Synth 'pads'

  • Thread starter Thread starter notCardio
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notCardio

I walk the line
What exactly determines when a sample is a 'pad', and what does pad stand for, or refer to, if anything?

And please refrain from going for the obvious. :rolleyes:

Just an answer, please.
 
A pad is usually a triad chord, mixed low as a background sound, without a fast attack, possibly chorused, and without a lot of high frequency information. It is used to fill out the sound underneath the feature instrument/voice.

Think the synth sound at the start of "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins (Prophet 5) and you have the idea.


Another meaning of the word "pad" is an attenuator - a device which drops the level of the signal in an audio channel.
 
lumbago said:
A pad is usually a triad chord, mixed low as a background sound, without a fast attack, possibly chorused, and without a lot of high frequency information. It is used to fill out the sound underneath the feature instrument/voice.

Think the synth sound at the start of "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins (Prophet 5) and you have the idea.


Another meaning of the word "pad" is an attenuator - a device which drops the level of the signal in an audio channel.
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The attenuator I knew. I know the type of sound that seems to be referred to as pads, I just wanted to know exactly what it means and where the word is derived from and just exactly what crieria constitutes a pad.
 
A pad is ANY sound designed to be played as sustained chords to "pad" out the arrangement. Whether or not they have high or low frequency information depends on the arrangement based on what they are padding.

The are typically chordal, but not limited to triads.

However, any sound, with appropriate effects and eq can be successfulyl used as a pad.
 
A bed. We call em goose eggs, footballs, dial tones. It's what string players do in recording sessions: play long, slow, sustained notes as background.
 
Thanks guys

I thought the term must be short for something, or an acronym.

So it's just background filler, eh?

Oops. I think I just had a Canadian moment. :o
 
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