Pad Sound in Streets of Philadelphia?

solitud · Post by **solitud** » Fri Oct 08, 2010 9:46 pm

Hi,
since a long time I am looking for the ultimate string and pad synth. I discussed several keyboards with a friend of mine, and he asked me about the perfect string sound in a song. I know some people will laugh about me, but I think Bruce Springsteens "Streets of Philadelphia" comes pretty close to the sound I like to achieve.
It´s so basic, full and warm, without any modulation gimmicks, I love it.
Now the question:
What do you think, which synth is involved in this song?
Any other recommendations for a great string and pad synth are also highly appreciated.
I prefer hardware analog before hardware digital before plugins, but I try to stay open minded.
Thanks, solitud

Juno6 · Post by **Juno6** » Sun Oct 10, 2010 5:55 am

IIRC it was a Yamaha CS80. Bruce had several. But I can´t proof that at the moment.

Alex E · Post by **Alex E** » Sun Oct 10, 2010 6:04 am

I think it was a CS80 too. Someone asked this a very long time ago here and that's what I heard.

solitud · Post by **solitud** » Mon Oct 11, 2010 12:43 am

Hey, thanks for your replies. Unfortunatley it´s not the answer I liked to hear, because the CS80 is way out of my pricerange, besides it´s so rare I never saw one which I could buy ...
Leads me to the next question: what do you think comes close to this sound? My current synths I use for pad sounds are the PolyEvolver (4 voices

) and an Matrix 6 I am not complete satisfied with. Would be an OB-8 an improvement or an Andromeda?
Somebody told me it´s not so much the synth that matters, but more the chorus effect. What do you think about this opinion?
Thanks, solitud

Post by **blavatsky** » Tue Oct 12, 2010 11:43 pm

this may be way off (not listening to song, just imagining in head

) but an older Roland analog (JX3p/JX8p) might fit the bill. Very warm and lush analog strings, with a great built in chorus.

Sir Nose · Post by **Sir Nose** » Wed Oct 13, 2010 7:54 pm

Check out the sythoma elkorus. This is what I was looking into to help produce analog pads and strings.

http://www.synthoma.net/p/index.php?opt ... 42&lang=es

solitud · Post by **solitud** » Thu Oct 14, 2010 12:09 am

Sir Nose wrote:Check out the sythoma elkorus.

Hey, this unit looks and sounds great. Do you bought it?
It´s seems to be more useful for the solina kind of sound, but definitely cool.
If I only could find any shop who has it in stock ...

solitud · Post by **solitud** » Fri Oct 22, 2010 12:39 am

I just ordered an Elkorus. I am excited. Thanks Sir Nose for the tip!

depulse · Post by **depulse** » Fri Oct 22, 2010 8:46 pm

Try getting hold of a MKS70, it should be bale to provide you with similar pad sounds.

LesDeuxLoveOrchestra · Post by **LesDeuxLoveOrchestra** » Sat Oct 23, 2010 5:49 pm

hey solitud

you should be able to get pretty close to the sound with what you have. try opening a string sound on the virus and rolling off the top end with the filter. a bit of chorus, kind of slow and not too much.

i only listened quick to the track on youtube, but to me the sound is more like what others have said, maybe mks-70, or even maybe a korg 01w or m1.

doesn't really have the cs-80 sound to me, but i'm sure a cs-80 could make that sound.

anyway to me it sounds like rolled off string pad.

in the second verse, when the higher line is added to the pad, that sounds like the filter is opened up a little more. (only on the high part)

could be wrong. these are my first impressions. i love these kind of pads, too.

another great one is peter gabriel's mercy street. plus, of course, the twin peaks soundtrack. check it out.

good luck.

Micke · Post by **Micke** » Sat Oct 23, 2010 7:08 pm

LesDeuxLoveOrchestra wrote:
another great one is peter gabriel's mercy street. plus, of course, the twin peaks soundtrack. check it out.

I was told by Kinny Landrum (who played the keys on "Twin Peaks") that he used both a D-550 String sound and a MKS-70 of his own devising to do the string patches. He was also using a Prophet T8 as master keyboard, and sometimes used it for string patches, but not much.

b3groover · Post by **b3groover** » Sat Oct 23, 2010 9:51 pm

I always assumed the pad sound on Mercy Street was from the Prophet 5.

solitud · Post by **solitud** » Sat Oct 23, 2010 11:56 pm

LesDeuxLoveOrchestra wrote: you should be able to get pretty close to the sound with what you have. try opening a string sound on the virus and rolling off the top end with the filter. a bit of chorus, kind of slow and not too much.

Hey, I hope to get similar results with my existing gear. Buying synths is fun, but I get a mayor space problem and also my faith in my programming capabilities is at stake.
I get the best results so far with the poly evolver, perhaps I will try more with the virus because of its better polyphony. And wait for the elkorus, of course ...

LesDeuxLoveOrchestra wrote: i only listened quick to the track on youtube, but to me the sound is more like what others have said, maybe mks-70, or even maybe a korg 01w or m1.

You think it could be a rompler?

LesDeuxLoveOrchestra wrote: another great one is peter gabriel's mercy street. plus, of course, the twin peaks soundtrack. check it out.

Besides streets of philadelphia, the twin peaks pad is exactly what I am looking for! We share the same taste,
thanks solitud

solitud · Post by **solitud** » Sun Oct 24, 2010 12:04 am

Micke wrote: I was told by Kinny Landrum (who played the keys on "Twin Peaks") that he used both a D-550 String sound and a MKS-70 of his own devising to do the string patches. He was also using a Prophet T8 as master keyboard, and sometimes used it for string patches, but not much.

A D550? Wow, I never was interested in this thing. I thought it was a lifeless digital thing from the 80s. Perhaps I should check it up.
I had a MKS 50 unit for some years but wasn´t impressed with it. Is the MKS 70 so much better?
solitud

SynthatticCA · Post by **SynthatticCA** » Mon Nov 01, 2010 12:22 pm

solitud wrote:
Micke wrote:
A D550? Wow, I never was interested in this thing. I thought it was a lifeless digital thing from the 80s. Perhaps I should check it up.
I had a MKS 50 unit for some years but wasn´t impressed with it. Is the MKS 70 so much better?
solitud

D550 is in no way lifeless. Amazing sound even today, though a bit limited. Learn to program it and it'll never leave your arsenal.

Pad Sound in Streets of Philadelphia?

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