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Insomnia sound


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I would have searched the forum, but alas, it is disabled.

 

Just watched Faithless play Insomnia live on youtube. Quite clearly playing the melody on Triton Studio. Is it a preset, or has anyone else been able to emulate it accurately using onboard sounds. If so, anyone willing to let me know how.

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There was an interview to Faithless in a Future Music magazine issue a few years back - I remember that they said they used an edited version of a "clavichord" patch on a Roland JD-990 to obtain the original sound on the song.

 

Nowadays, many keyboards have an "Insomnia", "Techno Pizzicato" or similar sound on board - the "Techno" expansion board on the Roland SR-JV80-series expansion boards is a good example: 185 Sleepless

 

It's probably possible to obtain something similar by combining a pizzicato string sample with a more synthetic, metallic sound, and adding a generous dose of reverb

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Its really easy to make that sounds - just find a nice ballsey perc organ type preset as a starting point, EQ it to taste, the rest is reverb and hard compression. Maybe layer a little synth into it, but carefully tuning a reverb box should do it.

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There was an interview to Faithless in a Future Music magazine issue

I have that issue. Can scan it if someone wants it. I remember in all pictures, Rollo is just staring at the PC screen .... (even editor complained). Offtopic: do you remember Felix? I think that was Rollo's best sounding production ever.

 

 

BTW Paolo i just got Vampiros Lesbos. I hope it is a good movie. Because if it isn't.... :mad::lol:

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All the Roland Synthesizers up from the JD Series (JD/JV/XV) have a sample in their rom named Pizzicato, which is the basic waveform of the Insomnia Lead. Just put heavy reverb on it and there you go.

 

Wrong. All the Roland Synthesizers from the D-50 series have a Pizzicato. Time list goes like this:

 

D-50 -> D-70 -> JV-80 -> JD-990 -> Super JV ... etc.

 

 

:cool:

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"Program" called "Insomnia" on numerous Yamaha synth, including my own EX5, has nothing to do with the original sound. But, it's not hard to get it very close, with a little bit of programming.

 

Earlier Faithless production sounded better to me. I hear a lot of Novation Supernova sounds in newer hits. Too much actually.

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Wrong. All the Roland Synthesizers from the D-50 series have a Pizzicato. Time list goes like this:


D-50 -> D-70 -> JV-80 ->
JD-990
-> Super JV ... etc.




:cool:

 

Right! :thu:

 

but in this case, the threadstarter was looking for exactly this sound, and i think the pizzicato-sample in D50/70 is a bit different from the later JD + JV Series. Wrong again? ;-)

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but in this case, the threadstarter was looking for exactly this sound, and i think the pizzicato-sample in D50/70 is a bit different from the later JD + JV Series. Wrong again? ;-)

Well we can check it out. I got the whole line at home:

D-50 -> D-70 -> JV-1000 -> JD-990

 

:lol:

 

If you win, i send you beer or post more keyboard chicks pics in p-dude thread.

 

Cheers! :thu:

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Well we can check it out. I got the whole line at home:

D-50 -> D-70 -> JV-1000 -> JD-990


:lol:

If you win, i send you beer or post more keyboard chicks pics in p-dude thread.


Cheers!
:thu:

 

 

Alrighty then! Looking forward for a fresh cooled beer, it`s 36 Degrees Celsius over here :-D

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Alrighty then! Looking forward for a fresh cooled beer, it`s 36 Degrees Celsius over here :-D

Tomasso, i'm on the right side of Adriatic sea - so i know how hot it is. ;) And this is just the beginning. The whole week will be -> hell. So run to the sea my friend. I just did that last week, currently i'm home, but running back next week and staying there for a while (it's just 2 hours drive...).

 

Haven't checked D-70 Pizz waveform yet - i've spent whole day sleeping. :bor:

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  • 2 years later...
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"Program" called "Insomnia" on numerous Yamaha synth, including my own EX5, has nothing to do with the original sound. But, it's not hard to get it very close, with a little bit of programming.

 

 

Hi,

 

Could you please give some hints about how to program that infamous Faithless pizzicato on the EX5 (besides my EX5 I also own a Roland synth with a SR-JV Techno expansion board, so I could use the Roland 'Sleepless' preset, but I'm very interested in learning how to obtain that sound on my EX) ?

 

Tks.

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If you own it, all you have to do is switch the separate Tones on/off and recreate them separately as Elements on the EX5. Simply a matter of matching volume envelopes and the samples used.

Well, the problem starts with what wave to start with: there's no pizzicato sample in the EX5 ROM :confused:

I tried with an organ percussion wave, added reverb and compression, but the result was less than convincing...

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Let me clarify a few things

 

- Yup, the "Insomnia" patch on the Yamahas has nothing to do with the Faithless sound; the Yamaha Insomnia is an "SC" (Synth Comping) patch - (quite cool in its own right)

 

- I think the sound in the Faithless song came from the Roland JD-990's "Pizza Hutt" patch

 

- The "Pizza Hutt" patch seems simple, but in reality is a bit involved and utilizes four tones: three using the waveform No. 85 Pizz, and one utilizing the No. 125 Harp 1 waveform. On the Harp 1 waveform there is a Low Pass Filter with the cutoff frequency set at 54 out of 100 (half way), while the other three have the filter open but they are set at different volume levels, and the Pizz tones 3 and 4 are panned L and R. The mix goes through an Enhancer and a Hall 3 reverb and there are many other tweaks with panning and the amp envelopes. To emulate it well, you really have to analyze it carefully on the original machine (the JD-990) and reproduce it on the Yamaha using four elements.

 

- Unfortunately I'm afraid the EX5R does not have a harp waveform either, in its ROM

 

- To emulate the Pizza Hut patch on the EX5R you'd need a string pizzicato sample (to emulate the Pizz waveform) and a harp sample (to emulate the Harp 1)

 

- Missing those two samples in ROM, you'll have to improvise

 

- You could try using a waveform similar to pizz and harp, perhaps among the acoustic guitars

 

- basically the only way you can do it, is to get a JD-990 (cheap on eBay these days), get a few cups of coffee on a Saturday morning, sit down at your EX5 and drive the JD via MIDI out, and do a lot of stare-and-compare.

 

- I for one could give you a summary of all the settings of the Pizza Hutt patch, but it wouldn't help you much if you can't hear the single tones and how they are programmed

 

- Option B: you can sample the JD-990 Pizz and Harp 1 waveforms, and load them on the EX5, but you'll still have to analyze the original patch

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