Build a plucky synth sound to take a rhythmic lead, or backseat position

1

For this one we’re aiming to build a sound that fills the roll of a plucky guitar but one that can be adapted easily to fill more space, with an almost brassy quality. To start, load up a nice analogue synth. Logic’s Retro, or a Moog Grandmother are perfect.

4

As with almost all synth sounds, this one will have more life with a little modulation. Be a bit more restrained here though. This is a balancing act between the shape’s LFO amount, the LFO’s rate and control amount and the filter’s LFO knob.

7

Now you’ll need something similar for the amp envelope, if you have a separate one. The biggest difference here is that you want a touch more decay and release, which keeps the notes from being throttled. Now when you use aftertouch you’ll see it’s more restrained and natural sounding.

2

Set both oscillators to a saw wave, one at 8’ and the other at 16’ for a thickish lower end. If your synth (like Retro) doesn’t have footage indicators, aim for something that isn’t too bassy but retains that fullness at middle C.

5

We usually like to leave effects until last but in this case a little chorus before you tweak envelopes is wise. Thicken the sound and give it breadth. Not too much depth or speed. You want this slower and quite subtle. It’s about thickening what you have, not making it warble.

8

As mentioned, this plucky sound is a good base for a brassier sound. To adapt for that, simply lengthen the decay on both envelopes to allow the highs to ring out longer. It’s not a true brass sound but has that quality while staying plucky. A touch of sustain lets you play a longer note.

3

Use the cent control in Retro, or the fine tune on your hardware synth, to slightly alter the tuning of the second oscillator. We opt for plus 23 cent, to give an audible but not too extreme detuning, which adds a little texture to the sound.

6

Step 1 of making the actual pluck part of the filter envelope. You want a fast attack, a quick-ish decay, no sustain (so the note doesn’t hold with the key press) and a fast release. Experiment here a little, to suit your own synth but the screen shot is a guide. Crank the Env setting in the filter.