Afterparty synth sound

[hedgehogblu]

Good morning from the UK! I've been doing music production for some time, normally working in a piano/ambient pop esque feel. However, I've recently started working with a new vocalist who would like to go a bit more edgy than my normal sound in her stuff. I'm definitely really excited to progress in this direction, but there's a lot of new techniques I need to pick up.

For the moment, I'm really interested in how the really edgy synth part was written in the first 10 seconds of this song:

https://open.spotify.com/track/24MP1AXq ... BDGUvYm4Ew

There's quite a bit going on, I'm definitely hearing som EQ automation, possibly something like LFO Tool as well, but I'd be really interested to hear how others think this might have been done (and what sort of underlying synth patch was used).

[Eddy Deegan]

Welcome to the forum

I don't use Spotify, so cannot audition the link provided I'm afraid. It would probably be better to post a link to a service that doesn't require a signup or app download to hear it!

[hedgehogblu]

Excellent idea, here's the same track on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZpkWiYaI5c

[Eddy Deegan]

Standard fast-attack fast-release (or fast decay to a zero sustain level) slightly squelchy bass sound, modulate the attack on the amplitude EG such that it jumps to whatever slower rate is required just before playing those notes that you require them on.

Easy to play live too, with a little practice. Just turn up the attack time on some notes and then right back down again immediately before the next.

It'll probably sound better automated though, as you can then modulate the filter attack if necessary as well.

[hedgehogblu]

Great thanks, I'll give that a go. Just one thing - I wasn't quite sure what you meant by EG?

[Eddy Deegan]

Envelope Generator - the envelope that controls the amplitude (loudness) of the note over time

if you're wanting to analyse sounds in the way you're indicating in your original post then a bit of background reading will be extremely useful. I highly recommend the epic 63-part series Synth Secrets on this very site.

Part 3: Modifiers & Controllers discusses envelopes in some detail.