Sound Design Recipes

This lesson is a cookbook. Each recipe gives you exact starting settings for a classic sound, built from an init patch on any subtractive or wavetable synth. Build each one once and you'll understand oscillators, filters, envelopes and LFOs far better than by reading about them.

How to Use These Recipes

Every recipe assumes you start from an init patch: the synth's blank default sound, usually one saw oscillator with the filter fully open. Look for "Init", "Default" or "Reset" in the preset menu.

Values are starting points. Synths label knobs differently, so trust your ears over the numbers.
Percentages mean "how far the knob is turned", from 0% to 100%.
Detune is given in cents (1/100 of a semitone) where possible.
Play each sound in context, against drums and a bassline, before deciding it's finished.

If any of the terms feel shaky, review Synth Basics, Filters, Envelopes and LFOs first.

Leads & Pads

Supersaw lead

The supersaw is a stack of detuned saw waves. Roland made it famous with the "Super Saw" waveform on the JP-8000 in the late 1990s, and it became the sound of trance and, later, big-room EDM.

Recipe: Supersaw lead

Oscillator 1: Saw, unison 7 voices, detune 25–35%, stereo spread 80–100% Oscillator 2: Saw, +12 semitones (one octave up), unison 5, level 40% Filter: Low-pass 12 dB/oct, cutoff 6–8 kHz, resonance 0–10% Amp env: A 5 ms D 0 S 100% R 300 ms Effects: EQ low cut at 150–200 Hz → reverb (2–3 s, 25% mix) → delay 1/8 dotted Play: chords or lead lines in the C4–C6 range

The detuned voices beat against each other and create width and size. Cut the lows so the supersaw doesn't fight your bass. In a mix, sidechain it to the kick (see Sidechain).

Warm pad

Recipe: Warm pad

Oscillator 1: Saw, unison 4, detune 15% Oscillator 2: Triangle or saw, +12 semitones, level 50% Filter: Low-pass 24 dB/oct, cutoff 1–1.5 kHz, resonance 10% Filter LFO: Sine, 4 bars synced, depth 10–15% (slow movement) Amp env: A 600 ms–1 s D 800 ms S 80% R 1.5–2 s Effects: Chorus → reverb (4–6 s, 35–50% mix) → EQ low cut at 200 Hz Play: long chords, 1–2 bars each

The low cutoff and slow attack make it soft. The slow LFO on the cutoff keeps it alive. Warm pads sit behind everything, so they need space more than brightness.

Pluck

Recipe: Pluck

Oscillator 1: Saw or square Oscillator 2: Saw, +7 cents detune Filter: Low-pass 24 dB/oct, cutoff 400–700 Hz, resonance 20–30% Filter env: A 0 ms D 200–300 ms S 0% R 200 ms amount +60–70% Amp env: A 1 ms D 300 ms S 0% R 200 ms Effects: Delay 1/8 or 1/8 dotted (20% mix) → short reverb (1–1.5 s) Play: 1/16 or 1/8 note arpeggios

The filter envelope does the work. It snaps the filter open at the start of each note and closes it again. Tropical house and future bass use this shape constantly.

Basses

Sub bass

Recipe: Sub bass

Oscillator: Sine (or triangle for a few more harmonics) Voice mode: Mono, legato ON, glide 30–80 ms (optional) Filter: Off, or low-pass at 200 Hz Amp env: A 2–5 ms D 0 S 100% R 20–50 ms Effects: Light saturation (5–15% drive) → keep it MONO Range: Notes between about C1 (33 Hz) and C2 (65 Hz)

A pure sine below 60 Hz is almost invisible on laptop speakers and phones. Gentle saturation adds harmonics at 2× and 3× the note, which helps the bass "translate" to small speakers.

Reese bass

The reese is named after Kevin Saunderson, who released a track under the alias Reese in the late 1980s. Drum & bass producers adopted the sound in the 1990s.

Recipe: Reese bass

Oscillator 1: Saw, detune −10 to −15 cents Oscillator 2: Saw, detune +10 to +15 cents Oscillator 3: Sine sub, −12 semitones (or a separate sub track) Voice mode: Mono Filter: Low-pass 24 dB/oct, cutoff 500–900 Hz, resonance 20% Amp env: A 5 ms D 0 S 100% R 100 ms Effects: Distortion or saturation → chorus (optional) → EQ Movement: Slow LFO (1–2 bars) on cutoff, small depth

Two slightly detuned saws drift in and out of phase. That slow "beating" is the reese's signature movement. Keep the sub in mono and let the saws carry the width.

808 bass

The 808 comes from the Roland TR-808 drum machine's kick, which has a long, booming tail. In trap and hip-hop, producers tune it and play it as a bassline.

Recipe: 808 bass

Oscillator: Sine Pitch env: start +12 to +24 semitones, drop in 20–50 ms Amp env: A 0 ms D 1–3 s S 0–30% R 200 ms Voice mode: Mono, glide 50–120 ms for "slides" Effects: Saturation or soft clipping (drive to taste) → EQ boost near 100 Hz for punch Tuning: Tune the tail to the song's key

Saturation is what makes modern 808s audible on phones. Overlapping two notes with glide on creates the pitch slides heard all over trap.

Wobble bass

Recipe: Wobble bass (140 BPM)

Oscillators: 2 saws detuned ±10 cents (or a growly wavetable) Filter: Low-pass 24 dB/oct, cutoff 200 Hz, resonance 35% LFO 1: Sine, tempo-synced, retrigger ON → cutoff, depth 60–80% LFO rate: automate 1/4 → 1/8 → 1/8T → 1/16 across the phrase Effects: Distortion AFTER the filter → EQ low cut at 100 Hz Sub: Separate clean sine track underneath

The LFO opens and closes the filter in time with the beat. Changing the rate gives the rhythm. The full explanation is in LFOs & Modulation.

Drums from Scratch

Synthesized kick

Recipe: Kick (sine + pitch envelope)

Oscillator: Sine Pitch env: start ~150–200 Hz, drop to ~45–55 Hz over 30–100 ms (exponential) Amp env: A 0 ms D 300–500 ms S 0% R 50 ms Click layer: 1–5 ms burst of noise or a short square, high-passed above 2 kHz Effects: Saturation for harmonics → EQ

A shorter pitch drop and decay give a tight techno kick. A longer, lower tail gives a boomy hip-hop kick. Tune the tail to your track's key so the kick and bass don't clash.

Snare from noise

Recipe: Snare

Layer 1 (body): Triangle or sine, ~180–220 Hz, pitch drop of a few semitones in 30 ms Amp env: A 0 D 80–120 ms S 0% Layer 2 (rattle): White noise → high-pass or band-pass around 1–2 kHz Amp env: A 0 D 150–250 ms S 0% Mix: noise slightly louder than the body Effects: Short room reverb → transient shaper or compressor

The tone gives the snare its pitch and weight. The noise imitates the snare wires. Change the noise decay to move from a tight, dry snare (100 ms) to a big, washy one (300 ms+).

FX: The Riser

Recipe: White-noise riser (8 bars)

Source: White noise oscillator (and optionally a saw chord) Filter: Band-pass or high-pass, automate cutoff 200 Hz → 10 kHz over 8 bars Pitch: if using a tonal layer, automate +12 semitones over 8 bars Volume: automate from −20 dB up to 0 dB Effects: Reverb (big, 50% mix) → stereo widening that increases near the end Ending: cut everything on the last 16th or 1/8 before the drop

Rising pitch, brightness, width and volume all tell the listener "something is coming". The sudden silence before the drop makes the drop hit harder. See Transitions & FX for more build-up tricks.

Layering & Reference Sounds

Layering tips

Layering means stacking several sounds to play as one. Done well, each layer has a job.

Split by frequency: a sub layer (below ~100 Hz, mono), a body layer (100 Hz–1 kHz) and a top layer (above 1 kHz). High-pass and low-pass each layer so they don't overlap.
Split by time: a sharp transient layer for the attack and a smooth layer for the sustain. This works for kicks, snares and plucks.
Check phase: layered kicks and basses can cancel each other. Flip polarity or shift one layer by a few milliseconds and keep whichever sounds fuller.
Group them: route all layers to one bus and process them together so they glue (see Buses).

Using reference sounds

A reference sound is a sound from a commercial track you're trying to understand. Use it like this:

Loop a few seconds where the sound plays alone (an intro or breakdown is best).
Describe it in envelope terms: does it start instantly or fade in? Does it hold or die away?
Describe the tone: bright or dark? Is the brightness moving? Does it wobble (LFO) or snap (envelope)?
Pick the closest recipe above, then adjust one control at a time while comparing back and forth.

Try it in your DAW

Create four MIDI tracks, each with the same stock synth [Ableton: Analog or Wavetable; FL Studio: 3x Osc, FLEX or Sytrus; Logic: Retro Synth or ES2], all on an init patch.
Build the sub bass, pluck, warm pad and supersaw recipes, one per track.
Add a four-on-the-floor kick at 124 BPM. Write an 8-bar loop: pad chords, a pluck arpeggio, a sub following the chord roots, and the supersaw on the last 4 bars only.
Save each sound as a user preset with a clear name (for example "SS Pluck 01") so you can reuse it.
Bonus: synthesize a kick with a sine and pitch envelope on a fifth track [Ableton: Operator; FL Studio: 3x Osc with a pitch envelope, or the stock kick plugin; Logic: Retro Synth or Drum Synth] and replace your sample kick with it.

Watch your levels

Detuned unison and resonance can make a patch much louder than it looks on the meter. Turn the synth's output down before you start tweaking, and keep peaks around -6 dBFS on each track so you have headroom for mixing.

A reese bass is made from two waves that are slightly detuned.

A synthesized kick is a sine wave with a fast falling envelope.

To keep the low end solid, sub bass should usually be kept in .

1. What creates the width of a supersaw?

A pitch envelope
Several detuned saw voices spread across the stereo field
A high-resonance filter
A sine sub layer

Unison voices, each slightly detuned and panned, beat against each other and sound wide and big.

2. Which control does most of the work in a synth pluck?

The LFO rate
The reverb size
The filter envelope (fast decay, zero sustain)
The glide time

The filter envelope snaps the filter open at note-on and closes it quickly, giving the "pluck".

3. Why add saturation to a sub bass or 808?

To make it stereo
To lower its pitch
To remove the low end
To add harmonics so it can be heard on small speakers

Phones and laptops can't reproduce 40 Hz well. Harmonics at 80, 120 Hz and above let the ear "hear" the bass.

4. A snare built from scratch usually combines which two layers?

A short pitched tone for the body and filtered noise for the wires
Two detuned saws
A sine sub and a supersaw
A pad and a pluck

The tone gives weight and pitch; the noise imitates the rattle of the snare wires.

5. When layering sounds, what is the main purpose of splitting by frequency?

To use more CPU
To make every layer louder
To give each layer its own range so they don't clash or mask each other
To make the sound mono

Filtering each layer into its own range (sub, body, top) keeps the stack clear and powerful.