Remaking the lead synth from the 2016 song "Alaska" by Maggie Rogers can be an exciting challenge for any synthesizer enthusiast. Here’s how you can create the "Alaska" lead patch and play this iconic sound on most hardware or software subtractive synthesizers (Serum, Vital, Pigments, Prophet, Korg, Moog, etc). We've included the preset download directly for your convenience, but we strongly recommend you use our programming tutorial to recreate it yourself.
Original Audio
Maggie Rogers’ 2016 breakout single “Alaska” introduces a bell-like pluck synthesizer sound at its opening. This sound employs a sine wave oscillator with subtle frequency modulation and amplitude modulation to achieve a percussive pluck character, while an LFO adds a slight pitch wobble to make it sound slightly out of tune.
Original Performing Instrument
Unknown
Our Remake of The Lead Synth
This audio clip is how close we've matched the original tone of the lead synth from the song "Alaska" by Maggie Rogers, giving you a reference point as you design your own synthesizer preset. Play it as often as you need to familiarize yourself with the nuances of the sound.
Synth Patch Programming Recipe
Getting Started
- Start by initializing your synthesizer to a plain saw with no filter, modulation or effects. For soft synths use the "init"/"default" preset or the the button to reset all parameters to their default factory values.
- No two synths are exactly alike, so treat the values below as approximate, and use your ear.
- Percentage values (e.g. 50%) represent the relative position of a knob or slider within its full range. The full range of each parameter may differ from synth to synth, so use your ear.
Voices
- Voice Mode: Poly
- Voice Count: 2
Amp Envelope
- Attack: 0 ms
- Decay: 20 ms
- Sustain: 40%
- Release: 550 ms
Oscillators
- FM Amount: 0%
- Oscillator 1
- Waveform: Sine
- Volume: 100%
- Oscillator 2
- Waveform: Sine
- Pitch: +3 Octaves
- Volume: 0%
- Unison
- Oscillators: All
- Voice Count: 2
- Detune Range: 9 Cents
- Stereo Spread: 100%
- Reset All Oscillators Phase On Note Start: Yes
Modulation Envelope
- Destination: FM Amount
- Modulation Amount: 5%
- Attack: 0 ms
- Decay: 10 ms
- Sustain: 0%
- Release: 10 ms
LFO
- Destination: Pitch
- Waveform: Triangle
- Amount: 1 Semitones
- Rate: 1/4 Note
- Voice Mode: Mono
Chorus
- Mix: 50% Wet
- Rate: Slow
Reverb
- Mix: 20% Wet
- Size: Small
Note: the patch settings may slightly differ in the Syntorial challenge.
Explore More
- The Making of Maggie Rogers’ ‘Alaska’: Doug Schadt Breaks It Down (YouTube)
- How Maggie Rogers Creates Irresistible Music (YouTube)
- Maggie Rogers’s “Alaska” Stuns with Its Simplistic Beauty (Earmilk)
Preset Downloads
Don't want to learn synth programming now? Use our synth preset as your starting point and tweak it from there. Register an account with Audible Genius and download the presets for free for the following synths:
- Primer, our free synthesizer VST
Comments
This recipe is the result of a Syntorial community preset remake request. Need support remaking this sound? Have comments?
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