Boards Of Canada Synthesis - Software sample synth

[AudioWarp]

Special thanks to the guys at Bocpages for inviting and allowing us to post on Twoism.

BOCS is a sample based software synth inspired by Boards of Canada. It's refreshingly different compared to previous efforts from various sample packs and vst synths.

The reason why?

These sounds have been created via the methods used by the group themselves. Vintage analog synths, 4-tracks, valve amps even VHS recorders were used to create a sample bank more authentic than anything we've heard before.

Created by BoC fans for BoC fans. This is a synth aimed at using BoC sounds to create your own unique music.

BOCS has three volumes in the series. Pads, drones, arps, keys, one finger chords and even field recordings are included. These sounds have a dirty, dusty, and dream like quality just like that elusive Boards of Canada sound.

Quote from Grammy award winner Anders Trentemøller:
" I personally look for quirky, imperfect instruments and really like the vibe of the BOCS pads. They seems to fit quite perfect in a mix "

Check out the BOCS Volumes here!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp6QP8 ... KJg/videos

Buy them here!

http://www.sampleism.com/audiowarpc/bocs-vol-3

Thanks

Audiowarp

[Echo the Sun]

welcome to the community. it sounds like you've put a lot of work into these samples. were there any sounds you found particularly difficult to approximate?

[AudioWarp]

Thanks for having us here, it's much appreciated. In terms of how difficult the sounds can be well their's two stages to making them really. First off is the synth sound it'self then it's the post production of the sounds. BoC really are all about the post production element. Some sounds were relatively easy for example the synth sound of Pete Standing Alone as their isn't a huge amount of post production applied to it. Others took forever to work out. Aquarius was very difficult, we got the sound pretty much nailed after months of working on it but ended up not including it in any of the BOCS volumes. They filtered the synth so dramatically and it kind of gives it it's light and airy character but it just didn't sound great when playing outside of the key range that they're playing in the song it'self. This is something we noticed BoC do often. They shape the synth sound around the other instruments in the song and around the key range of the chords being played. It really is testament to how good they are at producing. The whole point of us making BOCS was so that people didn't use it to clone BoC songs and we felt that certain BoC synths were only usable when playing around the same key range as the songs they were derived from and that's something we wanted to avoid (another example of that would be the synth at the beginning of Olson) Other synth sounds were just plain difficult. Jacquard Causeway has a relatively simple synth sound but the level of analog artifact on it is pretty bespoke. It literally sounds like the synth is crumbling away. It's beautiful. A sound that's not too difficult to get close to but very difficult to nail which is the main issue when it comes to BoC and their synth sounds. Some people think if they put a bit of gain, wow & flutter and reverb on any synth they've got the BoC sound but that's a massive discredit to the work BoC put in to their production and these people are not really listening to what BoC are doing. Their is so much more to it than that. This might be for a different thread but I wonder what are peoples favorite BoC synth sound?

[Mexicola]

Loving this.

What's your background guys? I'm fascinated to know more around how this project all came about.

[AudioWarp]

Hi
We're a small group. From music production, session playing, music and sound engineering degrees, playing in studio bands and individual recording contracts we've each got roughly 20 years worth of experience in the music industry. BOCS came about by accident to be honest. We've been massive BoC fans since MHTRTC was first released and like many people we've always been fascinated by their sound. The main thing that interested us has always been the process of one particular artist or artists drawing influences from artists before them. BoC have a unique sound but it derives from musicians before them. They've cited My Bloody Valentine as a huge influence and we can definitely hear it in their music but their are other influences in their from production techniques such as back masking and pitch shifting which is something bands like the Beatles were doing many years before them and of course the influences drawn from the vignettes of the National Film Board Of Canada. They took these influences and crafted something new and unique. We wanted to explore this as something that was originally intended just for us. For BOCS Volume 1 we must have made close to 100 synth sounds and cherry picked the best which ended up being 10. Their isn't any set method for creating these sounds, it really is a case of experimenting which has a large element of trial and error involved. The whole process started roughly 2-3 years a go and has been a real labour of love for us.
When we first released BOCS Volume 1 we didn't expect anything from it and we priced it really very low just to cover our costs. It was released really to see what people thought of it. What we expected was that probably 5 people would buy it and out of those 5 people 4 of them would want a refund! It blew us away when Anders trentmoller endorsed it, we got really positive feedback (and small minority of very unfair moral criticism) but overall people seemed to love what we had made and with so many requests to make more sounds so we built on volume 1 with volumes 2 & 3.
We're now working on a new synth which still employs many BoC production techniques which we're very excited about!

[Mexicola]

Probably an unfair question, but do you have any 'inside' knowledge re their techniques, or is this based on the interviews etc we've read over the years?

Cheers

[AudioWarp]

If we did have insider knowledge it probably wouldn't be fair to divulge. It's mainly a mixture of interviews, our own experiences in synthesis, experience in post production and obsessively listening to their music over the years!

We view BOCS as a tool similar to that of a guitarist using fx pedals. Musicians can use the same equipment yet craft completely different music with it. Whilst the synth sound is a big part of BoC what makes them great is their overall talent. We are paying homage to an element of their sound and not trying to completely copy their individual tracks. Yes some of the synths are direct takes on certain songs but probably 90% of them aren't yet they all share that awesome BoC vibe. The synth (Hell) interface in BOCS allows the user to manipulate these sounds even further so you can really customize the sounds to your personal tastes.

By releasing BOCS we are hoping that people can use these BoC style synth sounds to come up with something that's new, wonderful and unique.

Thanks!

[Mexicola]

Say no more!

And thanks for the extra detail. Great stuff.

[henryalcott]

hey these are really great sounding, i have a score i'm beginning in the autumn and these will be just perfect (style - nils frahm using boc pads ). thanks so much for your hard work, i'll pm you when the project is done so you can hear your efforts implemented!

[Echo the Sun]

It blew us away when Anders trentmoller endorsed it, we got really positive feedback (and small minority of very unfair moral criticism)

i figured you would likely have received a little bit of the criticism you described. what some people don't understand is that when one creates art and releases it into the world, it opens up a dialogue. everything—save copyright infringement—is fair game in regard to how one responds to the work (or to anything else in that dialogue): from commenting, to criticizing, to studying, to imitating, and so on. in your process of analyzing and attempting to recreate boc's sounds, you're furthering, broadening, and deepening the conversation around their music. on a more basic level, though, you're simply enjoying their works in the way that is most fulfilling for you. i share your compulsion: the compulsion to dissect, deconstruct, and analyze works of art, and then to attempt to recreate them, or use the components in some novel way. on some levels, all artists have to make the old new. all artists are bricoleurs and recyclers.

[Wildfire]

Having spent the last year or so obsessively dissecting BOC's production and trying to emulate many of their sounds in my own studio, I can say that you guys have done an incredible job.

This is why so many BOC emulations almost always sound way off, people think they can throw a few plugins and some frequency modulation at a synth pad and get insta-BOC and it's just not the case, the level of intricacy in their production is astounding and the sounds you guys have created are the closest thing I've heard to someone replicating the nuances of their sound. Well done, part of me wants to buy your packs so much, another part of me feels that I must continue researching and experimenting to learn the techniques myself!

(btw at that price I'll almost certainly buy them).

[AudioWarp]

Thanks everyone.

It's great knowing you all get what we've tried to achieve here. Getting your approval has probably been the most nerve wracking thing we've done with BOCS!

If we were going to achieve that classic sound then taking short cuts would be defeating the purpose of us making these synths. It's been really enjoyable and at times draining but we hope everyone can hear the effort and love that's gone into the BOCS series.

[747Music]

I bought the packs and they sound great. I love the cassette and vhs tape hiss. I use them a lot in my new work. The lush pads and beautiful leads are fantastic.

[nickstermc]

Totally blown away by your work. The youtube demo for volume 3 had me sold within 5 seconds and has prompted me to upgrade my studio and DAW just so I can use them.

Can I just check my understanding....
I use Logic
I'll be able to map the samples into Logic's EXS 24 sampler but your bespoke interface is only for Kontakt?
Also if using Kontakt, the Kontakt player isn't sufficient and you need the full fat (£330) version of Kontakt?


Keep up the awesome work



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[AudioWarp]

Really glad you're enjoying BOCS volume 3!

Yes you are correct on all accounts.

Logics built in sampler should be able to load wav format files (we don't use Logic but we would be amazed if it didn't) their is a mapping guide included with all the BOCS downloads, follow the guide and you'll be up and running in no time at all.

The synth interface is exclusive to Kontakt and yes it does have to be the full version however we imagine most of the functions within the Kontakt interface could be replicated using the effects in Logics sampler.

The samples you can hear in our demos have not been effected in any way. They are the pure wav files being triggered so you'll get the same sounds mapping the wavs into your sampler of choice.

Hope that helps!

Audiowarp

[nickstermc]

That's great info!
I'll be buying.
Thanks for the quick response

Nicky


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[Group Hex]

I appreciate the work put into this, and the sounds are really nice.

But am I the only one that thinks it's not such a good idea? I mean, Boards Of Canada are impossible to duplicate. As much as I enjoy other artists with a similar sound and vibe, providing the means to imitate the exact sounds already used by BOC seems extremely unoriginal and inviting imitation instead of forging new paths.

I wish you all the success, but I for one prefer to make my OWN music and not trample down paths already explored - and most importantly, best left to the originators.

[AudioWarp]

Hi.

We appreciate your views. To help with your questions we refer you to the previous comments.

BOCS wasn't made for people to replicate Boards of Canada.

Their will only be one Boards of Canada but elements of their sound derives from others before them.

Great artists take an existing sound and develop it into their own unique music. We imagine that's why Grammy award winner Anders Trentemoller took such an interest in BOCS.

Hope that helps.

Audiowarp