FM | PRODUCER’S GUIDE
Sample synthesis
Rob Redman cuts and shuts, granularises and mangles samples to discover new sonic possibilities
VIDEO ON FILESILO
Sample synthesis is an umbrella term that covers a few other names, like texture synthesis and granular synthesis, which all have one thing in common: unlike subtractive or additive synthesis, which use pure waveforms (think sine and square) sample synthesis uses found sound. By this we mean that the final ‘voice’ is created by manipulating sounds that have been recorded, rather than created in a much more fundamentally mathematical way.
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This can range from the very simple to the extreme, where results could be as basic as taking snippets of beatboxing to create a sequenceable drum machine, to huge morphing pads that are the culmination of multiple sound sources, with effects, envelopes and filtering.
The takeaway point is to not limit yourself to your DAW. You can get fantastic results in the box, but we wouldn’t underestimate the possibilities that you can uncover if you take a field recorder out and about with you. We tend to now keep a Zoom H5 in our bag with a windshield, so we can quickly capture any interesting noises, from traffic, rain and other ambient sound to more local, percussive elements and even conversation.