We're back with another blog, and today we're going to dive into making patches with our synthesizer Current!
Current is a powerhouse for sound design, so I wanted to jump in and show you some quick tips and tricks to make inspiring patches quickly.
We'll take a look at creating a couple of basses, leads, and granular patches. You can snag all of the presets we showcase free at the bottom of this post.
1 - Granular Pad & Comb Filtering
You can achieve textural pads with lots of movement using Current's granular engine.
A good starting point for this: drag a sample in, set the speed to zero, and scrub the position until you find something you like — then modulate it. Then, add additional 'layers' and toss modulation on the size, span, and spray to create granular cloud-like textures.
Feeding samples into the tuned comb filters can also yield great layering material. Try different comb filters with keytracking enabled, so the resonances will follow your midi input.
2 - Harmonic Bass w/ Multi-Band Distortion
Using peak filters is a great way to add harmonics to your basses. There are a ton of creative filter options in Current that will add flavor to any sound.
With Polar Distortion's multi-band mode, you can bring peak resonances out to get unpredictable results.
3 - Lofi Lead With Drift Warp
The warp modes in Current give you flexible control over the shape of your oscillators. They can drastically morph the phase of your waveform, filter them, and add complex harmonics.
In this case, we're using the Drift warp to modulate the phase of the oscillators with a random LFO to achieve a warbling pitch effect. This is a great starting point for creating a Lofi synth of any kind.
4 - Creating Sequenced Bass
It's easy to create powerful sequences with just one curve in Current. You can draw in any rhythm and assign to as many parameters as you want via the mod matrix.
Once you've got your modulation in place, try inverting the level of your main curve sequence to flip the patch on its head.
5 - Melodic Granular Stutter
This patch is a bit more experimental but great for getting stuttery effects with the granular engine.
Try tossing a vocal sample into the granular, and start by cranking the speed down to zero. This will freeze the playhead, and create an instant stutter effect. Then modulate the position to get interesting phrases.
Thanks for tuning in – you can grab all of the patches from this video here.
If you'd like to learn more about Current start your free trial here.
Until next time...Keep creating!
Fill out the form below to let us know what type of content you'd like to see next -