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Chapter 23 Ultrabeat 347
Now refine the snare drum sound using FM synthesis:
1 Turn on Oscillator 1 in FM mode. Use Env 1 to control the volume of Osc 1 as well.
2 Choose a pitch for Oscillator 1 that’s about an octave lower than Oscillator 2.
Consciously avoid even intervals between the oscillators and detune them slightly from
each other. As an example, try a pitch setting of F#2 in Osc 2 and E1 in Osc 1, then fine
tune Osc 1 a few cents higher by holding Shift while adjusting its Pitch slider.
3 Now experiment with FM Amount, and add more tone (low FM Amount value) or noise
(more FM Amount) as desired. Also try modulating the FM Amount with a fast LFO.
Note: An exemplary snare drum sound that makes use of FM can be found in the
tutorial set at a pitch of F1. It is called “Snare 2”.
Higher FM Amount values lead to considerably more overtones and a very electronic
sound character. If you want to make the sound more acoustic, we recommend feeding
Oscillator 1 (and possibly Oscillator 2 as well) into the main filter. Use these settings to
start: LP 24 mode, a Cutoff value of about 0.60.
The 808 Snare
The famous 808 snare is based on two resonating filters and a noise generator, fed
through a highpass filter. The mix ratio of the two filters and the volume of the noise
generator can be adjusted. This structure cannot be 100% replicated in Ultrabeat.
To “clone” the 808 snare sound, proceed as follows:
1 Begin again with the Default Tutorial setting.
2 Both of the resonating filters of the 808 snare can be replicated by two cleverly
programmed Phase Oscillators. They are given slightly different Slope values and are
detuned by almost an octave. The tonal relationship between the oscillators should
also be uneven here—from E3 to F2, for example.
3 The volume of each oscillator should be controlled by a different envelope. The
envelope for the lower tuned oscillator should have a longer decay time than the very
“snappy” envelope setting for the higher oscillator.
4 Feed the output of both oscillators into Ultrabeat’s main filter, and “hollow out” the
sound with a highpass filter. Activate the Filter Bypass button in both oscillators (the
arrow between the oscillator and the filter). Choose the HP 12 setting in the filter, a
Cutoff value around 0.40 and a Resonance value of about 0.70.
You have just very cleverly emulated both of the 808’s resonating filters. Shifting the
pitch of both oscillators simulates the behavior of the 808’s Tone control by the way.