Hey everyone,

I launched a track today called "Twiglet" and wanted to share the sound design breakdown, while also getting some feedback on how to handle heavy distortion over complex jazz/chromatic chords.

The Synth Setup:

• A-Section: I’m running aggressive, janky saw waves over a highly chromatic progression: Amaj7 ➔ Bbmaj7b5 ➔ Fsus4/C ➔ Em7b5 ➔ Dbm7b5 ➔ Bbm7#5 ➔ Amaj7.
• The Problem: Because of the dense voice-leading and close intervals (like the maj7s and b5s), the high distortion makes the chords want to turn into absolute mud. I had to do a lot of precise EQ carving in the low-mids to keep the notes distinct without losing the aggressive bite.

The B-Section Drop:

• It takes a sharp turn into a bossa nova groove (Bbmaj7 ➔ Bb7 ➔ Ebm7 ➔ Db7dim ➔ Cm7 ➔ F7).
• For this texture, I synthesized a broken, eerie children’s toy piano sound to contrast against the massive saw waves.

I’d love to know how you guys approach distorting complex chords. Do you split the frequencies and only distort the highs, or do you handle it natively within the synth patch? How does the transition between the massive saws and the thin toy piano feel to your ears?

Listen to the patch in context here: https://on.soundcloud.com/8V3CWpi7P2pdbZoeOr

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgyW9qjgIf4The

main synth starting around 0:12 has a really specific texture. I want to recreate this patch in Serum, but I haven't been able to nail the wavetables or the FX chain yet. If anyone has pointers on how to route or process this to get close to the original, I'd really appreciate the insight!

I’m assuming this might be a mix of a sample and a synth but I’m wondering if anyone has had success creating the multilayered cerebral synth sound at the start of this song. I would love to know.

https://youtu.be/VtXwFfrpV6M?si=cfl-kSlhvL239NUs

@0:00 onwards

Two separate moments were recorded on the same synthesizer and same surround settings.

Both had a sine wave as oscillator but set at different frequencies

The two recordings are then processed together in the spatial of a wooden church.

About the synthesis, I used Native instruments Absynth 5 for its amazing control over hz incrimentation.

I use 2 or 3 oscillators that are routed each to their own LFO with the duty to diminish the vol gently over a specified time and to do so over again in cycles.

Other functions for each were given to the LFOs, depending on what suited each OSC best.

The result gives an audible sense of movement and direction.

From the album ''Different perspectives on similar cycles'' by me, irunak James-lee.

Electronic Modules, piano and synthesizers together for a dreamy and relaxing album of ambient and experimental electronic music:)

https://voca.ro/12glbQQ3REN7

Looking for the song that contains this exact 4-note background synth melody. I've been searching for a year.

The audio link is posted in the comments below. Please only reply if you have solid producer/music expertise or know the track for sure—avoid random guesses. Thank you!

More specifically are there any vsts or plugins that emulate that vg8 sound and can this be done with a midi guitar

​Hi everyone, ​I have been looking for a specific song for over a year now. The audio clip below is a recreation of the background synth melody I'm trying to find: ​https://voca.ro/12glbQQ3REN7 ​Please tell me EVERY song you know that uses a background synth melody similar to this one. Any genre, leads, or suggestions are welcome. ​Note: Please only reply if you are confident or work with music production/DJing. I am looking for accurate matches, not random guesses. ​Thanks a lot for your help!

Can this sound be produced? I want to use it as midi sample. Song is Ilyena by The Mars Volta

Hello everyone, I am upgrading the DOOM engine on my app, which is actually a noise and drone generator.

This is a small showcase playing with the touchpad and tweaking some oscillator knobs.

I would appreciate a small feedback from this video on how it is displayed and how it sounds. CPU not being stressed, stays at around 10% on a mid phone.

Thank you for your time.

P.S. for anyone interested, the app will be on a -50% sale from tomorrow 04/09/2026 until 17/09/2026.

so, these for the most part are not really simple patches (DEFINATELY not the first one).

but my question more stems on the art of them feeling like they are changing inside of themselves, is this really as simple as an LFO on a comb? when i hear these sounds, it's like i hear them moving around almost, however nothing i ever make really compares to that feeling of being alive.

Sorry if this is such a weird question lol.

Any help would be appreciated.

How can I recreate the high-pitched plucky synth in Ride A White Horse by Goldfrapp, first appearing at the 51 second mark?

this is mostly prevalent in blank bodys, yung shermans music

examples of what i mean: https://youtu.be/jvQMmAO5EIs?si=XmZG_RYlEgMaM3yw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsjyMis_kdg&list=RDAsjyMis_kdg&start_radio=1

these sounds are like so pitch bendy or detuned idk i wanna make music based around that type of sound its so unique

Hi guys, I’m asking specifically about that background ambiant come and go wave sound, I was wondering what is the overall strategy to making a sound with that wide, electric ambiant feel? I really like how every wave has a little transient to it and adds impact but it’s soft and I’m not sure how to reproduce it. Anything helps. Thank you sm for any help

The four synth stabs are what I’m trying to recreate. I think they’re neat.

Golden Age - Max Coveri, https://youtu.be/wP4J9QcK9nA?is=cdDl1K_Q-16c8aG3 0:10 in

Hi everyone ! I got some question about a bassline sound design in a song I like :

TWIN SOULS - I HATE MODELS

https://on.soundcloud.com/EMsBLspI7V3H0zLLPP

the bassline I'm talking about appears at ~2:50

I got some base idea with saw waves, a bit of distortion, and maybe layering but I cannot manage to have at least a "similar" result

So :

- How can i basically made this in serum 2 or in a wave table in ableton ( I got ableton live 12 suite ) ?

- Is there any syth vst that can naturally make that kind of bass ?

- is that bassline layered ?

- I guess there is overdrive, or some kind of lamp Amp distortion on it, any other sound design element ?

Thanks a lot all ! hope y'all Have a great day !

Hello everyone,

Any tips on creating this floaty pad sound.. doesn't sound like a tonal chord as much as a resonant noise sound if that makes sense

Big fan of oli xl specially their earlier album. So many beautiful, futuristic sounds. Here is an example of this one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q5tBY24KPA&pp=ygUPbWVtZXRpYyBvbGkgeGwg

Any tips appreciated.

https://youtu.be/kCyUOEslzt8?t=29

I'm curious on how to replicate the sound of the synth used in this song (specifically after the guitars stop around 30 seconds in). I've read online they use guitar synth pedals, but can it be replicated using a synth plugin? I tried messing around with the ones I have available in FL studio, but I wasn't able to achieve that sound. I'm pretty new to this so any tips would be appreciated.

​

Hi, for a wedding I'm doing a song parody of I Just Had Sex by The Lonely Island. We are doing a full band cover, but we would like to have a backing track of just the synth stabs. I am trying to recreate the synth sound on Vital but I'm having a hard time. Mostly because I am quite new to this, and I feel like I don't have the correct terms in my head.

I would describe the synth as plucky chord hits, with a lot of reverb.

Could someone help with either recreating the synth (approximately), or help with finding the correct terms so I can look into the subjects of creating those kind of sounds?

The Synth is prominent from the first second of the song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQlIhraqL7o

I’ve reacquainted myself with this incredible song. I used to listen to it back in the late 70s and I always wondered how they got that haunting, faint synth sound weaving along in the background. it’s particularly evident in the outro. can anyone identify how that sound is achieved?

asking how I can recreate the synth sound panned hard to the left at around 1:16. It's sort of plucky and when It goes up in pitch there's a sort of automation going on where the higher the pitch the more frequent the sound repeats itself? and less frequent when it drops again in pitch. I don't really know how to describe it that well