Pads: your first choice?

[dakkra]

I know I was on the first page but that was over a year ago

Mutools MUX (Still and always)
Synthmaster (When I need somthing special, though MUX pretty much covers all with its new MFO)

That's it. I'm dirt poor after that so that's all I use. Dune kinda went aside when I started playing heavily with MUX. Even synthmaster is only used when I can't figure out how to make a sound in MUX.

Dakkra

[EnGee]

Reading my post from 11 months ago, I don't have/use the same now

Air Hybrid, Loom and PadShop Pro have almost replaced many synths. Hybrid for any kind of pads, but Loom is especially for those lush evolving pads and the weirdo ones as well. PadShop can fill in between (and Malstrom if ReWired).

For classic VA pads, still sometimes I use Korg VA synths, but I use more now Retrologue, Oberheim SEM V, Arp 2600V and Vacuum pro and sometimes Thor ReWired.

Z3ta+2 cpu usage is not stable in S1. M1 and Wavestation I lost interest in their sound. Absynth/Massive I sold, but I might buy again although with my setup, I really don't feel a need for additional synths especially for Pads.

[Kalamata Kid]

My pad VSTi must allow import of users samples. The reason being that I will get a more analogue and unique sound. I cannot stand a perfect crystalline sound. VSTi's that allow sample to me imported:

Absynth 5 is my favorite so far and am sticking with it because I believe there is a V6 around the corner.
Kaleidoscope look very promising. Too bad I cannot use my own images.
Cycle
Serum
Iris
Codex
Padshop
The Mangle

Please add to this list so I can check them out.

Why do others use or prefer sample based pad VSTi's?

add to list
Logic's Sculpture
Omnisphere 2 (out April 30)

In all of these VSTi's is the original audio sample a major contributor to the end result? Or is some part of the audio sample extracted and used. Sorry if this sounds stupid as I am still not totally savvy of the internal mechanism of these fantastic sounding VSTi's.

[Ameyah Audio]

trance pads: Sylenth1/spire
ambient pads: Alchemy, Dune2

[mcnoone]

Diva and Zebra
Dune2 can do some good pads as well.

[fluffy_little_something]

I wonder which hardware synths Foreigner used on their Waiting for a Girl Like You. It is full of beautiful pads, but in 1981 the choice of synths must have been rather limited.

[wagtunes]

I wonder which hardware synths Foreigner used on their Waiting for a Girl Like You. It is full of beautiful pads, but in 1981 the choice of synths must have been rather limited.

Sounds like a Prophet to me but without doing some extensive research, I have no way of knowing for sure.

Perhaps that info is out there somewhere.

** EDIT ** Did some quick research. Thomas Dolby did the synth parts and in his early years he used the JP8 a lot. So it's quite possible he used it on this song. Would have to check the release date of the JP8 to know for sure.

Give me a day and I can probably come up with the answer for you.

FYI, it was Dolby's synth intro, very un Foreigner like, that turned this into the monster hit that it was.

[Krakatau]

Finally a thread where all synths and samplers on this planet can be mentioned again.

+1

Absolutely...

EXS24 was my first choice , easy job to create long, evolving samples with appropriates editors (DSP-Quattro, Paulstretch, Soundhack, etc...) then loaded into a sampler, even as basic as EXS24

The time you've used to ameliorate youre samples can give miraculous results once loaded , looped and played polyphonically, even without multisampling

The only so to say, limitation being the caracter's alienation through the whole keyboard : fast playbacks while playing upper octaves tend to give nervous but light, bright sounds with often a "small room-size" feel

Slow playbacks in the contrary will give you a huge, dark and meditative feel, this playing the same root sample

Not necessarily much more need to create very convincing pads in my experience...

[Bombadil]

Probably Omnisphere, but there are a lot of cool ones in Era: Medieval Legends and Forest Kingdom II.

[fluffy_little_something]

I wonder which hardware synths Foreigner used on their Waiting for a Girl Like You. It is full of beautiful pads, but in 1981 the choice of synths must have been rather limited.

Sounds like a Prophet to me but without doing some extensive research, I have no way of knowing for sure.

Perhaps that info is out there somewhere.

** EDIT ** Did some quick research. Thomas Dolby did the synth parts and in his early years he used the JP8 a lot. So it's quite possible he used it on this song. Would have to check the release date of the JP8 to know for sure.

Give me a day and I can probably come up with the answer for you.

FYI, it was Dolby's synth intro, very un Foreigner like, that turned this into the monster hit that it was.

Oh, Thomas Dolby, I remember him
Jupiter 8, yes, that sounds very plausible, the sounds are similar to Talk Talk stuff, who also used the Jupiter a lot.

Don't waste your time on it, I was just wondering aloud Whatever he used, it sounded very good and I suppose many plugins can achieve a similar sound. I guess it is save to assume it was a good old analog synth and not a Synclavier or something exotic like that.

[RLSguitar]

I wonder which hardware synths Foreigner used on their Waiting for a Girl Like You. It is full of beautiful pads, but in 1981 the choice of synths must have been rather limited.

Sounds like a Prophet to me but without doing some extensive research, I have no way of knowing for sure.

Perhaps that info is out there somewhere.

** EDIT ** Did some quick research. Thomas Dolby did the synth parts and in his early years he used the JP8 a lot. So it's quite possible he used it on this song. Would have to check the release date of the JP8 to know for sure.

Give me a day and I can probably come up with the answer for you.

FYI, it was Dolby's synth intro, very un Foreigner like, that turned this into the monster hit that it was.

That was one of Thomas Dolby's first gigs as a session musician. He is credited as doing the synth part for the original recording of "Waiting for a Girl Like You" in the Foreigner 4 album. He was only 19 years old at the time.

Here is a list of synths he has used, so it's most probably one of these:

• PPG 360–380 Wave Computer & Sequencer
• PPG Wave 2.2 synthesizer
• Fairlight CMI Series III sampler
• Moog Micromoog synthesizer
• Roland D-50 synthesizer
• Roland MKS-20 rackmount synthesizer
• Opcode Studio Vision sequencing software
• Apple Macintosh IIx computer
• Roland Jupiter-4
• Korg M1 rackmount synthesizer
• E-MU SP-12 sampling drum sequencer
• Linn 9000 sampling drum sequencer
• Simmons electronic drums
• Yamaha REV-1 digital reverb processor

Source Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Dol ... _equipment

[JPQ]

I wonder which hardware synths Foreigner used on their Waiting for a Girl Like You. It is full of beautiful pads, but in 1981 the choice of synths must have been rather limited.

Sounds like a Prophet to me but without doing some extensive research, I have no way of knowing for sure.

Perhaps that info is out there somewhere.

** EDIT ** Did some quick research. Thomas Dolby did the synth parts and in his early years he used the JP8 a lot. So it's quite possible he used it on this song. Would have to check the release date of the JP8 to know for sure.

Give me a day and I can probably come up with the answer for you.

FYI, it was Dolby's synth intro, very un Foreigner like, that turned this into the monster hit that it was.

That was one of Thomas Dolby's first gigs as a session musician. He is credited as doing the synth part for the original recording of "Waiting for a Girl Like You" in the Foreigner 4 album. He was only 19 years old at the time.

Here is a list of synths he has used, so it's most probably one of these:

• PPG 360–380 Wave Computer & Sequencer
• PPG Wave 2.2 synthesizer
• Fairlight CMI Series III sampler
• Moog Micromoog synthesizer
• Roland D-50 synthesizer
• Roland MKS-20 rackmount synthesizer
• Opcode Studio Vision sequencing software
• Apple Macintosh IIx computer
• Roland Jupiter-4
• Korg M1 rackmount synthesizer
• E-MU SP-12 sampling drum sequencer
• Linn 9000 sampling drum sequencer
• Simmons electronic drums
• Yamaha REV-1 digital reverb processor

Source Wikipedia: <span class="skimlinks-unlinked">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Dol ... ment</span>

I dont even know this song what you talk but one important thing remember is some artits layer synths when they do things is maybe even combination at least 2 sources.

[fluffy_little_something]

Here is a list of synths he has used, so it's most probably one of these:

• PPG 360–380 Wave Computer & Sequencer
• PPG Wave 2.2 synthesizer
• Fairlight CMI Series III sampler
• Moog Micromoog synthesizer
• Roland D-50 synthesizer
• Roland MKS-20 rackmount synthesizer
• Opcode Studio Vision sequencing software
• Apple Macintosh IIx computer
• Roland Jupiter-4
• Korg M1 rackmount synthesizer
• E-MU SP-12 sampling drum sequencer
• Linn 9000 sampling drum sequencer
• Simmons electronic drums
• Yamaha REV-1 digital reverb processor

Source Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Dol ... _equipment

Most of those were not yet available in 1981

[fluffy_little_something]

I dont even know this song what you talk but one important thing remember is some artits layer synths when they do things is maybe even combination at least 2 sources.

That was classic synthwork, kiddy
Actually, you probably do know that song even if you are not aware of it because it has been played on the radio for 30+ years.
Don't know if they layered synths back then, there was no Midi, yet.

Anyway, I still love how those pads sounded and try to make similar ones on plugins. Many synths do them just fine.

[RLSguitar]

Here is a list of synths he has used, so it's most probably one of these:

• PPG 360–380 Wave Computer & Sequencer
• PPG Wave 2.2 synthesizer
• Fairlight CMI Series III sampler
• Moog Micromoog synthesizer
• Roland D-50 synthesizer
• Roland MKS-20 rackmount synthesizer
• Opcode Studio Vision sequencing software
• Apple Macintosh IIx computer
• Roland Jupiter-4
• Korg M1 rackmount synthesizer
• E-MU SP-12 sampling drum sequencer
• Linn 9000 sampling drum sequencer
• Simmons electronic drums
• Yamaha REV-1 digital reverb processor

Source Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Dol ... _equipment

Most of those were not yet available in 1981

That makes the list much shorter. Eliminate the synths that weren't available in '81 from the list. Then with your expertise you can probably determine which one it is from the remainders.