Synth Enthusiast Flume Swears by Synplant: Unveiling the Five Reasons That Make It His Preferred Choice 🌿
Let's dig into Synplant, the freakin' one-of-a-kind synthesizer
If you haven't heard, Flume's been praising it and using it to knock out a big stack of tracks. So, take it from the man himself - Synplant's got some serious juice.
Synplant is a software synth with a genetic approach to sound creation. Sounds complicated? Not to worry - this guide is here to break it down for ya. Here's the lowdown:
- Synplant's unique selling point: Say goodbye to the monotonous world of traditional synths. Synplant takes a radical approach to sound design, focusing on an organic, evolving sonic journey.
- The basics: This bad boy's got seeds, branches, sliders, and macros. Sounds like some gardening equipment? You're damn right. But don't worry - we'll dive into what each of these components means and how to use them.
- Designing your first sounds: You'll learn to grow and manipulate synth patches just like a real plant, experimenting with different techniques to create mind-blowing sounds.
- Take it to the next level: Want to push your synth skills to the limit? We've got 5 pro tips to shred some sick sounds on Synplant 👀
Alrighty then, let's get to it! 👇
Need some organic flavor in your tracks? 🌱
Download our Overgrowth Synplant Preset Pack featuring 41 different presets - from silky leads to wobbling effects 👇
Table of contents
- So... What's the deal with Synplant? 😯
- The Guts of Synplant ⚙️
- Synplant's Seeds and Branches
- The Slider Ring
- Macro Sliders
- CAUTION: Genetic Modification 🧬
- Five Tips for Synplant Mastery 💡
- Tip #1: Branch Automation
- Tip #2: Branch Diversity
- Tip #3: Automated Tuning for Rising Action
- Tip #4: Glitchy Pads
- Tip #5: Create Your Own Presets
- Get Out of Here, Synplant Guide!
So... What's the deal with Synplant? 😯
First things first: Grab that demo version of Synplant. It'll be functional for 3 weeks before it….dies 😅
Now, let's begin with an observation: most synths look boring AF. Sure, they all have their quirks, but at its core, they're all cut from the same cloth.
Enter Synplant. It first dropped in 2008, so let's forgive the slightly dated look:
I think we can all agree - this doesn't look like your average synth 😅
Synplant takes a dramatically different approach to sound design. At its core, it takes an organic approach. Instead of choosing waveforms, you plant seeds; instead of tweaking knobs, you grow branches.
Let's take a quick peek at how sound generation in Synplant works: Start with a seed, grow different branches to create unique sounds.
Listen to these examples - they all sound different, in random ways!
Don't be thrown off - with just a bit of practice, Synplant becomes incredibly intuitive. But before we dive deeper, let's take a look at some of the sounds it can create:
Now, let's delve into the world of Synplant 👀
The Guts of Synplant ⚙️
As mentioned, generating sounds in Synplants works with seeds and branches. Let's look at this in more detail.
Synplant's Seeds and Branches
Every sound in Synplant starts with a seed, the DNA of our sound. We can then grow different branches to create unique sounds:
Each note triggers a different sound, but once you find a sound you like, you can assign it to every single note 👀
But when the branches are closest to the seed, they will sound similar. The more you grow them, the more different they will sound.
Check out these two examples:
This is what it sounds like:
And with every branch fully grown:
Once you find a sound you dig, you can slice off the branch and replant it as a new seed. Select a branch, then click on the central seed to plant it as the new starting point:
Then we can start growing new branches all over again 🤩
The Slider Ring
Furthermore, surrounding our plant is the key ring. This is where the 12 different notes are displayed, triggering different sounds:
Using the Mod Wheel, you can "grow" all branches at the same time:
Want to inject something organic into your music? 🌱
Download our Overgrowth Synplant Preset Pack featuring 41 different presets - from buttery leads to wobbling effects 👇
Macro Sliders
In addition, the main interface features 4 different sliders:
- Tuning: lets you tune the entire plant. You can fine-tune in cents up to a full octave up or down.
- Atonality: makes your sound more playable, or more effect-like.
- Effect: adjusts the effect mix and panning amount. Turn up for a drowned-out reverb sound.
- Release: controls the release time of the sound.
Caution: Genetic Modification 🧬
Now, if you're familiar with sound design, you might think this sounds limiting. Randomness can be great for happy accidents, but what if you want more control?
That's where Scrumtrulescent Mutagenesis comes in 🔥
Basically, this is where you can control advanced parameters such as attack, LFO, modulation, and more. By clicking the little "Vial of Mutagen" icon, you get additional info on each gene mutation:
I'll admit, it isn't the most user-friendly interface.
And although the idea is cool, the naming and general display could be improved.
Here are some of the controls I find the most useful:
- vol_atk: controls the attack of the sound
- vol_dcy: controls the decay of the sound
- vol_sus: controls the sustain of the sound
If you need a refresher on all things ADSR, we have you covered here 🔥
- a_form and b_form: control the shapes of oscillators A and B
- flt_freq: controls the cutoff frequency of the filter
- fx_mix: controls the amount of effect (a chorus-style reverb)
- fx_chors: controls the amount of chorus effect in the sound
Note that gene mutation only affects the seed! This means that growing branches will still result in different sounds.
Five Tips for Synplant Mastery 💡
Alright, you now have a basic understanding of how Synplant works. To wrap up this guide, let's talk about five pro tips to take your sound design skills to the next level 🔥
Tip #1: Branch Automation
My first tip is to automate the branch lengths to create incredible variations.
To do this, I like to automate the mod wheel so all branches change together:
This can create cool variations in an otherwise boring loop:
If the sounds get too different from each other, use the "Mutagen Concentration Control":
This will decrease the amount of growth in each branch.
Tip #2: Branch Diversity
Along the same lines, don't be afraid to use different branch lengths within the same preset. 🌱🌲🌳
This way, you can control the character of each note separately:
By the way, this also works great within chords. If you don't feel like layering different synths, grow branches! This will give a "layered" feel to your chords:
Tip #3: Automated Tuning for Rising Action
Another cool trick is to use Synplant's "Tuning" and "Reverb" to create risers:
For this, we first need to find a good sound to start with. You can either experiment with branches or click "New Random Seed":
I found this sound I like:
Next, we are simply going to automate the "tuning" and "reverb" sliders. This is what we get:
Nice! 😍
The cool thing is, you can now switch out seeds. This way, you can experiment with different risers and see what fits your track.
Tip #4: Creating Glitchy Pads
Remember the Gene Mutation I was telling you about?
At the very end is the XYZ Mutagen:
If you automate it while playing a sound, you'll get a really cool glitchy effect.
Let's hear an example:
First I have my dry synth:
Now I am going to automate the XYZ Mutagen. I've also added some radio-style EQ and vinyl crackles with Izotope's Vinyl2 app:
A great way to make anything lo-fi 😍
Tip #5: Create Your Own Presets
When playing with Synplant, I often find a lot of cool sounds. That's why I like to dedicate time specifically to sound design.
I would recommend doing the same and creating your own presets with Synplant.
For that, just click on "Save Patch As" so you have easy access to it in the future!
Want to inject something organic into your music? 🌱
Download our Overgrowth Synplant Preset Pack featuring 41 different presets - from buttery leads to wobbling effects 👇
That's It For This Synplant Guide!
That's it for this guide! Hopefully, you now have a better understanding of Synplant's unique capabilities.
Did I miss out on anything? Want to get in touch? Drop me a line over at [email protected] or comment below!
Note: the author of the original article has no affiliation with Simon or ourwebsite.com
- Discover the organic flavor in your music with the Overgrowth Synplant Preset Pack, featuring 41 unique presets ranging from silky leads to wobbling effects.
- Synplant's advanced sound design capabilities offer genetic modifications through Scrumtrulescent Mutagenesis, allowing control over advanced parameters such as attack, LFO, modulation, and more.
- To take your Synplant skills to the next level, experiment with branch automation, branch diversity, creating glitchy pads, and using automated tuning for rising action, all while saving your own custom presets for easy access in the future.
