Sculpting Analogue Ordnance’s Sci-fi Sound With Synthesis – Behind the Sound Library with Nathan Moody

This library started like many before it: I had a desire for a certain kind of material for my own needs, and after crafting it for myself…well, it all got a bit out of hand.

I wanted some fresh source layers for science fiction weapon designs, and – because I primarily work in game audio – I wanted many more variations per sound file than I was finding in other libraries. I wanted layers, not composite/fully-designed sounds. Ironically, the indie game I was doing this for never wound up needing it…but it filled a need in my own library, so it was still worth doing.

After a week of creating source material on my modular synthesizer, I was shocked at how much material I had made in such a short time, how much fun I had doing it, and how flexible it was to design and edit…without using any plugins in the layer-design process. As an experiment, I started mastering the sounds in the analogue domain as well. This little side effort turned into many months of recording sessions, and Analogue Ordnance was born.

This article will talk about the tools, troubles, and triumphs of getting this sound effects collection off the ground, as well as some specific tips and tricks for those using synthesizers for creative sound design.
 

The All-Hardware Approach

My decision to use only hardware synthesizers was, at first, simply a creative challenge. Being without my usual set of software tools gave the material a different aesthetic, and forced the creation of new habits. (A slight “Dogme 95”-style admission on my use of the word “analogue.” While the audio signal path was entirely analogue from synth to my audio interface, and throughout the mastering process, I couldn’t help but use a couple of digital oscillator modules here and there, and one digital reverb/granular processor.)

I found patching physical synths faster than doing so with software synths.

Another benefit was that I found patching physical synths faster than doing so with software synths. This was for one simple reason: I have two hands. I move so much more quickly designing a physical patch than I do using a mouse in a virtual environment, where I feel like I’ve literally got one hand tied behind my back.

For this library, I was creating new habits and patching patterns that I just didn’t normally attempt with virtual synthesizers.

A final aspect of using physical hardware is embodied cognition, where physical movement itself guides and influences one’s thought processes and how we make decisions. I first encountered this idea when I was a user experience designer, and my first personal experience with it was how poorly I did playing Scrabble on my phone when compared to playing with physical tiles on a board. For this library, I was creating new habits and patching patterns that I just didn’t normally attempt with virtual synthesizers. Different tools lead to different outcomes.

Another benefit was that with random voltage sources and no separation of control voltage and audio signals, modular synthesis can be a perfect randomization tool for variations, as well as a huge happy-accident machine. More on how one can tame these forces will come later in this article.

…if you embrace this ephemerality…it’s an incredibly fun method for rapid iteration on source-sound and individual-layer creation.

One aspect to consider with this approach is ephemerality. In order to design more sounds, you need to rip out your previous patch and start over. Unless you meticulously detail your patches and knob positions with notes and photos – which I absolutely did not do – re-creating a complex synthesis patch is nearly impossible. My approach is to create a patch, wring every possible idea out of it, destroy it, and move on. This makes it a challenge for finished layered design – how can you iterate based on client feedback? – but if you embrace this ephemerality, and have the discipline to learn from every patching session, it’s an incredibly fun method for rapid iteration on source-sound and individual-layer creation.

Every synthesizer patch passed through an analogue compressor, Neve equalizer, and Overstayer M•A•S processor before hitting the audio interface and my recording machine, so those were my only mixing “plugins.” The recording of these sounds was the first of two analogue-to-digital conversions every sound would go through.
 

All-Analogue Mastering

I spent years as a professional mastering engineer before turning more towards game design, and the hardware nature of the sound design made me want to take this approach in the mastering phase as well. Again, it was another creative constraint.

…analogue mastering wound up averaging under two minutes per file.

I worried that this approach might have taken longer – printing every master had to be done in real time – but analogue mastering wound up averaging under two minutes per file. That’s two to four times the length of the file itself. I’m not convinced that a digital method would have been any faster, and this is a useful metric for project planning and time management in the future.

The non-linearity of real tubes and transformers always tickles my ears, as does the mid-high “lift” that pushed pentode tubes can offer. Plus, really pushing a high-end, high-headroom analogue-to-digital converter for some soft clipping added a lot of aggression and bite. All that felt well-suited for a weapon library. I also used some mastering-grade saturators if I wanted even more heat.

Passing the signal to outboard gear and back again was the second and final conversion the audio went through.

Passing the signal to outboard gear and back again was the second and final conversion the audio went through. Since I’d be mastering my own material, the only way this would work is to give myself time away from the material before making critical mastering decisions. The mastering process was done at the very end, after all recordings were done, so my short-term sense memory could reset and hear the work with a fresher perspective.
 

Tips and Techniques

Some key techniques helped to keep me inspired and efficient while twiddling knobs and managing a rat’s nest of patch cables. These techniques are equally applicable to virtual and hardware synths alike.

• Trigger each sound on a grid. My system’s clock ran at 120 bpm at all times, and I had many clock divisions at the ready to accommodate sounds with longer amplitude envelopes. This made triggering each sound (i.e., opening its amplitude envelope(s)) predictable, easy, and automated, especially when slaved to the recording DAW’s clock using a MIDI-to-CV converter. Press record, the clock starts, and sounds happen! Once recorded, I stripped out the silence and spaced each sound one second apart.

• Small delays make big differences. I wound up ripping out all of my tempo-synced delay modules for this project, replacing them with delays that could be incredibly short and fast. This helped make the creation of “poly-syllabic” textures, Karplus-Strong synthesis, and smooth time modulation far easier.

• Audio-rate modulation is your friend. Most sound designers know about frequency modulation and amplitude modulation, but sending audio into other patch parameters can be wonderful. Audio-rate modulation of filter cutoff, resonance, wavetable index, FM amount, and more can create amazing results.

• Envelope-follow everything. Amplitude envelope following is a powerful and expressive modulation technique. I found a phaser module that didn’t have an internal LFO like most phasers do; and running two of them in series with their frequency driven by signal amplitude provided far more interesting results than just running a patch through a phaser with an internal LFO you couldn’t override.

• Attenuation is critical. Most modulation signals are full voltage coming out of their source; in Eurorack, for example, that might be 0-5 volts or even 0-10 volts. That’s way too aggressive for most modulation needs. Sometimes even 0.05 volts can be enough to introduce some great movement and variation to a patch.

• Use sample-and-hold for variation. I had up to nine sample and hold circuits that were clocked to the same triggers that would fire the sounds themselves. That way, each time the amplitude envelope opened, something would be different for that iteration. Mixing this technique with totally unsynced modulation sources is a great way to achieve a really organic outcome.

• Inexpensive digital effect chips can be noisy. When you’re tracking at higher than 48 kHz sample rate in the Eurorack modular format, as I did, most digital effects modules (like delays and reverbs) use inexpensive chips that produce noise, hiss, and internal clock whine right where you don’t want them to be…if they pass any signal above 20 kHz at all, which many don’t. I quickly removed all but one digital reverb from my rack after making this discovery. Since most editors and game engines will want to apply their own reverbs anyway, it’s no loss to the individual source elements.

• Patch “wrong,” but not randomly. Use clock pulses as audio input. Modulate things that probably shouldn’t be modulated, or rationally shouldn’t be modulated with an audio-rate signal. Don’t be afraid to try something that doesn’t work. Just rip it down and start over. But do this with a specific curiosity about one “wrong” technique, try it, and then interrogate what didn’t work about it, so you don’t paint yourself into the same corner or repeat your failed experiments.

• Patch “blind.” Set up a complete patch, end-to-end, without listening to it as you go. This is a good test of your synthesis techniques and habits, and can lead to exciting places you didn’t anticipate.

• Don’t fight the patch. If you’re struggling with a patch, be bold: Rip it down and start over. Don’t waste time trying to draw blood from a stone.
 

Not Better, Just Different

Most sound designers have synthesizer virtual instruments, and many have modular synthesizers in their studio. What I wanted to do is to use these tools to commit to a specific construction kit framework, and – as another creative constraint – try to use no plugins at all in the design or mastering process. I don’t think that approach makes this library any better or worse, it just makes it different due to the choices I had to make. But I think those choices led to an interesting aesthetic that hopefully others will find useful in their own sound design work.

A big thanks to Nathan Moody for giving us a behind-the-scenes look at making the sound of Analogue Ordnance!