I am wondering if anybody knows some of the synths (specifically the synth that sounds like a harpsichord or piano and the pad synths) used in this classic song? If not, does anyone know how i could go about recreating some of these sounds?
Synths used in Naked Eyes "Always Something There To Remind Me"
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- KVRer
- 12 posts since 12 Sep, 2016
Hi I am wondering if anybody knows some of the synths (specifically the synth that sounds like a harpsichord or piano and the pad synths) used in this classic song? If not, does anyone know how i could go about recreating some of these sounds?
I am wondering if anybody knows some of the synths (specifically the synth that sounds like a harpsichord or piano and the pad synths) used in this classic song? If not, does anyone know how i could go about recreating some of these sounds?-
Stupid American Pig Stupid American Pig https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=4753 - KVRAF
- 7065 posts since 25 Nov, 2002 from not sure
without any research, I would guess you are probably hearing a prophet 5 along with a dx7...
edit- according to this its a fairlight, but that lead sounds very prophet 5 to me...
edit- according to this its a fairlight, but that lead sounds very prophet 5 to me...
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- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 12 posts since 12 Sep, 2016
Found out it by watching various interviews with Pete Byrne that the synth used was actually a modified version of a factory patch on the Synclavier II called "Phased Gong". As for the pads I'm not to sure as there is no official instrumental
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Stupid American Pig Stupid American Pig https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=4753
- KVRAF
- 7065 posts since 25 Nov, 2002 from not sure
I was ⅛ correct! About par for the course for me.
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- KVRer
- 1 posts since 10 Nov, 2022
The particular synth sound that you are hearing and inquiring about (it sounds low enough to be bass notes and technically they are, but they have odd harmonics and ring modulation as a bell would have, but also enough saw-tooth wave to make it sound like someone blended the Tacobell "bell sound" from their logo, with a string sound, and hence your comparison to the sound of a harpschord): This sound is created by FM synthesis. Some background: FM synthesis was created in the 1960s and then the technology later was licensed to Yamaha who was the first to make wide use of it, but by the late 1980s, practically every other synth on the market was using FM in some form or fashion, until the Korg M1 came out which took the synth market in the direction of PCM. Essentially FM is a hybrid between additive synthesis, and subtractive synthesis. Like the old Hammond tonewheel organs, it combines multiple sine waves at customizable frequencies and amplitudes. However there is more to it than just that. Where previous synth terminology applied the term "modulator" to oscillators that would a modulate amplitude or other parameters, the term "modulator" in the FM world is replaced by the term "operator". Literally most any operator can modulate any other operator and at adjustable depths, and then the resulting wave is fed to other operators and the result mixed with other "operated" waves, etc. From there, the totality of these sounds are then applied to vca (adsr) filtering as well as vcf (e.g. resononance, cutoff, etc). The result is a very complex and "futuristic" sound, like nothing else can quite produce. FM sounds are quintessentially the sounds of the 1980s. Sure FM is used a lot these days in trance, ambient, nightcore, etc., but the particular bell-like stringy bass sound that you are referring to, well, we just don't hear it very much anymore. We hardly heard it at all after the 1980s, and the technology to produce it didn't exist in the consumer musician market at any time prior to the 1980s.
The sound that you are referring to (or variations of it as tweeked and crafted by various musician) can be heard here in this Wang Chung track, as well as in David Bowie's Labrynth soundtrack at the closing scene as the credits begin to roll as well as his track "Within You" from the same film. You can also hear it in various parts of The Neverending Story - particularly in the scene where we first see the ivory tower. Michael Jackson used it at the very beginning of "Beat It", and even Bon Jovi used a variation of it in the closing measures of "Liv'n On A Prayer". I understand that this sound as heard on "Dance Hall Days" was produced by the Synclavier. Not surprising, as they licensed their use of FM from Yamaha. If you want to hear a much more generic version of this type of sound, (like the stock bell sound of the DX7 without the stringy elements mixed in), Enya used the heck out of it in most of her albums.
If you want to play around with FM synthesis and see if you can come up with this sound or some variation of it, I suggest a copy of the VSTi "FM-8".
I hope this helps.
The sound that you are referring to (or variations of it as tweeked and crafted by various musician) can be heard here in this Wang Chung track, as well as in David Bowie's Labrynth soundtrack at the closing scene as the credits begin to roll as well as his track "Within You" from the same film. You can also hear it in various parts of The Neverending Story - particularly in the scene where we first see the ivory tower. Michael Jackson used it at the very beginning of "Beat It", and even Bon Jovi used a variation of it in the closing measures of "Liv'n On A Prayer". I understand that this sound as heard on "Dance Hall Days" was produced by the Synclavier. Not surprising, as they licensed their use of FM from Yamaha. If you want to hear a much more generic version of this type of sound, (like the stock bell sound of the DX7 without the stringy elements mixed in), Enya used the heck out of it in most of her albums.
If you want to play around with FM synthesis and see if you can come up with this sound or some variation of it, I suggest a copy of the VSTi "FM-8".
I hope this helps.