Boards of Canada Swell Pad

Sounds like: A slow, mellotron-like wash that fades in with no attack and lingers.

Sound type: pad · Genre: IDM, Ambient, Downtempo · Style: Boards of Canada-style slow, mellotron-like melancholic swell

A slow, mellotron-like swell pad with no attack transient — a soft, chorused wash that fades in and lingers, built entirely from long envelope stages rather than any dramatic modulation.

Open this patch in the interactive Patchpad

Digitone II

Exact match: Slow swell with no attack transient

SYN page 1

• ALGO: 1
• RATIO C: 1.00
• MIX: -64

SYN page 2 · Operators A & B

• LEV (A): 0
• LEV (B): 0

FLTR page 1 · Multi-mode

• FREQ: 45
• RESO: 10
• TYPE: 0 (LP)
• ATK: 100
• DEC: 50
• SUS: 110

AMP page

• ATK: 110
• DEC: 60
• SUS: 120
• REL: 120
• MODE: ADSR

FX page

• CHR: 50

Both FLTR and AMP get very long attacks (100/110 of 0-127) — even slower than a swelling bass patch, since a pad is meant to be held rather than played rhythmically. FX page Chorus adds the soft, slightly wavering mellotron-like character. ALGO 1 routes operator A (and B) into carrier C, so LEV (A) and LEV (B) are set to 0 on SYN page 2 and MIX is -64 (the X output, C only): that leaves C a plain, unmodulated carrier.

Syntakt

Exact match: Slow swell with no attack transient

SYN — SY RAW

• WAV1: Triangle
• TUNE: 64

FLTR PAGE 1

• FREQ: 45
• RESO: 10
• TYPE: Lowpass
• ATK: 100
• DEC: 50
• SUS: 110

AMP PAGE 1

• ATK: 110
• DEC: 60
• SUS: 120
• REL: 120

AMP PAGE 2

• MODE: ADSR

AMP PAGE 2's MODE must be ADSR (the default for SY machines, but drum machines default to AHD), or the long SUS value has no sustain phase to hold onto.

Novation Summit

Exact match: Slow swell with no attack transient

OSCILLATOR 1

• WAVE: Triangle
• RANGE: 8'

FILTER

• SHAPE: LP
• FREQUENCY: 45
• RESONANCE: 10
• SOURCE: Mod Env 1
• ENV DEPTH: 20

MOD ENVELOPE 1

• ATTACK: 100
• DECAY: 50
• SUSTAIN: 110
• RELEASE: 120

AMP ENVELOPE

• ATTACK: 110
• DECAY: 60
• SUSTAIN: 120
• RELEASE: 120

EFFECTS

• CHORUS DEPTH: 50
• CHORUS RATE: 15

Both independent envelopes stretched long together so the brightening and loudening swell arrive in step, not one lagging the other.

Arturia MiniFreak

Exact match: Slow swell with no attack transient

OSCILLATOR · Osc 1

• TYPE: BasicWaves
• WAVE (Morph): 30 (between square and sawtooth)
• TIMBRE (Sym: pulse width): 50
• SHAPE (Sub): 0
• VOLUME: 100

ANALOG FILTER

• TYPE: Low Pass
• CUTOFF: 45
• RESONANCE: 10

ENVELOPE

• ATTACK: 100
• DECAY: 50
• SUSTAIN: 100
• RELEASE: 95

DIGITAL EFFECTS · FX1

• TYPE: Chorus
• INTENSITY: 50
• AMOUNT: 30

Osc 1 is BasicWaves with Morph at 30 (between square and sawtooth): the Morph knob runs from a square (0) through a sawtooth (50) to a double sawtooth an octave up (100), Sym only changes the pulse width below 50, and Sub adds a sine an octave down (0 here). ATTACK is pinned near the top of MiniFreak's 0-100 scale for the slowest possible swell the hardware allows. Values are on MiniFreak's native 0-100 scale.

Dreadbox Typhon

Exact match: Slow swell with no attack transient

FRONT PANEL

• WAVE: ~8 o'clock (VCO1 triangle, VCO2 off)
• CUTOFF: ~9 o'clock (~45%)
• RESON: ~7 o'clock (~10%)
• FILTER TIME: ~9 o'clock (slow)
• AMP TIME: ~9 o'clock (slow)

FILTER ADSR

• ATTACK: 100
• DECAY: 50
• SUSTAIN: 100
• RELEASE: 100

AMP ADSR

• ATTACK: 100
• DECAY: 60
• SUSTAIN: 100
• RELEASE: 100

FX2

• TYPE: Chorus
• DEPTH: 50
• SPD: 15
• WIDTH: 50
• FEED: 15
• MIX: 40

Both FILTER TIME and AMP TIME set slow -- the TIME knobs and the ADSR page values both need to cooperate, or the detailed attack setting plays back faster than intended.

ASM Hydrasynth Desktop

Exact match: Slow swell with no attack transient

OSCILLATOR 1

• MODE: Single
• WAVE: Triangle

FILTER 1

• TYPE: LP Ldr12
• CUTOFF: 45.0
• RESONANCE: 10.0

ENVELOPE 2

• ATTACK: 1500 ms
• DECAY: 600 ms
• SUSTAIN: 120.0
• RELEASE: 1400 ms

POST-FX

• TYPE: Chorus
• RATE: 0.3 Hz
• DEPTH: 50
• DRY/WET: 30%

Compared with other synths: A real 1500ms attack — the longest of any patch in this library so far — for a genuinely slow, deliberate fade-in.

How the synths compare

The longest envelope attack settings used anywhere in this library — every synth's amp (and filter, where independent) attack is pushed to its slowest practical setting. Dreadbox Typhon again needs its FILTER TIME/AMP TIME knobs set slow alongside the detailed ADSR page values, or the real speed ends up faster than the numbers alone suggest.

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.