9 of the most Iconic Synth Sounds – and How to Recreate Them

We pick apart nine key synth sounds from years gone by, and how you can use plugins to emulate the sounds yourself

Most people will get a song stuck in their head from time to time. Sometimes it’s the lyrics, or maybe a melodic hook that’s guilty of being an earworm. For us producers though, who are prone to mentally picking apart the music we’re exposed to, we might even get a specific synth sound or patch stuck in our head. This can leave us pondering how the sound might have been made.

In this article, we’ve put on our detective hats and are dissecting some classic tracks, the synth sounds that make them so iconic and how you can recreate these sounds yourself using some of the most powerful plugins on the market today.

Dr Dre - Still D.R.E.

Recreate Dr Dre's Orchestral Strings with a Software Version of the Legendary Korg Triton Workstation.

 

Still Dre, featured on Dr. Dre's album 2001, boasts a laid back instrumental built around Korg Triton keys, bass and orchestral sounds. The instrument was a staple for hip-hop and R\&B giants like Dr. Dre, The Neptunes, and Timbaland.

The Triton delivers standout sounds and key, strings, and drum presets. The HI synth engine offers quality digital instrument sounds that instantly fit within a mix, and this overview video explains more about the plugin.

Orchestral samples have always been a staple in hip hop and in this example Dre uses the Triton’s string sound to double the bassline. The monophonic line uses filtering to capture the timbre of a cello with a subtle pitch modulation to add a human feel or movement — assignable via an LFO or to the mod wheel for hands-on control.

Join the legends and create iconic instrumentals with the Korg Triton/Triton Extreme plugin. You can learn more about the Korg Triton plugin here, along with four more of the best workstation instrument VSTs.

808 State - Pacific State

Introducing Vintage Lofi Field Recordings into Your Electronic Music with Arturia’s Emulator II

In 1989, 808 State dropped their timeless warehouse hit, featuring a blend of lush pads, plucked piano, 808 drums, rompler saxophone and the renowned iconic bird sample — resampled in works by Calvin Harris and Lady Gaga. 808 State demonstrated how lo-fi samples can infuse real-world texture into machine-based music.

As well as the factory, floppy disk-loaded sounds and the introduction of the computer audio editor, the groundbreaking Emulator could record audio straight into it. With a microphone plugged in, 808 State recorded the bird sample and pitch-mapped it to the instrument keyboard. Elevate your productions and embrace E-mu’s legacy with Arturia's faithful plugin emulation.

 

Van Halen - Jump

Recreate the classic earworm using a Virtual Version of Oberheim’s OB-Xa Synth.

Van Halen's Jump, from the album 1984, introduced the world to the Oberheim OB-Xa, a synth that was not only powerful but also carried a hefty price tag.

Recreate the classic analogue synth sound by detuning two saw waves for a thick and wide oscillation. Eliminating any attack will help a keys player nail their timing, thus helping with precisely accented parts. Crank up the sustain to keep those oscillators ringing as long as you hold the chord, and set the release to 0ms for instant chord stops.
With Arturia's OB-XA V plugin, you can effortlessly capture the magic of Jump and elevate your sound, putting the essence of this legendary synth at your creative control.

 

Robin S - Show Me Love

Show Some Love for the Korg M1 Organ!

In 1990, Robin S released the house anthem Show Me Love. The chemistry between Robin S’ RnB vocal and the European house instrumental sent this infectious track into a timeless realm of its own.
At the core of this track's irresistible charm is the KORG M1 organ sound. The M1, with its rich preset bank and large polyphony, became the ultimate choice for keyboardists and producers seeking to play lush yet crystal-clear chordal harmony. The M1's organ is a blend of three sine waves filtered and pitched across three octaves, with a fifth added to the top of the voice.

Harness this iconic organ sound and a plethora of other classic tones with the Korg M1 plugin.

 

Stranger Things - Theme Tune

Journey into the Upside Down and Uncover Sounds from the Past V Decades with Arturia’s Prophet-5 V Synth

The unforgettable theme tune from sci-fi adventure Stranger Things employed the 1977 Prophet-5 analogue synth for its prominent arpeggio.

To replicate this sound, set the amp envelope with a short attack and decay time and manually perform or sequence the major seventh ostinato with the arpeggiator. Filter out the high frequencies and gradually modulate the cutoff position to add dynamic movement, allowing the analogue oscillator's high frequencies to emerge as tension builds.

With its unmatched analogue timbres and characterful warble thanks to Arturia's Voice Dispersion feature, get Arturia's faithful emulation of the Prophet 5 V now, or find out more from our plugin overview video.

 

Daft Punk - Da Funk

Unlock the Secrets of Daft Punk's Iconic 'Da Funk' Sound with MS-20 Modulation Routing

French electronic legends Daft Punk drew inspiration from G-funk and arena rock in their track 'Da Funk'. The song gained momentum when the Chemical Brothers included it in their live sets.

The duophonic synth line plates tasty sound design ingredients that you may not hear at first: Two saw wave oscillators, tuned a fifth apart, provide the classic Daft Punk tonal cluster. The distinctive filter modulation uses an envelope generator as its source to sound an almost human-like vowel pronunciation at the start of each note, something that can be accomplished using Korg’s MS-20 plugin. The increased resonance on high and low pass filters accentuates the modulation movement. Portamento adds a smooth pitch glide between notes.

Explore filter modulation and countless other routing possibilities with Korg's MS-20 plugin.

 

Noisia - Reptilians

Dive into the World of Bass Music with one of Noisia's Favourite Synths, FM8

Bass music luthiers Noisia have mesmerised listeners and producers with their supercharged, modulating sonic landscapes as can be heard in Reptilians.

Frequency modulation can transform oscillators and filters to produce new timbral and harmonic information when LFOs modulate into the audio rate.

FM8 allows for custom-drawn modulation, providing a sound design palette where complex envelope shapes can be looped and used as LFOs to create intriguing timbral shifts and rhythmic textures.

Elevate your bass music productions with earth-shaking wubs with Native Instruments' FM8. You can also check out four more of our favourite FM synths in this round up video.

 

Donna Summer - I Feel Love

Late 70s Electronic Track Building with Retro Minimoog Bass

The creators of I Feel Love initially aimed to use only the Moog Modular 3P for the track, crafting hats with white noise and bass with detuned oscillators and driven filters. However, they layered an acoustic kick to add the needed 4/4 punch.

You can use the Moog Minimoog to easily replicate I Feel Love’s arpeggiated Cm7 chord bassline. The Minimoog's triangle and sawtooth waveforms naturally drive the LP filter, while the bright harmonics are tamed. Adding a 16th note ping pong delay provides the spatial bass character in the track’s bassline.

Get vintage-inspired bass sounds at your fingertips with Moog's virtual version of their timeless classic synthesizer.

 

Faithless - Insomnia

Reawaken Insomnia's Plucked Keys with Kilohearts Phase Plant

Insomnia’s brooding build leads to one of the most famous and memorable pay offs in dance music history. The tracks four to the floor drums, rumbling bassline and monologue vocals build to a climax where the track drops into the reverb and delay soaked plucked keys progression.

Kilohearts Phase Plant can recreate the keys sound with its wide range of oscillators, noise generators and effects. The patch uses two detuned sawtooth waves, sub oscillator and white noise. Keep the amp envelope short and shape the decay time to achieve a pluck-like note. Add reverb and delay for the signature spatial tail found in warehouse-filling tracks.

Snap up Kilohearts' Phase Plant to experiment with modular patch building and unique effect chains now. You can also check out this handy review of Phase Plant’s key features to get yourself up and running.