Novation Peak – Sound Design Practice Ladder

A sequence of “patch archetypes” designed to build control before complexity. Each patch is a small study: do it fast once, then repeat until it becomes boringly dependable.

The intent is not to collect presets, but to build a mental model: how oscillators, envelopes, filters, and modulation interact, and how little you can use while still making something expressive. If you want a constraint: avoid effects until the patch itself feels alive.

Synthesis

Single-Oscillator Saw Lead

This is the irreducible core: one oscillator, one filter, one envelope. The aim is to feel how much expression is available before you add layers that can hide weak articulation.

Archetype

Minimoog-style monosynth lead: forward midrange, clear articulation, expressive cutoff.

Goal

Make a lead that feels good with only cutoff, envelope amount, and playing dynamics. If it does not “speak” here, adding more will usually just add noise.

Principle

Treat filter cutoff as tone control, not as an effect. Use envelope depth as a controlled transient shaper rather than “more brightness.”

Reference

Pink Floyd – Shine On You Crazy Diamond (1975)
Jean-Michel Jarre – Oxygène IV (1976)
Tangerine Dream – Phaedra (1974)

Start

Init patch. One saw at 8’. Resonance low. Amp envelope: fast attack, medium decay, low sustain (or moderate sustain if you want legato). Filter envelope: moderate amount, decay tuned by ear. Keep effects off.

Listen For

A stable “core vowel” that changes smoothly with cutoff. The transient should be defined without sounding clicky. Notes should feel consistent across the keyboard.

Further Ideas

Add slight key tracking on the filter for consistency. Map aftertouch to cutoff with a small range. Try a tiny amount of drive before touching resonance.

Square Bass With Snap

Bass teaches discipline. The margin between punch and mud is narrow, and envelope timing matters more than waveform choice.

Archetype

SH-101 / electro bass: focused fundamental, clean transient, controlled low-end.

Goal

Build a bass that “locks” with a kick without relying on distortion, compression, or loudness tricks.

Principle

Perceived impact is mostly envelope shape. The attack transient should be created by filter movement, not by over-bright oscillator content.

Reference

Newcleus – Jam On It (1984)
Cybotron – Clear (1983)
Kraftwerk – Numbers (1981)

Start

Square wave at 16’. Filter fairly closed, resonance low. Filter envelope: fast attack, short decay, sustain at zero (or very low), small-to-moderate envelope amount. Amp envelope: fast attack, medium decay, sustain to taste.

Listen For

A clean “thump” that is present even at low volume. If it feels dull, increase envelope amount slightly before opening cutoff. If it feels boomy, shorten decay before touching EQ or drive.

Further Ideas

Map velocity to filter envelope amount (not volume) to create accents. Try a tiny sub-oscillator blend; then remove it again and see if you actually needed it.

Two-Saw Poly Pad

This introduces width without complexity. The sound should feel large yet stable, like a chord that holds its shape.

Archetype

Juno / Prophet baseline pad: two saws, gentle detune, slow envelopes, restrained filter.

Goal

Create width through tuning and voicing, not through modulation noise. The pad should stay coherent over long sustains.

Principle

Detune creates width up to a point; beyond that it becomes “sour.” Voice spread and stereo placement can do more than extra detune.

Reference

Vangelis – Blade Runner Blues (1982)
Simple Minds – New Gold Dream (1982)
Talk Talk – It’s My Life (1984)

Start

Two saw oscillators, same octave, light detune. 12 dB low-pass, minimal resonance, cutoff set to remove fizz. Amp envelope: slow attack, long release. Filter envelope: either off or very subtle.

Listen For

A chord that feels wide but not wobbly. The sound should not “beat” obviously unless you want that. If it does, reduce detune before changing anything else.

Further Ideas

Add barely-audible slow LFO to pitch for “life” (depth near zero). Compare chorus vs. subtle stereo delay, and keep whichever preserves chord clarity.

PWM Pad / Strings

This patch demonstrates how slow modulation creates life without obvious motion. The goal is animation that stays in the background.

Archetype

Juno-style PWM pad/strings: pulse wave movement plus gentle ensemble/chorus character.

Goal

Get “alive but stable.” You should feel motion, but not be able to point at it.

Principle

One slow modulation in the right place beats many fast ones. Depth is usually the problem, not rate.

Reference

Japan – Ghosts (1981)
Depeche Mode – Stripped (1986)
The Cure – Plainsong (1989)

Start

Pulse waves with different widths. Slow LFO to PWM with small depth. Filter gently rolled off. Add chorus sparingly if needed; the PWM should do most of the work.

Listen For

Motion that does not “call attention.” If you notice a repeating cycle, reduce depth first, then consider changing rate.

Further Ideas

Try two slow LFOs at unrelated rates: one to PWM (very small), one to filter cutoff (even smaller). If it starts to sound seasick, back out immediately.

Hard-Sync Lead

Oscillator sync introduces controlled harmonic aggression. The musical trick is to move timbre via pitch modulation without sounding like a siren.

Archetype

1980s “hero lead” sync sound: bright, cutting, but controlled by small pitch motions.

Goal

Create a lead where expressive range comes from subtle performance control (mod wheel, aftertouch, envelope amount), not from extreme settings.

Principle

Sync timbre movement is pitch movement. The ear reads small changes as expression; large changes read as effect.

Reference

Van Halen – Jump (1984)
a-ha – Take On Me (1985)
Europe – The Final Countdown (1986)

Start

Sync one oscillator to another. Use a saw as the synced oscillator. Set a stable base tone with filter. Route an envelope or wheel to the master oscillator’s pitch in a small range.

Listen For

A consistent fundamental with “ripping” harmonics that move smoothly. If the tone loses pitch center, reduce modulation range.

Further Ideas

Try adding a tiny amount of portamento for phrasing. Map aftertouch to modulation depth so you can “lean in” on held notes without overshooting.

Poly Brass Stab

Brass sounds are about articulation, not realism. The character is mostly envelope punch and how the filter opens and settles.

Archetype

Prophet / OB-style brass hit: two saws (or saw + pulse), fast filter envelope, controlled bite.

Goal

Make a chord stab that barks and then sits back. It should cut through without becoming harsh, and it should “snap” even with effects off.

Principle

The identity is in the filter envelope: fast attack, moderate decay, low sustain. The oscillator stack supplies body; the envelope supplies the mouth.

Reference

Prince – 1999 (1982)
Herbie Hancock – Rockit (1983)
Duran Duran – Rio (1982)

Start

Two saws, slight detune. Optional subtle third oscillator for body. Filter moderately closed with low resonance. Filter envelope: fast attack, moderate decay, low sustain, moderate amount. Amp envelope: fast attack, decay to a steady sustain (for stabs, sustain can be low).

Listen For

A “bark” at the front, then a stable body. If it sounds thin, add body with oscillator balance before opening the filter. If it sounds harsh, reduce envelope amount before lowering cutoff.

Further Ideas

Try slight unison (if available) at low detune for thickness. Compare 12 dB vs 24 dB filter slopes for how the stab sits in a mix.

FM Bell / Electric Piano

This introduces frequency modulation in a controlled, musical way. With FM, brightness is often better controlled by FM depth than by filter cutoff.

Archetype

DX-inspired bells and electric pianos: clean transients, bright partials, playable dynamics.

Goal

Make a sound that gets brighter when played harder without becoming brittle. The aim is “playability”: it should reward touch.

Principle

FM index controls brightness. Scaling (velocity or mod mapping) preserves musicality. If you solve dynamics with a filter only, FM sounds often lose their identity.

Reference

Phil Collins – One More Night (1985)
Toto – Africa (1982)
Peter Gabriel – Sledgehammer (1986)

Start

Set one oscillator as carrier, another as modulator (FM). Keep filter mostly open with minimal resonance. Use amp envelope appropriate to bell/EP: quick attack, medium decay, moderate sustain, medium release. Control tone primarily with FM depth.

Listen For

A clear strike transient and harmonics that “sparkle” rather than fizz. If the tone is glassy, reduce FM depth before touching the filter.

Further Ideas

Map velocity to FM depth (small range) and compare to velocity-to-filter. Add a gentle high-pass (if available) to keep low-end clean without dulling the strike.

Acid Bassline

This patch teaches how envelopes and resonance interact dynamically. The “acid” character is as much about performance variation as about the static settings.

Archetype

TB-303 spirit: resonant filter, snappy envelope, accents that change the phrase contour.

Goal

Make a bassline sound that can be expressive with small changes: cutoff moves, envelope amount changes, and accent dynamics.

Principle

Resonance plus envelope amount creates vowel-like motion. The envelope defines how the “mouth” opens and closes; resonance defines how vocal it becomes.

Reference

Phuture – Acid Tracks (1987)
A Guy Called Gerald – Voodoo Ray (1988)
Adonis – No Way Back (1986)

Start

Saw or square into a resonant 24 dB filter. Resonance moderate-to-high (but not self-osc). Filter envelope: fast attack, short-to-medium decay, low sustain, strong amount. Use velocity as “accent” control (brighter and/or louder).

Listen For

A talking quality when cutoff moves. Accented notes should feel like they reshape the phrase, not just get louder. If it turns to whistle, reduce resonance before lowering cutoff.

Further Ideas

Map mod wheel to envelope amount for live “push.” Add a subtle drive to make resonance read as formant rather than pure sine.

String Ensemble

Ensemble sounds rely on many small instabilities rather than one large modulation. The trick is to imply “many players” without obvious wobble.

Archetype

Solina-style string machine: layered saws, gentle drift, generous ensemble/chorus.

Goal

Create a wide, lush sustain that stays musical. The sound should feel like a section, not like one synth with a big LFO.

Principle

Multiple small errors beat one big one. Slight detunes, slight phase differences, slight stereo spread: together they suggest many sources.

Reference

Donna Summer – I Feel Love (1977)
ABBA – The Winner Takes It All (1980)
Jean-Michel Jarre – Équinoxe Part 4 (1978)

Start

Three saw oscillators with very small detune differences. Filter gently rolled off. Add chorus/ensemble generously. If you use pitch LFO, keep depth extremely low and rate slow.

Listen For

A steady “bed” that remains pleasant over long holds. If the sound swims, reduce pitch modulation first, then reduce chorus depth.

Further Ideas

Compare two approaches: (1) more detune, less chorus; (2) less detune, more chorus. Keep the one that preserves pitch center on sustained chords.

Evolving Cinematic Pad

This integrates everything learned so far into a restrained, expressive whole. The movement should be felt over time, not noticed moment-to-moment.

Archetype

Modern cinematic/ambient pad rooted in analog discipline: slow motion, stable tone, intentional modulation.

Goal

Build an evolving texture that stays emotionally coherent. It should support harmony and melody rather than compete with them.

Principle

Design modulation intentionally: what moves, how much, and why. If you can hear the modulation “doing a thing,” it is probably too strong.

Reference

Brian Eno – An Ending (Ascent) (1983)
Tangerine Dream – Love On A Real Train (1984)
Vangelis – Memories of Green (1980)

Start

Choose a stable oscillator base (saws/pulses/wavetables kept gentle). Use slow LFOs with very small depths. If you use wavetable motion, make it subtle and slow. Add performance controls (aftertouch, mod wheel) for intentional movement.

Listen For

A sound that stays “about one thing” over time. The harmonic content should drift without losing pitch center. If the pad becomes restless, reduce depth before changing rates.

Further Ideas

Create two versions: one with no effects, one with minimal reverb. The no-effects version should still feel complete. Then try mapping a single performance control to two targets (for example cutoff + FM depth), both in tiny ranges, to make one gesture feel rich.