Synth Help

siin82

siin82

Inspired
Nine months ago, I sold over 20 effects, two amp heads and some other stuff and bought the Axe Fx III. The sounds I get now are just as good if not better than what I had before. However, there is one sound that I cannot seem to get with my Axe Fx - the Mothership II synth pedal from Pigtronix. Here's a link to the manual - https://www.pigtronix.com/uploads/pigtronix/2020/11/MS2_Manual.pdf

Here's some info:

1. Three recorded sounds that I made with the Mothership II (which I no longer own)
https://krogi5.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Mothership1.wav
https://krogi5.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Mothership2.wav
https://krogi5.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Mothership3.wav

2. One recording of a synth preset with my Axe Fx
https://krogi5.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/AxeFxSynth_1.wav

Preset used for synth recording is attached (see scene 6 - the whole preset has synth sounds, but that's the one I used in the recording). To me, the Axe Fx synth sound sounds mostly like the pitch block (for the most part) and not very "synthy". I played around plenty and just can't get that synthy sound.

I've looked at synth presets from others including @yek and @simeon (which are great, btw!). But have not heard, nor can I recreate, a sound that is anything like the Mothership II.

Some might say why am I chasing that tone...answer is simple: I like it.

Appreciate any help.
 

Attachments

  • Synth.syx
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i had a look at your preset and you haven't included a ring mod, which the pedal uses either on the vco, or on the dry signal.
i can't tell if your clips are recorded into an amp or cab. i think they might be, in which case it's a bit more difficult to tell what the pedal is doing.
it's all possible, the vco...the ring mod...the sub oscillator...the routing...but the axe is inherently more stable than the pedal (it sounds like). the pedal is pretty "wonky" and i think that adds to it's character.
it should be possible to get in the ballpark if you include the ring mod, but i don't think you'll be able to reproduce the idiosyncrasies of the pedal.
start with all the elements of the pedal and connect them up so the signal flows in the same way and tweak from there.
 
simeon said:
i had a look at your preset and you haven't included a ring mod, which the pedal uses either on the vco, or on the dry signal.
i can't tell if your clips are recorded into an amp or cab. i think they might be, in which case it's a bit more difficult to tell what the pedal is doing.
it's all possible, the vco...the ring mod...the sub oscillator...the routing...but the axe is inherently more stable than the pedal (it sounds like). the pedal is pretty "wonky" and i think that adds to it's character.
it should be possible to get in the ballpark if you include the ring mod, but i don't think you'll be able to reproduce the idiosyncrasies of the pedal.
start with all the elements of the pedal and connect them up so the signal flows in the same way and tweak from there.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply! You're definitely right in that the Mothership II is wonky...and that is part of the appeal. You definitely need to be careful how you use it or it can sound horrible.

I'll add the ring modulator and play around. Question: Where do I control the vco? That seems to be something I'm missing.

Appreciate the help from someone who really knows this stuff (you're presets are awesome!).
 
a vco in the axe would just be one of the synth voices. the mothership has two - one is a triangle and the other is a square wave. you can use one at a time. the axe has two synth blocks with 3 voices each that can all be used simultaneously, but if you want authenticity, just use two of the voices. set one to triangle or square and set the second one to sawtooth, use the filter to take off some top end and transpose it down 2 octaves to recreate the sub voice that's in the mothership (you can do both in the synth block itself, no need to use extra blocks). i don't think the sub voice runs through the ring mod, so best to use a second synth block in parallel.
let me know if you need more help. i would say that the mothership has it's own vibe going on and the axe is quite different. you may find you're disappointed in trying to recreate it. if you are, you can either buy another mothership, or create something new (and maybe better) in the axe.
 
simeon said:
a vco in the axe would just be one of the synth voices. the mothership has two - one is a triangle and the other is a square wave. you can use one at a time. the axe has two synth blocks with 3 voices each that can all be used simultaneously, but if you want authenticity, just use two of the voices. set one to triangle or square and set the second one to sawtooth, use the filter to take off some top end and transpose it down 2 octaves to recreate the sub voice that's in the mothership (you can do both in the synth block itself, no need to use extra blocks). i don't think the sub voice runs through the ring mod, so best to use a second synth block in parallel.
let me know if you need more help. i would say that the mothership has it's own vibe going on and the axe is quite different. you may find you're disappointed in trying to recreate it. if you are, you can either buy another mothership, or create something new (and maybe better) in the axe.
Click to expand...
Got it...I appreciate the guidance. Gives me a lot to go on with my playing around.

I think you're spot on with your last few sentences - I'll see if I can find something I'm happy with using the Axe Fx...but it probably won't be exactly the same.
 
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