Tutorial: Creating Atmospheric Pads Using Zebra2

[fgimian]

I have long waited for a synth with the power to produce huge, vibrant and evolving pads which consist of more than square and sawtooth waves. Now that we have Zebra2, it is indeed possible to produce such sounds.

The trick to getting great pads with Zebra2 is quad mode and the layering facility. Let's walk through all the layers of the sound...

Layer 1: Noise effects

These are the higher pitched effects you hear in a pad, that swirl around you while the pad plays.

This can be achieved very easily, using any oscillator or noise followed by a Cluster Comb filter. You may also wish to place a highpass filter after this to only keep the high freqs. Please also be sure to have the width set to max, we want a full stereo pad.

You can setup an additional layer using noise or a normal oscillator with highly resonant filter sweeps when the note is pressed. Also things like Ringmod and the like help in getting some cool backing effects.

This layer is to be routed to Env1 with slow attack and release settings.

Layer 2: Synth sounds

The heart of the pad, the main sound that backs the pad.

In your second column, set up 1 or more oscs, set each to Quad mode and detune as you like. Set width to max. Be sure to draw a waveform, or use GeoBlend or SpectroBlend and draw random patterns to get a very interesting sound.

This layer is to be routed to Env1 with slow attack and release settings

Layer 3: Lead Portion (optional)

This is usually a sound which is heard as soon as the note is pressed and which allows you to play quick melodies like playing a piano while the pad sounds fill the backing.

You can produce this using any type of osc, also try using dual or quad modes again to give life. Some vibrato also works well here.

This layer is to be routed to Env2 with quick attack, no sustain and a little decay and release, similar to a piano envelope.

You can get crystal type effects by using the Registerizer FX on an osc. It is also a cool idea to create a second osc 2 octaves higher for crystal type sounds, this will give it sparkle.

Layer 4: Master Effects

Please note that at this point, your sound will be quite empty and dull. This is completely normal, let's look at how effects can bring life to our pad.

First, we need a chorus, set up a ModFX in the master, use the Quad parameter for more voices. Do not overdo the Mix parameter, we just want a little Chorus.

Now we add reverb, and lots of it, the default setting in Metalverb with more Feedback and some more Modulation (if you like) sounds great. We want quite a lot of verb so be sure to mix in quite a bit, however, try not to set the knob higher than the halfway point.

Next, add a delay line with relatively high feedback and different delay times for left and right speakers. Mix a little in for more glue to the sound.

Conclusion & An Example

Please do note that these sort of preset do consume a lot of CPU power so please use with care. The key here is experimentation, no wavetables are required to get huge, warm, atmospheric pads which you only hear in top end synth sample libraries. It all comes down to a flexible synth which Zebra2 indeed is.

Here's an example preset to get you started...

AtmosphericPadExample.fxp (Check out the Zebra2 manual for download)

And here is a demo demonstrating pads I have produced with Zebra2 using the techniques explained above...

AtmosphericPadsDemo.mp3 (Check out the Zebra2 manual for download)

Cheers
Fots

[ggoyal2]

thanks!!

[fgimian]

no probs ggoyal2

Fots

[fgimian]

Audio demo added above Enjoy folks!

Fots

[Urs]

Thanks for sharing!

Urs

[fgimian]

np Urs would there be any way to host the files I have shared here on the blog site when it becomes active ? I'm afraid that I only get 50 mb webspace so I'd love to get these off there in a few weeks when I put up a few new demos that I want to send to labels.

Cheers
Fots

[Urs]

Hey Fots,

yeah, that won't be any problem. I have several gigabytes and I'm eventually gonna set up some upload facilities for preset contribution...

Good luck with your demos! I think your stuff sounds great. Your singer has a good voice, too!

Urs

[fgimian]

Hey Fots,

yeah, that won't be any problem. I have several gigabytes and I'm eventually gonna set up some upload facilities for preset contribution...

Good luck with your demos! I think your stuff sounds great. Your singer has a good voice, too!

Urs

hey, thanks a lot man !! I absolutely adore your stuff too ! I'm lucky to have found the singer, thank god for high school 1

Fots

[rbet]

loved the tutorial and demo, fots. Thanks

[fgimian]

sweet, your most welcome

Fots

[fgimian]

hey Urs, would you please be able to host these files on your site now that Zebra 2 has launched ? I'd love to remove them from my FTP.

Cheers
Fots

[lileddie]

Man, thanks for this. You definitely made it a lot easier to understand (now if I could just wrap my head around making some killer Arps / Sequences...

Thanks again!

[Urs]

hey Urs, would you please be able to host these files on your site now that Zebra 2 has launched ? I'd love to remove them from my FTP.

Cheers
Fots

Downloaded them and will put them up shortly... maybe right into the manual?

Urs

[raikard233]

Thank you for the tutorial!
I love to put pads and rockin' atmo/scapes into my tracks!

[fgimian]

raikard233 & lileddie: thanks a lot for your feedback, I'm so glad this was useful to you guys

Urs: yeah mate, in the manual sounds like a great idea. Let me know when I can delete them so we can maybe update this thread to point to the manual page.

Thanks a lot
Fots