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How to Program a
Synthesizer
Rich was part of the
programming team for the Alesis QS series synths and Q-cards
Lets say you want
to go beyond tweaking factory patches and doing simple stuff like changing the
instruments, octave etc., and want to develop voices all your own.
This article illuminates the process I find successful programming
synthesizers. Whether the synth is hardware or software, analog or
digital, the process is the same.
Tips and Good Work Habits for Programming Any Synthesizer
1. Naming and renaming
programs. When I am experimenting I always assign a name with a lower case
first letter and I add a number at the end of every significant crossroad, so
the name will be something like "sonic hell1" or whatever. That way you can
always go back in case you really screw things up. As the patch nears
completion, it might be named closer to the final name, perhaps Sonic Well9.
When the patch is done, I delete the number, so I know anything without a
number is the final, definitive, version.
2. Do I need to tell you to
save your bank often and send the bank to the synth at regular
intervals? Nah, you know that, and you know what happens when your computer
crashes or synth crashes, or both crash at the same time.
3. Think of practical
matters as you program. You create a patch in order to use it in a
composition. Keep your sequencer fired up as you make patches and use them in
a test sequence. Is the level right? Does the velocity and AT work as it
should? Is it named so you will remember what the sound is when you see it in
a list of 127 other sounds.
Here's how not to get lost.
Listen now. I'm about to tell you something. Use the metaphor of
sculpture. First you need to carve away the big chunks. That's
the filter. Even the QS has a filter (but does not have
resonance) and it cuts quick and effectively. OK you got it sounding
better than raw. So move to envelopes. Do the filter env and
then the amp env. Then think, is there any Pitch Variation in this
sound? Is the attack slightly sharp? (Tip: Drums are always sharp on the
attack, and many instruments like winds, brass, strings, and vocals come in a
touch sharp or flat). If so then go to the pitch envelope and set a fast
attack and decay with sustain at zero, or where it is in tune after the little
pitch burst settles down. OK you got envelopes!
Filter and envelope section of the
Access Virus
TI Polar Most synths have similar controls
Now on to Velocity.
Consider in detail the sound you are making. What does it do when played
hard, soft? It gets louder. Yeah. They all do. Now
consider timbral changes. Are they "way different" or just slightly
different? If way different, you may need to velocity switch to another
waveform. Go find it and stack it on top. Note you might have to
tweak that waveform too to get what you want--yes it gets complicated and
irritating when that waveform isn't there, 'cause now you have two programs to
make. But take heart, do it right and you will get exactly what you
want. Flip on the sequencer at this point and play a little ditty. Now
play with the velocity control. Is it working as it should or is the
setting not useful? Fix that. Ok you got your velocity cool enough
to move on. Do not go to FX! Do not collect $200. Go to
LFOs. Now listen up! FX are like candy. Sure its cool while
you are doing it, but who wants a half done synth program drenched in FX to
cover its lack of character? Is that why you came this far?
The LFO, the immortal
Low Frequency oscillator, is a modulator. Think of it as a time machine.
You can rhythmically alter your patch in ANY time sequence from very slow to
very fast. LFO's do vibrato, yes, but they can do way more than that.
The trick is to carefully examine what you are trying to make. What
changes in the course of playing a single note? Volume? Pitch?
Or Harmonics? This tells you what to route the LFO to. Tips:
Use slow lfos to modulate panning and volume. You will get a 3
dimensional sound. Use LFOs to do a miniscule rise and fall of pitch.
When you do this in stereo, at slightly
different settings, you will get something that falls in and out of flange, or
like a delay, or like a phaser, and if you can find the ONE tick that works
you can even get exotic effects like having the sound suddenly jump behind
your back, dance on the ceiling, or if you are hunting good, find vocoders,
hear harmonics that were not there in the original sound. Yep these are
one tick wonders. Meaning you have to hunt these anomalies down by
rapidly stepping through parameters and listing to the subtle change each tick
makes. Suddenly, you will get an Omygod! And they are also
the key to better filter sweeps on analog-ish gear. Who needs FX when
you got LFO's! With the exception of reverb, you will find that most FX
programs do exactly what a LFO does, but they do it by sampling the audio
first, adding unwanted noise and grunge. Do it clean. Do it right.
Do it with an LFO tonight! lol.
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Tip: Programming
synths is less confusing if you do things in this order.
Step 1:
Filter
Step 2: Envelopes
Step 3: Velocity
Step 4: LFOs
Step 5: Effects |
Ok, you are tweaked.
The patch sounds so good now you don't want to add FX to it because it can
stand on it own. Dude, now its finally time to go to the effects
alter. The TweakMeister smiles and unlocks the gate and lets you in.
This is your reward. Now you can scoff at all the wanabee programmers
who rushed to the FX first. Fools, are they not? Of course we
agree. Adding FX? Do reverb last. Consider it the final sweetener.
And ask yourself now--do you need it? Might be a good time to go back to
envelopes and see if a longer release time might do the trick better than some
crap synth reverb that destroys the delicate overtones in your hard worked
program.
If you found some cool overtones, let me remind you now to save
your work, with an upper case letter. Save it twice. You don't
want to lose this fundamental inspiration.
Play with delays first.
You will probably find something you like. Everyone loves a great patch
through delays. Find out where you dig it the most. Then set the
FX send to near Zero and make it come in with a continuous controller.
Viola! You have a great dry patch and a great wet one now.
Now add a touch of 'verb. Think of the applications you have for this
patch. If its a snare drum, yep you want a ton 'o 'verb. If its a
kick, just some ambience. Go out there on pads. Don't mess with
basses. Stuff like guitars, you know how you like to hear it bounce off
the back wall, egotist! But always, always always, bring in FX with a CC
and keep it near dry as a default. If you hate the dry sound--well, I
accuse you of being a wanabee. Go Back to LFO's.
If you have followed me
through this article, you are 97% ahead of the synth owning population.
Congratulations! Do this a few times and you will build your confidence
of a TweakMeister, where you know you can get any sound out of any synth. You
now enter the the realms of psychoacoustics, and the philosophical exploration
into what sound is and how it affects us and why.
OK, I gave you some of my
little secrets, you now know how to start. Where do you stop is the better
question. You stop when you are having a tremendously great time with your new
creation and can't think of anyway to improve it. For me, the keyboard starts
feeling "different" when I have a solid program. The hands, without any
thought on my part, find things to do with the sound. Its that good. Go and
explore. Its quite a boundless sonic world in a synth as well endowed with
samples as the QS machines. As you get into programming, you realize there are
really no rules, just habits. (Some philosophers say that its habits that keep
our world orderly, not rules and laws and let me say one last word
here--programming methods are habits--you are as good as you habits.)
Of course there are more. I
hope this helps a few of you get into the joys of sound creation. No one in
the world can make THE sounds for your unique musical statement like you can.
Tutorial: Using Copy Functions to Create Complex Programs
1. To start, set up a default patch
With preferences you nearly always use so you don't have to start from
scratch each time. On the QS, I use the following defaults, which are
followed by many synths that have 4 knobs or sliders for real time
controllers.
- FX level is set to a level
where you can hear it, but its not in the way.
- Controller A is routed to
Filter Cutoff so the sound fades out as you move the slider up.
- Controller B is routed to
change an FX parameter. Delay 1 level works well.
- Controller C is routed to
amp envelopes--greater release time is a good default.
- Controller D is routed to
boost the FX send about 50% from zero.
- Pitch LFO is set to a
reasonable level at a speed that mimics vocal vibrato and is routed to the mod wheel. AMP and
Filter LFOs at level zero at the same speed as pitch LFO. (if you are doing techno sounds,
set all the above to sync to a BPM of 135.
- Aftertouch is set at a
subtle level.
- Use a standard FX configuration of
Reverb and Delay.
Copy this
default program
to
every location in an empty bank. Of course you change these as you get into
editing the patch. You only need to do it for sound 1 as before you get too
far you need to learn...
2. Copy functions.
You'll grow old or mad or both if you don't learn to
copy sound layers, either in your ed lib or on the front panel. This is
usually very easy, but you'll need to look up the procedure in your
manual.
-
The above screen is from
an editor librarian program. If you have one for you synth,
copying one sound layer to another is just a few clciks.
3. Instant Gratification for the
Intermediate Programmer
I will assume you understand
what envelopes, LFOs and other basics are. If not, check the manual that came
with your synth.
- a. Tweak Sound 1 (whatever
sample you find most interesting at the moment). Get the envelopes right.
Get the FX right. Get the velocity right. Set the controllers/modulators.
Don't forget lfos and AT. Keep in mind anything you neglect to tweak now
will have to be done times two or times four after you copy.
- b. Now copy Sound 1 to
sound 2
- c. Pan sound 1 left and
sound 2 right, detune them a few ticks. You now have a giant “stereo-ized”
image.
- d. Now make a few
micro-edits to sound 2's envelopes and filter. You might be surprised how
just a few differences between the sounds can add depth and dynamism to the
sound when you have the L/R thing going. So you got it sounding real cool.
Well wait, we're not done yet.
- e. Copy sound 1 to sound 3
and 2 to 4.
- f. Mute Sounds 1 and 2
- g. Choose similar
instrument samples (i.e a different horn, string, drum kit and use the
same on for both sound 3 and 4. It probably already sounds pretty good, as
its panned, detuned, envelopes are tweaked, etc. Do whatever adjustments you
have to. So now you have two patches in one program--now we have to blend
them. Here's the easy way.
- h. On sounds 3 and 4 go to
the filter and give it a negative setting so you cant hear it--that's right
till you hear nothing. (Remember sounds 1 and 2 are still muted so you can't
hear them either.) Now go to Controller A which is already assigned to
filter cutoff but give it a positive value to when you move the fader up,
the sounds 3 and 4 become audible.
- i. Unmute sounds 1 and 2.
Controller A should fade smoothly from sound 1/2 to 3/4. If it isn't smooth
go back and make adjustments to the filter cutoff amounts--you should be
relatively close.
- j. Now go back over the
program and add things that will really make this patch a standout
- So now you have made your
first complex program. Using the copy functions made this quite painless.
You will probably start wondering, "hmm... wonder what it would sound like
if I used 4 wildly different instruments in this program". Welcome to
programming, friend. There are many paths that may open in your imagination
at this point. Every road you take will open up a dozen more roads.
[ Keyboards and Modules Index ] [ Keyboards: What you need to know ] [ Multi-Timbral Synths Compared ] [ Choosing a Controller ] [ MIDI CCs Explained ] [ MIDI Modules ] [ The Triton Family ] [ The Motif Family ] [ The Fantom Family ] [ Keyboard Price List ] [ Triton Rack and EXB Expansion Boards ] [ Novation ReMore 37 SL ] [ On Programming Synths ] [ Emu Xtreme Lead -1 ] [ Proteus 2000 ] [ Korg Electribe EA1 ] [ Roland JV1010 ] [ Emu Planet Earth ] [ Roland SRX boards ] [ About MIDI Interfaces ] [ Poll: Best Synth Under $600 ] [ Poll: Triton vs. Motif vs. Fantom ] [ Forums: Korg M3 ] [ Forums: Trance Synths ]
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