With Depeche Mode’s 15th studio album, Memento Mori, out now, we’ve decided to look back at the band’s synth history and have a go at recreating some Mode-like beats, riffs and sequences. We’ll not only wrestle some sounds from our trusty Zebra CM free synth, which you can download right now, but also use an emulation of Depeche Mode’s most widely used synth.
When the band first got together back in 1980, they used cheap analogue synths of the time, including a Kawai 100F, Yamaha CS5 and Moog Prodigy. However, the one synth that has been used more than any other, and across most Depeche albums, is the ARP 2600. This was Mute Records owner Daniel Miller’s (and once owned by Elton John, synth fact fans). It was not only used for synth sounds and sequences from debut album Speak & Spell onwards, but also for creating drum sounds, specifically the kick.
In this tutorial we’ll also look at how you can use an ARP emulation like the ARP 2600 V from Arturia to create some classic Mode sounds and sequences, including that kick drum sound.
It’s important to note that technology was limited in the ’80s, so forget most of the functionality in your DAW as we’re also going to emulate the sequencing back then – an ARP 1601 capable of delivering just 16 steps. So let’s go back in time and engage ‘classic Mode’.
Depeche Mode
Bu hikaye Computer Music dergisinin May 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Computer Music dergisinin May 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Explore Black Salt Audio's cm bundle
In a new series, we're highlighting the best plugins from the CM Plugin Suite V3.0 and showing you how to make the most of them
DH Plugins LFO-EQ-1
Modulating your EQ parameters opens up a multitude of exciting effects. Can this affordable plugin really hit the mark? Jon Musgrave finds out
SSL Module8
Multi-effects are getting more powerful at the expense of ease of use, but Module8 manages both and is therefore pretty gr8, says Andy Jones
Dawesome/Tracktion Myth
Peter V is fast becoming the most ground-breaking plugin developer around. His latest is a synth of mythical proportions, says Andy Jones
Tailored reverbs
Reverb is a great tool, but cleverly thinking about its application can really take your mix to the next level. Here’s how to get tailoring…
Make a spicy lead with GForce Axxess
It's time to turn up the heat and Axxess a searing lead, with a little help from an ultra-cool addition to the plugin suite
Cherry Audio Chroma
If you're after a colourful new synth, Cherry Audio has something that covers the whole spectrum. Roland Schmidt looks through the prism
GForce Software VSM IV
This updated VSM continues to prove that strings are very much the thing! Roland Schmidt swots up on his virtual string theory
KATIE TAVINI
A ubiquitous name in the world of mastering, Katie Tavini’s intuitive senses and aptitude for bringing out the best in a huge array of music has been rightly praised. We were keen to catch up with Katie – fresh from moving her studio into a new setup in Liverpool – to find out more about her acclaimed approach
Make a loop into a track
It's simple to make a killer loop, but how does that become a dancefloor-filling hit? It only takes a few steps to get the process started...