Quick synth tips: Part 3
Get more out of your synths with our series of quick-and-dirty synthesis tips
FILTERED PADS
To get extra life and air into a synth pad, it’s tempting to turn to an EQ and boost the top end or to add an exciter. These techniques will deliver but they won’t provide more stereo width and often this is the missing ingredient. Send your synth to a new auxiliary and set up a filter with a high-pass mode and a high cutoff to leave only the upper mid-range and treble ends audible. Pan it hard to the left. Repeat with a second auxiliary, using the same filter settings, panning this one hard right. Now you’ll have a huge, bright pad, which occupies the complete stereo image of your mix. If it’s too much, turn down the auxiliary return levels.