Review: Zebra Ultramarine by MIDIssonance

STEP 1: SELECTING THE RIGHT SOUNDSOURCE

As usual, first step is the selection of best soundsources for the job. Since v2.5, Omnisphere has had 4 layers per patch which is more than enough to achieve that enormous trailer sound, so everything is going to fit into just one 4-part patch. This particular braam will be made of two lower parts – one percussive, kick-ish and other synth based. Also, there will be two higher parts to fill the spectrum. There are plenty of soundsources and synth oscillators in Omnisphere that can be successfully used for this purpose so you can experiment quite a bit. Here are the soundsources I used for this specific braam:

Percussive layer (impact / kick):

Low synth:

High synth #1:

High synth #2:

STEP 2: MAKING EVERYTHING BIGGER

Without any FX and modulation, braam sounds like this:

Not very massive and impressive, right?

Usual suspects for making the sound bigger in trailer music are compression and (harmonic) distortion and of course – reverb. But first, there’s another sound fattening tool in Omnisphere: Harmonia. It adds additional oscillators to every layer, making the sound much fuller. Here’s our low synth layer without and then with Harmonia:

Low synth without Harmonia:

Low synth with Harmonia:

Here are the settings used for this layer:

Harmonia mix amount is modulated with LFO to add more over duration of braam as well. After this, additional subtle waveshaping is added to layers to push sound a bit further.

STEP 3: ADDING FX

As mentioned earlier, compression, saturation and reverb are essential to trailer sound. These effects will transform our braam into production ready trailer accent.

First step is adding reverb to taste – longer plate or hall reverb is usually go-to in this case. After reverb, EQ is added to clean subs and low mids a bit and boost higher frequencies gently to add subtle sparkle. Finally, bus compression is added to glue everything together and make our braam super punchy.

Here are the final settings for FX master out:

Also, FX are added to individual layers. Low end is not needed here, so high pass filter is added to both high parts. Subtle distortion makes it cut more. Also, a bit more reverb and tape delay are added to keep sound more interesting and evolving.

Here are the settings for one of the high synth parts:

Here’s how braam sounds with FX added:

STEP 4: MAKING THINGS MORE INTERESTING WITH MODULATION

Final step in creation of our braam is adding modulation which will add more interest to it. One of the common techniques is adding some kind of pitch variation, which can be easily done in MIDI editor of every DAW, but for this purpose, pitch modulation is programmed inside Omnisphere.

This is how pitch modulation looks like for one of the high synth parts:

LFO1 is set to unipolar reverse saw which modulates coarse tuner in this layer which results in cool pitch bending sound. Same is done for other two melodic layers (except for percussive layer) and also another LFO is added to control the filter cutoff to make sounds more aggressive and open over time – and that’s it.

Mod matrix of this braam patch:

Here’s how our finished braam sounds like with FX and modulation added:

And here’s a short clip of our braam in context:

Download the braam patch here (Omnisphere 2.6.1 is required).

How did you get started in music? How did you get into composing music for video games?

I grew up in a musical household, so there were always instruments around. I started to teach myself the guitar seriously when I was 14 and continued to play solo and in bands from there into my early 20’s. But I didn’t start composing in this sense until I was 23, in my last year of university! I met someone through the band who worked in games and I mentioned that I was hoping to get into writing music for games after uni. Someone he was working with was making an indie game in their spare time and he very kindly recommended me to him, when the guy mentioned that he was looking for music. That project turned into a game called Thomas Was Alone, which fortunately enjoyed a lot of success, the music was nominated for a BAFTA and the rest has sort of stemmed from there really!

Who are your biggest musical influences?

My biggest musical influences are definitely bands like Hammock, Explosions in the Sky, Mono, Sigur Ros etc. They inspire me to try to capture the beauty in simplicity and to say more with less. In terms of composers, I adore the work of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, as you well know from our many conversations! I also listen to James Newton-Howard, Thomas Newman and John Powell on a very regular basis.

What are some of your favorite projects you worked on?

I think one of my favourite projects to date has definitely been QUBE 2, largely because it’s been one of my easiest projects, due to our collaboration! Not having to waste time or worry about hunting through synths to find the right sound, and just having instant access to a palette that sums up the sonic landscape I wished to create, allowed to me to focus solely on writing the notes and crafting the arrangements. So it was a really streamlined and organic process and one I will always look to repeat when the opportunity arises.

When you begin scoring a project, how do you decide on the sonic palette to use?

I think the genre of the game and the world it’s set in are probably two of the most decisive factors in terms of establishing palette. I find the story has more of an influence on the notes themselves and the nature of the pieces you write, but as far as the palette goes, I think I’m definitely most inspired by the universe the game is set in and the general aesthetics. For example, in Qube, the environment the game takes place in is an alien construct created by an entity attempting to replicate earth. So my brief was that everything should sound real and natural, yet not so. On the surface level there should be some familiarity but with a strange, alien subtext to it. Also, visually, everything was super clean, modern and polished, so that instantly reminded me of some of the Mirror’s Edge score. I also remember listening to the Gone Girl and Before the Flood soundtracks a lot for inspiration. Then we took real world sounds and instruments and you’d manipulate and change them in Omnisphere until they sounded like something completely different. So the essence of everything was grounded in an organic source, yet the end product was something unique and original, in keeping with the fundamental theme of the game.

What’s your studio setup like? What are your favorite synths and FX?

My studio is pretty basic! I run everything from a trashcan Mac Pro and a single Apple 30” cinema display and I monitor through Genelec 8020’s. I have a nice Yamaha electric piano which I use to write on, then I have a 61 key M-Audio MIDI controller that I use for note input and CC control. I run everything in the box, so no outboard gear, although I do have a Gibson Les Paul, a Fender Tele and a couple of amps for guitar work. In terms of synths, Omnisphere is definitely my go to. There’s very little that I can’t do on there and the only negative thing I could say about it is that there’s almost too much content in there and it’s easy to get lost down a rabbit hole! In keeping with the rest of my setup, my effects use is very basic too. I tend to use Valhalla reverbs on most things and I’ve been enjoying their new delay recently too. I also get a lot of use out of the Logic inbuilt EQ and Fabfilter Pro-Q. I have all of the Soundtoys collection but I find I don’t use them too often unless I’m trying to create a really weird, exaggerated effect on something. They’re not subtle enough for me to use as flavour on traditional instruments but are fantastic for sound design. My master bus is pretty basic too, I have the SSL G channel, a couple of tape saturators and the Waves L3 limiter and that’s basically it! I was taught early on that less is more and I generally try to get everything right at the writing/arranging stage to minimise the amount of salvage work I have to do at the mix stage.

What role do MIDIssonance sounds play in your work?

I touched on this earlier but having a curated, custom soundset to work from was a truly liberating experience from a creative perspective. I can’t put into words how painless and stress-free it made the entire writing process, not to mention the effortless inspiration that would come from hearing a new cue. Many times, I’d simply be trying a new sound to test if it needed any revisions and an entire cue could spawn from that. You can’t put a price on that sort of thing and I’d highly recommend anyone to experience it for themselves! Your sounds form a central part of my writing process and most importantly of all, represent instant out of the box playability, which is paramount when deadlines are mounting!

Review: Omnisphere Bundle from MIDIssonance

ALL AROUND: MeldaProduction MFreeFXBundle

One of the best free plugin packages has to be MeldaProduction’s Free Bundle – 30 free quality plugins that cover a wide range of functions. While GUI might not be everyone’s cup of tea, these are very powerful and sound great. Favourites: Wavefolder and Tremolo.

boscomac ensembles (requires Native Instruments Reaktor)

boscomac produces some of the best and unique (and free) Reaktor ensembles. There are plenty of high quality instruments and FX to choose from. Favourites: Delight Delay, Floodverb and The Reverser.

EQ: PTEq-X

PTEq-X is a digital emulation of 3 famous vintage passive program equalizers.

This Pultec EQ emulation from Ignite Amps is one of the best character EQ plugins, free or paid. Great for low and high boosts.

DELAY: Valhalla Freq Echo

Perfect for dub, Dr. Who and all of your psychedelic needs. Sonic results range from subtle chorusing and double tracking to barberpole phasing and flanging to endless glissandos and runaway echos.

Everything ValhallaDSP produces is great, and Freq Echo is no exception. Ideal for crazy stacked delays and creating movement.

BITCRUSHER: Tritik Krush

Krush is a great bitcrusher for adding grit to sounds, with filter and modulation section included.

REVERB: Teufelsberg Reverb (convo)

Teufelsberg  (German for Devil’s Mountain) is a man-made hill in Berlin, Germany, in the Grunewald locality of former West Berlin. It rises about 80 metres (260 ft) above the surrounding Teltow plateau and 120.1 metres (394 ft) above the sea level, in the north of Berlin’s Grunewald Forest. It was named after the Teufelssee (i.e. Devil’s lake) in its southerly vicinity. The hill is made of rubble, and covers an under-construction Nazi military-technical college (Wehrtechnische Fakultät). During the Cold War, there was a U.S. listening station on the hill, Field Station Berlin.

Teufelsberg Reverb by Balance Audio Tools includes 6 impulse responses accurately captured at the infamous Berlin surveillance tower. Great unique convolution and instant Das Leben der Anderen vibe

CloudSeed (algo)

CloudSeed by ValdemarOrn is a great free alternative to Valhalla Shimmer and Eventide Blackhole – so no realistic spaces here, only 80s style lushness.

FILTER: Atlantis Filter Delay

Jeremy Evers’ Atlantis Filter Delay is capable of some unique results.

GATE: A1TriggerGate

A1TriggerGate is a ‘Sequenced Gate’ plugin to chop up any incoming audio signal. It is a well known effect in electronic music and sometimes also known as ‘Trance Gate’ effect.+

A1TriggerGate is a powerful gate plugin, capable of creating great loops and grooves and can also work as a simple gating plugin.

STEP 1: SELECTING THE RIGHT SOUNDSOURCE

As always, selecting the right soundsource is the most important step – it’s all about the sound. There are plenty of percussive soundsources in Omnisphere that can be used to create impacts, but this time I’ll use one of my favorite features in Omni 2 – sample import.

Two samples that I’m going to use are:

1.) Simple noise oscillator in Omnisphere 2 for Layer A, which by itself sounds like this:

2.) Simple electronic kick with high hat, made with Cubase’s bundled Groove Agent ONE for Layer B. Any similar samples will work great.

STEP 2: MODIFYING THE LAYERS

First thing to do is to transpose Layer A with Noise 12 semitones down. Impacts are all about punch, rumble and low-end. Then, amp envelope with nice duration and release will provide spacious decay. Since impacts don’t need too much of a high-end info, Omnisphere filters do a great job with sculpting the sound further. For this type of sound design, LPF Juicy filters in Omnisphere are my favorite and in this instance I used the LPF Juicy 48db filter for both layers. Layer page now looks like this:

Next, adding Harmonia will fatten the sound and make it much more punchy:

Next, for Layer B I’m importing the electro kick + high hat sample I recorded with Groove Agent ONE via User Audio feature. For more lower rumble kind of sound, you can pitch it down -12 semitones too, but I left it as it is to have more frequency range. Filter and amp envelope treatment is similar to Layer A and you can adjust filter cutoff to taste. Also, Omnisphere’s waveshaper works great to adding a bit more grit and bite. Layer B page:

Here’s how it sounds without any added FX:

STEP 3: USING THE EFFECTS

Effects are crucial for trailer sound, so the last step is to add effect to our impact. EQ and compression for punch, tape saturation and finally reverb (plate with nice, long tail) are needed to make this patch production-ready.

Final result is here:

STEP 1: SELECTING THE RIGHT SOUNDSOURCE

Currently, Omnisphere 2 boasts 4,879 soundsources, so it can take a while to find the right soundsource. Texture soundsources work great for this type of sound design, so I’ll use one of the textures for the first layer and simple noise waveform for another. Trailer music is (usually) all about epicness, loudness and energy, so already aggressive sounds are more than fitting. I’ve picked simple noise waveform for layer A and the Shredder soundsource for layer B. Noise layer is transposed down 12 semitones to add a bit of richness and depth.

STEP 2: USING LFO TO CONTROL THE PITCH, TONE AND LENGTH OF THE RISER

Omnisphere 2’s LFO is a great tool for creating pulses and controlling other parameters, and here it’s used to control the pitch, filter cutoff and duration of our riser. I’ve set it to 4X (4 bars) with reverse saw LFO shape and SYNC turned on, but it’s easily adjustable to be longer or shorter. Then set the LFO1 to modulate cutoff, amplitude and pitch (coarse).

STEP 3: USING THE EFFECTS

Effects are essential for making the sounds production-ready, and key ingredients are EQ, compression and reverb. Omnisphere 2 has a great suite of effects that would be great as a standalone plugin as well.

For EQ, Studio EQ is a good choice. Typical trailer track will have a lot of stuff going on in the low end (bass pulses, drones, impacts, booms, basses and celli etc.), so it’s good to start with a 100 Hz HPF filter. Also, a slight boost on top is great to make the riser cut through a bit clearly.

Pro-Verb is a fine choice for reverb, and either plate or hall presets shall do well. Here I’ve picked a hall preset with 25 ms of predelay. Dryness/wetness is a personal choice, so adjust to taste – here’s a reverb insert with just 10% wet mix to add a bit of space.

For compression, I find that I usually go to Precision Compressor – it’s transparent and best sounding compressor in Omnisphere 2 in my opinion. To add more punch, Precision Compressor’s input gain can be modulated with LFO1 as well, so it becomes more punchier and louder over time.

Final result is here: