I want to get some old skool 80’s horror movie synth sounds on the go, of the George A Romero movie, Dario Argento sort of style… you know, zombie movie sounds! See also Evil Nine’s ‘They Live’ album as a perfect example of what I am after.
My efforts so far are sounding a bit weak… I’m fairly sure a bit of music theory would also go a long way here in getting that ‘sound’, chord progressions etc, though I am admittedly a total dunce in this respect.
Would much rather learn how to make that sound than sample it, I am fairly sure it’s pretty simple, just turns out I am simpler … any knowledge you can drop would be appreciated!
Peace.
Re: Horror/Zombie Movie Synth Sounds
Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 4:33 pm
by deadly_habit
i think i asked this ages ago on doa
as i recall a bit of analog drift and saturation is a key starting point
cept i was going more for the sounds like this
Re: Horror/Zombie Movie Synth Sounds
Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 4:38 pm
by deadly_habit
you after stuff like this?
Re: Horror/Zombie Movie Synth Sounds
Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 4:50 pm
by district
deadly habit wrote:
you after stuff like this?
this is gorgeous
Re: Horror/Zombie Movie Synth Sounds
Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 4:52 pm
by joemakin
theres an amazing free vsti called cygnus that's perfect for horror stuff.
Re: Horror/Zombie Movie Synth Sounds
Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 7:53 pm
by stereotactic
That Dario Argento piece is sweet man, nice.
I was thinking more along these lines though...
There are probably better examples but this is kind of what I mean?
Re: Horror/Zombie Movie Synth Sounds
Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 9:09 pm
by deadly_habit
stereotactic wrote:That Dario Argento piece is sweet man, nice.
I was thinking more along these lines though...
There are probably better examples but this is kind of what I mean?
heh that sounds mainly sampled and then just 70s/80s style synth patches
cheers for reminding me about evil nine though
i'm gonna mess with some techniques next few days for that boc/vintage kinda lofi saturation kinda sound via software
will let ya know if i come up with something close
There's a free VST synth/rompler called Wraith, which pretty much ONLY makes overly dark, horror movie-esque noises. I actually hated it because of that, but if that's what you're looking for, it might just be perfect for you.
I did know about Gargoyle actually, had forgotten about that one!
I really wanted to learn how to make the sound using the synths I have though instead of going and getting a particular synth for that sound...
Be interested in what you come up with Deadly, holler if you crack it!
Peace.
Re: Horror/Zombie Movie Synth Sounds
Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2010 11:59 am
by sully_harmitage
its ALL about the wobbly pitch...
Re: Horror/Zombie Movie Synth Sounds
Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2010 12:01 pm
by wub
stereotactic wrote:
I really wanted to learn how to make the sound using the synths I have though instead of going and getting a particular synth for that sound...
Can you post a YouTube clip of the sort of sound you mean? The synths used in Night Of The Living Dead, for example, are a world apart from the opening synth score in The Thing.
Re: Horror/Zombie Movie Synth Sounds
Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2010 3:06 pm
by stereotactic
Can you post a YouTube clip of the sort of sound you mean? The synths used in Night Of The Living Dead, for example, are a world apart from the opening synth score in The Thing.
You mean like the one I posted half a dozen posts back? Check the Evil Nine track 'Feed on You'.
Oh, great call on 'The Thing' by the way, possibly one of my favourite horror movies but I hadn't thought about the soundtrack for that in respect of my question, props.
Off the top of my head, I think Return of the Living Dead also has the same kind of sound when the zombies all start rising in the cemetary... I can't 100% be sure on that though, I ain't seen it for a while.
Re: Horror/Zombie Movie Synth Sounds
Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2010 3:12 pm
by deadly_habit
yea man i'm mainly messing with saturation, signal degradation, lower sample rates on shit i've made and pitch drifting after that
Re: Horror/Zombie Movie Synth Sounds
Posted: Sat Jul 24, 2010 1:48 pm
by sully_harmitage
Best Zombie theme Ever.
John Carpenter is the king at synth scores in general though.
Those kinda sounds (like the stringy sounds in that evil 9 track) are usually just detuned saw waves, filtered to taste.
The pitch drift makes shit get spooky.
Get some Roland MV-8800 or Mellotron choir samples for the choral pads...
It's a compilation of the unreleased incidental music from Dawn of the Dead movie.
Also check out John Carpenters work - amazing stuff.
I seem to remember there was some patches for Blue based on this type of sound - also a few Vangelis patches.