Pad sounds

[Captain Custard]

Sorry, but as a complete newbie to keyboards I have to ask - what exactly is this "pads" thing all about? How do you define a pad sound? What makes a sound a "pad" sound? Why is it called a "pad" sound?

So many questions ...

 

[Biggles]

It is one of those ask 100 and you get 111 different answers.

It is a Synthesiser sound(s) and there are an infinite variety of them.

Each is based on a specific waveform ie saw which is processed to give the required tone.

Oft used in the early days of electronic music to hold a tone and Pad out the track.

Ask me again tomorrow and it will be answer 112.

 

[Captain Custard]

Cheers mister. Makes sense to me ...

 

[b3maniac]

Here's one result of a Google search. Don

Why Is a Synth Pad Called a Pad? | Musician's HQ

I trawled through all the resources I could to try and find the correct etymological origin of the word 'synth pad' and there is no…

musicianshq.com

 

[Captain Custard]

Cheers Don. For some reason I didn't get very far when I Googled it ...