Riding the Storm Out Siren

maybe the Z3TA 2 might be a good place to start for the siren patch

 
Quick 'n' dirty?  I may be off with the exact notes triggering the 'siren' (from memory).  This will get you close:
 
Program -> Initialize
Osc [1] -> Wave -> Vint Saw 1 (one left-click on OFF)
Perform -> PORTAMENTO MODE -> NORM, FIX
PORTAMENTO TIME (knob about 2 o'clock) -> around 1.5 s
Master -> Polyphony: 1
 
Play overlapping notes.
Press A [MIDI note 45] one octave below middle C to set up.
Hit C [MIDI note 84] two octaves above middle C.
"Drift" down to the A below it [MIDI note 81].
 
Bonus Points:
Right-click on OSC [1] -> Copy
Right-click on OSC [2] -> Paste
Fine Tune (knob) -> -30 c

All I can say is "WOW" to b rock... that is amazing to me... from memory?? LOL... The most humbling thing I experienced was the first time I initialized Z3TA+ 2! I wish I could tailor sounds with such ease.

I used to make this sound on a Minimoog, and it came out pretty good.
 
I will try the above posted parameters later on tonight and see how it sounds.
 
Bob Bone
 

I had to YouTube the studio recording to check it back against how I had remembered it.  For one thing, it seems to be missing that analog vinyl component.
 

It is missing a little something but I have no doubt I can layer in a sound to texturize it a bit...

... adding in a second or possibly 3rd osc and detune slightly to give it a real "classic" Mini Moog fatness.

 
Yes, it is.  I tossed in the extra detuned oscillator ("Bonus Points" above) to thicken it up, but that's not quite it.  I was hearing something like two oscillators with staggered portamento times.  At the moment, I like a very small (milliseconds) delay better than the multi-oscillator detuning effect, (or perhaps use both). Along the lines of:
 
Switch SYNTH to EFFECTS up top.
Delay [1] -> Stereo Delay.
L - TIME - R  -> 0.04 s __ 0.05 s
 
That effect falls apart when it catches up at the high C, so you can't linger there too long!  I also fooled around with Perform -> ANALOG -> Drift.  In this context, it's subtle.  This effect seems to be more distinct over time with steady state notes / pitches.
 

I did find I had to automate the portamento time so It could be longer for the shorter drift down to the A ...

 
See, I was programming it on-the-fly with a live keyboard and the z3ta+2 microhost.  I guess that's what I meant by "drifting" down to A.  You can change the portamento rate somewhat by delaying your overlapping notes, or hitting some interim notes on the way to the target note.
 
We're faking a monophonic synth here, so faithful retro-portamento takes some tweaking and technique / note placement to get it just right.  Funny; in the original analogs, this was an automatic, and often had its own limitations.
 

I used to make this sound on a Minimoog, and it came out pretty good.

 
Wonder if it was used on the original recording?  I would think so; it's not an ARP.  When this song came out, I was more focused on Gary Richrath's guitar licks.
 
Something else that I left out:  Filters.  I did this intentionally, because I remembered it as a wide-open sawtooth oscillator.  But as the 'siren' is sustained, and the guitar kicks in, you can definitely hear some high cutoff frequency knob-twiddling going on.
 
EDIT:  There is also some reverb in the recording I heard.  Any combination of 'verb, depth, and damping in z3ta+2 was too overpowering for me.  You'd have to bring in an outboard reverb or 're-amped' room for that.  Again, I wonder if this was added in a 'remastered' session, or I just never really heard it on vinyl at eardrum-shattering levels.

Live, from the horse's mouth...
 
https://www.youtube.com/w...e=youtube_gdata_player

Hmmmm...Magic by the cars, you may need a DX-7 for some of that. I was in an 80s top 40 band in 84/85 and trying to recreate stuff from the Heartbeat City album took years off my life (lol). I got away with just a Juno 106 and DX-7 back then. Some of that intro sounds like square waves with some pitch envelope on them.
 

Hey I'm a keyboardist, teach classes on MIDI and the Z3ta+2 overwhelms me as well at times, so don't feel bad.

Well, I have to say I'm happy with the Siren. But while I have your attention, any suggestions for the melodic stuff going on patch wise?

b rock
BTW:  I'd probably use a sync'ed sawtooth LFO through a Pitch curve to a single oscillator for the Cars' 'Magic' opening (same chords as the verse).  But there's that other layered oscillator sweep (hand-tweaked satellite beeps), plus the churning, panned square LFO.  I suppose it'd be possible to create a single patch to do all three, but not with a single oscillator.

I was trying to use 3 oscillators when I attempted that, but was just learning Z3TA+2 at the time and still find the number of controls available overwhelming to this day. The amount of customization that can be done is unreal and I continue to be in awe of folks who can hear a sound in their head and just tweak a synth to make it.
 

I was trying to use 3 oscillators when I attempted that, but was just learning Z3TA+2 at the time

 
On second thought, I'd use Rapture and 3 Elements.  Sawtooth Up Pitch LFO on the first oscillator layer, a pitch sequencer on the 'asynchronous' pitch sweeps with echoes, then copy/paste Pitch, Pan, and Amp sequences for the third layer buildup.  Hell, maybe a fourth Element for the drum fill!
 
I think it'd be easier to map out some of those layers with internal sequences.  It's about the only thing that z3ta+2 couldn't do.  And if there were anything I couldn't live without from z3ta+2 (oscillator-wise), I'd export it from the Waveshaper (right-click - Save Wavetable As ...), and dump it in Rapture.