Knight Rider Theme Sound...

J

Jlacck

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Hey guys, I was watching Knight Rider on DVD and I'm noticing this synth sound that I like that plays in the theme music. (not its not the main guitar sound). It sounds like a lead or a synth brass or something.

Anyway regardless of what the sound is, I just love the WAY it sounds. I'm just curious to know if anybody knows what synths can recreate sounds like that. I'm pretty sure the vintage style keyboards can do it but what about the newer or non analog keyboards/modules.

If anybody knows please drop me some tips. I would appreciate it. Thanks.
 
hmm, pretty much any synth you could tweak different parameters with?

not sure.


kinda off topic, but tha Crystal Method remix of tha Knight Rider Theme is pretty tight.
 
I've got a few synths in my collection... now maybe I still gotta get the programming down pat, but I doubt if anything in my arsenal sounds as fluid and warm as whatever that sound is.

I just love that 80s vibe about the sound and I dont think I can really replicate that sound with the gear that I currently have (at least not with the current knowledge I have in programming synths).

Now maybe I need a synth from the 80s to get there, or maybe I just need to learn how to replicate the 80s sound. In any case, my question is, does anybody know how, or what I would need to achieve that 80s type of sound like whats featured in the Knight Rider theme?
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the DX7 wasn't made until the mid-late 80s. Knight Rider debuted in 1983-1984 I think. I'm not sure if the DX7 was around at the time.
 
Jlacck said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the DX7 wasn't made until the mid-late 80s. Knight Rider debuted in 1983-1984 I think. I'm not sure if the DX7 was around at the time.

It came out '83.
 
I have a Yamaha EX5 which has Analog Modeling in it. Since its a Yamaha, I assume its based around FM. Would I be able to create similar sounds like the Knight Rider lead with an EX5? If so, can anyone give me a general (read: basic) idea on how to program that type of sound? I would appreciate it. Thanks.


p.s. by the way, how can you tell that the lead is FM and not analog? Wasn't FM built as an alternative to analog?
 
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If it's analog modeling then it's not FM. Basically analog and analog modeling use oscillators to produce a raw sound (sine, square, triangle, or noise) and then that is shaped through filters and such to produce a more refined synth sound. Frequency Modulation is basically a matrix of sine waves which modulate one another.

You could produce a slightly similar sound with a fairly raw sine wave, but it's not going to sound exactly right. You can tell it's FM because it has that "bell" sound. FM is good for making those higher frequency bell-brassish kind of sounds.
 
i bet the sound was a preset on the dx7 so maybe u just get one or ni fm7 theyre both around 100 to 150 and it will definitely save u a lot of time trying to figure out that sound...
 
>>> bet the sound was a preset on the dx7 so maybe u just get one or ni fm7 theyre both around 100 to 150 and it will definitely save u a lot of time trying to figure out that sound...<<<
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Well I have always said that I wanted to add a vintage type of synth to my arsenal, however I definitely want to make sure that I'm not getting a "one trick pony" if you know what I mean.

Also, its not so much that I'm looking to reproduce that exact sound, but rather I'm looking for synths or programming techniques that will give me the "flavor" that sound has. Obviously everyone seems to be pointing me towards a yamaha DX7. However, I have a question:

Is the DX7 the only type of FM synth out there?

Are there any other synths that can give me that type of sound?
 
I definitely want to make sure that I'm not getting a "one trick pony" if you know what I mean.

FM is fairly versitile, but the main drawback is that it isn't a lot of fun to program, especially on a DX7 (small screen, one knob, and kind of complex to begin with). You may want to try it first, maybe look around and see if you can find a free trail of a FM VST or an FM synth at your local pawn shop.

Oh yeah, and the new Alesis Fusion has an FM engine synth inside it, but that the only FM synth that I can think of being produced right now.

Is the DX7 the only type of FM synth out there?

It's the most well known and successful, but yamaha themselves made about 100 different FM synths after the successful DX7. In fact they made a little module version called the TX-7 which is basically the same thing sans keyboard. You can probably get them really cheap off ebay. There is also the popular VST called FM7. It should give you a pretty similar sound, and be much easier to deal with, and probably not eat up too much CPU power (not to mention the unlimited multitimbrality and polyphony).
 
The EX-5 does AWM, VA - virtual acoustic, AN - analog physical modeling,and FDSP - formulated digital signal processing.
No fm processiong but much more than just analog too.
 
if u can live with a vsti(au (i know some cant) i really suggest u get the fm7 from native...

a friend of mine uses the dx7 as master keyboard and we once compared the sounds with the fm7 and found not the slightest difference in 95% of the presets (the fm7 lets u import sounds from dx7 and many followups)...

if u wanna check out fm synthesis take a look at this vsti (if the author minds distributing this file plz let me know it was a freebie with the keyboards magazine...)

http://rapidshare.de/files/11164660/fmlab1setup.exe.html (for win)

http://rapidshare.de/files/11165310/FMlab1_Mac.dmg.zip.html (for mac)
 
I'll give the VSTi a try just to see what it sounds like. I'm actually trying to get away from using a computer for anything except recording though. Maybe if I play around with this VSTi program, it'll let me know if a DX7 or some other FM Synth is worth adding. In any case I'll let you guys know what I think after playing around with it.
 
Jlacck said:
I have a Yamaha EX5 which has Analog Modeling in it. Since its a Yamaha, I assume its based around FM. Would I be able to create similar sounds like the Knight Rider lead with an EX5? If so, can anyone give me a general (read: basic) idea on how to program that type of sound? I would appreciate it. Thanks.


p.s. by the way, how can you tell that the lead is FM and not analog? Wasn't FM built as an alternative to analog?


I had an EX5 and used it every single day during 5 years. Great, great synth but terrible O.S. But it's not FM based. I suppose you assume it's FM based, for the options on the VA + AWM engine that says "FM slave", "FM master" etc. This is the engine of the CS1x Yamaha VA synth based on AWM.

For FM stuff, nothing like the DX7 or the SY 99 (got one)


Ahhhhh.... and that Knight Rider track is DOPE. I used to jump in my bed when I heard that bass of the intro. Similiar to that Super Helicopter's track also!!!! I have a CD with all those tracks of crappy 80ies TV series...

DAVID HASSELHOLF rocks!! je je je
 
Yea I love that Knight Rider Theme song myself. Thats why I was curious about what type of synths were used on the song. (I wonder who wrote/produced the track anyway).

But I'm a huge fan of that 80's sound in general. (like Prince and the songs he did back in those times that used synth sounds as well as some of the other really popular pop songs that that made use of synths).

I think I'm gonna have to look into one those FM synths Yamaha made since you guys are saying its got the type of sounds I'm looking for. I was just hoping I could get an FM synth made by another company other than Yamaha since I already have an EX5 (even though EX5 does not do FM).

I've noticed that a lot of gear made by the same company tends to have the same "sound" (i.e. Emu's SOUND like Emu's and Roland's sound like Roland). I usually try to find synths made by different companies to give me different sounds and textures. But of course, vintage is vintage, and even though I already have a Yamaha synth, I don't think anything that I have can sound like a DX7 or any other type of FM synth.
 
Jlacck said:
Yea I love that Knight Rider Theme song myself. Thats why I was curious about what type of synths were used on the song. (I wonder who wrote/produced the track anyway).

The composer is Stu Phillips. He's written a lot of stuff for TV and cinema (like Battlestar Galactica)...I think the KR theme had some of the top studio keyboardists and other musicians at the time to play it.
 
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