Ambient Drone Swell FX
Sounds like: A wide, slow-building wash of sound that rises and dissolves.
Sound type: fx · Genre: Ambient, Experimental · Style: slow atmospheric swell used as a section-transition texture
A slow-building, wide, atmospheric swell — related to Ambient Drone Bass and Wide Analog Drift Pad but pitched and effected specifically as a transitional texture rather than a foundational element.
Open this patch in the interactive Patchpad
Digitone II
Exact match: Slow, wide, atmospheric swell
SYN page 1
- ALGO: 3
- RATIO C: 1.00
- RATIO B: 1.00
- DTUN: 12
- MIX: -64
SYN page 2 · Operators A & B
FLTR page 1 · Multi-mode
- FREQ: 57
- RESO: 13
- TYPE: 0 (LP)
- ENV: 38
- ATK: 115
AMP page
- ATK: 110
- DEC: 60
- SUS: 102
- REL: 110
- MODE: ADSR
FX page
ALGO 3 with LEV (A) and LEV (B) at 0 gives plain carriers; MIX -64 selects C plus B2, and DTUN (which offsets only operators A and B2, and stays a very slight offset below about 64) detunes B2 against C for a slow beat. FLTR page 1's own ATK is set long to match the AMP page's attack, so the filter opens in step with the volume swell. FX page's REV is only this track's send level into the shared pattern reverb -- the reverb's own decay time lives on the separate FX/mixer screen, not per-track.
Syntakt
Exact match: Slow, wide, atmospheric swell
SYN — SY RAW
- WAV1: Triangle
- WAV2: Triangle
- TUNE: 0
- DET: 70
- LEV2: 100
FLTR PAGE 1
- FREQ: 57
- RESO: 13
- TYPE: Lowpass
- ENV: 38
AMP PAGE 1
- ATK: 110
- DEC: 60
- SUS: 102
- REL: 110
- REV: 80
AMP PAGE 2
SY RAW's own DET parameter detunes its two waveform oscillators against each other, giving the detuned-pair character directly rather than needing a second track. AMP PAGE 2's MODE must be ADSR (the default for SY machines, but drum machines default to AHD), for SUS/REL on AMP PAGE 1 to take effect at all -- easy to miss when a patch depends entirely on a long sustain like this one.
Novation Summit
Exact match: Slow, wide, atmospheric swell
OSCILLATOR 1
OSCILLATOR 2
- WAVE: Sawtooth
- RANGE: 8'
- FINE: +12 cents
MIXER
FILTER
- SHAPE: LP
- SLOPE: 12dB
- FREQUENCY: 57
- RESONANCE: 13
- SOURCE: Amp Env
- ENV DEPTH: 38
AMP ENVELOPE
- ATTACK: 110
- DECAY: 60
- SUSTAIN: 102
- RELEASE: 110
EFFECTS
- REVERB TIME: 100
- REVERB LEVEL: 90
- REVERB SIZE: 3 (largest)
Oscillator 2's FINE nudged to +12 cents against Oscillator 1's default gives the audible detuned-pair width. FILTER's SOURCE + ENV DEPTH route the Amp Envelope into cutoff too -- the same long attack shapes both loudness and brightness together.
Arturia MiniFreak
Exact match: Slow, wide, atmospheric swell
OSCILLATOR
- TYPE: SuperWave
- WAVE (Waveform): Sawtooth
- TIMBRE (Detune): 60
- SHAPE (Volume of copies): 60
- VOLUME: 100
ANALOG FILTER
- TYPE: Low Pass
- CUTOFF: 45
- RESONANCE: 10
- ENV/VELO: 30
ENVELOPE
- ATTACK: 85
- DECAY: 20
- SUSTAIN: 80
- RELEASE: 85
LFO
- SELECT/EDIT: LFO 2
- WAVE/LOAD: Tri
- RATE/TRIG: 0.05 Hz
DIGITAL EFFECTS · FX1
- TYPE: Reverb (Hall)
- TIME (Decay): 85
- INTENSITY (Damping): 30
- AMOUNT (Dry/Wet): 40
MODULATION MATRIX
- Source (row): LFO 2
- Destination (column): Cutoff
- Amount: +20
Osc 1 is SuperWave, the stacked-detuned-copies engine: Detune (60) sets the spread between the copies and the third knob (60) sets the copies' level against the original. LFO 2 runs a Tri wave at 0.05 Hz. Mod Matrix: the LFO 2 row to the Cutoff column at +20. Values are on MiniFreak's native 0-100 scale.
Dreadbox Typhon
Approximation: Shorter maximum swell time
FRONT PANEL
- WAVE: ~11 o'clock (VCO1 saw blended with plain VCO2, no FM)
- TUNE 2: ~1-2 o'clock (VCO2 detuned wide from VCO1)
- CUTOFF: ~11 o'clock
- RESON: ~8-9 o'clock (low)
- EG LEVEL: ~9 o'clock (light)
- FILTER TIME: ~10-11 o'clock (toward the slow end)
- AMP TIME: ~10-11 o'clock (toward the slow end)
- VOLUME: ~12 o'clock
FILTER ADSR
- ATTACK: 80
- DECAY: 50
- SUSTAIN: 90
- RELEASE: 80
AMP ADSR
- ATTACK: 80
- DECAY: 40
- SUSTAIN: 90
- RELEASE: 80
FX3
- TYPE: Large Reverb
- PRE: 10
- SIZE: 90
- FEED: 80
- DAMP: 20
- MIX: 50
FILTER TIME/AMP TIME only multiply the ADSR pages' overall speed (10x slower to 6x faster) rather than adding true multi-second range, so expect a shorter swell than on most synths even with both knobs turned fully toward the slow end. FX3's Large Reverb is a real onboard module -- pushed high here so the swell dissolves into a wash.
ASM Hydrasynth Desktop
Exact match: Slow, wide, atmospheric swell
OSCILLATOR 1
- MODE: Single
- WAVE: Saw
- SEMI: 0
- CENTS: 0
- KEYTRACK: 100%
OSCILLATOR 2
- MODE: Single
- WAVE: Saw
- SEMI: 0
- CENTS: +8
- KEYTRACK: 100%
MIXER
- OSC 1 LEVEL: 100.0
- OSC 2 LEVEL: 100.0
- OSC 1/2 FILTER ROUTING: 100:0 (Filter 1 only)
- FILTER ROUTE: Series
FILTER 1
- TYPE: LP Ldr12
- CUTOFF: 57
- RESONANCE: 13
- ENV 1 AMOUNT: 38
- KEYTRACK: 0%
ENVELOPE 2
- DELAY: 0 ms
- ATTACK: 3000 ms
- HOLD: 0 ms
- DECAY: 500 ms
- SUSTAIN: 102.0
- RELEASE: 3000 ms
REVERB
- TYPE: Hall
- PREDELAY: 20 ms
- TIME: 6 s
- TONE: 0
- HI DAMP: 20.0
- LO DAMP: 40.0
- DRY/WET: 60%
Osc 2's CENTS at +8 against Osc 1's 0 gives the detuned-pair width. ENVELOPE 2 (pre-wired to the Amp) carries the long multi-second attack/release directly, since Hydrasynth's envelope times are genuine ms values rather than a 0-127 abstraction.
Compared with other synths: REVERB is a real always-on module here, separate from Pre/Post-FX, pushed high to do the same washed-out work as the other synths' reverb sends.
How the synths compare
Essentially Wide Analog Drift Pad and Ambient Drone Bass's shared DNA repurposed as a transitional FX element — reverb mix pushed further for a more washed, less 'played' quality.
Patchpad is a free reference of drum patterns and synth patches written for real hardware: Digitakt II, Digitone II, Syntakt, Novation Summit, Arturia MiniFreak, Dreadbox Typhon and ASM Hydrasynth Desktop.