Remaking the lead synth from the 1985 song "Take On Me" by A-ha can be an exciting challenge for any synthesizer enthusiast. Here’s how you can create the "Take On Me" 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
“Take on Me”, from a-ha’s 1985 album Hunting High and Low, features a bright, instantly recognizable synth lead that helped drive the song’s international success.
Originally made by playing A Roland Juno-60, this distinctive synthesizer melody timbre solidified its status as one of the most iconic pop leads of the 1980s.
you can hear the lead right from the start
Original Performing Instrument
Roland Juno-60
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 "Take On Me" by A-ha, 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
Remake This Sound Yourself
Learn how to program this synth preset with Syntorial, all by ear. Download the demo and try up to three challenge packs for free.

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: Mono
Amp Envelope
- Attack: 0 ms
- Sustain: 100%
- Release: 240 ms
Oscillators
- Oscillator 1
- Waveform: Pulse
- Pulse Width: 50%
- Volume: 40%
- Oscillator 2
- Waveform: Pulse
- Pulse Width: 50%
- Pitch: +1 Octave
- Volume: 60%
- Unison
- Oscillators: All
- Voice Count: 4
- Detune Range: 9 Cents
- Reset All Oscillators Phase On Note Start: No
Filter
- Type: Low Pass
- Cutoff: 85%
Reverb
- Mix: 10% Wet
- Size: Medium
Note: the patch settings may slightly differ in the Syntorial challenge.
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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