You can get Dimension D from here:

http://emptyroomsystems.com/ers-dimension-d-v1-0.html 

UAD are not the only ones doing it. I have heard the ERS could be a little better. I have had both the unit and the plug-in but not at the same time though. I find the ERS does a pretty nice sounding Dimension D effect. It is quite subtle like the actual hardware. It is when you turn it off you may notice the change more.

It is better because the noise is not there. The dry signal integrity is preserved highly. Also there are some extra controls on the plug-in making it more versatile and controllable. Where this sort of  effect is good is when you have a strictly mono source like I did in the old days. Even those big fat polyphonic Oberheim synths still had only a mono output! (initially) Dimension will set up a very subtle cool stereo spread with a mono source. I also used an old Roland SBF325 stereo flanger in this role too. The chorus section on this is pretty controllable as well and very warm sounding. People forget these effects were strictly analog too not digital. 

Some synths really benefited from something like Dimension. The Juno 106 is a good pad machine except the two chorus settings are too violent for really subtle pads. But switch off the chorus and then Juno can sound very static and very boring. But then that is where Dimension comes into its own. It adds the liquid movement back in. Sometimes you can get a better pad by starting with a single osc sound and put the effect in after. Rather than using the two osc detuned sound which can sound a little different. 

A lot of VST's and that includes Absynth/FM8 etc have got really straight up analog sounding pads that are very convincing. Watch out for those really complex pad sounds.  

I have heard the ERS EMT Plate is meant to sound incredible too.

http://emptyroomsystems.com/empty-250-v2-05.html

Could be just the ticket for those vocal reverbs.

Jeff Evans


You can get Dimension D from here:

http://emptyroomsystems.com/ers-dimension-d-v1-0.html 

UAD are not the only ones doing it. I have heard the ERS could be a little better. I have had both the unit and the plug-in but not at the same time though. I find the ERS does a pretty nice sounding Dimension D effect. It is quite subtle like the actual hardware. It is when you turn it off you may notice the change more.

Very true, but UAD IS one of the only companies in my opinion, that IS getting this modeling down right. I find that plug companies that do mocks usually don't come close when you compare to the real unit. Removing the noise floor makes the unit less authentic, Jeff....no offense brother, but in my humble opinion, that's not something worth bragging about really. If we are looking to purchase something authentic that has a unique sound, we want flaws and all, ya know? A piece isn't authentic when you alter it's true personality. The DD isn't a noisy piece to begin with for me, but the little it does add makes a difference as it *can* add a little sizzle in a good way.
 
Speaking of the EMT 250, UAD went to Ocean Way Studio and literally modeled from the actual unit there. In my opinion, it's one of the best sounding reverbs I've ever used or owned. I'd have a hard time believing someone could even come close by just reading a schematic or something and trying to make a plugin....or however they do that. I can't say for sure as I've not tried anything by this Empty company...but my past experiences haven't been good ones with the companies that do mock-ups without using real units.
 
They always seem to remove something or fall short. Heck even some that use real pieces fall way short. Granted, I don't ever expect a plug to sound exactly like a piece of hardware, but if you ever get a chance to try anything UAD, you'll be amazed at how close they are...and in most cases, they are absolutely spot on to where my ears can't hear a difference at all. This is why UAD is so high up on the ladder for me. I sold my Manley Massive Passive when I got the UAD version. It was THAT good and I can use multiple instances of it. They also added a Massive Passive Mastering eq...which came with the plug I bought. That sure beats paying $4500 for one piece. LOL!
 
I think for Christmas, I'm going to buy you a UAD Duo because you of all people, need this thing once and for all. :) James Collins from your neck of the woods has one...he loves it. He's a good dude...might be cool to hang out with him some time if you get the time so you can check some of this UAD stuff out. Honest, it's amazing in my opinion. :)
 
-Danny

Great stuff and ideas everyone! Still catching up. Thanks for all the input!

What are you using for your keyboard/controller?  I find so many useful pads in my Motif every time I explore it... so don't forget to take a look there.  There may be some sounds you have forgotten about in yours.

I notice you have Komplete 7.  There is a ton of stuff in there as well.

I have to agree with Linear Phase too...  the PC offers up some fantastic settings that can dress up an otherwise mediocre pad....and don't forget the PC FX Chains....some of them are great for adding motion, color, or "texture" to a sound.

As I've stated in a coule of other posts-  so much of today's music is listened to on iPods/earbuds.  So give our listeners some ear candy!  And I find Pads with motion are great for this.  (When I visit NYC, I am AMAZED that the majority of people I pass on the street have earbuds plugged in.)

Good luck and keep us posted of your search results.

Hi Danny. Yes I agree with you about noise being kept in with some plug-in emulations but I don't agree with it though. I think that noise is unwanted and to go to the trouble of putting it back in is a bit silly IMO. I think it would be better to allow the user to either allow the original noise back in or switch it off. At least the ERS Dimension plug is quiet and you don't have to worry about it adding any noise. I agree the original Dimension was not that noisy. The SPF325 was a little noisier I think from memory.

I recently bought the Roland Space Echo plug-in from these guys:

 http://www.genuinesoundware.com/?a=showproduct&b=26

Now this has definitely got the tape hiss and stuff all in there and I think it is good in this case. In fact you even have to gate out the noise just like you had to with the real RE201. And this plug does sound excellent and I have also owned the real deal and this is a great emulation as well.

But this noise thing is going too far. Recently one of my students came to me with a large ProTools session on his laptop and he was complaining about the hiss that was present even when the session was stopped. I must admit it was excessive. I said one of the tracks must be doing it and after some careful investigation we tracked down a track that had a silly Eddie Kramer plug in inserted that was generating heaps of noise. After removing it the session went quiet. Now I am sure the plug in was being faithful and all but it ruined the S/N ratio of an entire session. Stupid IMO. He put something else there that did a very similar job but was quiet and hence the session was quiet again.

Any Christmas presents will be gratefully excepted! 

UKJediKnight


Can I link an example? Hear the pad behind this. This!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy5rnl_sx0Q

This sounds like an extremely simple preset ... probably would sound anemic on its own, but it blends sublimely.  I'd guess this is a single oscillator patch with fairly aggressive low-pass filtering.  Sounds like a medium-short attack and release (that is, not the lengthy fade-in/out you get with a lot of "string" pads).  There may be a second oscillator an octave up that gets added in at few spots, or that might be more notes being played or even a different pad preset.  It's a little hard to hear it clearly.
 
Just find something you basically like in tone, and if you think its close but too harsh, bring the filter cutoff down or apply EQ after to tame the harsher upper regions.  Fiddle with the attack and release settings until it's nice and lush without sounding muddy.

Jeff Evans


Hi Danny. Yes I agree with you about noise being kept in with some plug-in emulations but I don't agree with it though. I think that noise is unwanted and to go to the trouble of putting it back in is a bit silly IMO. I think it would be better to allow the user to either allow the original noise back in or switch it off. At least the ERS Dimension plug is quiet and you don't have to worry about it adding any noise. I agree the original Dimension was not that noisy. The SPF325 was a little noisier I think from memory.

I recently bought the Roland Space Echo plug-in from these guys:

http://www.genuinesoundware.com/?a=showproduct&b=26

Now this has definitely got the tape hiss and stuff all in there and I think it is good in this case. In fact you even have to gate out the noise just like you had to with the real RE201. And this plug does sound excellent and I have also owned the real deal and this is a great emulation as well.

But this noise thing is going too far. Recently one of my students came to me with a large ProTools session on his laptop and he was complaining about the hiss that was present even when the session was stopped. I must admit it was excessive. I said one of the tracks must be doing it and after some careful investigation we tracked down a track that had a silly Eddie Kramer plug in inserted that was generating heaps of noise. After removing it the session went quiet. Now I am sure the plug in was being faithful and all but it ruined the S/N ratio of an entire session. Stupid IMO. He put something else there that did a very similar job but was quiet and hence the session was quiet again.

Any Christmas presents will be gratefully excepted! 

Hi Jeff, totally agree with all of the above. I wish they did include an option to where the user could choose noise or no noise. However, I'm an eq nut and always eq my effects. So if something is a bit more noisey than I'd like it to be, I can always control it via eq or even put a light gate or noise surpressor on it. It's rare I've ever had to do that though...even with some of the Kramer plugs. I'm finding that a lot of the noise from plugs is accentuated from the source track.
 
Some guys are bent on using these outboard pre's or have a dirty front end signal that really does introduce a lot more noise into the scheme of things that I wouldn't personally allow. Add an "authentic" plug into the mix and the noise floor starts to get a bit out of control...so I'm with you there.
 
That Roland piece looks the part....I have a plug version of that also. Whatever works...right? :)
 
-Danny

UKJedi: Apologies for de-railing your thread with the plugin talk. Jeff and I are good buds and always seem to end up in great conversations during other peoples threads. LOL! Sorry about that.

In answer to your question, though additional synths like everyone has mentioned will definitely get you what you need, I feel that some of the advice Linear Phase gave you is also spot on and worth visiting. Though I wouldn't have totally advised you as he did (no offense Linear, honest!) he's on the right track in my opinion.

The word "warm" is the first mistake in my opinion. The reason being....this is one of those words that just means too many different things to too many different people. LOL! On one of the forums I frequent, you get this **** when you type "warm" because the site owner feels the word is just so mis-used, it becomes misleading to those in search of information.

Some people in Europe consider warm to mean "clean, with presence" while others like most of us in the USA consider the word to mean "balanced, without harsh high end, nice mids, a happy mixture of everything that isn't annoying to the ears".

So as you can see, the word can definitely give you different results. If clean and clear is your idea for warming, reduced mids and low mids with a touch of high end air will cure you. If you think of warm as *I* do, you want that edge taken off the high end. Part of my feelings here sort of cross with what Linear said.

Though I think the Pro Channel eq can deliver warmth, I disagree with "the gloss" option because it adds a little high end sheen to it. This to me is not the proper approach to warming something up. I also do not believe in saturators because they simply do not warm in the way *I* am used to. Saturators of the digital nature, distort more than they warm up the tonality. It's not like the old days when we ran a REAL tube pre-amp or something....these things (in my opinion) just totally fall short on what tube (or valve if you're from Europe) warmth is all about.

So, if something is cutting too much with high end and you want to warm it up, the first thing to do is to control the high end that is making it too abrasive. You will get high end from 2k to 6k. This is where you can remove harshness.

From 7k on up, you have what we call "the air frequencies". These add high end, but not in the form of harshness when used sparingly. So if you take off some of blatant high end from 2k to 6k, add some mids between 600 Hz and 900 Hz, those are the frequencies in MY opinion that will warm things up. If you need a little air so to speak, 10-12k is a really nice place to start.

Watch for low mids when trying to warm something up. With synths, the low mids and lows will walk on top of other instruments if you're not careful. You also have to keep in mind whether or not this instrument will be a focal point or a filler instrument. If it's a focal point, you can enhance it just about any way you want to allow it to shine. From there you'll need to conform the other instruments around it.

If it is a filler instrument....like pads that just enhance, you'll need to be careful of the mids and low end or you will easily get frequency masking. In this situation, I like to actually make my pads LESS warm so they will cut through the mix. In this case, my advice is the same as Linear's. We can use gloss, we can add a saturator for a little sizzle so the sound cuts through, we can boost a little more high end if needed....all this makes the pads cut through and in turn, you can keep them a little lower in the mix if you need to.

But honest when I tell you, a good eq is all you need to warm up a sound. It's just a matter of removing harsh highs and coming up with the right mids to accentuate the sound. If you find that you are working on the sound for a half hour or so, it's usually best to choose another sound as it shouldn't take that long to make it fit in the mix. The right sound source will always be the key in my opinion.

However, in the synth world, half of the fun is taking a sound that may not be right from the start and turning it into something completely different using filtering or aliasing etc. There are just so many variables here that it's tough to pinpoint. I can't tell you how many times I started out with a sound I hated for a pad that turned into something incredible while trying things within that sound patch. So definitely experiment, but know "when to say when" or you can sit there for weeks tweaking this stuff. LOL! Best of luck. :)

-Danny

You can derail the thread all you like! It's all good! It's all worthwhile. I am in the UK, which is most definately in Europe but by warm I am going with the "balanced, without harsh high end, nice mids, a happy mixture of everything that isn't annoying to the ears". Not thin, not brittle. Nor harsh. Rounded, sweet with middle. I mean, just listen to that example on on HD Youtube mode. The whole album is just that happy mixture. Thanks everyone!

Here is an example of a pad sound that is complex. 

This is a remix that I have just done of Galactic's Ha Di Ka. I am having a go at the remix comp on the Indaba Music site. The start features some hand drumming with vocal chants over the top. I have used two pad sounds at once there and they are complex. One is a Korg Wavestation patch and the other is Roland JD800 patch. Both are pretty full on but it works because there is not much else going on in this section. A good time where complex pads work OK. 
 
http://www.indabamusic.co...est/submissions/146994 

If I was trying to fit it under busier stuff I would use a much smoother simpler patch. There is more info on the track in the Songs section.