Developing Synth Sounds Explained

Synthesizer pro Thomas Cochran delivers in-depth synth sound design video tutorials! See how to make and develop a wide variety of popular synth sounds, including techniques that you can use to enhance and improve any type of sound. These videos are for those who already have an understanding of how synths work and the terminology used for identifying their features and functions. Finished presets are also included!

Introduction

• Introduction (01:29) - This video covers what the course is about how it can be used to improve your synth sounds.

Bass Synths

• Basses that Punch: Setup (10:04) - This video is about creating the basic patch and what types of waves are best for creating punchy synthwave basses. These techniques can be used for any full bass sound that you are wanting to create.

• Basses that Punch: Technique (12:16) - See how to add a filter, volume modulation, and pitch modulation to the patch and make it really hit. Having a bass that hits is quite common in a lot of different styles of music and these ideas can be applied to any sound.

• Heavy Punch Bass: Setup (09:32) - Watch how to make a basic FM bass patch suitable for a wide range of genres.

• Heavy Punch Bass: Technique (16:22) - Discover how to make the FM bass punch further by using distortion, OTT compression, and other effects. Modulation is key to making bass sounds that punch properly.

• Movement & Baselines: Setup (07:37) - See the basic patch setup and how to make it full sounding. These ideas can be applied to just about any classic sounding bass.

• Movement & Baselines: Technique (11:36) - Explore how to best use detuning, modulation, and effects to create patches that have subtle moment. While it may seem more simple, subtle use of modulation is key to creating interesting and evolving sounds.

• Movement & Heavy Baselines: Setup (07:56) - This video shows how to setup a basic sine compression bass, and also covers using soft clipping and distortion to enhance your bass sound.

• Movement & Heavy Baselines: Technique (09:55) - Thomas discusses how movement is created for more heavy types of basses and reveals processing techniques such as stereo movement, advanced filters, and distortion.

• 808 Bass: Setup (10:07) - Learn how to create 808s from scratch. This first video covers the basics of setting up the patch as well as how you can edit the sound to create a wide variety of different 808s.

• 808 Bass: Techniques (10:12) - This video focuses on techniques for distortion processing, compression, and parallel distortion with groups to get 808s that properly hit in a production.

Lead & Arpeggiated Synths

• Synth Lead: Setup (04:37) - Leads may sound simple, but they can be challenging to get right. In this video Thomas shows how to setup a basic lead patch that will then be changed into a really engaging lead sound.

• Synth Lead: Techniques (11:04) - Watch how to add moment to lead synths with stereo movement and modulation effects, taking a basic lead and make it more exciting.

• Arpeggiation: Setup (11:31) - Learn the steps to create an interesting arpeggiated synth patch. These basics can be used for any type of arp synth you wish to create.

• Arpeggiation: Techniques (08:52) - This video covers how to make your leads more interesting including effects like delays, texture, and reverb to create lush sounding arp patches.

Keys & Pads

• Keys: Setup (08:52) - See how to make keyboard patches, including manipulating the envelope and oscillator settings that are used to create Rhodes-like keyboard sounds.

• Keys: Techniques (12:20) - Now that the basic patch is setup, watch how to process keyboard patches so that they are a lot more interesting.

• Pad: Setup (10:54) - Learn what techniques are used to make full, fat sounding pads. These ideas can be used to make many different pads for numerous popular genres.

• Pad: Techniques (10:39) - See how to process pads to make them bigger sounding. This video also shows you how to take this patch and turn it into a variety of different pad sounds.

Drums

• Kick: Setup (08:18) - Discover how synthesizing kick samples works including patch setup, and the type of envelope settings that can be used on kicks.

• Kick: Techniques (13:09) - Learn the techniques that are used to process kicks to make them hit just right. Thomas then shows how to take the basic kick and edit it based on what sound you are going for.

• Snare: Setup (09:59) - Synthesizing snare sounds is a bit tricky, but there are a few modulations that can be used to make snares sound right. This video dives into modulation settings that are used to give snares that classic snap.

• Snare: Techniques (08:37) - Wrapping it up, Thomas reveals techniques that are used to process snares, as well as how you can get a verity of different snare sounds based off of the main patch.