How to Recreate the "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" Lead Brass Synth

Find the Sequential Prophet 6 here: bit.ly/3lrE94e
EDIT: I have updated this video with a significantly more accurate recreation of this patch featuring the Pro 3. The same principles also apply on the Prophet 6! Here's the new version: • Most Accurate "Shine O...
I will be leaving this video up because it's still a pretty sick patch and a decent way of recreating the sound without a ladder filter, but if you're going for the best recreation, please check out the newer video instead.
This is a step-by-step walkthrough to making Pink Floyd's iconic synth sound from "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" using a Prophet 6.
The patch in the intro sequence is 100% unprocessed Prophet 6.
Skip the yammerin' and jump straight to the good stuff at 1:08
Looking for more content? Check out my sound packs for the Prophet 6:
synthsoundlibra...

[@Sound_ology]

I made an updated version of this video that is more accurate! Matching the knob positions works great on the Prophet 6. Find it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lZiUaK2wa5J6nZY

[@andrewmasterman2034]

enjoying your p6 videos, keep them coming!

[@Sound_ology]

Thanks a bunch! Got a new one for ya coming soon :)

[@adamkent3114]

the first note you hit was literally the same sound and same note as the first note of igor’s theme by tyler the creator

[@pureconfuzion]

omg I came here because I was tryna recreate Igor's theme and the synth played at the end of that song reminded me of the synth from shine on you crazy diamond... woah

[@sapienalien]

you’re a goddamn genius

[@lesimprosdulezardvert1342]

Pretty clear !

[@milomeliora7271]

Another beautiful video

[@Sound_ology]

Thanks a bunch!

[@robertmahoney1662]

Thank you, great patch! Any advice for someone trying to recreate on a Rev2? Could you explain what's going on with the "tuning the filter to be a 6th above" bit - particularly how you use the resonance to do so, but then set the resonance back to zero; not sure what that did, lol.

[@Sound_ology]

Ah yes, the point of tuning the filter is to make full keyboard tracking scale correctly when you change notes. I actually made a video describing how to do it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jXrWlX2bbal-jc0 The resonance is just used as an audible reference to determine where the cutoff is in Hz, that's why I turn it up, listen to it for a second, then turn it back down.

[@davidebarale]

Thank you. how do I load the patch in prophet 6 ?

[@tiptop9972]

thanks for sharing But I thought it was done by a Minimogg instead an EMS. I hear the typically wooden charackter on that sound which sounds for me as a Mini. But I have to say I never ever played an EMS.

[@Sound_ology]

Tip Top it’s definitely possible! I’m sure the recording is EQ’d anyway

[@vincewizz8534]

The original lead was done on a Minimoog. But it can be achieved on many synths :)

[@Sound_ology]

​@@vincewizz8534 When I was researching this video I found lots of evidence that a minimoog was used on the song, but none that it was actually used in the lead for the intro. I agree it's possible, and it was definitely used for the low brass layer in the intro, but the lead sounds different to me. It could just be the way it was EQ'd, but the patch in the recording is awfully unstable for a minimoog...

[@JF930H]

An EMS was definitely used. While a Modular Moog is heard playing the ominous sounding lead, the "sparkle" sound effect and "door hinge" sound effect that is heard during the first 15 seconds of the actual song were made with an EMS VCS3 Mark II. The orchestral and stringed sounds were made by an ARP String Synth.

[@AndyNyle]

what does polymod do to the filter? Just trying to replicate this on P’08

[@Sound_ology]

It basically does the same thing as envelope amount. My video where I recreate this patch on the Pro 3 is much more accurate, I'd recommend using that one instead of this one if you're using a Prophet 08.

[@ysteinholmen7677]

Great patch! What key mode are you using?

[@ALLOGISTICS]

Thanks! LAr, last note retrigger

[@Sound_ology]

oops, I responded from the wrong account. It's still me though!

[@ysteinholmen7677]

Thanks! That is the same setting I am using. I've got it almost right, but when I activate unison the tones has a "hard" skip between them. Like if you hold a D and go to an F without releasing the D it does not sound smooth. More like a siren... I'm not sure if this makes any sense, but it does not sound like that when you are playing the patch, so there must be something I didn't get quite right...@@Sound_ology

[@Sound_ology]

@@ysteinholmen7677 It could be a playing style thing too. I play this patch more staccato than if I were playing a piano, for example. In unison mode the amp envelope needs to reset for the next note, so by releasing your notes a little bit earlier you smooth the transitions between them.

[@ysteinholmen7677]

Yes, it probably is. Thanks!@@Sound_ology

[@AgoAnselmo]

Great tutorial! It's one of those sounds that at first look like "oh yeah, two sawtooths in a LPF, what could go wrong?" and when it's time to make it, it gets hot 🥵 Side note: Pink Floyd recorded lots of parts through a rotating speaker, and in those years, live bands often run all the electric keyboards through a Leslie - including synthesizers: you can hear it on live recordings such as Wembley '74. Couldn't it be that, instead of a flanger, that slow modulation came from a Leslie speaker? They started really (ab)using flangers in The Wall years, it seems. A Leslie was probably used for some of the chords tracks, so maybe during the mix they also run the lead synth through it... what do you think?

[@Sound_ology]

Thanks! These days it’s my opinion that what I mistook to be flanger is actually subtle amplitude modulation from both the instrument and the recording engineer riding the faders. And the high frequency roll-off may have come from the synth or a little EQ. If I were to remake this video today I would probably turn the flanger way down or even off, even though it isn’t perfect, because the P6 can’t perfectly recreate some of the most Minimoog-y sounds

[@AgoAnselmo]

@@Sound_ology The soul of the sound is actually there! I use a Matriarch with my Pink Floyd tribute band, but was never really able to put my finger on this sound (and the Dogs central solo is even harder). When I found your video, I immediately thought that your sound was closer than what I was doing with my Moog. Sometimes the process is more important than the actual character of the instrument - and boy, the P6 sounds good, ask Roger Waters in his last tour... There's something strange about some Pink Floyd synth sounds: here, for examples, you need 3 VCOs for sound and at least 1 other as LFO for modulation, but neither the Minimoog nor the VCS3 had 4 VCOs. The Dogs sound is something that I think I'll never understand: there's too much happening. It sometimes sounds like they used a quite complex modular synth, or that there were 4 or 5 hands fiddling the knobs during the performance recorded.

[@ravenmusic932]

Awesome, I am surprised how many little extras you put into the patch, I thought it would be simpler... What I would to ask: In the intro section next to the synth strings there is also a descending sound which pops up here and there and sounds a little bit like wind chimes or a xylophone. Any idea what that is?

[@Sound_ology]

Thanks! Your guess is as good as mine there, in my recreation at the beginning of this video I used a mug that I lightly tapped with a spoon, but if I had to guess for the melodic lines, I'd guess a vibraphone with hard yarn mallets.

[@tomloncaric6189]

Great sound! How did you determine the original was done on an EMS VCS3 synthesizer? Most online information suggests the lead was done with a Minimoog.

[@Sound_ology]

thanks! It definitely could have been made with a Minimoog, but the patch in the intro honestly sounds more like a VCS3 to me. It's so wispy and resonant. And all the sources I could find were pretty fuzzy on the details, so I just went with my ears. In contrast, I believe the horn patch at the end of Shine On You Crazy Diamond pt II was definitely made with the Minimoog

[@station2station544]

Damn close. I'll only say that the OG EMS VCA envelope doesn't slam shut as fast as yours. It's dramatic but not quite that steep. thumbs up.

[@Sound_ology]

Thanks! Great ears, you're 100% right :)

[@extantia]

Cool vid- do you know how they got that trippy, rapidly descending twinkly sound in the very beginning at :06-0:11 in part 1?

[@ALLOGISTICS]

woah, I never noticed that part! It sounds to me like they used a minimoog with a big reverb, made the filter self-oscillate, set keyboard tracking to 1/2, and just slid down the white keys. You can recreate that with a prophet, it sounds awesome :)

[@Sound_ology]

whoops, I responded from the wrong account. Still me though! haha

[@extantia]

Ryan I just got a Subphatty. I imagine it can do the same thing. I watched some KZbin vids on Subphatty self-oscillating, but they were pretty radical. sounding. Would you do a vid on the Floyd oscillator settings if you get the time? Thank you for the reply, by the way.

[@extantia]

I just found a Sub Phatty vid that comes close to the sound. at around 2:37 but he doesn’t touch the keyboard/ kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5KZYZWwfZpmqZo

[@Sound_ology]

@@extantia yup, the sub phatty can do it. The oscillators should be completely off for that sound. Just turn up the filter resonance all the way, set keyboard tracking to 50%, and move the filter cutoff to a point where it's audible when you play a note (even though the oscillators are off). Then slide down the white keys on the keyboard! But you'll need reverb to get as close as possible.

[@owenaitken4754]

Is this included in one of your sound packs?

[@Sound_ology]

Hmmm yes I think it’s from the Cactus Dream Sound Pack

[@owenaitken4754]

@@Sound_ology awesome! Will definitely purchase that

[@chrisw1462]

And nowhere in the title did you mention this was very specific to the Prophet.

[@Sound_ology]

You can recreate this with lots of different synths, what part is confusing you?

[@chrisw1462]

@@Sound_ology @1:15 Oscillator slop, @1:34 Enveloper knob??? (no idea what you really said). @2:07 Polymod on the low pass filter. Flanger is pronounced with a short 'a'. Like flange - the e is only there to keep it from sounding like 'fang'.

[@Sound_ology]

@@chrisw1462 Alright. Well oscillator slop is a measure of detuning between the three oscillators. Turning down the envelope knob means lowering the input gain if you're using distortion. You don't need to do the poly mod thing because if you don't have a prophet 6 your synth has a different envelope shape anyway. So you can skip that step and just don't turn the envelope amount quite up to maximum.