I'm sure a song link isn't necessary.
The weird melodic arps in the track. The only melodic component beyond the voices.
How?
How did Kraftwerk make the weird arps in Numbers?
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- KVRAF
- 1562 posts since 31 Dec, 2020
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 1562 posts since 31 Dec, 2020
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- KVRAF
- 16790 posts since 8 Mar, 2005 from Utrecht, Holland
Sounds like a sequence of one bar, and one of the KraftWerkers twists a pitch offset like a crazy monkey.
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My MusicCalc is served over https!!
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- KVRAF
- 2725 posts since 15 Apr, 2004 from Capital City, UK
Yeah it probably isn't a anrpeggiator or sequencer as you might think of it.
More than likely it's a rhythmically-gated synth (making a constant noise) with one of the Kraftwerkians expertly twiddling that pitch knob on the synth _reeeallly nicely_, in a vauge sort of pattern (going up and down in a kind of pattern).. but you think you're hearing notes because of the gating. And the delay is making some notes 'feel familiar' givng a kind of tonicness to the riff.
It's really cool. In digital 'in the box' world, you'd be better off assigning a midi knob to the oscillator tuning of your synth, wacking it through a tarnce-gate or side-chained gate with a bit of delay
More than likely it's a rhythmically-gated synth (making a constant noise) with one of the Kraftwerkians expertly twiddling that pitch knob on the synth _reeeallly nicely_, in a vauge sort of pattern (going up and down in a kind of pattern).. but you think you're hearing notes because of the gating. And the delay is making some notes 'feel familiar' givng a kind of tonicness to the riff.
It's really cool. In digital 'in the box' world, you'd be better off assigning a midi knob to the oscillator tuning of your synth, wacking it through a tarnce-gate or side-chained gate with a bit of delay
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 1562 posts since 31 Dec, 2020
every day is a synth school day.
I don't know how they actually did it. Maybe some live footage from abck in the day would show. I assume the synth is a P5.
Just watched some live clips on YT and they don't use those arps. Interesting. The live version is just percussion and robot number voices
I don't know how they actually did it. Maybe some live footage from abck in the day would show. I assume the synth is a P5.
Just watched some live clips on YT and they don't use those arps. Interesting. The live version is just percussion and robot number voices
Muh bandcamp: https://automatedhero.bandcamp.com/?fro ... _dashboard
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- KVRian
- 991 posts since 24 May, 2024
i have always wondered about those wierd arps too.
interesting answers thus far.
interesting answers thus far.
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- KVRAF
- 2725 posts since 15 Apr, 2004 from Capital City, UK
Listening to Kraftwerk is how I began to understand synthesisneven being a thing, and they are great teachers! Well, I mean, deconstructing their noises based-on what equipment we know was available at the time, what they had access to and what the thing ends up sounding like.. one can learn a LOT from their sounds.
Another thing they did quite a lot was frequency-based sequences on their old analogue sequencers, on which it is _very easy_ to select arbitrary frequencies instead of exact notes. The arp halfway through Home Computer shows this. Up until that point in my life (10 or something) I'd only known musical notes to be played by a piano or valved instrument (trombones always seemed 'fun' but why would you not have perfect notes immediately available to you?.. I wondered). And then I understood. My ears had never been tickled in quite that way before.
Listening to KW is like having a synthesis lesson performed by experts where they don't give you exact things to understand; you try to understand what you can based on what you can hear. Yeah, I think that's how it works..
Another thing they did quite a lot was frequency-based sequences on their old analogue sequencers, on which it is _very easy_ to select arbitrary frequencies instead of exact notes. The arp halfway through Home Computer shows this. Up until that point in my life (10 or something) I'd only known musical notes to be played by a piano or valved instrument (trombones always seemed 'fun' but why would you not have perfect notes immediately available to you?.. I wondered). And then I understood. My ears had never been tickled in quite that way before.
Listening to KW is like having a synthesis lesson performed by experts where they don't give you exact things to understand; you try to understand what you can based on what you can hear. Yeah, I think that's how it works..
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- KVRAF
- 14091 posts since 20 Nov, 2003 from Lost and Spaced
I've read they used a Roland rhythm sequencer and I know they love gear like the EMS. This is from an interview (sounds like some hard programming: First, there are two analogue sequencers which will produce up to 64 notes. The many rows of switches have 'in, shift and stop' settings for trigger, rest and reset points, as well as pitch control. The sequence can run as two x 32 in parallel or 1 x 64 in series. LED indicators can be clearly seen from the audience during operation. The triggers can be outputted wherever Ralf desires, generally to the console instruments (except Karl's who prefers to play manual bass lines).
Google AI also mentions something called a Synthanorma Sequencer says it was custom built.
Google AI also mentions something called a Synthanorma Sequencer says it was custom built.
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- KVRer
- 7 posts since 2 Dec, 2020
Use an arp odyssey. It's what they used a lot of the time. Korg do a great software version.
Ive got extremely close to this sound using the strange s/h and LFO mixer that it has. You basically mix the voltage from osc1 in LFO mode and from the sample and hold generator and apply it to Osc 2 which is playing the notes. There is likely a bit of pitch modulation going from the envelope too. Add the right amount of delay and you will be in the ballpark for certain. There are no notes as such, you just hit the key and the modulation creates the notes. It's just about tweaking the speed of the LFOs etc.
If you own an Arp Odyssey for any amount of time you end up stumbling on a lot of classic Kraftwerk tones simply because theres aren't that many controls and its literally the synth they used for tons of stuff.
Ive got extremely close to this sound using the strange s/h and LFO mixer that it has. You basically mix the voltage from osc1 in LFO mode and from the sample and hold generator and apply it to Osc 2 which is playing the notes. There is likely a bit of pitch modulation going from the envelope too. Add the right amount of delay and you will be in the ballpark for certain. There are no notes as such, you just hit the key and the modulation creates the notes. It's just about tweaking the speed of the LFOs etc.
If you own an Arp Odyssey for any amount of time you end up stumbling on a lot of classic Kraftwerk tones simply because theres aren't that many controls and its literally the synth they used for tons of stuff.
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- Patchmeister
- 1927 posts since 3 Nov, 2010
Ive just played around a bit but cant get it right.
It feels like it's going through a comb filter that makes some notes louder when it "hits" the right notes and you hear higher frequencies on some notes as well.
you hear glide/slide on some notes and not others so it could be set to random or with automation on specific notes but this also can happen with a comb filter sometimes.
Just my 2cents
It feels like it's going through a comb filter that makes some notes louder when it "hits" the right notes and you hear higher frequencies on some notes as well.
you hear glide/slide on some notes and not others so it could be set to random or with automation on specific notes but this also can happen with a comb filter sometimes.
Just my 2cents
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- KVRAF
- 1875 posts since 8 Jan, 2022
Cashman wrote: Tue Sep 16, 2025 10:45 am Use an arp odyssey. It's what they used a lot of the time. Korg do a great software version.
Ive got extremely close to this sound using the strange s/h and LFO mixer that it has. You basically mix the voltage from osc1 in LFO mode and from the sample and hold generator and apply it to Osc 2 which is playing the notes. There is likely a bit of pitch modulation going from the envelope too. Add the right amount of delay and you will be in the ballpark for certain. There are no notes as such, you just hit the key and the modulation creates the notes. It's just about tweaking the speed of the LFOs etc.
If you own an Arp Odyssey for any amount of time you end up stumbling on a lot of classic Kraftwerk tones simply because theres aren't that many controls and its literally the synth they used for tons of stuff.
I think this is on the right track. Definitely some kind of s/h and probably the odyssey or 2600.
I'd add that you can use the ADSR on the odyssey in auto mode to get the kind of slight slow attack on the note.
It seems to be gated by something external maybe using the drum pattern as a key.
There's also definitely a delay involved to. I think the synth part is sparser than it appears and the delay is doing a lot of work.