Wall of Detune Texture

Sounds like: A dense, swirling wall of sound that never resolves into a clear pitch.

Sound type: texture · Genre: Ambient, Downtempo · Style: massive, non-tonal detuned wall of sound

A dense, non-tonal mass built purely from heavy unison detune, pushed far further than any chordal pad in this library: the point is not a played chord but an enveloping wall of beating and chorus, closer to a drone cluster than a played instrument voice.

Open this patch in the interactive Patchpad

Digitone II

Exact match: ALGO 3 carriers detuned with DTUN, pushed hard

SYN page 1

• ALGO: 3
• RATIO C: 1.00
• RATIO B: 1.00
• DTUN: 60
• MIX: -64

SYN page 2 · Operators A & B

• LEV (A): 0
• LEV (B): 0

FLTR page 1 · Multi-mode

• FREQ: 45
• RESO: 15
• TYPE: 0 (LP)

AMP page

• ATK: 110
• DEC: 70
• SUS: 90
• REL: 120
• MODE: ADSR

ALGO 3 with DTUN pushed to 60 (far beyond the 8-12 typical of this library's played detune patches) detunes carrier B hard against carrier C, well past a musically 'in tune' beating and into a genuinely dense, non-tonal mass. A very slow AMP envelope (ATK 110, REL 120) reinforces that this is a bed to sit under a mix, not a chord to play. ALGO 3 routes A and B into C, so LEV (A) and LEV (B) are set to 0 on SYN page 2 and MIX is -64 (the X output, C only).

Syntakt

Approximation: Detune needs three layered tracks for a wall this dense

SYN — SY RAW (Track A)

• WAV1: Saw
• TUNE: 40

SYN — SY RAW (Track B)

• WAV1: Saw
• TUNE: 88

SYN — SY RAW (Track C)

• WAV1: Saw
• TUNE: 64

FLTR PAGE 1 (all three tracks)

• FREQ: 45
• RESO: 15
• TYPE: Lowpass

AMP PAGE 1 (all three tracks)

• ATK: 110
• DEC: 70
• SUS: 90
• REL: 120

AMP PAGE 2 (all three tracks)

• MODE: ADSR

Layering three tracks is how to get a genuinely dense detuned mass on Syntakt, since an individual track's own detune options are narrower than a wall like this wants: Track A and Track B are set well sharp and flat of Track C's centre TUNE, all three playing the same note. Balance all three levels equally so no single voice dominates the beating.

Novation Summit

Exact match: Multiple detuned oscillators, pushed far past a normal pad

OSCILLATOR 1

• WAVE: Sawtooth
• RANGE: 8'

OSCILLATOR 2

• WAVE: Sawtooth
• RANGE: 8'
• COARSE: 0
• FINE: +35 cents

OSCILLATOR 3

• WAVE: Sawtooth
• RANGE: 8'
• FINE: -35 cents

MIXER

• Osc 1: 100
• Osc 2: 100
• Osc 3: 100

FILTER

• SHAPE: LP
• FREQUENCY: 45
• RESONANCE: 15

AMP ENVELOPE

• ATTACK: 110
• DECAY: 70
• SUSTAIN: 90
• RELEASE: 120

All three of Summit's oscillators are used and detuned in different directions (Osc 2 sharp, Osc 3 flat, both well past this library's usual 16-cent played-pad detune), for a genuinely dense mass rather than a chorused chord. A very slow AMP envelope makes this a bed, not a played note.

Arturia MiniFreak

Exact match: Two detuned oscillators, pushed far past a normal pad

OSCILLATOR · Osc 1

• TYPE: BasicWaves
• WAVE (Morph): 50 (pure sawtooth)
• VOLUME: 100

OSCILLATOR · Osc 2

• TYPE: BasicWaves
• WAVE (Morph): 50 (pure sawtooth)
• VOLUME: 90

ANALOG FILTER

• TYPE: Low Pass
• CUTOFF: 45
• RESONANCE: 15

ENVELOPE

• ATTACK: 110
• DECAY: 70
• SUSTAIN: 90
• RELEASE: 120

Osc 1 and Osc 2 are both BasicWaves pure sawtooth; detune Osc 2 far sharper of Osc 1 in the global Tune/Detune section than this library's played detune patches use, for a wall rather than a chorused width. Values are on MiniFreak's native 0-100 scale.

Dreadbox Typhon

Approximation: Only two VCOs: less dense than the multi-voice synths

FRONT PANEL

• WAVE: ~2 o'clock (VCO1 saw blended with VCO2 saw)
• TUNE 2: ~4 o'clock, well past centre (pushed hard sharp of VCO1)
• CUTOFF: ~1 o'clock (~45%)
• RESON: ~9 o'clock (~15%, low)
• EG LEVEL: ~9 o'clock (very light)
• AMP TIME: ~9 o'clock (very slow)
• VOLUME: ~12 o'clock

AMP ADSR

• ATTACK: 110
• DECAY: 70
• SUSTAIN: 90
• RELEASE: 120

Typhon only has two VCOs, so it can't build a mass as dense as the three- or four-voice synths in this library; TUNE 2 pushed further than the played detune patches use is the honest limit of what two VCOs can do. Front-panel knobs are physically unmarked, so values above are clock positions.

ASM Hydrasynth Desktop

Exact match: Two detuned oscillators, pushed far past a normal pad

OSCILLATOR 1

• MODE: Single
• WAVE: Saw
• SEMI: 0
• CENTS: 0

OSCILLATOR 2

• MODE: Single
• WAVE: Saw
• SEMI: 0
• CENTS: +35

MIXER

• OSC 1 LEVEL: 90.0
• OSC 2 LEVEL: 90.0

FILTER 1

• TYPE: LP Ldr12
• CUTOFF: 45.0
• RESONANCE: 15.0

ENVELOPE 2

• ATTACK: 110 ms
• DECAY: 1800 ms
• SUSTAIN: 90.0
• RELEASE: 1700 ms

Two true independent oscillators: Osc 2's CENTS pushed to +35 against Osc 1 (well past this library's usual 16-cent played-pad detune) is what makes this a wall rather than a chorused chord.

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