Boards of Canada - Sundown | Pad Synth Patch Remake

Remaking the pad synth from the 2013 song "Sundown" by Boards of Canada can be an exciting challenge for any synthesizer enthusiast. Here’s how you can create the "Sundown" pad 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 pad synthesizer sound in Boards of Canada’s “Sundown” from their album “Music Has the Right to Children” is characterized by its gradual build-up and warm, ambient texture. This sound is prominent at the beginning of the track, taking a moment to fully come in. The synthesizer produces a rich, dreamy quality that is typical of Boards of Canada’s sound. You can hear this pad sound starting from the beginning of the track, setting the atmospheric tone for the rest of the song.

Our Remake of The Pad Synth

This audio clip is how close we've matched the original tone of the pad synth from the song "Sundown" by Boards of Canada, 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: Poly
  • Voice Count: 6

Amp Envelope

  • Attack: 1300 ms
  • Sustain: 100%
  • Release: 1200 ms

Oscillators

  • Oscillator 1
    • Waveform: Saw
    • Volume: 100%
  • Unison
    • Oscillators: All
    • Voice Count: 4
    • Detune Range: 3 Cents
    • Stereo Spread: 100%
  • Noise Volume: 40%

Filter

  • Type: Low Pass
  • Cutoff: 60%
  • Resonance: 30%
  • Key Tracking: 60%

LFO

  • Destination: Pitch
  • Waveform: Triangle
  • Amount: 56 Cents
  • Rate: 1 Bar
  • Voice Mode: Mono

Reverb

  • Mix: 80% Wet
  • Size: Big

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
Download Presets

Comments

This recipe is the result of a Syntorial community preset remake request. Need support remaking this sound? Have comments?

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