We’ve been absolutely frothing over the work of synth magician Reverb Machine. The blog is a gold mine of lessons that dive into the hardware synth sounds of artists like Tame Impala and POND and how they can be re-created with different software patches.
Reverb Machine’s latest post dives into Mac Demarco’s synth odyssey Chamber of Reflection from his third LP Salad Days, complete with a rundown of the layered lead lines, woozy organ tones and the overall tape-y warmth of the track.
Learn how ins and outs of Mac Demarco’s synth odyssey, Chamber of Reflection thanks to real life synth wizard Reverb Machine.
The post is articulated wonderfully, with a simple, easy to understand rundown of what you should aim to achieve and how to achieve it.
“This song’s sound has two main elements; firstly I’ll look at the synths and how to program them, then I’ll look at Mac’s distinctive use of tape for the vibrato effect, and how to get approximately close with plugins. To get a good idea of Mac’s use of tape in his production, check out this short excerpt from ‘Pepperoni Playboy’ where he demonstrates how he uses a reel-to-reel tape machine to ‘glue’ his tracks together, and how he uses the tape machines pitch control.”
Here is said video (it’s fucking hilarious):
A snapshot of the lead synth and the underlaying organ rundown:
See whole post here.
Keep up the good shit Reverb Machine.
While you’re here, check out our review of the new record from Mac, This Old Dog.
