Creative Synthesis Techniques, With David Bessell

Synthesist David Bessell let us know about several new video tutorials that he has shared that explore creative synthesis techniques.

Dr. Bessell is probably best known to readers for his role in the synth supergroup Node, but he also teaches and does research at Plymouth University in the UK.

“These three are not aimed at specific sounds,” he notes about the videos, “but rather at creative ways of making your own sounds, how to make your sequences more interesting and how to control your analogue synth with a guitar for more expressive results.”

“These latest tutorials are intended to be easy to follow or recreate on different synths,” adds Bessell, “but produce quite musically sophisticated results with minimum patching.”

This video takes a look at a quick way of generating musical variation from a step sequencer:

The next video looks at using a guitar to control an analog synth:

Equipment used: Macbeth M5n semi modular, club of the knobs 960 style sequencer and Les Paul.

Readers that want to hear how Bessell uses these teqniques in a musical context can check out Bessell’s DiN release, Black Horses Of The Sun. We’ve embedded a preview below:

Bessell also has a couple of new projects in the works, including a collaboration with synthesist Bakis Sirros (aka Parallel Worlds) and a new Node album.

For more from Bessell, see Advanced Synthesis With David Bessell and check out his YouTube page.

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