Using pads

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Newbie dude

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I've never really used pads before, but I read somewhere how alot of artists/bands use pads in their recordings to fill in the sound. I was thinking of using an airy, light pad on a black metalish song i'm working on. How would I go about placing it in the mix?
 
I presume you're talking about a synth pad. Do you have a sythesizer module? If not, does your recording software support midi? You can program the notes in midi and/or play them in with a midi keyboard, then replace them with a virtual instrument (VSTi) or other syth patch from a module. There are some decent free VSTi's that have "airy" pad sounds - check out Cheeze Machine.
 
I used to use Reason and it had really nice pad sounds.

The trick is finding which one to use for the song. Some will sound really nice but won't 'fill in' the song as well as others. For that purpose, I usually had much better luck with darker sounding strings that had a good bass sound but not muddy. The quality of the samples will play the biggest role of how it sounds in the mix.

Then you just need to get the volume right. This may take a few times of you coming back to it later + listening in headphones as well as speakers to get it just right. It shouldn't be apparent unless you listen for it, or sometimes you want it to be heard but not take attention away from the other instruments.

It's really dependent on the song. But don't skimp yourself with poor samples/synth sounds, and take the time to find the one that's right for the song.
 
i'll be using reason to program it, and then i suppose export it as an audio file and import it into cubase. What reason pad would you suggest for black metal type music?
 
Newbie dude said:
i'll be using reason to program it, and then i suppose export it as an audio file and import it into cubase. What reason pad would you suggest for black metal type music?
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I don't play black metal, but try them all out. Try using the Combinator device and browse through the Strings/Orchestra section in the Combinator patches. And also the pad sound patches.

I think there's one called 'Sad Strings' and 'Redemption' that might be what you're looking for. But it really depends on the song and it's been a little while since I used Reason.
 
That's the nice thing about midi. You can test patches in the mix until you're happy or decide you don't want a pad.


F.S.
 
Always remember that a pad doesn't have to be a synth pad or strings. You could use guitar chords, single guitar notes, background vocals, ect... A pad adds dimension to a track. A pad should never take the listener's attention away from the main element that is happening at any given time. Try to make it so that you don't notice it when it's there but you do notice it when it's gone.
 
billyshuler said:
Always remember that a pad doesn't have to be a synth pad or strings. You could use guitar chords, single guitar notes, background vocals, ect... A pad adds dimension to a track. A pad should never take the listener's attention away from the main element that is happening at any given time. Try to make it so that you don't notice it when it's there but you do notice it when it's gone.
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Yep

F.S.
 
Remember that lots of synth patches are programed w/ the "wow" factor in mind and sound great by themselves but don't mix worth a dam because they are spectrum hogs. :(


:D
:D :D
:D :D :D
 
Flatfinger triggered my brain. You don't want anything with much of an attack at all.


F.S.
 
Newbie dude said:
What reason pad would you suggest for black metal type music?
Click to expand...

A pad just refers to any type of lush background element. It usually means strings but it can be anything. You don't just throw in a pad though, it should be an integral part of the arrangement. Think of the way Floyd or Metallica used strings and it should give you some ideas.

Usually playing a I and V of the chord sounds good. It also sounds good if you can find one note that all or most of the chords have in common and just hit that note, maybe going up or down a note on the V.
 
thanks guys. lots of good advice here. I'll be sure to keep all your words in mind. I'm thinking i'm gonna use somethin light and airy, perhaps with just a smidge of sadness to it, and it'll follower the guitars' chord progression and sort of just fill in the sound where you don't really notice it unless you're looking for it or are paying alot of attention.

I assume I would just pan it right down the center?
 
That or it's a good place to use weird stereo effects. Delay, chorus or stereo expansion. That way it can fill out the spaces around the groove without getting in the way.
 
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