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Tropical Palms
Tropical Palms is a synth pad, not a beach recording: there is no surf, no wind and no leaf rustle anywhere in the file, only sustained pitches around E3, G3 and E4 with slightly detuned doublings. Warm and mid-range, with no bass below 80 Hz. Named for a mood rather than a place.
Ready to play
Stack this under rain or a fire, keep the blend, and play it with your screen off. Slo, on iOS, Android and Mac.
What the file actually is
Worth stating plainly, because the name points somewhere else. Measured across the loop, the signal is almost entirely tonal — its spectral flatness is close to zero, meaning the energy sits in discrete pitches rather than the broadband hiss that surf, wind or rustling foliage would produce. The measured tones are 167 and 197 Hz, then 294, 330 and 370 Hz, each shadowed by a slightly detuned copy. Below 80 Hz the file is empty. If you came here for a beach, Ocean Waves is the recording you want.
What it is good for instead
Taken on its own terms it is a warm, mid-focused pad: no bass to trouble a small speaker, no treble edge, no events, and a gentle drift about once a second across 32 seconds. Among the pads here it sits between Enchanted, which is brighter and more detuned, and Flow, which is lower and plainer.
To get somewhere closer to the name the title suggests, layer it with a real recording: the Tropical Palms and ocean blend in the free sound mixer puts actual surf underneath the pad. Everything else is on the sound library index.
Frequently asked questions
Are there palm trees or surf in this recording?
No. Measurement shows the file is tonal throughout, with no broadband content of the kind wind, leaves or waves produce. It is a synthesised pad.
What should I play for a real beach sound?
Ocean Waves is a recording of surf. Layering it under this pad in the mixer gets you closer to what the name suggests.
What pitches does it use?
The measured tones are 167, 197, 294, 330 and 370 Hz, each with a slightly detuned double.
Does it have bass?
No. The band below 80 Hz measures roughly 53 decibels below the loudest part of the file.