One of the key techniques I use in my instrumentation is Physical Modeling. This type of synthesis has a unique and organic sound.  Wikipedia defines it as:

In sound synthesis, physical modelling synthesis refers to methods in which the waveform of the sound to be generated is computed by using a mathematicalmodel, being a set of equations and algorithms to simulate a physical source of sound, usually a musical instrument.

I also really like this image as a reference to how Physical Modeling does it. You can see how they have broken an instrument into its parts and used different synthesis to achieve a sound that emulates it.

Here is a video on my favorite Physical Modeling synth and an overview.

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When I used Logic I loved the Sculpture Physical Modeling synth that came with it. I’ve been looking for something similar for Ableton. I keep turning to Chromaphone. It is so easy to control, great GUI, and sounds.

If you want to learn more about the synth watch this video below.

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