Remaking the keys synth from the 2011 song "Cinema" by Benny Benassi can be an exciting challenge for any synthesizer enthusiast. Here’s how you can create the "Cinema" keys 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
The keys synth in Benny Benassi’s “Cinema” supplies bright, open, phasey chords that start at 0:15 and persist through the track. As the section progresses the cutoff is swept down, turning the sound into tight, transient-driven plucky chords. The timbre reads as a medium pulse-wave voice with minimal slow unison for width and a repeating LFO-driven filter decay that generates the pluck as the cutoff closes. A heavy phaser is audible across the part, giving the chords a swirling, vintage-electro sheen.
Our Remake of The Keys Synth sound
This audio clip is how close we've matched the original tone of the keys synth from the song "Cinema" by Benny Benassi, 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 allx 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.
Note: the patch settings may slightly differ in the Syntorial challenge.
Explore More
- Cinema (Benny Benassi song) – Wikipedia
- HOW TO MAKE A BENNY BENASSI CINEMA TYPE PLUCK WITH SYLENTH (YouTube)
- Benny Benassi – Cinema Style Lead! (free Sylenth1 preset + MIDI) (YouTube)
- From Writing Letters to Studios to Writing Hit Songs — Interview with Gary Go (ProduceLikeAPro)
- Skrillex’s CINEMA Remix Intro – Synth & Preset Breakdown (YouTube)
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:
- Vital
