I'm fairly new to synthesizer programming. I was hoping some of the experts out there could give me some tips on capturing a timbre or two from the 1960 and 1970s era. I have a song or two to reference to help demonstrate the sound:

1. Chris Rainbow "You and I" -

My best guess is that this was done on a Minimoog or something similar. You can hear it right in the intro playing a melody over the opening chord. But I think the best moment to cite is the ascending melodic line from 0:26 to 0:33, especially on the last two notes, B down to G at 0:30.

On the surface it strikes me as what I imagine would be a fairly simple sound to program on the Minimoog, but the subtleties of what gives it the overall sonic signature seem to elude me.

At the moment I'm trying things out with the Arturia MiniV3 VST, trying to familiarize myself with the Moog instrument layout. I started with a one oscillator triangle wave. I softened the attack a little, brought the cutoff to 1.5 kHz, and added some reverb. I attached a video demonstrating how it sounds so far. I've also attached a jpg showing the current programming of the mini.

The synth on "You And I" is soft and gentle, but there is some extra character and a different feel than my feeble attempt. There's some extra flair, like a warm softened squelch beneath the surface. It's hard for me to put into words, but another really similar example to point out the sonic essence is on this second example, here:

2. Hugo Montenegro "Dizzy" :

Right at 0:09 through 0:16. It's close to the Chris Rainbow example because, though not aggressive with growl, it has a more electronic, warm, fuzzy touch. "Dizzy" is more early Moog modular era.

Any thoughts on this would be super appreciated. It would bring me closer to capturing some of my favorite synth tones. Thank you!

 

Portamento on song 1 isn't right for a Mini (Mini is variable time meaning the glide time between the opposite ends of the keyboard is a constant but the glide will be shorter between shorter intervals and that sounds like constant time where the glide is always the same between two notes no matter how far apart they are). And I suspect that's a band-pass filter. There are Moogs that could do it (Sonic 6) but that's probably an Arp... have to think on it.

 

Last edited: Jan 4, 2025 at 11:49 PM

This gives me classic Moogsploitation vibes
Maybe this video from Anthony Marinelli can help you a bit.

 

Sawtooth oscillator with glide and some filtering. Try this:



Source: I made this preset a while back trying to recreate a very (VERY) similar sound i heard on another song (the guy was playing a minimoog on the video so i went for that). Second oscillator is there to give a bit of a chorus-y detuned thing, but you may not need it for this one. I don't know if V3 gives you the option to add an HP filter (this is V4) but if not, you'll need to add it afterwards.

For the second song i'd try the same settings, only adjusting the filter cutoff and emphasis until it fits.

Edit: in the song i mentioned there's another guy playing an ocarina and i think the synth guy was trying to replicate that sound on the moog, so maybe that's one way to describe it.

 

Last edited: Jan 5, 2025 at 12:48 AM

Perhaps an even better reference for your quest:

 

Thanks so much for imparting some of that more granular knowledge about portamento differences between the Mini and Arp. Super informative and valuable information. I've posted this question on a couple other forums, and the consensus is coming back super strongly for Arp... particularly the Odyssey.

 

I LOVE Plantasia and I really enjoy the masterful wisdom Anthony Marinelli is sharing on YouTube these days. He'd be able to identify the synth that made the sounds I'm looking for, and patch them in, in moments (haha).

 

You are awesome for sharing the parameters you landed on for programming this type of sound. I plugged them into my Mini V3, and it's sounding superb. Now I'm just stuck in a world of comparing and contrasting with an Arp, due to other's suggestions. Extended experiment time in progress...

 

You have located another "Mermaid" fan right here. Love that tune, adore the synthesizer timbres, and have been down the library music rabbit hole for many years now. Great stuff!

 

Thanks everyone for their thoughts and knowledge. I'm totally open to others thoughts on this.

I'm a huge fan of the Chris Rainbow song. I know it's a long shot, but if anybody has any thoughts on the production techniques on the song in general, I'm super down to nerd out. The reverb characteristics, the guitar tone, anything and everything.

Thanks again!

 

Listening to your first example "You and I" again, which reminds me of the sound of a Theremin. To emulate one on a synth you may want to try out the following trickery.

Turn off the oscillators.
Crank the resonance of the filter to bring it to self oscillation.
Turn on the keyboard tracking of this filter.
For a more authentic glide-like feel you can hold down one key and play the melody with manual glides on the filter cutoff.

Does this get you closer to your goal?

 

I think Odyssey is a real contender, I was thinking bandpass filter but it could also be high pass with a little bit of high end rolled off the top, same thing

 

These two sound very good and are very close to the original:

1. Softube Model 72: Minimoog plugin
2. GForce - Minimonsta2 (Great MiniMoog Emulation)

 

Super interesting concept. And (I believe) I've tried it out on the Arturia Mini. I have a 'compare and contrast' if anybody is curious about the differences in sound.

- One example is the oscillators turned off, filter emphasis cranked version.
- The other audio example is 2 oscillators, both sawtooth, one only very slightly detuned and lower in amplitude.

For both examples, I've also added reverb, and bandpass filter, glide, and a little 'drive' via the console 1 hardware unit.

The good news is, I think both sound quite pleasant. Still some more tinkering and exploring to do.

Thanks again for all the help!

 

I'm interested in checking both of these out. I've messed with the Oberheim DMX drum machine from GForce, and I own the Console 1 + Console Fader - love Softube's stuff.

Do you have any personal opinions on what makes the Softube and GForce models a cut above the Arturia offering? I'm super curious. Thanks again!

 

I'm over here researching different Odyssey plugin options, and even taking a look at the Behringer Arp Odyssey hardware. Music is the infinite rabbit hole. I appreciate you!

 

The company Softube enjoys an international reputation due to its quality. Native Instruments with its Monark is also said to be the closest to the original MiniMoog. The company U-HE with its Diva have also done first-class work. The GForce people always give their best and you can hear it. They write better code and they have better know-how and a deeper understanding of music itself.

I created a sound set for the Arturia - Mini V and it doesn't sound that great, something is missing, the whole thing is a bit lifeless. I have also met people here in the forum who don't like Arturia, I suspect it's because Arturia's "TAE® is "True Analog Emulation"!

The GForce - Minimoog 2 VST sounds much better, you can immediately tell what potential the MiniMoog 2 has, it has of course built in a few more things than the original and has raised the original MiniMoog to a modern level.

Free downloads from me:
The Minimoog Wonder Soundbank by Abc Sound Design for the GForce - Minimoog 2 VSTi
www.kvraudio.com/product/the-minimoog-wonder-by-sonic-sirius
https://mega.nz/file/6vgDAT6B#96dqWvs42xj5p87o8_fyCsRwkONwoE9Qn-uUIcPa58M

The Tone Adventure Soundbank by Abc Sound Design for the Arturia - Mini V VSTi
www.kvraudio.com/product/the-tone-adventure-by-sonic-sirius

My Webpage with 228 Free Soundbanks: http://ohlenbostelhelge.magix.net/public/

 

Then here comes another with "that" lead patch:

 

Any analogue subtractive synth /emulations can do these sounds easily.
The first is filtered triangular (btw when you hear whistle-like sounds it's more a sinus wave), the second a filtered saw, and seeing the portamento fx a theremin could be used.
Don't forget fxs like chorus/reverb, that changes a lot sound perception.

 

Hi!
Based on the first video, I think this remake of "Nuthin but a G thang" by Antony Marienlli would point you in the right direction.

Also, look athe Marienlli's video with Dr Dre's producer for "Nuthin but a G thang" to see his setup and sound layering: