What do they do... And what exactly are they?

[Mikeymitch]

Thought this would be good questions for a beginner like myself to have answered

I'm having a bit of trouble when it comes to figuring out what exactly a pad, synth, lead synth, poly/mono synth is or does and when it should be used in a track.

Can I make a lead with a pad , or synth or both?


Im asking this to clarify what I think it might be ... I'm new to the production side of things and honestly feel like a complete noob with some of this.

[login]

Those are "types" of sounds, these categories are commonly used to classify presets on synths or samples.

Leads, are used for melodies
Pads for harmony and atmospheres
Poly/mono just means if the sound is designed for mono (a single note at a time) or poly(Chords).

"Synth" many times refers to famous patches, like DXPiano (a famous rpeset on a DX7) or Moog lead, or Moog bass (related to sounds made with Minimoog).

examples


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPzcMy9oxW0


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXKaYgU2Lvc


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meHKL9B-q0Q


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kBkxTG4dXU


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u_EIiuyuQc

[Mikeymitch]

Thanks for that post ..those vids were very helpful as well...old asain dude was comedy lol

[ezelkow1]

Old asian dude is Torley btw (though I dont think he's that old), he's created tons of presets for various synths out there. Ill usually check out his project preset vids if one is available for a synth Im thinking about since he'll go through just about every preset included with one

[disparate]

The terminology can be a bit confusing at first. A "lead synth" could refer to a synthesizer that's well-suited to playing lead melodies, or to the lead part of a track that's played on a synth, same for bass synth.

You can make a lead, a bassline, a pad, etc. using a synthesizer. A pad pretty much always refers to a type of sound rather than a piece of equipment or software.

[xyloft]

heres how i would describe them in non technical terms:

Pads - longer sounds, wooshing, ambient, mood settings
Leads - stabby, intense, usually short, but can be long
bass - uh... bassy.

but really. dont let the description force you into anything. I have found that sometimes a patch listed as "Bass" is a great lead. (and vice versa).

so really...how the sound is used in the song will determine it's type. its much easier to look at it the other way: listen to a song identify the bass line, listen to that kind of sound. then do it for the Lead melody, etc.

[drop1]

heres how i would describe them in non technical terms:

Pads - longer sounds, wooshing, ambient, mood settings
Leads - stabby, intense, usually short, but can be long
bass - uh... bassy.

but really. dont let the description force you into anything. I have found that sometimes a patch listed as "Bass" is a great lead. (and vice versa).




Exacatly. Alot of bass and leads are interchangeable depending on where you play them on a key board.