How did the Chemical Brothers make this sound?
 

The song is called Chemical Beats and I have always like the bass/electronic line since I heard it many years ago. I recently saw a live clip of the song and I believe it was coming from a Roland synth but I couldn't make out which model it was. I'm pretty certain this sound can be done on the virus c (but being that I am still learning this amazing synth I haven't figured it out just yet). Here is a link to a clip of the song featuring the electronic sound - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...531763-0890542

Half way down the page are samples - the track is #6
thanks.

I guess the sound is a real TB303 sound with some heavy distortion, just use a 303 patch for the virus and overdrive it someway. Distortion/compression is the key. use external FX,instead of the internal stuff of the virus.

good luck!

I dont think is a TB303. Most synths can make this sound but it sound like an LFO moding the filter. Its a saw wave through a lowpass filter with lots of distortion.

thanks guys. that's the kind of info I was definitely looking for.

Sorry to be stubborn, but that LFO on the filter is made with one of the hands of the 2 bro's. it's being tweaked and recorded at the same time. and of course it's possible to recreate it, but i dare to bet a lot to say this is a real TB.. :wink:

Hey Silver Freakbox, what you said sounds about right in regards to live manipulation of the filter by one of the chems. I have three videos of them playing live and everytime that song comes on, Ed is manually doing something to his keyboard to make this sound. Now the interesting thing is, after your last post I did some research on the 303 and unfortunately, the keyboard that Ed is playing in all 3 vids doesn't look anything like the silver 303. It is a keyboard with Roland written on it, but nothing else to distinguish it (at least from the angle of the vid) I'm still fairly new to synths, but I think he is playing a Roland Juno. Perhaps the Juno has 303 sounds built in?

do you have a link to that video or links to some pictures seing this keyboard?
i think its either the jp8000 or vsynth maybe.

Album came out before V-synth was in production.

ya sure?
the album is from 2004
i think the vsynth was released in late 2003.

yeah, Merlot is right on this one as the album that the song is on was released in 1995. I am going to figure out a way to get that video clip off my dvd into mpg format so you guys can check it out. But ultimately, finding out what keyboard it is may not be that big of a deal as I can probably replicate it by doing what AVS said - with a saw through a LPF with lots of distortion.

The Juno doesnt really sound like a 303 (perhaps a tiny bit - it sounds Rolandish). But the thing is that i doesnt really matter wich synth it is because there's nothing special about that sound. Almost any synth can make this sound. Its mostly the distortion that makes the character.

it doesnt sound realy tbish either just sounds like a resonating synthline
in theory every analog or digital synth can do this.

wel, if it's not a 303? perhaps it's sampled? (thinking cus the bro's sample a lot). but by listening to the sequence, could it be a sampled 303 line? filtered and controlled by a roland synth? because the filter and env. sounds damn close to a 303(even the sequence) or could it be perhaps a apreggio from the controller synth to the 303 sample(or synth)? anyone in the UK got there number? can't stand it any longer!! :twisted:

tomer is right. many synths can make the 303 sound, its very simple to make and the virus is more than capable of doing this one