how do you usually make your pads. is it full chords, 3 note chords or just 1 note?
 

Depends on the role the pad has in the song arrangement, and also, what kind of a synth pad it is. If it's multilayer, lively pad sound with harmonics etc., I most likely only use one note. Or one note during vocals and more when it's up front. 

My amateur guess is that most pads are unusable with full chords (??), unless they are the only thing playing.
But I'm really not an expert on this subject.

The "less is more" principle applies to pads.  If they are too thick / dense they can take over the mix (unless the pad is the mix).  It all depends.  The number of notes in the voicing really depends on the arrangement.  A single note can do wonders.  Or just sparse 2 or 3 note voicings can work too.

All of the above. It is a decision that is very dependent on the music and the need at that particular place in the song. 

If you have a chord happening in the other instruments, as pointed out.... one note on the pad can complete that chord voicing perfectly. Or.... the pad can be playing one note against a singer's voice melody or instrumental melody..... such as a major or minor third, fourth, or fifth..... or anything else to add the color to the chord.

Yes, all of the above. At the moment I'm just working on an intro pad with 4 or 5 note chords, and getting a gradual shifting of chords by changing one note at a time.

Try also altering the spacing between notes.

A 4 note chord played, say, C-E-G-B could sound really muddy if played all within one octave.

Opening it up to span 2 octaves (or more!) can really help in this situation

90% of the time it's 1 or 2 notes. There's a fine line between thickening and muddying. I also tend to heavily EQ pads, because their role is to fill in the holes but not to leave noticeable lumps in the road.

phrygiann


how do you usually make your pads. is it full chords, 3 note chords or just 1 note?
 

If it is a lush pad maybe just one note.  Simple pad maybe the I,III or I,iii combination.  Less is more.

Root and Fifth is a better combination of notes. Or 3rd and 7th. The most important thing is to keep them well spaced. I, III is not good for example, too close. Depends on the sound too. The more complex the sound the more you need to space them. Simpler smoother pads can handle chords a little more.

There is also an optimum place to play them where they sound best eg around middle C. Too high up and they sound thin and too low down they can sound muddy. Try to keep the two note voicings for example around the same spot so they sound as if they are not moving that much.

Even more importantly what is going on musically when the pad is present. If you have trouble hearing a pad then it is quite possible you have got too much going on while the pad is trying to do its thing. So thin things out musically so you can hear the black backdrop behind. Then when you get this right you can have a pad very low in a mix and still hear it clearly. Maximum illusion, minimum voltage. If you have have to have a pad loud in a mix in order to hear it then the music going on behind is wrong (too busy) and not allowing any space for it to exist. 

For me it REALLY depends on the pad voice (patch).  Some are thick and present, others are thin and soft, others have lots of motion and things going on, and yet others just seem to barely float in the air....you almost have to listen for them.

So the character of the pad will usually dictate the number of notes, and the even the chord itself for me.

I also have found I like wide spreads of the notes (some very low, some quite high) on many pads...seems to add a very lush or interesting flavor to the sound.

Some pads sound good combined or layered with others, while many do not.  It can be kinda cool to build up a layered pad in a piece, then sort of deconstruct it as the tune progresses.

Just rambiling on here.....