Ozric waterfalls...how do they do it then?

[omvibes]

I'm interested in trying to re-create that classic Ozrics 'watefall' sound that is in so many of their tracks. Got myself a Novation K station, but can't really get that close to it, its all digital stepping sounds, rather than smooth glissando. Maybe I just ain't got the magic, but can anyone give me some technical guidelines or help on how to get this magical sound? Thanks! Oli

[etherealise]

Hi. Can you give an example of what you're trying to recreate, maybe I can help. I assume you're talking about some sort of arpeggiated sound? Or do you mean bubbles??

[omvibes]

About 3.08 in, Ed hits one note on the Supernova, slow descending space sound, smooth as you like! That's what I'm trying to get!
Any hints on bubbles (although I think I have those reasonably sorted out), also appreciated!

[nicktoone]

I think that's a variation on a pre-set such as F06 'LFO Madness' - two oscillators set to square waves at different rates.


Change the square waves to triangle waves so it sounds smoother. Make sure you have the envelope sustain and release very high, so the note holds for ages and allows the oscillators to do their wibbly wobbly thing

[etherealise]

Yeah, wot he said. That's just a fast bubble, a filter self oscillating and modulated by the LFO, as Nick says it sounds like a triangle wave.

I don't really know the novations synths but that should be easy to recreate on just about any analog style synth. Just turn of the oscillators altogether, turn resonance up to full!

Just looking at a pic of the controls of the K-Station www.synthmania.com/Novation%20K-Station/Images/Novation%20K-Station%20full%20-hi-res.JPG

I would set the Amp envelope as Nick suggests, and the "mod" envelope something like: attack=0, Decay= long, Sustain=0, Release=long. You also will want to raise the "mod envelope" depth to somewhere past 12 O'clock, maybe around 3 or 4 o'clock, this could vary. Then you'll have to adjust the Filter Frequency to set how high a pitch you want the bubble to start from. Too high, and you won't hear anything obviously. And it looks like you'd need to raise the "LFO2 depth" knob to modulate the filter, and set the LFO speed to taste, or, as I prefer, change the speed as the bubble goes down.

Hope this helps!

[edit] just re read your post and it seems you may have bubbles sorted already, in which case sorry for any redunant detail.

[omvibes]

Hi N and E, thanks for the input, its appreciated. I'll have a go with the K station later, see what I can come up with. Thanks again! Oli

[omvibes]

Hi, I tried your recommendations, and they worked :-) Thanks again, karma points to you both! Oli

[OTL - the9thtentacle]

About 3.08 in, Ed hits one note on the Supernova, slow descending space sound, smooth as you like! That's what I'm trying to get!
==============================
that is white or pink or brown noise - my guess would be pink, but the important part is the filter sounds like a band-pass to me, (so there's no concentration of frequencies towards either end of the sweep) and with moderate resonance to taste - it is fed into either a slow chorus or a subtle softening reverb, and the filter cutoff is controlled by an envelope with a really long slow release setting (quite quick attack, sustain to taste: i like no sustain and really short decay, so if you hold the key you get short note but if you jab it you get a really long one from the slow release, but that's just for fun) if you have an auto-trigger that you can use or set up for an LFO to further filter the tail (or maybe effect it in some other way this time instead of filter if you synth allows it) and leave a fairly long delay before it comes in, then the sound is smooth as it starts to descend but then as it fades it will start to wobble (if your using a sine wave in the LFO, other wave-shapes behave differently of course) at the speed you gave to the LFO.

but yes the real difficult part with all this is not how to shape the sounds but how to make them also sound... friendly... this not so easy. ;-(

[OTL - the9thtentacle]

er - i just read through the thread after jumping to supply a response... i hope i haven't contradicted anything - although on listening back to the footage, that thing i heard as pink noise does end up being quite a bassy sound and quite triangley soundingg at the bottom end of its sweep - didn't notice that before, but anyway just setting up your synth's controls to do a few diff things according to how you play and mucking about with the results is more the way to work out your own style than to go dabbling with the occult. most of the keys on a computer keyboard don't do very much on their own, but when used in context with one another they work just fine. it is so with abstract programming structures as for synths - if you hook the parts up to do what you want them to do then to recreate characteristics of a sound is not so hard - but as has been repeatedly stated it's another thing fine-tuning those sounds so the peaks don't go through you too much (see spice doubt streaming, esp. sploosh for examples at the other end of this spectrum - i mean those fabric tearing and glass breaking sounds can still be very enjoyable but i think some listeners might find them alarming at first listens!)

i think modern ozric has maybe steered away from the searing sound that was worked into the tracks on streaming, and although i was frightened at the time i was perfectly happy to come along for the ride, even if the 'lyrics' were at a kind of peak of rudeness in those days.

things are prettier and more easy-going now that there's a much more prevalent feminine influence on the sound and that gives me time to breathe, as Ed finds yet More ways to reclothe and recombine his amazingly insightful sonic fractals, every step, however far to the left or right of the path is still on the path and every one, however late-blooming grows in time to be greatly relished for its uniquity.

[craigr]

Seeking Synth programmer:

Hey there guys and gals,

I've been playing synths for years, but not well-versed in "synthesizing" new sounds. We're thinking about "covering" some Ozric tunes. This thread touches on a topic that I've been banging me poor noggin around on for a week.

I'd gladly PAY someone to guide me through some simple techniques on getting started to synthesizing this classic sweeping/bubbling sound ($100/hr) I've got several soft-synths to work with: NI's Massive, Absynth, and FM8. Reason's synths, and Omnisphere.

Ya know, in all these synths, I've found only ONE patch that comes close (Reason's SubTractor). I'm going to go dissect that right now.

Any help? Email me [e-mail] or call 360-556-1715 .

Thanks, Craig

[OTL - the9thtentacle]

I'd feel bad accepting £$ for this info, so:
OSC-VCF-VCA
KeyboardKeys/Velocity/Aftertouch
Modwheels-EG-LFO-Arpeggiator/Gate
Route sources to desired destinations.
EQ - verb, noisegate
Play.