keyboard sounds

[Sixtease]

I'm struggling to emulate some of the sounds that Jordan, Kevin and Derek used in DT songs. Like the lead sound from Caught in a Web intro. How is this kind of sound called? How do I recreate it? It sounds so... normal, I can't believe it should be hard to get from a decent synthesiser.

[Nihil-Morari]

Basically those are really advanced synthleads. The best way to start off is with a 'clean' synth lead. Mostly called a saw-lead, or something with 'saw' in it. You can start off with a square lead, but that's a lot less agressive to start with.
After that you can add some oscillators, make the sound sound thicker, or add some dirty chorus (not too much, you don't wanna sound too 80s) to do the same. And then the fun starts, overdrive, distortion, wah or autowah, phasers, flangers, stuff like that. Just experiment.

What kind of keys do you have, actually?

[Sixtease]

I am trying to learn to play keyboards, so I didn't want to buy anything too expensive before I can actually do something with it. I'm also a big fan of free software, so I just bought a MIDI controller keyboard and installed ZynAddSubFX synthesiser on my Ubuntu (and all other synths and samplers that I found, but ZynAddSubFX is the most spectacular one IMHO) and I keep it there.

I hada a similar idea like you: I took saw strings as a base (though I'm not sure if the strings were the best option), kept the 4 randomly detuned oscillators and added four more with gauss wave because that seems to sound better in higher frequencies. Then I added distortion and it sounds kinda similar but really nowhere near what I would be willing to actually use.

I'll try to experiment with flangers and wahs and phasers as you advice. Thanks man.

[Sixtease]

So, here is what I came up with. I'd appreciate any further tips on how to converge closer to the original.

Download mp3

Some details about the sound:

It is created by a diode-shaped oscillator without any higher harmonics, with the so-called "PAD-synthesis" own to the ZynAddSubFX synthesiser. As far as I understand, the main characteristic of this synthesis type is that the harmonics have configurable frequency distribution. I only use one harmonic in this sound and its bandwidth is set to 28 cents. The effect chain is chorus -> reverb (with large room and short duration).
Three voices like this are used and they are detuned -5cents, 0 and +6 cents. The instrument is available for download here:

0015-PadDioLead1.xiz

[2Timer]

It's hard for me to tell how it compares in that octave. Play it an octave higher...that's where KM played it. It sounds like it might need more strings in it.
I've never been good at creating synth sounds. I have a Roland RD-700 that has pretty nice sounds out of the box.

[Estiui]

Not bad, but I think it sounds somehow "empty". However, I've never been a good soundmaker, one of these days I'll have to learn...

[Cyberclops142]

On one of Jordan's DVDs, he explains some his sounds in some depth. He uses a lot of layers to round out his patches so it would be quite to just recreate by ear. I know that one of the sounds had its origin from a clarinet that was then very heavily distorted.

[Sketchy]

Reminds me that I need to practice keys again. Thanks, I'm considering getting zynadd when I make an actual recording machine (one of my friends uses it, but mainly to make pads rather than lead, but I'm more into lead synth most of the time).

[Sixtease]

On one of Jordan's DVDs, he explains some his sounds in some depth. He uses a lot of layers to round out his patches so it would be quite to just recreate by ear. I know that one of the sounds had its origin from a clarinet that was then very heavily distorted.

Any idea which DVD it was? I'd not like to buy a wrong one :-)

[Sycsa]

He explains some stuff on Keyboard Madness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0lWK76NHrs