Preset Patch - Free Patches, Sound Design Community

Binaural Stereo Synthesizers and Multitracking

Exploring binaural stereo implementations in synthesizers


Binaural Basics
Binaural, in terms of synthesizer implementation, has a bit of greyscale in its interpretation. Technically, in terms of synthesizers, it may be better described as stereophonic, however many manufacturers and the general public often use the term binaural.  The essence of "binaural sound" is that when listening with headphones, or with a good stereo monitoring setup with appropriate positioning, it bathes the listener in a stereo sound field where small differences between the left/right channels/ears creates the impression of the sound source not having a single stable location, but rather coming from multiple directions, or having some sort of movement in the space around the listener.

The Pedantic Definition of Binaural
For a more pedantic, technical definition - If you were recording live content with two microphones to be binaurally re-transmitted, you would set up two mics that are at about ear distance apart, and then record your environment.   Then, when broadcast later (through headphones preferably), the listener would hear the same tiny differences in amplitude and phasing between the left and right ear, to be able to "hear the environment in 3D".

Comparison with Multi-Tracking
Another interesting thing to consider is the idea of "multitracking" an instrument part. This is a recording technique that is often used in a variety of genres, where you record a guitar, keyboard, vocal or other part twice (or more), and hard pan the tracks left and right. The same content/harmony/melody is played on both right and left, but small differences in the musician's performance creates this wide, stereophonic/binaural effect when the listener hears it. Instead of coming from a single source, the sound of the multitracked guitars/keyboards/vocals becomes all-encompassing, and small amounts of phasing may even create the sense of motion around the listener. So, to me, Multitracking with hard panning is just another example of the same type of effect. Creating binaural effects with synthesizers is almost like multitracking your keyboard parts, in real-time.

Methods of Achieving Binaural or Stereophonic Sound Fields with Synthesizers
Some synthesizers offer multiple filters and amp sections per voice, and you can mix your oscillators into the filter and amp sections, then hard pan each filter/amp left or right.   The Dave Smith Evolver line of synths offers a sort of hidden extra filter and amp in its architecture, where two oscillators are routed to one filter/amp section and the other two oscillators are routed to the other filter/amp section.   In the case of the Evolver, these filters and amps are identical in design, and controlled by the same panel knobs.   When you set the Pan Mode on the evolver to separate these two sections hard left and hard right, you are immediately presented with this sort of binarual stereo field of sound. 

Even though the settings between the layers may be nearly identical, the tiny differences in electrical tolerances can cause a small amount of phasing between left and right channels, resulting in the listener hearing the sounds as more multi-directional, or with movement.   If you slightly adjust the fine tuning of oscillators, or modulate the filter or panning with LFOs in this mode, the binaural stereo separation widens, creating an all encompasing sound.    In addition to the Evolver, there are several other instruments that have multiple different filters that can be routed dependantly, like the Arturia MatrixBrute and upcoming PolyBrute, which can be set up to acheive a similar type of sound.   The UDO Super 6 is another example of a synth where voices are purposefully split to separate filters to create this binaural effect. 

Using Bitimbral Synth to Achieve Stereophonic/Binaural Sounds:
For modern synths that offer multi-timbrality (bi-timbral or better), you can Stack/Layer two identical (or nearly identical) layers of a patch, and then hard pan each layer left and right.   With the Prophet Rev2 and other modern bi-timbral synths, this is fairly easy to setup with a few actions and routing a single mod slot to panning on each layer.   In this configuration of stacked and panned layers, even with no parameter changes between the layers, you will hear the stereo, binarual effect.   Then, to emphasize the effect, and widen the stereo field, you can make tiny adjustments to oscillator fine tunings, filter cutoff, and envelope stage timing.   Each little change will add up and create natural phasing in the stereo field, and you can quickly turn a pedestrian string sound, into the sound of a wide orchestral section of string players.   

On Prophet Rev2,

1. Create a single layer sound design.   
2. Copy Layer A to Layer B, so you have two exact copies of that sound.  
3. On Both Layers, set Pan Mode to "Fixed"
4. On Layer A, set a Mod Slot to:   DC -> VCA Pan, Amount -32
5. On Layer B, set a Mod Slot to:   DC -> VCA Pan, Amount +32
6. Stack the Layers
7. Emphasize the Stereophonic/Binaural effect, by making some microadjustments to tunings, filter, envelopes or other parameters.

In the below video, at about 23:30, you can see an example of using the stacked, hard pan effect to create a stereophonic/binaural sound:  

And here's a video by Peter Dyer, showing off binaural sounds on the Rev2:

 

×

Upload Presets

Awesome ! You are a valued member of the music community. Choose your preset files and select the appropriate instrument.





×

Patch Download

Once your download has finished, click Continue to return to the website. You now have (0) download tokens remaining. They are replenished every 24 hours. Get more daily download tokens by becoming a contributor!



×

Search PresetPatch:

Search for instruments, patches, articles, artists, genres and more.
×

Out of Daily Download Tokens

Preset Patch is a FREE patch exchange, however, to promote a healthy community of sharing, you are given a set number of download tokens per 24-hour period. Your tokens are automatically replenished every 24 hours.

If you would like to increase your daily download token quota, then become a contributor to the Preset Patch! Upload some of your personal patches, like some downloads you enjoy, and your daily download tokens will increase.

Your current contributor level:
Download tokens per day:
0 Per Day


×

Signup for Preset Patch - It's FREE!

Join for access to thousands of free patches and resources for hundreds of synths and other instruments. It's completely FREE!


Click the button below to continue to Signup Page.

×

Thanks for Signing Up

Welcome to the PresetPatch community.


Username:
Email:

Please check your email and click the link to verify your email address and activate your account.

×

Thanks for Verifying Your Account

Welcome to the PresetPatch community!


You can now upload and download patches. In the upper right, you will see your download tokens. To start, you are given eight (8) download tokens per 24-hours. They are automatically replenished each day.

To gain more daily download tokens, become a contributor! Upload some of your own patches to the community, like some downloads you enjoy, and you'll rise in status and be a valuable member.

×

Thanks for Verifying Your Account

Welcome to the PresetPatch community! - You are Active


You can now upload and download patches. In the upper right, you will see your download tokens. To start, you are given eight (8) download tokens per 24-hours. They are automatically replenished each day.

To gain more daily download tokens, become a contributor! Upload some of your own patches to the community, like some downloads you enjoy, and you'll rise in status and be a valuable member.

×

You Are Now Logged In

Share some patches with the Community! Take some new sounds for a whirl!