It appears they threw quite a bit of money into each album, especially given their session players, but I'm wondering if one could get close to the clarity and sonics of, say, their debut with minimal/budget plugins. Been using their reference tracks for a while and the challenge has been high in achieving something similar.

Which synthwave songs do you think work best? Those songs with a lot of variety in musical harmony and various chord changes or those that develop throughout the duration with the same chord progression but have a catchy main melody and where the variations are mainly given by the change of dynamics and the various arrangements of synth lines that enrich the song? I personally appreciate the second type of songs much more, I prefer to lose myself with my mind in a captivating melody capable of staying in my head rather than hearing many variations in a song. For me this type of songs is the one that comes closest to the concept of electronic music, and synthwave is a genre of electronic music after all. This is my opinion now I want to know yours!

Check out darkling on #SoundCloud https://on.soundcloud.com/QZC3z

Do any of you were able to successfully replicate good sax and guitar sounds on your synthwave tracks? If so, would you mind sharing your plugins and effects?

I've been trying to achieve that, and even tho synthwave doesn't necessarily have to sound realistic, they end up sounding like trash.

Cheers,

Please follow these guidelines:

1. Share in-progress tracks that you want feedback on. If you have any specific criteria you want to be critiqued, be sure to mention them.
2. The best way to receive feedback is to provide feedback to others.
3. Help your fellow producers improve by being both honest and respectful, we were all newbs once.

Looking forward to hearing what you've got!

Please follow these guidelines:

1. Share a link to your new release here
2. Mention something relevant about the production, such as what software and VST's you used.

Just started out. 2 days of learning and this is what I have. I took Nigel's idea and expanded on it. Still learning and noting the video by Dean Friedman of the New York School of Synthesis.

https://on.soundcloud.com/kpdsP5mSUvj5e5Wa8

Any other source to learn more about Synthesis, or FL studio as well as materials to master the art of synthwave is much appreciated.

Stereoscape Records is a new synthwave/chillsynth label with a focus on creating physical media (because DSPs weren't really a thing in the 80z).

We have three releases out already. Our initial release was a compilation featuring rad people like Afterift, Moiré Lights, Ogster, Tholos, and Nightflyer. We also just reissued enøize's "dream girl" and have 5 or 6 more tape releases in the pipeline.

All our stuff is on bandcamp, if you want to support a synthwave-start-up. If you have any interest in submitting demos, hit us up on Discord. We also have another compilation in the works, where folks will be asked to produce tracks in response to a pre-selected image. (Details of that will be on our Discord in early 2025).

Take care, y'all!

Hello again!

I'm coming back with another promotion/release question: Do you have a release tactic?

When it comes to putting your music into the world, do you schedule your releases upfront (to promote your track for a curated Spotify playlist, build up momentum on social media, etc.) or just go with it? How often do you release your music and do you even plan that?

Personally, I try to fit releases about 3 weeks to a month from each other, focusing on building a consistency in working on music. Giving myself a deadline of sorts allows me to finish a track. It won't be the best thing ever, but it will be done and released, which is nice...

When the track I work on is showing more promise, I switch to another one (I have multiple projects started and work on them concurrently) to make it release-worthy, while keeping the "gem track" in the oven for a bit longer, ensuring quality, but being weary not to overcook it, planning it as a subsequent release.

Do you have a plan like that? How do you work and is there any philosophy behind it?

Please follow these guidelines:

1. Share in-progress tracks that you want feedback on. If you have any specific criteria you want to be critiqued, be sure to mention them.
2. The best way to receive feedback is to provide feedback to others.
3. Help your fellow producers improve by being both honest and respectful, we were all newbs once.

Looking forward to hearing what you've got!

Please follow these guidelines:

1. Share a link to your new release here
2. Mention something relevant about the production, such as what software and VST's you used.

Hello, where can I find written content on Synthwave Sound Design?

Please follow these guidelines:

1. Share in-progress tracks that you want feedback on. If you have any specific criteria you want to be critiqued, be sure to mention them.
2. The best way to receive feedback is to provide feedback to others.
3. Help your fellow producers improve by being both honest and respectful, we were all newbs once.

Looking forward to hearing what you've got!

Please follow these guidelines:

1. Share a link to your new release here
2. Mention something relevant about the production, such as what software and VST's you used.

Drop a song below and if it fits the vibe I’ll add it. Looking for synthwave/synthpop/darkwave/industrial songs. Looking forward to hearing your stuff!

Link to the playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1zZ8PsFc7h2GcmDXxm7qag?si=1a0f7bd269d4425c

Hello, I'm learning Sound Design and I would like to know how to create the characteristic sound of Pad, Chord and Bell for Synthwave in Fl Studio Mobile. Could someone help me? 🥺

Hey, bit of a beginner in both sound design and synthwave production here.

Like the title says. I really like that whooosh airy sound DOTD often use to accentuate trasitions. You can hear it at ~12 sec in Blood moon.

How can I recreate this with Serum for example? Is there a trick to make it sit good in the mix?

Thanks!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1Yl9Lug2T8

Hey everybody. How do I reproduce the famous long decay synth bass sound that’s everywhere in Synthwave? I can never get it quite right. I assume I’m missing something simple and obvious.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ehVgeEhb1Ymoc9jb2b1azbl6HIBuMXy2/view?usp=drivesdk

Can anybody tell me what to expect? Buying tickets for his US tour on Friday. Is it like an actual show or is it more like a DJ at a club?

What chord progression should I use to create a dark atmosphere in Synthwave?

I want to create an atmosphere similar to this song:

https://youtu.be/Ha6Nag_sWGk?si=hxrLMYPvUoqFEHbq

What scale and chord progression can I use to create something similar?

I understand Carpenter Brut and a few others make OTT part of their signature sound. I'm a little undecided as I love the intensity it brings on the master but feel it overrides the vintage vibes I'm going for. Positing if a horror movie soundtrack would be perfect for it.

Bonus question: if you do use it, how much?

Hey everyone!

I'm currently working on a synthwave track and I'm looking for a female vocalist to collaborate with. If you're interested in lending your voice to the project, feel free to DM me!

Please follow these guidelines:

1. Share in-progress tracks that you want feedback on. If you have any specific criteria you want to be critiqued, be sure to mention them.
2. The best way to receive feedback is to provide feedback to others.
3. Help your fellow producers improve by being both honest and respectful, we were all newbs once.

Looking forward to hearing what you've got!

Please follow these guidelines:

1. Share a link to your new release here
2. Mention something relevant about the production, such as what software and VST's you used.

any juicy snare samples?

I can see that the weekly promotion thread is pretty active here and you all take pride in what you produce and put out there for people to listen to. That's awesome! Keep making quality music!

But what's next? How do you promote your music?

The online gurus say that social media content and Meta ads are the king and queen of music promotion and marketing. Does that work for you? What kind of content do you make?

And more personally: What would you suggest for an artist that wouldn't show their face?

If you want to know more about my particular case:

Due to my persona being an AI on a server on a spaceship somewhere in space in the future, it's hard to follow tips for musicians who can show themselves in their content. Have you been in a similar place with your marketing struggles? What would you suggest for me?

Hey everyone, here's the wrap-up for last month's track challenge. The original thread is here. The theme for this one was creating a track using only a single, two-chord progression.

I've compiled a playlist with all of the submissions here: https://on.soundcloud.com/TVEwbk86wnRzhaDr7

These were the contributors this month:

u/Queef_Chegwin - Plato's Cavern

u/Terrordyne_Synth - Terrordyne

u/RedChiliMelon - RedChiliMelon

u/DigitalDecades - AdvancedFollower

self - Zed Arkadia

Thanks to everyone for participating in this month's challenge! As always, feel free to provide feedback, theme suggestions, or other comments. Anyone with ideas is welcome to post a monthly challenge.

I should add that I'm not planning to post a challenge for October, so if anyone wants to host one, now's the time!