I came across this track in another thread when someone was asking how to achieve this particular arpeggio. That's not my question, I figured that out - but I was mesmerised by the actual synth lead playing the arp. I've tried various kinds of flute patches - both presets and also creating the sounds myself from scratch, but I can't seem to achieve anything really close to this. It's got such interesting characteristics.

It has this feedback, overblown flute-type sound at times. It seems to smear a little in its clarity as it plays faster. I'm just really stumped and curious. Anyone out there with mad skills that could attempt to recreate this sound?

I have most of the big Soft Synths. I tend to use Pigments, ZebraHZ and Omnisphere the most.

 

How to Make a Realistic Flute in VITAL // Sound Design Tutorial

 

Ill have a look later

 

dexed - FM Plugin Synth Free ---> https://asb2m10.github.io/dexed/

Dorgan - Panflute: I used the free Dexed for the sound, and the reverb is the free Toneboosters v3 Reverb.
Sound example: www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=605996&sid=f439a0c5a2ae083155170aaf099199e6

I'll also upload the .fxp and .syx patch itself as an attachment so you can load it into Dexed yourself.
The fxp can be loaded using your DAW, whilst the syx you can place into the "Cartridges" folder and load it from Dexed itself.

Thank You Dorgan!

 

Don't go too mad... It's a 4 pole filtered sawtooth.
Here below made with Massive in 20 seconds.
https://vocaroo.com/1cRMrrr9pbI4

 

Last edited: Feb 22, 2025

@Radio - thanks, I had messed around with some famous flute patches like DX7 and I had also seen that Vital tutorial. They definitely have some of the ingredients, but there's something more going on. What @orbitbooster shared definitely seems like it has some of the sonic characteristics of the target sound in that track. I wonder if combining a flute/panflute sound and a 4-pole filtered sawtooth would approximate it.

 

The audio world is yours, also try to mix it with a bit of sine, try to spread a bit unison (if available), don't forget reverb, FX change radically sounds (take any synth preset, and dry it to check).

In many past records when digital was not yet an option, sawtooth was the base for horn / flutes patches.

 

Breath

This technical term covers all timbres produced by a flow of air that create a harmonic vibration. Examples range from the flute (lots of sound, little air) to the blown bottle (more air, less sound) to the cave wind (lots of air, hardly any sound).

This requires three components: Sound, noise and formants. Oscillator 2 generates the tone, the noise is generated by the noise waveform in oscillator 1, and the formants are shaped by the cutoff and resonance in the filter.

- You can adjust the tonal component with the “OSC 2” control in the mixer and determine its timbre with the waveform switch.

- You can add the noise component in two ways: Use the “OSC1” control in the mixer to mix in the noise directly. The “FM control” in oscillator 1 can be used to modulate the pitch of the tonal part of the noise - a darker effect that is natural for solo instruments because the sound becomes rougher.

- You determine the sound shaping with Cutoff (darker and brighter) and Resonance (rounder and more nasal).
- The tone attack is formed by the filter envelope (Filter Env) and can be controlled by the “Env control” in the filter.
- As the “Amp” button in the “Filter Env-->Osc” module is activated, the noise component always follows the filter envelope.

These instructions were created for this free standalone synthesizer:
Native Instruments - SoundForum Synthesizer v1.0 - Standalone

 

Last edited: Feb 23, 2025

DAL Flute & Woodwinds VST VST3 Audio Unit --> https://syntheway.com/DALflute.htm
14 Flute Soundfonts SF2 www.producersbuzz.com/downloads/download-free-soundfonts-sf2/top-14-free-flute-soundfonts-sf2/
sforzando is a free SFZ player --> www.plogue.com/products/sforzando.html

Spoiler: Analog sound synthesis - The waveforms of the oscillator

Analog sound synthesis - The waveforms of the oscillator

The sine wave
The sine wave is the fundamental wave of all waveforms because any waveform can be calculated as a sum of different sine waves. This is why the sine wave is often referred to as the “atom” of all sounds.

The sine wave forms the basis of additive sound synthesis and also frequency modulation synthesis.
On the musical side: Among the synthesizer waveforms, the sine wave is the softest waveform and
waveform and is suitable for creating ultra-deep sub basses, drums, sirens or science fiction sounds.

The saw wave
The sawtooth wave is the most productive waveform in analog sound synthesis because it can be filtered the most. In terms of sound, the sawtooth has a hard and raw character. Musically, it is suitable for all kinds of fat and rough sounds - including the creation of basses, strings and electric guitars.

The sawtooth is available in 2 versions - the ascending and the descending version. In the audible
the two forms hardly differ from each other, but in the low-frequency range - i.e. with the LFO
the LFO - different effects are achieved with the two forms.

The triangle wave
After the sine wave, the triangle wave is the softest waveform of this synthesis. In terms of sound, this wave is similar to a heavily filtered square wave. A popular musical application for this wave is the programming of the flute sound.

The square wave
The square wave has the same ratio of pulse and pulse pause. It has an electronic, hollow sound character. This waveform is often used to program plastic and cheap sounds.

The pulse wave
The pulse wave is a square wave in which the ratio of pulse and pulse pause is infinitely variable
(between 0 and 100%) is infinitely variable. No sound can be heard at the border values 0 and 100%. If the pulse width is modulated, the sound spectrum of this wave changes. This allows moving sounds and beats to be generated with an oscillator.

The pulse wave has a thin sound character and is therefore used for programming the clarinet, bassoon and oboe, for example, bassoon and oboe, but it is also suitable for creating lively pad sounds.

Noise
Noise is a randomly changing (i.e. not periodic) signal and is divided into three types:
- “White noise” - like white light - contains all frequencies at the same level.
- “Pink noise” has more depth than “white noise” and appears darker.
- “Blue noise” is the opposite of “pink noise” and contains fewer low frequencies than “white noise”.

Consequently, “pink noise” and “blue noise” can be obtained from “white noise” by filtering or with equalizers. Musical applications for noise are, for example, blowing effects of acoustic instruments, but also the creation of electronic drums or natural sounds.
electronic drums or natural sounds such as wind, thunder and ocean noise.

 

Last edited: Feb 23, 2025

have you tried SWAM Flutes yet?

 

Swam IMO are the best physmod solo instruments, but that simple sound is of subtractive analog origin, even if it can be digitally generated.

 

Thanks for the input guys. I've ended up with something quite close (that I'm still tweaking) in Diva. One VCO set to saw, another set to saw & sine and an octave up. And then some filter and envelope tweaks. The longish attack on the envelope whilst forcing the patch to play quickly in an arp is an important ingredient in this particular sound I found.