Hi first time poster (long time lurker), I was hoping someone could give a few ideas as to how to create the sort of electricity/tesla coil sound (best way I can think to describe it) that comes in at around the 1 minute mark on the track below.

 

a good start would be a couple of pulse waveforms, maybe with some adjustments of pulse width to taste. maybe some distortion/saturation after, i would experiment with an EQ before the distortion and push narrow bands and sweep around to see if i can get some interesting overtones (the high frequencies are quite important here).

i spent about 3 days perfecting an electricity sound many years back and now i dont know how i did it and do not have the patch any more. i wish i kept it, it would have been useful right now hopefully thats enough to get you started though

 

Maybe try Ambient Electrical Noise Lite vst by Syncersoft. Free. 32-bit only.
http://syncersoft.com/electricalnoiselite.htm

 

That's actually a really interesting question in terms of pure synthesis. The sound usually has a noticeable audible fundamental frequency (to me anyway)... I'd start there and mess around with some combination of ring and noise modulation in a sweep (maybe on a 2nd sound source). I don't program all the fancy-ass modular VST emulations these days with many many mod sources but I can almost imagine getting close to it just with a MiniMoog using the 3rd Oscillator and noise mod options. I may play with it. Also FM synthesis could hep get that metallic edge to the sound. There were DX7 patches that could be tweaked for what you want I bet.

 

Tesla coils and more simple devices such as a Jacob's Ladder generate noise from arcing electricity. A Jacob's Ladder is very cheap and easy to make. Lot's of You Tube vids out there on making them. There's also a bunch of audio samples out there you might find useful like
these:

https://www.pond5.com/sound-effects/tag/jacobs-ladder/

 

I imagine you could get an actual recording or sample very easily but it does make an intriguing synthesis problem.

 

i will try to find time asap to make something and remind myself how to do it.
@trackwerker what soft synths do you own? i will use one you have and upload a patch if possible.

 

thanks all for the pointers and help - soft synths I've got the arturia v collection, korg monopoly, roland collection, waldorf largo and nave, fm8, serum

 

OMNISPHERE http://prntscr.com/s4nd4d

 

I haven't got Omnisphere - unfortunately, but that does look promising

 

i still didnt get a chance to have another go at this, sorry. i will try when i can.
i have serum (even though i have been meaning to uninstall it) and i need to remember to re-install FM8, so i will try on one of those, probably FM8, although in theory it should be quite easy in serum with the right wavetables. the problem is finding/creating those wavetables. could be more hassle than synthesizing it.

 

thanks tun - no major rush

 

i managed to have a try at this today but i didnt quite get there yet. i got pretty close but im not happy with it. next time i am going to try a delay set close to 50% wet with a tiny delay time modulated to create the phaser type sound.

i tried in FM8 but 2 LFOs were not enough, so i tried in surge because thats what i used when i did it successfully (and its a great synth) but still didnt get there yet. i need a random S+H LFO with a log saw shape
i made it work before, i can get there again. im rusty but i will keep trying!

EDIT:
lol i just re-read the OP and realised i was trying to make the wrong sound anyway
i was just trying to make electricity but the example is different. much easier by the sounds of things. i will try again soon with the actual example in mind

 

appreciate you taking the time Tun - many thanks

 

i created something with surge that is kind fo close.
the trick to this sound is in the comb filters and/or delays with small delay times. either or both of those with the feedback pushed so it starts to ring gives that sound its main feel (the sound like its being played through a tube).
the base wave is a saw and you can do most of the work using only a single saw, but i included a layer mod because i liked how it sounded and i also used 2 oscillators and included a detune mod to get some width at the oscillator stage.
i also included a few other mods that add something nice to the sound, but are optional extras.

you should be able to learn enough from the patch, without using any mods, to understand how it works. the mods are mostly suggestions of other things you can do to get a similar sound.

i have also included the MIDI i used. the notes in the MIDI file match the example track you supplied. without it the patch could sound quite different depending on the notes played. the range is intended for C3-C4, but might be useful out of that range (i didnt even listen).

anyway, here is the file. any questions, fire away. and sorry it took me so long:
https://www.oboom.com/6TKAIFVZ/audioz electric surge preset.zip

 

Many thanks Tun - When you say "Surge" do you mean Vember Audio Surge?

 

heard demo and seems like synth arp to me. i think roland sh-101 is very good at this heavy circuitry synth sound. i think it has some presets that almost match your samples but need further tweak to get that sound. here are some presets demo for your ref. cheers. nice share tips & tricks too guys

 

Last edited: May 5, 2020

yes, sorry i meant to post the link to that too. its free and one of my favourite synths of all time.

https://surge-synthesizer.github.io/

 

Many Thanks Tun, had a go with it last night and is very close to what I was after.

 

my pleasure.
hopefully you can use those concepts to get closer to the sound you want.