Wondering what synth Ben Frost used for this sound on Netlix's "Dark"

[sebsaghini]

https://youtu.be/9gaNWmkVdMI?t=14

I've been try to find out for years what synth and preset he used for that specific sound, which is like a foghorn, but I never found out despite several searches. I set the link so it plays 14 seconds in, and the sound starts at 15 seconds. I think it's in A#2

Any clues?

[Eddy Deegan]

I tried to have a listen but unfortunately I get the message 'This video is not available' at the link you provided!

[sebsaghini]

Oh it's probably geo restricted. Let me know if this one works: https://youtu.be/IbCio3f2HZk?t=14

[yeroc]

Had a listen. Given his pedigree could be anything from the free Spitfire Labs Foghorn to a quartet of well paid cellists further processed through esoteric unobtanium tube gear. Could be a field recording of a cow mooing that he pitched down three octaves, then slowed down more with varispeed. Unless he tells us specifically we can only make fun guesses and our own unique sounds inspired by it

[Drew Stephenson]

My gut feel is that the starting sound is a bowed instrument (real or virtual), possibly with some brass layered over the top, that has then been heavily tweaked.
But Foghorn isn't a bad guess either!

[resistorman]

Could be anything, why don't you try and design your own version? Fun and educational If I were to try to make my own version I'd start with Plasmonic or its predecessor Absynth.

[Eddy Deegan]

There are three distinct timbres layered together in that sound.

The first, and most obvious, is a lower fundamental string-like sound which could well be a sample with an artificially slow attack. The second is a sine-wave-like filtered pad pitched a 5th above the first. The third is a continuation of the drone-like bassy pad that precedes the other two.

All have reverb applied.

Whatever the source of the lower sound is, it should be relatively easy to recreate. Find a bowed raspy string sound and apply an envelope to it with a slow attack. Possibly enhance the upper-mid frequencies a bit to get that 'bite', depending on the sample.

To get the second (5th interval) sound try a sine, triangle or possibly sawtooth wave with a low-pass filter where the cutoff frequency is set fairly low and the amplitude is relatively low also. Think Roland linear-synthesis where the attack portion is a sample and the sustain is a more conventional synthesized sound. That second timbre is the conventional sound which the sample/stringy sound has prepared the ear for.

The underlying drone sounds to me much like a pad sound playing both the fundamental and the 5th, possibly with some modulated low-pass filtering going on but it's not really a huge part of the sound, just a subtle bed over which the others live. The fundamental in that third timbre then rises a semitone (after the string sound stops) to add a nice touch of ominous atmosphere.

Not a precise 'do this and it'll sound the same' analysys I know, but there's nothing particularly special going on here; stringy fundamental, filtered 5th, atmospheric background consisting of both. Experimentation with those three components should yield something pretty close.

[sebsaghini]

Thank you all for your replies. Funny that you mention LABS Foghorn, because that's the first thing that came to my mind. But I tried it, and it's not it. The sound he uses is more rough. Unless it's Foghorn with some type of distortion applied to it.

I'm not sure I agree on the bowed instrument. To me it still seems like some sort of woodwind or brass instrument, and not too processed. But who knows. I will try the suggestion however, you could be right.

[sebsaghini]

Could be anything, why don't you try and design your own version? Fun and educational If I were to try to make my own version I'd start with Plasmonic or its predecessor Absynth.

I'm curious, what preset would you use in Absynth?