - The Birds (1962) was pretty revolutionary. Both visually and soundwise.
It has no musical film score in the traditional sense all (with themes and melodies and so on). And all the "bird" sounds are actually synthesized. Alfred Hitchcock contracted electronic music / synthesizer / sound design pioneer Oskar Sala, who created all the eerie bird sounds on a Trautonium (a precursor to the synthesizer as we now know it).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trautonium
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oskar_Sala
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Birds_(film)
Crows Attack the Students - The Birds (6/11) Movie CLIP (1963) HD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hplpQt424Ls
