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I'm using Logic Pro X. I really like the keyboard sound in the melody that starts right at the beginning of this song:

. To be super clear, the first note of the bar has a buzz/saw sound on top of the keyboard sound I'm trying to replicate. The remaining three notes in the first bar don't have the buzz sound, and that's what I'm trying to replicate.

I've been through a ton of presets in Logic, and I've tried tweaking various settings in a couple different synths (ES2, Alchemy, ES P, etc.). I've spent a couple hours on this but I can't get the right sound. Anyone have any advice on which synths to use and what settings to use on them?

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  • Are you talking about the sound that first appears at around 39 seconds in?
    – Simon Bosley
    Jan 23, 2018 at 10:53
  • No, I'm pretty sure I can make that one. I'm talking about the sound that starts from the very beginning, playing the main melody throughout the song.
    – gsgx
    Jan 23, 2018 at 18:06
  • This reminds of the 'bell' type of sounds you get with synths like Alchemy. The first note of each bar is just distorted more than the main melody line. It's not necessarily part of the sound of the synth, more likely an effect applied to it.
    – Simon Bosley
    Jan 24, 2018 at 9:39

1 Answer 1

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Any synth can create this - it sounds like detuned square waves with ADSR envelope modulation to a low pass (LP) filter, with a short decay. Just bring the LP cutoff down and turn the envelope modulation value up so that the envelope is affecting the filter's response. Most soft synths provide this feature.

If your preferred synth does not provide filter modulation, you can probably get by with just the volume ADSR envelope. Just keep the attack and decay short.

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  • Thanks for the response, but I'm not having any luck with this. For reference, here's a screenshot of Logic's ES2 synth with my current settings: imgur.com/a/QFpUG. I have two square waves, one is 7 semitones lower than the other, there's a LP filter, and envelope 2 is modulating the cutoff. It's still missing the timbre of the sound in the video. If you or anyone else could replicate this in any synth and provide the patch settings so I could map it to mine, I'd greatly appreciate it :)
    – gsgx
    Jan 23, 2018 at 3:07
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    Could there perhaps be effects, external from the actual patch, that are contributing to this timbre you're seeking?
    – otonomi
    Jan 24, 2018 at 23:37
  • @gsingh2011 I think you may be missing the effects - there's a distinctive fast stereo delay (which I think spreads or changes quickly) and, although my right ear is bad atm so stereo fx are difficult to hear, I think I hear some chorus going on in there too or some other separation effect. Add a spoonful of spacey Reverb, and it should sound more like it.
    – n00dles ♦
    Aug 1, 2022 at 1:26
  • @gsingh2011 btw, I'm pretty sure that first low "buzz" note is the same as the other 3 - just an octave or two lower. It's a wide arpeggiator pattern - quite a simple one.
    – n00dles ♦
    Aug 1, 2022 at 1:33

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