![]() ![]() Otherwise it’s just as easy to simply add a distortion insert effect after the synth. If your synth has a drive, saturation or distortion module inside you can use that to add some slight distortion to your sound, and get rid of that super clean oscillator output. You may also want to add a resonance peak with the filter, or even use a notch or band-pass filter to thin out the sound. If you use a low pass filter, just filter out some of the high end range if you want to. Don’t filter out too much highs, because smooth deep bass sounds are not part of the retro video game style. ![]() First, you can use a filter type to add some grit to your synth output. You can achieve this in several ways, including adding effects afterwards. Pad Sounds (mid attack, full decay, full sustain, low release)Īnother big aspect of these retro sounds is that dirt and grit.Melodic Sounds (minimal attack, mid decay, low sustain, minimal release).Rhythmic Sounds (instant attack, short decay, minimal sustain, no release).You can of course do any variation on envelopes that you want, but these shapes can be a great starting point. Then you basically have 3 simple shapes of envelopes to base your sounds on depending on the context in your track. So let’s go on with the amp envelope, which creates the main shape of your sound. You can completely skip the filter envelope, since with retro video game sounds you don’t want any evolving filters over time. No Effects Added (like reverb, delay, chorus, unison etc.)Īfter you have chosen your one single classic oscillator or waveform, it’s time to set the envelopes and filter.No Legato (no glide mode or portamento).To change the overall tone, instead of using complex waveforms, retro video game music used different pulse width on square waves, which makes it possible to sound design the tone from fat and full to thin and nasal. So 1 voice at a time, and not smooth transitions when going from one note to the next. You should make sure the waveform is played as monophonic, without legato. The square wave is mainly used for the upfront sounds like leading melodies and arpeggios, while the triangle waveform is used more for bass lines since it is softer by nature. And make sure to use a classic waveform like a simple square wave or a triangle wave. Your starting point should be one single waveform on the synth or sample engine you use. The waveforms used in retro video game music are super simple, without any fancy automation or effects. ![]()
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