PRACTISE SOUND DESIGN WITH SYNTH PATCH BUILDING

The fundamentals of synthesis are pretty consistent from instrument to instrument. Whether you’re using a classic hardware synth or a modern bells-and-whistles software-based super-synth, many (though not all) of the same concepts apply.

In this feature, we’re going to practice recreating a patch from one synth using an entirely different one. Our goal is to ensure that our synth matches up as closely as possible to the original. What’s the point, then? An exercise like this helps with two things. One, it forces us to compare parameters on synths and experiment to find sonic solutions, giving us insight into sound design in general and into the parallels between two synths. And two, it’s simply a brilliant hands-on way to get to know a new synthesiser.

1 SETUP

We’re going to select a preset from the factory library of Xfer Records’ Serum synth and try