rkamn Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Hello, all! Has anybody figured out how to create/replicate the synth sound in Rush's Tom Sawyer? Specifically, I'm talking about the song's initial synth hit (at the very start of the song), which is then repeated periodically throughout the song. If anyone can share an upload I'd be grateful! The band I'm in is going to add this to our cover list asap, and I'd love to get that sound right! Thank you! (I'm SO excited to rock this priceless piece!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Saucier Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Take this stage setting and reverse it and tweak some. It's a resonant filter sweep. The filter envelope on this needs to swell down instead of up. Also might want to tweak the synth strings section. I'll make these changes and upload it as Tom Sawyer one day but my computer is down for doing all of this. Might be a while. http://www.casiomusicforums.com/index.php?/files/file/804-polyrezsweep-px-5s-stage-setting/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkamn Posted February 12, 2015 Author Share Posted February 12, 2015 Thank you, BradMZ. I'll play with this shortly. Doing so will challenge me to dive deeper into the keyboard's capabilities. I set up and tweak a bunch of stage settings to accommodate our large and dynamic repertoire of cover songs. But, I've not had to manipulate filter envelopes and the like. I'll keep you posted... This exercise may lead to further questions! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Choppin Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 The idea, is to have 2 offset waves with a filter sweep like Brad said. But you also need a pitch envelope and an initial high resonance to get the growl. This is one of the first things I did on the PX-5s, however, I lost the tone somewhere between updates and failed USB drives. I hand drew the envelopes and the figures on a sheet of paper somewhere. If I find it, I'll dig it out. I used a sawtooth and a triangle wave form. Here's one of my tests (it doesn't help you but t least it shows it's possible). TAKE14.zip 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkamn Posted February 12, 2015 Author Share Posted February 12, 2015 Holy smokes, Choppin, that test sample sounds fantastic! That would certainly do it! I've gotten as far as loading BradMZ's offered stage setting on my PX-5s. Haven't had time yet to mess around with any edits (trying to be productive for a while so I can disappear with the keyboard later tonight!). I'm not sure I'll be capable of applying the theoretical technical tweaks and approaches you and he have suggested. But, I'll let you know... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waveformer Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Choppin, that's a pretty darn good clone. Nice! Trivia tidbit: I believe Geddy was using either an OB-Xa or OB-8 to get that sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkamn Posted February 13, 2015 Author Share Posted February 13, 2015 Just an update. I finally played with the stage setting BradMZ provided. Using trial and error, I was able to "reverse" the Hex tone so that it swells down, as BradMZ suggested. To do this, I worked with "all" layers of the tone (zone 1), instead of singular layers, and found tweaking the Filter to be more useful than other options. Raising the Initial Level was the key to flipping the swell, and then the Attack Time was used to get the decay rate close to desired. I've got a long way to go. I wish I understood more of what I was actually doing with these adjustments (the Tutorial Manual is a bit of a help, especially when combined with trial and error). But, it sounds pretty good already! I'm dangerous now! Thanks for any more pointers (or files!). I gained even more appreciation for your ability to nail it, Choppin! Nice! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Saucier Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 I already made the sound, but I'll let you keep learning. Yes, raising initial level and lowering the attack and decay level was for reversing the sweep. Keep going, you'll learn more as you go. Keep in mind the PX-5s doesn't have a solo synth. You'll have to make due with the poly portamento for the lead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkamn Posted February 13, 2015 Author Share Posted February 13, 2015 You're making it look easy! I'll keep tinkering with it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlm Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 Can't wait for this stage setting!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkamn Posted March 2, 2015 Author Share Posted March 2, 2015 BradMZ, thank you for sharing the Sawyer Time stage setting. It is fantastic! While I did mess around and achieve a setup that would "pass" during a gig, yours is leaps and bounds more authentic sounding. I've got a lot to learn. Over time, I'll dissect the stage setting and come to understand how the sounds were achieved. Thank you again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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