How to make a pluck in Serum 2

A pluck is any sound that starts bright and dies away quickly, like a plucked string. In a synth that is mostly the envelopes: the level and the filter both snap open and close within a few hundred milliseconds.

Oscillators

Set oscillator A to a saw with 3 to 5 unison voices and a small detune. For a softer, rounder pluck, use a square or triangle instead. Add oscillator B an octave up at a lower level for sparkle.

VISIONS OF TOMORROW71 finished Serum 2 presets for house and techno: 26 basses, leads, pads, plucks, keys, stabs and FX. Royalty-free.Requires Serum 2.

The envelopes are the pluck

  1. ENV 1 (level): zero attack, decay 200 to 400 ms, sustain at zero, release 150 to 300 ms.
  2. Route to a 24 dB low-pass and set the cutoff fairly low.
  3. Drag ENV 2 onto the cutoff with zero attack, a decay a little shorter than ENV 1 and no sustain.
  4. Raise the resonance a little for a more glassy, tuned top.

Shorter decays sound like house and deep house stabs; longer ones, around 500 ms, sound like trance plucks. Our free trance pluck is a good reference.

Delay and reverb

A pluck is short, so effects fill the space between notes. Use a 1/8 or dotted 1/8 delay with some feedback, then a reverb. High-pass the effects so the tails do not cloud the bass.

Five free Serum 2 presets →A house 808, a distorted 303, a French touch lead, a retro pad and a trance pluck. Open them and see how they are built.Try it in the browser first →Seed synth plays lead, chords and bass in your browser and shows the oscillator, filter and envelope as you turn the knob.EDM Serum presets: 71 for Serum 2 →VISIONS OF TOMORROW: basses, leads, pads, plucks, keys, stabs and FX. Requires Serum 2. $29.Where to save your Serum 2 preset →The Serum 2 presets folder on Windows and Mac, and how to make new presets show up.

Five free Serum 2 presets

From our VISIONS OF TOMORROW pack: an 808 bass, a distorted 303 acid bass, a French house lead, a retro pad and a trance pluck. The same download has 16 house drums and three guitar loops. Royalty-free.

Your download now, then two short emails: how to use the sounds, and a 25% code for any of the full packs, valid for a week. Unsubscribe any time.

Questions

What makes a sound a pluck?

Zero attack, a short decay and no sustain, on both the level and the filter.

How long should a pluck decay be?

Around 200 to 400 ms for house, up to about 500 ms for trance.

Why does my pluck sound thin?

Add a second oscillator an octave up or down, a few unison voices, and delay and reverb to fill the space.

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