Have any of you guys ever though about the possibility of using a synthesizer to essentially simulate the effect of other instruments?
I'm thinking of things like using some modified saw wave to make a guitar sound, or somehow using detuned synths to make a 'false brass' section.
I know, you could say, "this happens all the time!" "people use synth/sampled drum kits and sampled instruments"...
 
But I'm thinking more in terms of building your OWN SYNTHESIZED SOUNDS that are meant to give the FEELING or EFFECT of an instrument, rather than using a crappy sounding sampled patch from a GM-synth. 
I saw the EBow and its sounds a low price point had me interested in the possibilities there are with a guitar and a little creativity. I think there is a wide space for creativity  in terms of making "impressionistic" sounds.

When I play a flute or a sax, how hard I blow shapes the sound. I've started taking this approach with my midi sax, using the breath controller to shape the sound more than envelopes, and velocity sensitivity. I've been getting nice fluid results that respond more like a wind instrument. After recording I tweak the response of the synth, maybe use the envelopes to add some emphasis, but I'm less dependent on these process than I would be with a keyboard. this makes sense to me as I am not trying to create a keyboard sound, but a wind sound

davdud101
But I'm thinking more in terms of building your OWN SYNTHESIZED SOUNDS that are meant to give the FEELING or EFFECT of an instrument, rather than using a crappy sounding sampled patch from a GM-synth. 

The Minimoog, Korg MS-20, EMS Synthi range, Yamaha DXs and lots of other synths from the 70s and 80s onwards included in their manuals or presets suggested patches for such things as "violin", "flute", "cello", "trumpet"....

String machines were designed from the ground up for the single task of emulating string and horn sections....

Some sound reasonable, others not so much.

Sound on Sound ran a series of articles a good few years ago called "synth secrets" which mostly looked at programming synths to emulate other instruments. The series is available free on the Sound on Sound website and is well worth reading.

Incidentally, as the series says, the acoustic and electric guitar are amongst the two hardest instruments to emulate there is. I suggest having a listen (and look via YouTube) at Tim Blake of Hawkwind who is the most convincing synth "lead guitarist" I've heard. He uses a a Roland keytar with the left hand controllers handling vibrato, tone changes and string bending. At least, he sounds pretty convincing to me and I've played electric guitar for 40 years.

With synth sounds a dime a dozen now I think you can find a decent synth sound to fit in anywhere, especially in the background. Foreground tones are where the great synths separate from the many garden variety synths.

+1 for SoundOnSound's synth secrets, I read that when on subscription to the physical magazine in the late 90's I think. If that is on line now, its worth checking

I would think that if you're trying to get something to sound like a fiddle....and you don't actually play a fiddle.... and you have to rely on the synths with patches or samples.......trying to program your own algorithm and have it sound more realistic than a sampled fiddle would be an exercise in futility.
 
I started out in this hobby working with patches of the various instruments. (TTS etc...) Then I discovered that samples had quality that beat most patches hands down, especially when trying to emulate a certain instrument. ( GPO, Kontakt....)
 
Programming your own patch and trying to have it sound better than a sample is akin to trying to reinvent the wheel IMHO.

davdud101
Have any of you guys ever though about the possibility of using a synthesizer to essentially simulate the effect of other instruments?

 
Oh my... I must be getting really old
When I was young - this was the PURPOSE of synths.... not something you could try and do with them.
 
Listen to Steve Winwood "While you see a chance, take it"...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-jsABHcw40
Sax or Synth? Well - clearly a synth - but back in 1980, most would have thought Sax.
 
Sine Wave, Square Wave, Sawtooth Wave & Noise...combine that with an Envelope (Attack,Sustain,Decay,Release) LFO & Resonance - these are the fundamentals that make up almost everything we hear.
 
Hand me an old (early 80's) Yamaha DX7 or Ensoniq ESQ-1 (heck, even a Korg Poly 6) and I'll get you a close example of a sax, a bass, a siren, a bassoon, a gunshot, a flute, a blown tire, a trumpet, a piano, a thunder storm, an organ, a tuba, a drum kit, a hurricane etc... etc...
 
(note: not all would have been great... but certainly would get the impression across)
 

Guitarhacker
I would think that if you're trying to get something to sound like a fiddle....and you don't actually play a fiddle.... and you have to rely on the synths with patches or samples.......trying to program your own algorithm and have it sound more realistic than a sampled fiddle would be an exercise in futility.

 
Despite all of my above comments.... I do have to agree with this!
The Steve Winwood example I posted would sound a lot better with a real sax player - or at least a real sax sample that is available today.

For me I am looking more for sounds that compliment my existing (real)wind sounds, rather than  replace them. Having them respond like another wind instrument and thus feeling like another winding instrument is the goal. If I want a bass clarinet in there, a sample or virtual model in there would be a better choice than a VM Analog, but if I want some with the same weight in their as a bass clarinet, but doesn't need to sound like one, then an VM Analog could be just the ticket.

I appreciate the thoughts, guys!
I think Kamikaze spoke most in the vein of what I'm asking about. I've heard some really cool & gorgeous-sounding samples before, but I'm even more curious about faking a sound with a synth with only the purpose of making a sound that feels like a certain instrument, or otherwise gives the impression of what another instrument would do. 

codamedia, that's also it! Even in a day-and-age like NOW when we can get samples that really sound believable, we /can/ use synthesizers to make a representation of the sound. It may not truly sound like the instrument, but it'd make you think the sound is there. Obviously back then there was plenty of talent and money to make real recordings happen... I feel like there was this big hoopla about how amazing synthesis technology was at the time.
 
While there are sample libraries that will bring us the real thing (or as real as we can get without recording professional instrumentalists), sometimes we may not be looking for the 'real thing'!

This is what many of the early synths did since sampling was still a new techology way back when. They made a close emulation of a sound which usually wasn't very close to the original sound. It might sound "flutish" or "guitarish"...but you could always tell it wasn't the real deal. When sampling came along things sounded much more real if done properly. Many factors were involved, such as the quality of the samples themselves and they way the samples were played...so a good sample could still sound fake.
To this day the real deal will still sound better. Buried in a mix a close approximation probably won't be noticed. A real violin jumps out at you in a mix compared to even the best sampled ones....and yes....for years musicians have been tacking a guitar pluck onto a synth stab....none of this is new. You probably have enough tools in your possession to experiment with all kinds of unique sounds. Many like to do this and you might be one of them!