CLASSIC SOUND DESIGN

The history of sound design is littered with synth and sampling techniques that could transform your sound.

In the rush to fill our hard drives with cutting-edge plugins and music-making tech, it's easy to dismiss the humble roots of sound design. Tape-splicing, rudimentary synthesiser chips and early hardware samplers were all tools of the trade that, while considered primitive by today's standards, all spawned unique sounds that birthed the electronic music we all love.

In this feature, we'll look at four genres of sound generation, and show you ways to incorporate these classic sounds into your tracks by harnessing the spirit of innovation that these synthesis pioneers championed.

First, we'll travel back to the 1960s and take a look at how the BBC Radiophonic Workshop innovators used tape editing, filters and early analogue synthesis to create the sound effects and ambience of Doctor Who, and give you some tips on how these freaky sounds can give today's tunes some retro personality.

Next, we'll jump forward to the Age of Roland - aka the 1980s - and explore some of the classic synthesis techniques used in synthpop and analogue synthesis. Think bouncy bass, lush pads and plucky arpeggios.