Ensemble Synth Tutorial + Composition

For my final tutorial and composition I decided to go with the Ensemble Synth in Logic also known as the ES E. It is a digital synth based on Subtractive synthesis. ES E is known for its ability to quickly create warm and rich pad and ensemble sounds. The oscillator used in ED E is very harmonics-forward and thus very quick to form pretty and gentle sounds that are easy on the ears but also can be quite cinematic and atmospheric. At First glance this is a synth that appears very simple and perhaps less complex or diverse than many other more button-heavy synths but this one has all it’s bases covered in a very compact form factor.

The ES E includes the following sections on its face:

Oscillator Levels

LFO and Filter Levels

The Envelope Levels (which in the case of the ES E only focuses on Attack and Release while Decay and Sustain are kind of decided based on where you set those so it takes a tiny bit of getting used to if you are more familiar with the usual ADSR form factor.)

The Output on the far right works as like a sort of quick jump setting to add some spice over your settings for sound

This is a synth that is not specifically designed in reference or to replace another vintage synth but instead fills a space for ease of creation for ensemble pads.

As an additional part of this assignment we were also tasked with creating a piece of music exclusively using the synth of choice so I present to you my entry.

I liked the general sound of the dark synth pad preset so it gave me something to immediately work on however I knew that I wanted slightly more sudden notes that would hold some resonance and would take a while to fully release as I wanted them to kind of fill the air while I layered the other tracks. This essentially took over the introduction and I wanted it to give off a sort of uncomfortable feeling as the prettier sounds tried to fight their way through.

For the second track I went with the Ice Synth preset because it sounds very cold very lonely but with a bit of sharpness to it and so I knew what I had to do. I killed the resonance I didn’t want this track to linger I wanted every note to swell up after hitting sharply. I wanted this to add tension to the beginning of the song. something hurts but we can’t always put our finger on it. I tweaked the wave form a fair amount and though the sound kept its integrity it also brought some much needed space to the soundscape.

Finally the setting I spent the most time fine tuning. Started as a hollow pad preset that I tweaked and messed with until it felt soft and pretty but also ugly and almost too bright. A sound that felt like the title I was going for Body Dysphoria a feeling of uncertainty in one’s own body. I wanted this one to sit and build not slowly but continuously I wanted it to feel strong in its low and high end. A song that is almost off putting but somewhat pretty. A story of heartache but not heartbreak. A story told within one’s self no outside force necessary, no other party. A song made up purely of gentle discomfort.

With more time and more experience I would have made this a much more gradual song with many more tracks and very sparse drums that crash and roll very quietly and arhythmically. Out of time and out of sequence.

I would have perhaps tried to shape more directly harsh and digital sounds but I wanted this to sound how we as humans can often feel on our lowest days.

Roland Boutique SH-01a Tutorial

I spent a few weeks working with the Roland Boutique SH-01a a lovely machine that is complex and puzzling at first glance but a great introduction into the world of synths as it forces you to take a more hands on approach at building your sounds as opposed to a synth that immediately feeds you clean results. We were asked to keep the tutorials short but I had a hard time doing so with a machine that felt like it had so many possibilities on its face.

This machine has so many possibilities for rich and haunting atmosphere I was elated when I gathered a slightly deeper understanding of it and was able to make a haunting in atmosphere kind of tune with plenty of noise that didn’t forget to lighten the mood with some harmony and melody. something that reminded me of lost and found media. This machine allowed and inspired me to make one of my longest songs to date. I tried to tell a story using only technology and I felt deeply touched after the fact.

Learning MIDI

Podcast

In class I had the pleasure of recording an episode of the Renegade Minute (BC’s student podcast) with my classmate Nik who I came to find out was a very genuine, kind, and hardworking person. We had the express pleasure of working with a Rode mixer that had some preset sounds and very simple controls. We used two condenser mics and a soundproof room to record our conversation which I cleaned sound levels of up a bit in Logic. It was a really neat experienced that kind of eliminated a lot of the mystery behind recording a podcast. Overall I’d say that this was a very cool experience.

This isn’t the class geared towards mixing but I did want to aim for a crisper sound on my voice so I felt the need to kinda shape us up a bit and actually did end up a bit happier with the results thereafter. (my voice has a tendency to kind of go crazy on the high end so I kind of clipped that a bit hahaha.

Logic’s Alchemy Synth Tutorial and song

Over the course of the last two weeks I have been making efforts to gain an understanding of the digital synths included with Logic to be able to both explain them in a tutorial format and also craft a song with them using their various settings and my own modification and tweaking of them to craft my own sounds and make a song with them.

I started with Alchemy which is Logic’s main digital synth that just about makes up most of their presets. It is a very intuitive synth that allows you to dip your foot in simply but also provides a lot of depth for those willing to really give it their time and attention.

I hate to be a broken record but I guess I wear my tastes on my sleeve because I made another heavily atmospheric almost creepy track with a bit of isolation and sadness at its forefront. This time, however, I wanted to add perhaps a bit of whimsy and adventurous air to it. Imagine you’re alone in the woods in some rural overgrown area. You don’t feel afraid just curious. you hear the birds in the not so far distance and you feel you may discover something. Take a listen here: