How do I get Van Halen "Jump" sound?

[Examigan]

Off topic
p.s
Synth1 has great preset for that Jump sound!

That’s Unchained, not Jump.

[godly]

i dont get the appeal of the jump sound. it was one of the most plain vanilla synth sounds of the 80's

That's the tricky part, it seems a simple saw sound but none ever got it right

[godly]

To my ears the sound is pretty correct?

[layzer]

To my ears the sound is pretty correct?

or you can use OnePingOnly>>>>>>>>>

[BONES]

All this hate for Jump! I love that sound and the fact a heavy(ish) rock band realised it was a better idea than a guitar should be cause for celebration. Killing Joke used the same sound in America. I choose to believe it was deliberate, as part of the satire of the song, although I think maybe they just liked the sound (with a bit of vibrato).

[wagtunes]

To my ears the sound is pretty correct?

or you can use OnePingOnly>>>>>>>>>

You do realize this is a joke and OPO is not capable of making this sound.

[chk071]

It might, if you layer 1000 instances.

[Captain]

Like in so many other songs, you can’t separate the ”Jump synth” (=the raw synth sound) from everything else: how it’s played, processed and mixed, what the rest of the song does around it, etc.

Yes, the sound itself is pretty much the simplest synth sound you can have: two slightly detuned saw waves, fast attack & release (long decay, low sustain), no vibrato or other pitch modulation to speak of, filter fully open. (Still, almost every single ”Jump”-preset in all synths I have heard get even this wrong: attack&release are too long, there’s some vibrato or other pitch mod, filter envelope does something, etc.)

The magic comes from other things: The first chord stab (G/C) immediately creates a nice tension, as it’s something you don’t hear in every song. The G-C-F chords over the C pedal keep up the suspense, until it resolves with the F-G bass. But the last chord is a Gsus, so it still doesn’t fully release the tension. Also, the stabs follow a nice pulsing rhythmic pattern, with the first chord coming in on the 2nd beat, and they are played very staccato, which together with the fast attack & release makes the whole riff very ”stabby”.

There’s a ton of EQ in the sound, which makes it extra bright and ”fresh”. The stereo delay and reverb make it sound super wide and larger than life. And of course when you already know the song and hear the synth intro, you start anticipating the drums and everything else coming in. A song is always a whole, and probably no single element of any song (guitar solo etc) would be a classic without the rest of the song around it.

Say what you want, but I think this is a great example of how a seemingly simple riff actually contains a lot of details that make it such a classic.

And again, here is my take, which I think is pretty close (half mine, half original)
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1d4_Ee ... 14xK6yTDpv

[aMUSEd]

Don't think I've ever actually listened to this song, hate that sort of 'rock'

[fmr]

The magic comes from other things: The first chord stab (G/C) immediately creates a nice tension, as it’s something you don’t hear in every song. The G-C-F chords over the C pedal keep up the suspense, until it resolves with the F-G bass. But the last chord is a Gsus, so it still doesn’t fully release the tension. Also, the stabs follow a nice pulsing rhythmic pattern, with the first chord coming in on the 2nd beat, and they are played very staccato, which together with the fast attack & release makes the whole riff very ”stabby”.

You analysis suffers from too much concentration on the "chords", reading the things as a whole, while they aren't.

This is actually very simple harmonically. You have just three chords: V, IV, I. The intro is in a clear C Major, with a tonic pedal that goes through three bars, over which he plays the three mentioned chords. In the ending of the phrase, he "jumps from the pedal through the F (IV degree) to the V dominant, over which he plays IV, I, V, ending with a half cadence.

When he plays the fifth (dominant) chord, he sustains the C that comes from the previous chord. Its a half cadence with the leading tone replaced by the tonic. That's why you feel it "still doesn’t fully release the tension". The tension is only released with the beginning of the next phrase - that's how half cadences work.

This is simple "baroque like" harmony. Nothing fancy, but musically very effective.

EDIT: You rendition sounds really close, BTW. What synth did you use?

[Captain]

You analysis suffers from too much concentration on the "chords", reading the things as a whole, while they aren't.

Well, yes, that's my honest analysis, whatever it may suffer from... thanks for correcting me. I have never formally studied music, so I have my own ways of thinking about chords and harmonies, but I think we are more or less talking about the same things. In any case, I wouldn't underestimate the impact of the very first chord: I think the G/C is a surprising start, and the whole thing wouldn't be half as interesting with F or C in the beginning.

This is simple "baroque like" harmony. Nothing fancy, but musically very effective.'

Exactly! That's my point too, on paper it's basically just I-IV-V plus some extras, but it's exactly those extras that elevate it into something more.

EDIT: You rendition sounds really close, BTW. What synth did you use?

Thanks! It's the OB-Xd, but like I wrote on the previous page, the raw synth sound is pretty far from the actual song, and it really needs the EQ and reverb etc. to achieve the same vibe.

[IncarnateX]

I am afraid that the UN is going to propose a world wide boycott of the Jump sound along with any public performances of Stairways to Heaven and such to counter the continued zombification of music and culture. They will hardly succeed, but just in case, you better learn the secret now before it is lost.

[Mutant]

Yes, the sound itself is pretty much the simplest synth sound you can have: two slightly detuned saw waves, fast attack & release (long decay, low sustain), no vibrato or other pitch modulation to speak of, filter fully open. (Still, almost every single ”Jump”-preset in all synths I have heard get even this wrong: attack&release are too long, there’s some vibrato or other pitch mod, filter envelope does something, etc.)

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1d4_Ee ... 14xK6yTDpv

You forgot one of the most important things.
Short poly portamento.

[Googly Smythe]

You'd think, after 13 years, someone would have perfected this patch.

[wagtunes]

You'd think, after 13 years, someone would have perfected this patch.

You'd think after 35 years people would stop caring one way or the other.