PreSonus Blog

Learn how StereoSpread and Banmier Generate Unique Synth Tones in Studio One

I thought you should know about a great seminar coming up at the EMErgence: Electronic Music Experience. The event is a joint effort by LEAF and the Bob Moog Foundation, and takes place on October 22-24 in Asheville, NC, and includes hands-on activities, workshops and lectures from local, professional electronic musicians and producers. James from STEREOSPREAD is collaborating with Caden of Banmier on a presentation called “Junkyard Beats: Creating Music with Found Sounds.” More info can be found at theleaf.org.
“The process of taking junkyard sounds and evolving them into synth sounds is a process I developed when I was in the 9th grade and have continued to develop,” Caden says. “Much of my music features sounds that began their life as breaking glass and banging pressure vessels, but you

would never know it because it just sounds like some kind or organic synth sound. When I first started experimenting in electronic music, I did not have the money or resources to purchase synthesizers, but I understood that the basics of most synthesis involved creating a waveform using oscillators and then modulating it. I set out going to junk yards and recording breaking or bashing things together for my “donor” waveforms. I spent a lot of time at the junk yard attracting a lot of attention and curious onlookers—people who mainly just wanted to know what the hell I was doing!”

“Using Sample One, I zoom in on an interesting looking section of my recording and loop it, creating a buzz. Then I tune the sample by tweaking the tune knob, measuring the results with a tuner. Once the sample is in tune, I add effects and adjust the ADSR to tailor the sound. The results can be quite surprising and wonderful. Best of all it’s a totally custom sound that is the result of a really fun creative process.”

James shares a bit about his workflow in Studio One as well:

“Working in Studio One has enabled me to create better than before, I can literally take a single word of Sara’s vocal track—and create a pad using Sample One from the same sound, or even create a bass! We’ve done this on so many of our songs it’s actually pretty funny; sometimes people are like ‘how did you get that low bass sub-it’s so clean!’  They never realize or even believe me when I say it’s based around Sara’s vocal. Same with some of our drums, I’ve literally taken the sound of our dogs barking. compressed them in pitch/tempo then thrown into Sample One and created hits which to use as kicks, snares, etc.”

If you want to get your hands a little rusty, and learn how to turn a radiator into a cello, then this seminar is for you!

James is a member of STEREOSPREAD and has produced and remixed for many projects including Haap,  Ask You in Gray, Ilima and The Sexbots, Ummagma, Thy Fearful Symmetry, Diffuzion, Venn Diagram, Jadugara, King George VIII, and Between the Now.

Banmier is the creative project of Waynesville, NC, where he currently lives and operates a home studio. Caden has played drum set, marching snare, hand drums and auxiliary percussion in many music settings including symphonic band, marching band, as well as several metal and funk groups. Caden’s venture into electronic music was brought about by the need to express musical thoughts that were more complex and melodic than drum beats.


You can hear some of Banmier and Stereospread’s sonic trickery in the collaboration embedded below!