Step 01 / 4
Shape the sustained tone and its pitch movement #
Load Drift and apply the starting settings. Use Poly mode with 8 voices. Enable Oscillator 1, choose Shark Tooth, and set Shape 0.14, Octave 0, and Gain +3.0 dB. Turn Oscillator 2 and Noise Off. Keep Oscillator 1 routed through the filter.
Shark Tooth provides a mixed waveform with both rounded and sharper features. Shape changes its harmonic balance. The oscillator gain also affects the level entering Drift's filter.
Set Volume −12 dB, Transpose 0 st, Velocity → Volume 50%, Drift 12%, and Poly Voice Depth 0%. Keep Glide 0 ms, Legato Off, and Oscillator Retrigger Off. Use a 2 st pitch-bend range.
Give Envelope 1 a sustained body and a long release:
| Envelope 1 control | Value |
|---|---|
| Attack | 1.00 ms |
| Decay | 3.85 s |
| Sustain | 100% |
| Release | 8.50 s |
At full sustain, the decay segment does not reduce the held amplitude. The sound's gradual darkening comes from the filter envelope.
Choose lowpass Type II, set LP Frequency 800 Hz, Resonance 0.00, HP Frequency 10 Hz, and Key → LPF 1.00. Key tracking moves the lowpass cutoff with the played note.
Set LP Modulation Source 1 Env 2, Amount 35%. Keep the second filter modulation amount at 0%. Use Envelope 2 in Env mode:
| Envelope 2 control | Value |
|---|---|
| Attack | 1.00 ms |
| Decay | 8.50 s |
| Sustain | 0% |
| Release | 18.0 s |
Envelope 2 opens the lowpass at the strike and gradually closes it. Its long release prevents the filter from snapping shut when a note ends.
For the regular pitch wobble, choose LFO Sine, Freq mode, Rate 1.25 Hz, Amount 100%, and Retrigger Off. Set Pitch Modulation Source 2 LFO, Amount 0.3%. Keep Pitch Modulation Amount 1, Shape Modulation Amount, LFO Modulation Amount and all three general modulation amounts at 0%. Drift adds a small amount of irregular variation around the repeating wobble.
Play or download step 1 — WebM
Next: Blend in a narrower band of tone →Step 02 / 4
Blend in a narrower band of tone #
Add Auto Filter after Drift. Select Band-pass, 24 dB, SVF, Frequency 650 Hz, Resonance 8.0%, and Dry/Wet 30%. Keep Drive 0%, Output 0 dB, Soft Clip Off, and both LFO Amount and Envelope Amount 0%. Leave the sidechain Off.
The band-pass branch concentrates the middle of the sound. Blending it with the dry signal keeps the low fundamental present. The cutoff is fixed, so its colour changes as notes move through its passband.
Play or download step 2 — WebM
Next: Add a restrained digital edge →Step 03 / 4
Add a restrained digital edge #
Place Redux after Auto Filter. Set Rate 24.0 kHz, Bits 9, Jitter 0%, Shape 0%, and Dry/Wet 35%. Turn DC Shift, Pre-Filter and Post-Filter Off.
Bit reduction roughens the quieter parts of the waveform, while the dry blend keeps the pitched body intact. Keep the preceding device gains as specified: the level entering Redux changes the strength of the quantization texture.
Play or download step 3 — WebM
Next: Let the tone dissolve into a room →Step 04 / 4
Let the tone dissolve into a room #
Add Reverb after Redux.
| Reverb control | Value |
|---|---|
| Predelay | 8.00 ms |
| Size / Smoothing | 90.00 / Fast |
| Decay | 8.50 s |
| Stereo | 100.00 |
| Density | High |
| Dry/Wet | 22% |
| Input Lo Cut / Hi Cut | Off / Off |
| Reflect / Diffuse level | 0 dB / 0 dB |
| Early-reflection Spin | On |
| Spin rate / Amount | 0.30 Hz / 17.50 |
| Early-reflection Shape | 0.50 |
| Diffusion High | On, Shelf |
| High frequency / Gain | 3.00 kHz / 0.50 |
| Diffusion Low | Off |
| Diffusion / Scale | 60% / 40% |
| Chorus | On |
| Chorus rate / Amount | 0.02 Hz / 0.02 |
| Freeze | Off |
The room adds width and carries the grain behind the direct tone. High-frequency damping makes the tail softer as it fades. The pitch movement creates gentle interference between the current note and its reverberation.
Play or download step 4 — WebM
Hold a note to reveal the slow filter movement. Release it to hear the amplitude envelope and room continue together. A lighter touch lowers the level entering Redux; a stronger strike brings the tone forward. Up to eight voices can sound at once, including notes still in their release.
Audio & settings ↓