What do you think is the best VST Instrument for making dark sounding pads?

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parsons19

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A little bit specific here I guess and I could probably get fine results with the usual list of VSTs that everyone likes.

Just wondered are there any specific VSTs that are aimed at making nice pad sounds in particular? :P
 
Swift response! Cheers man, I do wanna try out Predator as I have probably said before :P

On an unrealted note you about on aim anytime soon? You gave me some really good synthesis tips and I never caught up with you since! Still up for doing some teaching? :D
 
Mr Fletch said:
Any synth will do the trick, but my go to synth for pad sounds is Rob Papen's Predator
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Very good shout. Mine is generally Massive or Absynth. Thor is amazing if u have Reason. My mate swears by Sylenth...

S'up to you what you choose. I think the key thing you need to ask yourself is what in particular it is that you like about the certain sound. If you can pick it apart then maybe you'll be able to help yourself find what synth will suit.

Just an idea... :)
 
Cheers guys! Looks like predator is winning overall already!

I am a massive man. Not going to lie though, been kinda lazy on the synthesis side of things! :lol: I understand what different things are and do but I can't quite get my head round making a sound tbh...

I suspect massive could do what I wanted if I knew what I was doing!?
 
parsons19 said:
Cheers guys! Looks like predator is winning overall already!

I am a massive man. Not going to lie though, been kinda lazy on the synthesis side of things! :lol: I understand what different things are and do but I can't quite get my head round making a sound tbh...

I suspect massive could do what I wanted if I knew what I was doing!?
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Definitely! Search your Massive presets for some decent pad noises and then go through massive's interface to trace the signal path. It will give you a better visual understanding of what they did to create that sound and may even generate some ideas.
 
lostnthesound said:
Definitely! Search your Massive presets for some decent pad noises and then go through massive's interface to trace the signal path. It will give you a better visual understanding of what they did to create that sound and may even generate some ideas.
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Will do man, cheers!
 
ye man, i mean nothing beats the control of synthesis, but theres no point trying to create an authentic creaking sound on a synth that people will barely notice when u can just lift one from a pack that sounds twice as good
 
Absynth is the fucking boss when it comes to pads!!!! Ofcourse it is capable of leads, basses, percussion, etc. but pads and soundscapes are where it really shines!
 
For 'dark' sounds try mangling audio samples. Extreme time stretching, pitch shifting, reversing, layering fx etc.
 
subprime said:
For 'dark' sounds try mangling audio samples. Extreme time stretching, pitch shifting, reversing, layering fx etc.
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Oooh forgot about this one! Works with just about anything too. Did it on a reversed half bar drum loop once and stretched it out over 4 bars, drenched it in reverb and it sounded like some abandoned warehouse shizzle.
 
I find pulse modulating to be very effective in giving movement in a pad. Just a single sqaure wave with it's pulse width modulated and ring modulated can make crazy shit, if anyone wants a tutorial
 
Yeah experimenting with samples is awesome for making dark drones/pads. Try Paul Extreme sound stretch as well
 
Camelaudio's alchemy is for me like giving a child hit of lsd and a chemical lab
 
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