Pro producer Ed:it constructs a harmonically-rich pad
1 Call up Xfer Serum on a new Instrument Track in Cubase, then lay down an eight-bar chord progression in the piano roll. Starting with the default patch, I head to the two main oscillators ( A and B). For Osc A, I load the BS2-Acid wavetable. In Osc B I have a -1 octave PWM DS wave, with WT Position at around 40%. 2 Moving over to the Filter section, I switch on the MG Low 12 filter, making sure only Osc A is routed into it. A Cutoff value of around 100Hz dulls Osc A’s tone, and a 75% Mix amount lets the dry signal bleed back through. I also push up filter Drive and Fat for richer harmonic ‘push’. 3 Next, envelope modulation. For the amplitude envelope ( Env 1), I drag the curve to create a slow attack and long release. I then drag and drop Envelope 2 to modulate Osc B’s WT Position and filter Cutoff. I’ve adopted a slower attack curve, but increased Hold and Decay to keep the note sustained.
4 Now I’ll move onto the LFO section to create subtle filter motion. Starting with LFO 1, I draw a sharp saw wave at a Rate of 1/2 Triplet. Here, I have a 1/16 Rise amount alongside 1/32 Delay to vary this modulation over time. For LFO 2, I’ve kept with a subtle 1/4 rate. Both are set to Trigger mode, so the modulation restarts on each new note. 5 I now want more tonal interest in the high frequencies, so I deploy Serum’s Sub and Noise oscillators. For the Sub Osc, I select the RoundRect waveform shape, tuned to +1 Octave for emphasis in the tops. Engaging the Noise Oscillator, with the default AC-hum1 waveform loaded, gives overall grittiness and air. 6 Over in Serum’s FX section, I load an additional Filter module in LN 12 mode. To modulate its frequency over eight bars, I set up an upwards-rising LFO 3 to open the LP filter’s Cutoff over time. Dialling in a bit of Drive and Resonance adds much-needed grunt and aggression.