12. Sound design examples

Here are three walk-throughs that start from the initial state. The numbers are only starting points; adjust them by ear.

To return to the initial state: press ALL in the header. Every parameter goes back to its default (only OSC1's Saw is playing).

Example 1: trance supersaw lead

A bright lead built from a thick unison and a tempo-synced delay.

  1. Press ALL to start from the initial state.
  2. On the OSC page, select OSC1 (Saw) and turn on Unison in UNISON.
    • Start with Voices 9, Detune around 30 ct, Spread 80%, Mix 50%.
  3. In SOURCES, turn on OSC2, set Wave A to Saw and PITCH Oct to +1. Set its OUTPUT Level to about 0.5.
  4. On the FILTER page, check that Filter 1's Type is Lowpass 24dB and lower Cutoff a little (around 6-8 kHz).
  5. In the AMP envelope on the MOD page, set Release to about 0.4 s.
  6. On the FX page, turn on Delay 1, turn on Sync, set the time to 1/8. (dotted eighth) and Mix to about 20%.
  7. Turn on Reverb with Mix at 20-25%.

For more width, add Hyper or Dimension in the FX. If the centre feels thin, raise the UNISON Mix.

Example 2: 303-style acid bass

A squelchy bass made with the arpeggiator lanes and the 303 knobs.

  1. Press ALL to start from the initial state.
  2. In GLOBAL (SOURCES on the OSC page), turn on Mono in POLYPHONY / MONO.
  3. On the FILTER page, set Filter 1's Type to Diode.
  4. On the ARP page, turn on ARP On in SIGNAL FLOW.
    • Pattern Up, Sync on, Division 1/16, Octaves 1.
  5. In ARP PATTERN on the right, click a few steps in the ACC lane for accents, and add two or three steps in the SLIDE lane.
  6. Move the 303 knobs at the bottom:
    • Cutoff around 300 Hz, Resonance high, Env Mod 50%, Decay 0.2 s, Accent about 80%.
    • Add a little grit with Drive.
  7. Hold a low key (around C2) and the phrase keeps playing.

For a fatter sound, add Distortion (Tube, for example) or Saturator in the FX.

Example 3: slowly morphing pad

A pad whose character changes over time, made by moving the Wave A-D morph with an LFO.

  1. Press ALL to start from the initial state.
  2. In WAVETABLE on the OSC page, set Wave A to Saw, Wave B to Vox A, Wave C to Choir Ah and Wave D to Organ (any waves you like will do).
  3. Turn on UNISON with Voices 5 and Detune around 15 ct.
  4. In the AMP envelope on the MOD page, set Attack to about 1 s and Release to about 2 s.
  5. On the LFO 1 tab, slow the Rate down to about 0.1-0.2 Hz.
  6. Right-click the OSC1 Wt-Pos knob and choose Modulate with ▸ LFO ▸ LFO1. LFO1 → OSC1 Wt-Position goes into the Mod Matrix; set its Range to about 50%.
  7. On the FX page, turn on Reverb 2 or Conv Reverb (Hall) with Mix around 35%.

For more movement, add the Harmonic EQ or Wave Effects on the SHAPE tab and vary how much they apply per frame with Shape Amt A-D.

Start with AI, finish by hand

It also works well to get a rough sound from AI SOUND (chapter 11) and finish it yourself.

  1. Describe the sound you want in AI SOUND (e.g. dark, slowly evolving pad).
  2. If you like it, save it with SAVE PRESET.
  3. Add movement with Modulate with from the knob menus, swap effects and so on.
  4. When you are done, save again with SAVE in the header.

Version 1.6.0 · 2026-11-08 · W3PC Audio · wav3pluscore.com