If you know me you might know I LOVE Serum for sound design, and one thing I’ve more recently gotten into is its Noise module. It’s underrated I say! Don’t let the name fool you, it’s much more than “noise” and is a very useful built-in sampler.
Even if I’m going for a synthy sound, layering a custom sample in via Noise that is going through the same filtering, FX, and modulation as the oscillators is really powerful. It can deliver more interesting texture and movement, all while blending effortlessly with everything else.
Some sample types that I’ve really liked as Noise: electricity, machinery, hard drive servos, typewriter chunkies, pneumatic hisses. But the possibilities are endless! At this point if I like a sample outside Serum, I try popping it in and see how it feels.
Also good is Noise as a sampler, no oscillators at all. It can be a really fun and intuitive way to manipulate a sample with the fantastic UI, modulation, and great built-in FX of Serum. Modulating Phase can create some cool warbly tape effects as it seeks through the sample.
One gotcha I've experienced with custom samples in Serum is their longterm permanence and save-ability. If you switch computers, all those sample references are lost. What I did to avoid this is create a folder and copy my samples there so I can transfer them with my presets.
It can be a bit annoying to copy any potential samples there as you go, but I made a Streamdeck button that does it all for me from Reaper.
Ok there's one more gotcha. As of this writing, the use of longer samples in Noise really tends to slow down your Serum. It adds latency to anything you do which can be a pain, so I try to stick to shorter, pre-edited samples.
Well that’s it for my Noise PSA. I hope you all consider using Noise more in your synths and sound design experiments. If you come up with more interesting techniques I’d love to hear them!
This post was originally a thread on Twitter, which you can find here:
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