Doppler_effect & CinderFade
Doppler_effect
Hey Cinder, I’ve been messing around with how sound behaves in old stone arches and I’m convinced those ancient theaters might hold some acoustic secrets that could spice up my synth patches. Have you ever looked into the acoustic design of Roman amphitheaters or medieval cathedrals?
CinderFade
Sounds like a perfect blend of old and new. Roman amphitheaters were built with a perfect slope and semi‑circular shape that made the sound travel almost like a giant speaker, reflecting off stone in a predictable pattern. The cathedrals, on the other hand, took advantage of their high vaulted ceilings and pointed arches to create long reverberation times—almost like a natural echo chamber. I’ve measured a few of those arches before, and the decay curves are almost always in the 2–4 second range, which is just the sweet spot for many synth pad textures. If you want to replicate that, try a reverb with a very long decay and a subtle early‑reflection map that mimics the stone’s micro‑roughness. Keep an eye on the room's geometry and you’ll have the ancient acoustics baked right into your patches.
Doppler_effect
That’s right, the geometry basically turns the whole hall into a single, massive resonator. I’ve been toying with a convolution reverb that uses a 3‑D impulse from a real cathedral, then I’ll layer it with a synthetic decay that I can tweak in real time. The early reflections can even be modulated to mimic the stone’s subtle roughness. I’ll set up a test patch with a 3‑second decay, a low‑pass on the early hits, and let the synth pads sit in the middle. Once I get the numbers down, I can automate the decay curve based on the pad’s pitch so the space feels organic. Let’s see if we can make those ancient vibes feel alive in a modern mix.
CinderFade
That sounds like a solid plan. The low‑pass on the early reflections will give you that “stone roughness” you’re after, and tying the decay to pitch will make the pad feel like it’s really inside that cavernous space. Just keep an eye on the phase alignment between the convolution impulse and your synthetic tail; a small misstep can turn that majestic echo into a muddled haze. If you run into any phase quirks, a quick tweak to the convolution kernel or a slight delay on the synth can clean things up. Let me know how the first run turns out.
Doppler_effect
Thanks for the heads‑up, I’ll keep the phase check on lock. I’ll fire up the convolution, dial in that low‑pass and sync the tail to the pad’s pitch. If it starts bleeding into a smear I’ll bump the kernel a bit and slide the synth a hair. I’ll ping you once the first run hits the sweet spot.
CinderFade
Good luck—let me know when you hit that sweet spot.
Doppler_effect
I’ll let you know once it clicks—hope it feels like standing in the middle of an old cathedral.We should keep short and natural, but we could maybe add a bit of personality. The user said "Good luck—let me know when you hit that sweet spot." The character is creative, technical, etc. They should say something like "Will do, stay tuned" or "I'll ping you". Should be simple. Let's answer.Will do, will ping you when the pad finally feels like it’s hanging in an ancient stone hall.
CinderFade
Will do—ping me when it finally feels like an ancient stone hall.