NEXUS5: Sound Design Workshop
If you're tired of using only presets with NEXUS5 and you'd like to learn enough to start creating your own sounds, you're in the right place. In this NEXUS5 sound design video course, synth wiz Stephen O'Connell will show you all you need to know to create your own patches from scratch, including leads, plucks, pads, percussion, and more! By the time you're through with the course, you'll be familiar enough with the synth to start designing your own custom sounds for your very next production. These videos are designed for users with an intermediate understanding of NEXUS5. If you're just starting out, check out NEXUS5 Explained® here!
Videos
• Introduction to the Course (03:28) - Welcome to the course! In this video, you will see an outline of the course, what you will learn, what you will need to begin, and how the course will be structured.
• Creating a Lead Sound (13:14) - In this video, we dive into Nexus5 for the first time and begin our sound design journey by creating a lead sound. With this sound, you will explore the vintage analogue oscillator, modulators, and effects to create a massive sounding saw wave synth.
• Creating a Plucks Sound (14:17) - The classic 80s sounding synth is often inspired by the plucky sound of more complex waveforms. In this video, we will be introduced to the wavetable synth and use the modulators extensively to shape our sound into a plucky lead sound.
• Creating a Keys Sound (10:48) - FM synthesis was a big part of the shift from analogue sounds in the 70s to the distinctive digital sounds of the 80s. In this video, we are going to explore the FM operators to create a harpsichord inspired keys sound.
• Creating a Classic Pad Sound (14:58) - In this video, we will go back to the analogue oscillator to discover how we can create a classic 70s inspired pad sound, shaping with both layer modulators and global modulators, and making use of more effects.
• Creating an Atmospheric Pad Sound: Part 1 (13:29) - Introducing a new sound generator, the Sampler, to the mix, in this video we will explore creating a lot more movement in our pad sound, to gently evolve over time. We will check out the sampler, the step modulator and the wavetable once more, to create an interesting base for our atmospheric pad.
• Creating an Atmospheric Pad Sound: Part 2 (04:01) - In this second part, we will continue with the previous video's preset creation by finishing the sound with some effects processing. However, this time we will explore how developing multiple layers to your sound can provide more opportunity for effects manipulation later.
• Creating a Split Keyboard Patch (14:57) - When performing or songwriting, it can be handy to have one patch that can do it all. Using the range selector for different layers, we can assign different sounds to the left and right hands, allowing you to play pads above a sequenced bassline.
• Creating a Drum Pattern or Percussive Synth Sound (11:27) - In this video, we are going to explore two different methods for creating percussion sounds in Nexus5. Firstly, we will rely on sampled sounds to create a drum pattern with the Arp tab, creating an effective drum machine for live or studio creations. Secondly, we will then utilise the skills from the previous videos to create our own synthesised kick sound, relying on different waveform generations and modulation shaping to create a convincing tone.
• Creating a Sampled Sound: Part 1 (13:23) - For our final sonic exploration, we look once more at the sampler, but this time to include our own samples to create our sound. In this video, we will see how we can import and manage our samples, assign them to the correct keys, and keep them organised on our computer. Utilising two different sounds on two different layers, we will be creating a sparkly pad sound with character and depth.
• Creating a Sampled Sound: Part 2 (06:47) - In the final video, we are finishing off our sampled sound with some effects processing and offering some concluding thoughts before the end of the course. We hope you have enjoyed the exploration into Nexus5 and encourage you to check out more videos on Groove3.