Let's Hear It! Your Favorite Synth Patches

[AROIOS]

About 2 years ago, I started noticing the absurdity of most discussions, about most synths, on most forums, revolving around: TEXT!!!

As Frank Zappa would put it, that's like "Dancing About Architecture".
 

Slow Internet and expensive servers of yore made discussions based on actual sounds difficult. But today a GIF file is easily in the megabytes. It makes absolutely no sense to keep "TALKING about sound".

Let's share short mp3 recordings that highlight the patches/presets we like; being it stock, tweaked, or fresh_from_ground_up.

Since half of my gear are from the JV/XP/XV/Fantom family (extremely redundant, I know), I'll start with the patch that got me hooked on the JVs in the 90s: "MIDIed Piano".

Cheers.

 

 

[CyberGene]

I’m a fan of dreamy, dark and soft pads that can modulate into a wobbly FM when pushed. Lyle Mays was great with those. I’ve already posted this one in the Hydra thread but why not show off here too 🕺 I started it as a simple PWM pad with no particular idea in my head. But then I added some modulations here and there and it started shining. It’s one of only a few patches I created that I’m proud of (how modest…)

 

 

[Noah DC]

Would love to hear some recs on a great patches for funk. I always hear folks talking about these classic sounds and of course I hear them on the records, but I've never quite been able to capture the right settings on my synths (Behringer Model D and Yamaha CS). Leads, basses, maybe patches for comping, etc.

[AROIOS]

9 hours ago, CyberGene said:

I’m a fan of dreamy, dark and soft pads that can modulate into a wobbly FM when pushed. Lyle Mays was great with those. I’ve already posted this one in the Hydra thread but why not show off here too 🕺 I started it as a simple PWM pad with no particular idea in my head. But then I added some modulations here and there and it started shining. It’s one of only a few patches I created that I’m proud of (how modest…)

Those pads are DOPE! Thanks for sharing them, CyberGene.

[AROIOS]

9 hours ago, Noah DC said:

Would love to hear some recs on a great patches for funk. I always hear folks talking about these classic sounds and of course I hear them on the records, but I've never quite been able to capture the right settings on my synths (Behringer Model D and Yamaha CS). Leads, basses, maybe patches for comping, etc.

I love Minimoog bass too. Here's a short piece I wrote last year that emulated Mini bass with Roland Hyper Canvas:
 

Matt Johnson made an excellent YT video last year about programming funk bass on Model D, you might find it useful:
 

 

[Justin Havu]

I'm a sucker for analog synth brasses, mainly the stuff Toto/Steve Porcaro did.  Examples include the obvious "Africa" and the solo from "99."

[Artomas]

Here's audio, with a couple pics, of a Model D Reissue patch that shows how overdriven and essentially compressed yet full it can get when you crank the oscillator levels and the "external input" (it's hardwired to a switch and knob in the mixer section on the Reissue). It was like "yes Yes YES YES... ooooo, no" so those levels aren't quite dimed, maybe 3 o'clock-ish. If it can get too overdriven for me, then it probably has more drive than it needs for just about everybody.  I included a pic of the waveform in Audacity (which was used to amplify and merge the clips, no other fx), towards the end, so you can see what you hear. The 2 instrument pics only show one variation of this patch... I think it's the main one that leads off the set, but IDR for sure when I stopped and took them!

 

There are 6 or 7 examples of this patch, starting with the fullest one, and then queued from electric bacon to only bass, and after that, I tacked on a transient example with a mis-timed filter envelope, like you'd have outtakes at the end of a DVD, I guess.

I'm a complete and total hobbyist and also have a habit of adding a mis-timed filter envelope example to my posts, metaphorically, so I mostly lurk here when I visit, which is fine. This is the only Model D example I've uploaded, unfortunately. Anyway, you'd want to adjust many of the parameters for a specific song context. Likely, the 1st thing I'd do is shape the notes to fit, starting by tightening the amp envelope. Well, before ANY mods, I'd tune it to the other instruments. Even solo, if I'm planning to overdub something else.

 

Thanks for this site! I learn much, and enjoy it when I visit, even though there isn't usually much I can add.

[sherry]

This is a piece I wrote last year.  I kind of like the grit I got out of this lead patch starting around 3:55 or so.  Of course it's a Kronos.

 

[AROIOS]

6 hours ago, sherry said:

This is a piece I wrote last year.  I kind of like the grit I got out of this lead patch starting around 3:55 or so.  Of course it's a Kronos.

 

Loved the sound of the vocal and the snare. Thanks for sharing the song with us, Sherry.

[AROIOS]

On 8/18/2022 at 2:41 PM, CyberGene said:

I’m a fan of dreamy, dark and soft pads ...

Speaking of dreamy pads, here's one I made by layering a Triton Extreme with Dune3:

[AROIOS]

12 hours ago, justin_havu said:

I'm a sucker for analog synth brasses, mainly the stuff Toto/Steve Porcaro did.  Examples include the obvious "Africa" and the solo from "99."

Same here, always loved Oberheim's poly brass sound.

I'm also a big fan of the brass sound Vangelis got out of his CS-80. Here's a sample of my attempt at emulating that.

[Theo Verelst]

Not at the moment, I don't think so.

 

T

[Justin Havu]

Finally got around to doing some audio.  Everything is improvised, except for one of them.

 

Toto-esque brass.  Done with CS-80 V

 

Another brass sound.  Solo from "99" as an example.  Done with Matrix-12 V

 

Everything below was done directly on the MODX.

 

Ocarina lead

 

...and to go along with that...

 

It's probably politically incorrect to play acoustic guitar on a keyboard, but I love doing it anyway.  Here's a patch with some guitar, harp, and a couple of different pads, that I've been playing around with over the past couple of weeks.

[stoken6]

19 hours ago, justin_havu said:

It's probably politically incorrect to play acoustic guitar on a keyboard, but I love doing it anyway.

I think of it as revenge for keyboardless guitar bands who use tracks to playback keyboard parts.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[AROIOS]

On 8/20/2022 at 5:15 PM, justin_havu said:

Finally got around to doing some audio.  Everything is improvised, except for one of them.

I love the CS-80 V "Africa" brass, the MODX "guitarp", and your tasty chord progressions. Thanks for sharing them, Justin.

[AROIOS]

Here's another dreamy/cosmic pad from layering Dune and Spire
 

[cp-the-nerd]

On 8/19/2022 at 3:45 AM, AROIOS said:

Matt Johnson made an excellent YT video last year about programming funk bass on Model D, you might find it useful:
 

 

I used that video (and his subsequent video explaining his actual tone settings) to recreate this on my Minilogue XD. I've created a handful of patches on that handy little synth by watching him and trying to reproduce his settings. His channel has been a great analog synth learning tool for me!

[AROIOS]

8 hours ago, cp-the-nerd said:

I used that video (and his subsequent video explaining his actual tone settings) to recreate this on my Minilogue XD. I've created a handful of patches on that handy little synth by watching him and trying to reproduce his settings. His channel has been a great analog synth learning tool for me!

Indeed, Matt's got the chops, the taste, the willingness to share/educate, and a down_to_earth vibe. He's well respected and loved on this forum.

[nursers]

Great topic. Only audio example I have is this brass combo I set up from MODX presets. Recorded by an audience member on their phone but gives you an idea.

 

 

[AROIOS]

1 hour ago, Dr Nursers said:

Great topic. Only audio example I have is this brass combo I set up from MODX presets. Recorded by an audience member on their phone but gives you an idea.

 

Great sound. I'm hearing a rock organ in the mix too. Thanks for sharing it, Dr. Nursers.

[Outkaster]

M1 Piano 41 and even the Sax 22.  I like some of the Forte and Kronos patches also.

[AROIOS]

15 hours ago, Outkaster said:

M1 Piano 41 and even the Sax 22.  I like some of the Forte and Kronos patches also.

I loved the M1 piano too. It cuts through mixes easily and works perfectly in the rhythm section. Here's a short piece I transcribed from the Jazz-Pop group Workshy. It showcases how this patch work in Incognito/Basia/Matt Bianco type of styles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[AROIOS]

Here's a JV-80 preset I tweaked slightly a while back. It's called "Reincarnate" and just screams National_Geographic/BBC_Earth.

 

Speaking of JV-80/880, this baby paved the way for 30 years of Roland romplers to come. It's amazing how much of even today's Roland synths are still following largely the same architecture.

[BluMunk]

I've shared this before on these forums in various "favorite synth tracks" threads. I know this one is about the patches, and I've never tried to recreate this, but the opening synth is one of my favorite synth sounds (and as Matt Johnson says in the video shared above, it's not just the sound, it's the context and setting). Really the whole track, which I gather is Thomas Dolby's work, is just an awesome synth arrangement.

I have no idea what synth it is, though it sounds, um 'zippier' than what I think of as typical Moog sounds.
 

 

[AROIOS]

11 hours ago, BluMunk said:

I've shared this before on these forums in various "favorite synth tracks" threads. I know this one is about the patches, and I've never tried to recreate this, but the opening synth is one of my favorite synth sounds (and as Matt Johnson says in the video shared above, it's not just the sound, it's the context and setting). Really the whole track, which I gather is Thomas Dolby's work, is just an awesome synth arrangement.

I have no idea what synth it is, though it sounds, um 'zippier' than what I think of as typical Moog sounds.

That gritty sound is right up Mini's alley. The example in the attachment is made with 2 saw waves tuned an octave apart.

Wide tonal range is Mini's strong suit. From massive bass to lyrical lead, it offers a lot of sonic possibilities.

[CyberGene]

 

Inspired by a demo I heard of the Modal Argon8 with firmware v3 and a patch called June8 I decided to create a similar Juno brass on my ASM Hydrasynth. Initially I wanted it to be as close as possible to what I heard but then I gave up and just made it sounding good to my ears, adding non-Juno features and mods (such as stereo spread, two oscillators + sub-oscillator, two LFO-s, etc.) with poly AT triggering typical Hydrasynth modulations for the final chord. What I play is somehow inspired by the Modal demo too which is a genre I believe is called synthwave. Sorry about a slightly sloppy playing, it was a single take while my kid was watching loud videos next to me…

 

P.S. BTW, I canceled my order for Jupiter XM 🤣 I previously said the Hydra couldn’t sound like a Juno hence I was buying the Jupiter XM but apparently I was wrong. I’m rather considering swapping my Hydra classic for a Deluxe now. Not sure how come I thought €1500 was worth it for the XM while I could buy the Hydrasynth Deluxe for the same money. 

[AROIOS]

On 9/25/2022 at 1:01 AM, CyberGene said:

...What I play is somehow inspired by the Modal demo too which is a genre I believe is called synthwave...

Just finished watching an episode of Cobra Kai and heard your playing. Brings me right back to the sweet ole days of the 80s. 😄

[AROIOS]

Here's a nice preset from Cakewalk's DropZone sampler, aptly named Dragon Breath and perfect for 80's Sci-Fi

[AROIOS]

And yet another 80's/90's SciFi-ish sound by layering "WaveSweep" and "Pad Piano" presets in Korg M1. Perfect for something like The Never Ending Story.

[CyberGene]

Nice one. That's a very lush reverb, I doubt it's the M1 one, sounds like a Valhalla or something 🙂