ABSTRACT
The more common use of harmony is to supply the strings and pads. Although many of the sounds in dance music will employ an immediate attack stage on the amplitude envelope, strings and pads will typically use a slower attack. A favorite technique to demonstrate this is the gate/pumping pad. This consists of an evolving, shifting pad that is played as one long progressive note throughout the record. A noise gate is inserted on the pads channels with a side-chain signal used to trigger the noise gate. Provided the side-chain signal is rhythmical; it will rhythmically pulse the pad. This can also be accomplished through third-party plug-ins such as Xfer LFO Tool. Perhaps the most straightforward route for pad and strings in artists' mix is to use Spectrasonics’ Ommisphere. Spectrasonics Omnisphere creates the basic premise of any pad or string, to continuously play until the note is released.
