What tools are you using ?

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Hi,
When trying to recreate a patch what tools are you using ?
I am using spectrum from ableton and MMultiAnalyzer from Melda
Do you have any tools or tips to share ?

christophecarrieres

6 years ago

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Bill Lear

This is a good question. I think the best tool by far is a set of well-trained ears you use in a process of deductive analysis. Understanding the harmonic qualities of basic waveforms (sine - single harmonic, saw - all harmonics descending linearly, square - odd harmonics descending linearly, triangle - odd harmonics descending exponentially which is essentially a dull square wave), what instruments they typically emulate, and how they are practically used is pretty essential.

However, if you are not yet an expert, I do think visual analysis tools can help to a limited degree. I do occasionally use the Tuner in Ableton to detect pitch, if possible, which in many cases does not work terribly well. I also often examine the image of the isolated waveform to determine its general type and to manually measure the frequency of different parts of the sound, by checking the time from one peak to another in the waveform.

The Utility plugin in Ableton can be used to determine if the left and right channels are the same, or nearly the same, by setting it to Mid-Side mode and setting the Mid/Side Balance to 100s. You will hear nothing if the two channels are identical...

These are really pretty crude tools, though, and can only get you so far... Complicating things can be sounds that are layered or "glued" together closely in time to appear as a single sound. For example, the hard-hitting bass sound from DJs from Mars that I queried about, which is a request here

https://www.syntorial.com/community/topic/patch-request-hard-hitting-bass-sound-from-djs-from-mars-song-babylon-justice/

is probably a composite sound of a thick, punchy kick drum sound and a heavily distorted sine-based bass growl.

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Synth Patch / Preset Request