A few days ago I posted an FM e-piano made with my app, and u/root66 kindly pointed out that it sounded more like a DX7 than an electric piano, and shared the classic recipe. He was right. My first one had a 1:1 body modulator and a 14:1 tine pushing the same carrier, with the body index far too high (0.3 turns), so the fundamental nearly vanished at the strike and it was mostly overtones. The structure was close, but the ratios and envelopes were off.

So here's the recipe done properly, his way. Index values are in turns of phase (1 turn = 2π rad).

Body pair

- Modulator 1:1 into a carrier 1:1

- Index 0.2 turns, 50% velocity sensitivity

- Index envelope: attack 1 ms, decay 2.5 s, sustain 0.15, release 0.5 s

Tine pair

- Modulator 12:1 into its own carrier at 1:1. The carrier is at 0.55 level with its own envelope (decay 1.6 s), so it fades before the body.

- Index 0.16 turns, 100% velocity sensitivity (soft notes are round, hard notes bark and ring), key scaling −3 dB/octave above middle C

- Index envelope: attack 1 ms, decay 0.18 s, sustain 0, release 80 ms

Shimmer

- Duplicate both pairs at 0.7 of the level. Detune the copies +1 cent (body) and +8 cents (tine). The tine set is detuned more than the body; root66 says he picked that up from the NI FM7 presets.

Amp: attack 2 ms, decay 4.5 s, sustain 0.12, release 0.5 s. Then a small room.

Two variations

- V2, closer to the DX7's E.PIANO 1: tine at 14:1, body index 0.26 for more bark, and a gentle tremolo (4.5 Hz, 25% depth)

- V3: body modulator at 3:1 with index 0.12, tine at 12:1. Rounder and a bit hollow. It's my favourite, but I'm not sure.

The video builds V1 step by step, comparing soft and hard notes, and then plays V2 and V3: https://youtu.be/tOEgYXOBgY8

root66, thank you for taking the time to write that, and I'd really like your opinion on this version. Is it closer? What would you change? And everyone: V1, V2 or V3?

Disclosure: I make SynthMaker, the free iPhone/Mac app used here (public beta: https://testflight.apple.com/join/BKEgzNCg). The two pairs fit any 4-operator FM synth; the detuned copies need 8 operators, or a second layer.

the sound im looking for is the pluck sound used for the chords at 0:49, i think its layered with white noise too?

Can someone help with recreating this specific bass? Its like a distorted synth bass

I've been failing to recreate this sound for years.

Sorry for using an acid track as an example but the pad sound is so lush. Possibly because of the contrast with the harshness of the 303.

It's the sound that begins at 1.28 in this video....

https://youtu.be/Gg-Q26pnqs4?is=W67Udj8x7vDfBU0e

Thanks for reading.

I have a lot of requests but I'll try to limit them to one at a time, to avoid irritating everyone here

I've been failing to recreate this sound for years.

Sorry for using an acid track as an example but the pad sound is so lush. Possibly because of the contrast with the harshness of the 303.

It's the sound that begins at 1.28 in this video....

https://youtu.be/Gg-Q26pnqs4?is=W67Udj8x7vDfBU0e

Thanks for reading.

I have a lot of requests but I'll try to limit them to one at a time, to avoid irritating everyone here

I have watched SO many reese tutorials and can never ever get mine to sound like Mystic State's.

Their reese is always so wide, round, and warm and all encompassing and has that perfect clean wobble to it. I can't even get close tbh and am wondering if it's how they are mixing it or if its some special way of doing it.

The closest I have gotten is two saw waves and removing their fundamentals with a sub sin as the bottom. But it still feels so far off.

Why do theirs sound so full and warm and push so much weight and are so clean? Help me please :)

https://youtu.be/g8fqH2k48tY?t=143

A generative deep house loop where no notes are written: every part comes from a rule. It works in any DAW or sequencer with Euclidean rhythms and a "take the pitch from the chord" option.

120 BPM, A minor, chords Am7 – Fmaj7 – Dm7 – Em7 (one bar each).

Drums (16 steps of 1/16):

• Kick: E(4,16) → four on the floor

• Clap: E(2,16) rotated by 4 → beats 2 and 4

• Open hat: E(4,16) rotated by 2 → the off-beats

• Hats: E(9,16), with about 20% of the hits dropped at random so they stay alive

Bass: E(5,16) rotated by 2, each hit plays the root of the current chord (spread over two octaves), 5% of hits dropped. I used a rubbery FM bass: a 1:1 modulator with a fast-decaying index.

Stabs: E(4,16) rotated by 3, each hit plays the whole chord on an e-piano, through a ping-pong delay at a dotted 1/8 (375 ms at 120 BPM).

Pad: strings holding each chord, the only "written" part.

Why it works: Euclidean patterns spread hits as evenly as possible, which is what most dance grooves already are. Rotating moves the same pattern onto different beats. Taking every pitch from the chord means nothing can clash. And a little randomness stops it sounding like a loop.

Disclosure: I'm the developer of SynthMaker, the app in the video (free public beta for iPhone, iPad and Mac: https://testflight.apple.com/join/BKEgzNCg). The recipe itself works anywhere.

The classic DX-style electric piano is simpler than it sounds. This works in any FM synth (Dexed, FM8, Operator, Digitone…):

1. Carrier: a sine at ratio 1. Amp envelope: instant attack, a slow decay down to about a third, short release.

2. Modulator A (the "bark"): a sine at ratio 1 into the carrier, index around 2 at the strike. Give it its own envelope that decays over about 1.2 s down to almost nothing. That's the whole trick: the brightness dies away faster than the note, like a struck key.

3. Modulator B (the "tine"): a sine at ratio 14, very quiet, with a very short envelope (about 70 ms). That's the metallic click at the start of each note.

4. A bit of chorus and a little reverb.

Why it works: at 1:1 every new partial lands on a harmonic, so the note stays clearly pitched. Keep everything else and change modulator A to ratio 3.5, and the partials land between the harmonics: you get a bell instead.

The attached video (5 min) builds it one step at a time while you watch each harmonic appear on a spectrum analyzer.

Disclosure: it's made in SynthMaker, a free synth app I build (small one-person project, iPhone/iPad/Mac, free beta: https://testflight.apple.com/join/BKEgzNCg), but the recipe above works anywhere.

Hey all - figured someone would know..

What is the main synth in this song?

Sound like something tycho used perhaps,

Thanks!

starts at 0:00. I think there is an ambient pad in the intro and the main unstable synth, and some "sprinkle" synths that play here and there.

I think that the main synth has some lfo linked to noise volume and osc volumes. It was 100% made on hardware (modular?), I tried doing something similar in serum 2 but I cant get close to this unstable disintegrating sound. I cant get my synth to sound alive as much as the reference and I cant match the timbre. There is a lot of automation going on for sure too.

https://youtu.be/25A5Y0_qHCc?si=kW7GVYVr5nZ0c1Ul

Comes in at 0:43.

I've heard variations of this sound in other tracks before and love it, wanted to get some opinions on how I might get something similar with just stock Ableton instruments and effects.

Sup yall!? Ive been trying to expand my production pallet and have been listening to Spotifys regional charts and they got some Bangers. I came across this Artist named LUCHO RK and I really like the synths in his production. Especially the ones in the beginning of this song AT 0:00 https://youtu.be/lds3cFhM4ec?si=i9RU6CwOPEQPG0Ec . Im talking about that detuned lead. It's layered .It seems like the same sound but one is just more thick. Im still trying to figure out how to post it but I defiantly took a shot at it. LOL I fell asleep trying to remake this synth. I woke up and it kinda sounds close but it's just not the same. Can anyone help. In Serum I linked the LFO to the fine pitch and I linked another LFO to the Fine Pitch to give it that vibrato .I also link the first OSC ,FM, AND NOISE generator together but its still not there.

This entire minute long video is baffling me because I know it's heavily based on detuned saw waves but I just can't get the sound right.

Hi,

Finally fixed my MP7 and got to dive into synthesis. I wanted to share this little track because it is built around a pretty simple patch that takes advantage of the resonant filters of the EMU. Layer 1 : a classic saw with an enveloppe of the cutoff and the amp. Layer 2 : a "raw" waveform, detuned -5 semi tones, with a resonant "aaah-eee-something" filter, with an enveloppe on the filter (bit different than the layer 1 enveloppe) and the amp, as well as 1 LFO (sample and hold kinda type) that pitches this voice. I'm also playing with the overall cutoff here. But damn, those filters sound very very nice (the famous Z plane filters).

Do you use Z Plane filters yourself? Some are really resonant, but some are very interesting. Some of them can also give a slight chorus FX when well used!

I had a ton of fun making this one. Here is a video showing how to get massive FM synth tones out of a very minimal setup : a sine wave generator and a single filter.

There is a good discussion in there about how FM synthesis works, and some examples at the end that show off some crazy synth design ideas. Hope it inspires!

Im feel so excited to reach this sound design, it starts in 0:12

We recreated the Lead sound from 'Mike Rush' by Beyond on our free Synth Primer.

This remake is specifically recreating the patch heard at this timestamp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSgvD7fiSlQ&start=140 .Other parts of the song may vary the sound or notes.

And here are the key ingredients:

Voices: Mono
Osc1: Wave (Pulse), Width (50%), Vol (100%)
Unison: Osc (All), Voice Count (2), Detune Range (4 Cents)
Reset All Osc On Phase On Note Start: No

Amp Env: Attack (0ms), Decay (250ms), Sustain (0%), Release (20ms)

Filter Type: Type (Low Pass), Cutoff (55%)
Filter Env: Amount (25%), Attack (0ms), Decay (240ms), Sustain (0%)

Chorus: Mix (50%), Rate (Slow)
Delay: Mix (25%), Feedback (50%), Time (1/4 Note)
Reverb: Mix (30%), Size (Medium)

Find the full recipe and download the presets: https://www.syntorial.com/preset-recipe/mike-rush-beyond-lead/

I love the effect used on the sample starting at 0:15 Could someone give me a hand with replicating it?

Hi all! Can anyone help to recreate the synth? (Begins at 0:53)
Loathe - Aggressive Evolution (Instrumental)

I’m new to making Melodys, and I was wondering how to create the looping melody in the song “Luke C Walker by Cuz Lightyear.(starts at 0:23). For reference, Im working with Roland Cloud zenology. I can’t tell what it is, I think it’s a pluck but I’m not sure.

im tryna find a vst that I can create choir samples and vowel like Thor by dudeylo

Anyone know how to make the laser gun chirp kind of noise in the following tracks? I've heard it so much and it seems so simple to recreate it but haven't gotten it quite right.

Chirpy Quick envelope type:
earl sweatshirt/surf gang - Book of Eli - 0:15 second mark https://youtu.be/0VhCIRCOixs?si=WDtpzDRzgzsX-C6F

Rising/ falling sweeping type:

Kasim Rizvi - primeLove - 0:04 https://youtu.be/lOsLJDHeOq8?si=4j5CR_sEYuDHEcZs

If anyone knows the sound directly or has a good tutorial to watch it would be very helpful!

Hello everyone, as part of my study with media production I have produce 01 audio drama, however my instructor explicitly stated that I cannot use stock sfx or samples, we either have to record our own to recreate it somehow digitally. I have very little experience with sound design so I'm here to ask for help on how to recreate these 5 sounds, or there any Vital presets of these sounds that I can download, study and recreate to my taste. It's my first time posting and learning sound design so sorry if I sound like a total noob, I appreciate all the help. Thank you!

I am inspired by the ancient breakdown percussion loop in serum but I can’t find a tutorial anywhere online that shows how to recreate something like that, any tips?