Sound Design: Ambient Pads and Textures

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This course is all about creating ambient sounds from scratch. You'll learn techniques that can be applied to all types of sound design. That said, ambient pads and textures are often powerful tools for creating depth, space, or transitions in your music. Creating these sounds from scratch will give your music more unique character, helping to set you apart. You'll learn how to shape pad sounds using synthesizers, reverbs, filters, and more. You'll also learn how to resample effects - working with "printed" audio clips, rather than leaving your tracks processing effects in real-time, will shift your workflow and open up new creative possibilities. Finally, you'll get to see how one of the most popular Max for Live devices works - Granulator, which was developed by Robert Henke, one of the founders of Ableton.


Lesson topics include:

  • Introduction to Ambient Sound Design
  • Synthesizing an Analog-Style Pad
  • Creating Ambience with Reverb
  • Resampling Return Effects
  • Extreme Clip Envelope Manipulation for Ambience
  • Making Pad Sounds with Granulator II


Your Instructor


Paul Laski
Paul Laski

Paul Laski (P-LASK) is an Ableton Certified Trainer with over six years of teaching experience at DubSpot New York and Icon Collective Music Production School in Los Angeles. Paul has been involved in the electronic music scene for over a decade as a producer, remixer, sound designer, DJ, and educator.

Blending sounds from house, techno, garage, and beyond, P-LASK's original productions and remixes have been featured on Moody Recordings, Groovebirds Records, Crowd Records, Cherrytree (Interscope) Records, Abe Duque Records, Mean Red Music, Krafted Music, and his own imprint, Electric Dangerous Records. He has done remix work for artists such as Coeur du Pirate, Abe Duque, Divisible, Pointe Claire, Edian (UK), Rainer Hoeglmeier (Germany), and Wei Wei (China).

A small selection of his sound design work can be heard in the factory preset bank of XFER Records’ SERUM software synthesizer. Paul continues to develop presets for software synthesizers, free Ableton Live Racks, and samples, many of which are available through his website (www.p-lask.com). When he's not busy in the studio, he offers instruction and consultation in Ableton Live and live performance for artists and producers in the LA area.


Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course start and finish?
The course starts now and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.
How long do I have access to the course?
If you purchase the course individually, you have lifetime access to the content. If you sign up for a membership, you'll have unlimited access to this course for as long as you keep your membership active.
What if I am unhappy with the course?
We would never want you to be unhappy! If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, contact us in the first 30 days and we will give you a full refund.