How working backwards makes better synth sounds (Lab Notes #1)

 Geoff here 👋 Welcome to Lab Notes, a newsletter where I share the insights which come from our intense synth research initiatives at Noise Dept.

This time I'd like to talk about synth patch workflow: specifically, how make it feel less tedious and more fun when you're making music.

 

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Many years ago when I was a fresh-faced music producer, I found that working with synths always felt like a painful DIY project.

Sure, I could play a guitar and it sounded good instantly. I could program a MIDI drum kit and it sounded amazing. I could use loops or one shot samples and they always sounded good. 

But all of my homemade synth patches sounded…. synthy. Basic. Flat. Or straight from the 80’s. Or like 2005 dubstep. And getting that amateur sound took me 45 minutes of turning knobs.

At a certain point, I had to stop and ask myself “what am I missing? Are synths supposed to be this hard to control?”

No. The answer is no. I just didn’t have a mental framework for understanding synths the same way I understood drums and guitars. And since the resources online never helped much either, I had to find a new approach that stayed fun and rewarding while being foolproof enough that it didn't slow me down in the middle of a session.

So if you've ever wanted to go beyond “making sounds” like you’re following a cocktail recipe book, and instead would like to “work with synthesizers” the way a good bartender can improvise any cocktail they dream of, then this one’s for you.

 

 

WHAT’S IN A SOUND?

Instead of using words like waveform, oscillator, or filter, lets categorize things in a simpler way. For the purposes of this article, I'm going to split up all synth sounds into three distinct parts: Source, Motion, and Sauce (S.M.S.)

Source is the waveform shape or perhaps a sample. It’s something to start with which is static and repetitive. 

Here is an example of some simple source material:

Motion is how the waveform shape changes over time. You can do this by literally changing the waveform shape, or by adding Envelopes or LFOs (aka motion generators) to the volume knob and filter cutoff knobs. 

Here is an example of a synth oscillator with some motion:

Sauce comes at the end of the chain and includes all of the processing which you sprinkle on top. It is the “spice”, so to speak. This step changes the final sound the most. Think of it like a photo filter - sometimes the sauce simply brightens up the sound, or sometimes it blurs it beyond recognition while overtaking everything.

The sauce is the guitar amp and cab. It is the OTT compression. It is the reverb and delay. It’s the treated wood of a Stratovarius violin. And for some people, their sauces are "secret" sauces.

Here is an example with a synth. These three sounds are the previous patch with completely different sauces on top. Listen as the sound goes from a distorted bass to a flavorful riff to a lush ambience. 

The only difference is which FX are applied - no change to the source or the motion.

I would argue that the sauce is the most impactful part of sound design. It is the difference between calling something vintage, modern, spacious, intimate, organic, robotic, fresh or nostalgic. So with that in mind, I prefer to start at the processing step and work backwards. In other words, start with the sauce and do some taste testing.

 

HOW TO DESIGN SYNTH SOUNDS, BACKWARDS

Instead of jumping into the design process from scratch every time you want to work with synths, take a few hours to plan ahead and taste test a bunch of sauces. They are the most impactful part of a finished sound after all.

 

Step 0 - Use keywords to help create your own “sauce cabinet”

(I was going to go with “spice rack” but I’m in too deep with this sauce metaphor.)

Most of us already use language to explore guitar tones (clean, crunch, metal, lead, ambient, etc) and it turns out there is a synth equivalent.

Does a synth sound need to be “heavy”? You’ll need EQ, compression, and distortion (there are many different kinds).
Does it need to be “washy”? You’ll need EQ, chorus, phaser, delay, and reverb.
Does it need to be “bold”? You’ll need EQ, reverb, compression and saturation.
Does it need to sound “roomy”? Try some convolution reverb of a real room. 

You can imagine other combinations of effects for different words.

You’ll need to set aside some time to prep for the future. This step might take some research and experimentation if you are chasing a certain artist’s sound, or if you simply don’t know what FX options are out there. YouTube is your best friend here.

If you haven’t already done it, jump online and download free recordings of some drums, some singing, a retro synth bass, and a piano. Try your new flavors from your “sauce cabinet” on each one to see how they work. If you hear that a certain combo of effects sounds good on all of the different audio recordings, then save it! 

Once you have a collection of these flavors saved in a place where you can quickly load them up, you’re ready to finally wrangle the synth.

Here is a screenshot of a “sauce cabinet” saved inside of Serum 2 FX:

 

Step 1 - Pick a sauce from your sauce cabinet

(Need some sauces to start? Try downloading free FX racks pack for Serum 2 FX)

Let’s say your song needs a dirty bass part. Start by loading up one of the effects chains which you created - perhaps one with lots of distortion. You might even select a few other flavors as a backup plan.

These sauces might be saved as an FX chain in your DAW or contained inside a single plugin like BEAM, Serum 2 FX, or Kilohearts Snap Heap. The important thing is that you can quickly load them into your project and swap between them.

That was easy. Alright, on to step 2.

 

Step 2 - Fire up your synth

Load up a synth of choice and disable all of the internal effects. (This is going to be easier with modern synths like Serum 2 or Phase Plant which start up in a very basic state). 

Enable a basic waveform like a saw, sine, or square from the oscillator section of the synth. 

Okay, next.

 

 

Step 3 - Figure out the movement

Is your dirty bass part going to be a fast pluck? Is it going to be a long rumbly sound with infinite sustain? Is it going to be a dubstep growl or wobble? Is it going to be a complex rhythmic sequence? Each one needs a certain kind of movement.

Look for the LFOs and Envelope controls in your synth. If they are not already connected, hook them up to at least one filter cutoff and to at least one volume knob. This will start to give your patch some life. 

Remember, envelopes are like one-shots and LFOs are like loops. They are different ways to make changes over time. 

Don’t rush into modulating everything just because you can - Some synths allow you to modulate all of the knobs including things like wavetable position, distortion drive, or effect wet/dry mix. As you get more comfortable with envelopes and LFOs, you may find yourself connecting more of them or perhaps creating more complex kinds of movement. 

Also, take note of any arpeggiator or sequencer controls included in your synth. Come back to those once you’re feeling confident about your envelope and LFO usage. They are like multipliers on top of anything you’ve already done.

Experimentation is good, but try not to go down a rabbit hole. You have a song to finish after all, and there’s plenty of time later to keep practicing.

 

 

Step 4 - Dial in the synth's source audio

At this stage, you’ll want to change up the oscillator shapes. Try a new wavetable (if applicable) or switch to a new waveform using the available controls in your synth. 

Consider enabling the unison mode to make things sound wide if you haven't already. Create 3, 5, 7 or more simultaneous voices. Try detuning them all. The controls should be located near each other.

Consider enabling another oscillator and giving it movement. Some synths allow you to do FM or RM modulation, which can be fun to experiment with.

If you’re feeling very adventurous and if your synth allows it, maybe use a sample instead of an oscillator as your source material to see what happens.

Lastly, adjust the volume of the source audio before it hits the sauce cabinet stuff. This will change the feel a lot, especially if there is a distortion component.

Play the sound up and down the keyboard. Find the sweet spot. Then move on to step 5.

 

 

Step 5 - Revisit your sauce choice

Since you have pre-made sauces to choose from, open up your sauce cabinet and try a different one without changing the other parameters of your synth patch. 

What if you try a flavor with less distortion? What if you try a flavor with more reverb? Switch it up and find out.

Repeat this process until you are satisfied.

 

 

Step 6 - Do some EQing

You’re going to need it. Synths are loud.

 

 

Step 7 - Record it

Nice work!

 

 

GOING ORGANIC (EXPERT MODE)

If you’re feeling comfortable with the steps above and you want to take your synth design even further - consider adhering to the rules of real-life recordings:

• Energy dissipates from high to low (volume, frequencies, filtering, etc)
• Recorded instruments are always passed through a combination of components before they get to your ears (e.g. speaker, microphone, preamp, tape, vinyl, transformer, etc,).
• Acoustic instruments are always captured in a space, which means mono reverb might bleed into the raw source material.
• Electric instruments like a DI electric guitar do not have reverb in their recordings, but they do have instability, electrical interference, and noise. 
• Complex textures can require multiple layers of S.M.S. in parallel and in series.
• Random fluctuations are going to be everywhere. Nothing sounds the same twice in a row.

Alright, that’s all for now. If you have questions or more thoughts on the above, send an email via the contact form or send a message on Instagram (@thenoisedept).

- Geoff