Sounds You Can't Google – The Synth Patches You Need to Know

What’s that sound? Discover 11 synth sounds that not everyone can put their finger on in this blagger’s guide to sound design staples

Any artist should know the standards of their art. Just as jazz musicians need to know Autumn Leaves, or painters should be familiar with the iconic uses of each medium and paint type, sound designers would be very well advised to learn the key sonic fingerprints of the past in order to produce the iconic sounds of the future.

In this article, we’ll list the true sound synthesis icons that you should know. These aren’t just great patches that you’d associate with a single song – they’re the patches that have been used in multiple tracks over the years, and are recognisable through time, despite having evolved over the years.

 

1. Solid Bass (Lately Bass)

This is a patch that we can call “timeless”, despite it having firm roots in the 80s and 90s. First constructed on Yamaha’s FM synths, the Solid Bass is a recognisable bass patch that balances a solid sub with some squelch – there’s enough squelch to keep it audible, but not so much that you can light it on fire for its methane content.

Note that the Lately Bass is a variation on the Solid Bass. It could have been its own entry in this roundup, but we chose to nest it here. The two are similar, and similarly popular, but the Lately Bass is more approachable to program on non-FM synthesizers.

You can get a Solid Bass or Lately Bass sound out of almost any FM synthesizer. Try Native Instruments FM8, GForce Halogen FM, or Waves Flow Motion.

Where does it come from?

Strictly speaking, the Solid Bass comes from the Yamaha TX81Z synth, but is more popularly replicated in Yamaha’s DX range of FM synths (DX100, DX7).

Where have you heard it?

Any 90s child worth their salt will be familiar with the Solid Bass sound. It’s probably been etched into your brain thanks to ‘cultural touchstones’ such as the Fresh Prince of Bel Air Theme or Whigfield’s Saturday Night. The only way was up, then.

 

 

 

2. The Hoover Sound

This staple of rave techno and hardcore techno also features in trance and hard house. It modulates the pulse width of a sawtooth, making a swirling sound somewhat reminiscent of a vacuum cleaner (hence the name).

Where does it come from?

The hoover sound originates from the Roland Alpha Juno synth, from a patch called What the… which was created by sound designer Eric Persig, who later founded Spectrasonics. You can create it in an Alpha Juno emulation like TAL-Pha.

Where have you heard it?

The hoover sound’s history extends beyond its origins, with use by The Prodigy (Charly) and Joey Beltram (Mentasm) sending into more common knowledge.

 

 

 

3. 303 Acid Bass

If you’ve ever heard a Roland TB-303, you’ll know how little it sounds like a bass guitar. But by increasing the Filter Resonance and messing with the Filter Envelope Decay and Accent amounts, producers were able to come up with otherworldly bass and lead patterns, which today are known as “acid basslines”.

Where does it come from?

The acid bass sound (and workflow) was only available via a Roland TB-303 unit, originally. Since the unit’s resurgence in popularity – partly due to the acid sound itself – many TB-303 emulations have been released, helping you to create the sound in software. Try Arturia’s Acid V, D16 Group’s Phoscyon 2, and Audio Blast’s AcidBox V2.

Where have you heard it?

Some of The Best Songs That Used a 303 include Daft Punk’s Da Funk and Luke Vibert’s I Love Acid.

 

 

 

4. Tubular Bells (DX Bell)

Before you jump to conclusions, this classic patch isn’t the source for Mike Oldfield’s iconic Tubular Bells album (from 1973), but rather seems to have been named in honour of it (in the 80s).

Where does it come from?

The Yamaha DX7 synth is a stone cold classic. While Yamaha released other synths in their ‘DX’ range, it’s likely the strong patch library that has made the DX7 the standout from when we look back today.

Where have you heard it?

Just like the rest of the DX7, its Tubular Bells patch was heard in many places in the late 80s – it’s hard to pick a single one.

 

5. Orch5 (and Orch2)

The Fairlight CMI was a very early sampler that featured a few orchestral sounds. From the hits and stabs available, two in particular have really caught on. These hits became iconic in their own right, and will take you right back to the early 90s – and anything that claims to represent the early 90s. Check out the whole Fairlight Orch bank in this video.

Where does it come from?

The Orch2 and Orch5 patches originally came from the Fairlight CMI’s 1.3 library. Since the Fairlight is a sampler, its subsequent emulations and tributes have managed to get the sound either exactly or incredibly closely. You can get your Orch stabs

Where have you heard it?

Orch5, specifically, can be heard in Michael Jackson’s Beat It, Afrika Bambaataa’s Planet Rock, and Owner of a Lonely Heart by Yes. That little stab has gone far.

 

 

 

6. M1 Organ

House producers, are you listening? Actually, true house producers can probably hear an M1 organ sound as soon as they close their … ears?

This patch rests somewhere between a bass and a lead instrument, with a powerful and compelling weight but

 

 

Where does it come from?

Originally part of Korg’s M1 workstation, what we now know today as the “M1 Organ” was originally a patch called Organ 2. The best way to get that sound? It’s on Korg’s own M1 emulation, of course.

Where have you heard it?

You’ll get a right earful of the M1 Organ sound on Londonbeat’s I’ve Been Thinking About You, and Robin S’s Show Me Love. There are many more examples, but these are great ones that recognise the history of the M1’s popularity.

 

7. Super Saw

This one is a bit of an edge case. While synth oscillator detuning is nothing new, being a staple of synth sound design from the Minimooog onwards and the Super Saw sound descends directly from that, there’s nothing quite like the daddy of super saw sounds – that of the Roland JP-8000.

The super saw sound stacks saw wave oscillators (per note) and detunes them slightly. The ‘spread’ of detuning doesn’t have to go far. There’s usually some high-pass filtering involved in the sound, too.

Where does it come from?

Sure, detuning oscillators had been done before, but the Roland JP-8000’s super saw hit the nail right on the head.

Where have you heard it?

When played in sustained chords, the super saw has been responsible for everything from euphoric build-ups, especially in trance anthems. When used as the source for a pluck or staccato sound, the super saw can go far in a different direction.

 

8. Reese Bass

This twisting, turning, snaking patch is like nothing else, which is probably why it got recycled by so many and has become a staple of its own accord. You don’t expect for bass instruments to move and undulate so much, but by breaking all the rules, the Reese bass has wormed its way under the floorboards of many a drum n bass, substep and neurofunk venue.

Where does it come from?

We can explain the sound and the name in one fell swoop: Kevin Saunderson’s one-time side-project, Reese, released a track in 1988 called Just Want Another Chance. The Reese bass comes directly from the hypnotic bassline that can be heard within. It was made using the Casio CZ synth, and the original sound relied heavily on the phase distortion processing it provided.

Where have you heard it?

You’ll find the Reese bass sound in jungle, drum n bass and dubstep music. Burial is a connoisseur of the sound, having used it in tracks like Archangel and South London Boroughs.

 

 

 

9. FM E-Piano

Where would we be without the glassy, gospel piano sounds that had their peak in the 80s and 90s? Wherever it is, we don’t want to live there!

Where does it come from?

This patch is another one from Yamaha’s influential DX7. Being a frequency modulation (FM) synth, it was especially good for creating piano and bell-like sounds, and it was a truly viable way for keyboard players to ditch their heavy (and we mean heavy) electric pianos in favour of a versatile option.

Where have you heard it?

There are so many places you could have heard a classic DX7 electric piano sound. How about Whitney Houston’s Saving All My Love For You, Elton John’s Sacrifice, or Chicago’s Hard Habit to Break among others?

 

 

 

10. Wobble Bass

Wub wub! The wobble bass is created by modulating either (or both) the filter cutoff or amplitude of a full-range bass tone. One early instance of the wobble bass would be in Mr Oizo’s Flat Beat, which was one of the weirdest tracks and video of the century, but would seem pretty normal if released today.

Where does it come from?

The wobble bass doesn’t derive from a specific synth patch, exactly, but the most influential synth on honing, perfecting and spreading the wub-wubs was Native Instruments’ Massive. With its very flexible take on modulation, Massive was adept at setting up LFO modulation, and varying the rate of that modulation from bar to bar without having to script a thousand lines of computer code. You can still get Massive as well as its successor, Massive X, on Plugin Boutique, but any other synths have followed its lead and provide just as many modulation possibilities too.

Where have you heard it?

Let’s see, have you ever heard dubstep? Try out good examples in Rusko’s Woo Boost and Datsik’s Nuke ‘Em. The wubz are still going strong, though, with artists like Culprate taking up the wobbly mantle today.

 

 

 

11. Fantasia Pad

We can guarantee that there have been a number of fans of the Roland D-50 reading this article, patiently (or otherwise) waiting for a mention of their cherished synth. Sorry for leaving it till last, but we can confirm that we too absolutely love the D-50, and its complex soundscapes.

Where does it come from?

The Fantasia sound comes straight from the Roland D-50 library, and as such is available from Roland Cloud. A good way to get a similar sound is from synths like Arturia Pigments or kiloHearts Phase Plant,

Where have you heard it?

How about Fantasia’s use by Billy Ocean and Tangerine Dream, in these intros, which demonstrate the D-50’s versatility.

 

 

 

…And many more

You can discover more patches in the factory libraries of some of the biggest synths on Plugin Boutique.