EMBRZ - Higher | Pluck Synth Patch Remake

Remaking the pluck synth from the 2017 song "Higher" by EMBRZ can be an exciting challenge for any synthesizer enthusiast. Here’s how you can create the "Higher" pluck 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

At 1:35 the track introduces a unisoned saw pluck playing chord stabs with fast, percussive attack and short decay. The sound uses rapid saw-to-filter modulation via an LFO that opens the cutoff for brightness and a slower, more random modulation that periodically pushes the tone brighter before dropping it back. The timbre is a dense supersaw with tight detune and subtle stereo spread, giving a wide but focused chord texture. The pluck sits just behind the vocal and drives the harmonic progression during the drop.

Our Remake of The Pluck Synth sound

This audio clip is how close we've matched the original tone of the pluck synth from the song "Higher" by EMBRZ, 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.

Voices

• Voice Mode: Poly 5

Oscillator Setup

Oscillator 1

• Mix: 21%
• Wavetable: Default Saw
• Routing: Filter 1
• Unison Voices: 8
• Unison Detune: 7%
• Unison Stereo Spread: 100%
• Modulations:
• Lfo 3 → Level

Filter Settings

Filter 1

• Model: Analog
• Style: 24dB Slope
• Blend: Low Pass (0)
• Cutoff: 37% (128.897 Hz)
• Resonance: 22%
• Drive: 12%
• Modulations:
• Lfo 1 → Cutoff
• Lfo 2 → Cutoff

Filter 2

• Filter Mix: 100%
• Model: Analog
• Style: 12dB Slope
• Blend: High Pass (2)
• Cutoff: 47% (272.007 Hz)
• Resonance: 6%

Envelope Settings

Envelope 1 (Amp)

• Attack: 0 ms
• Sustain: 100%
• Release: 14 ms

Envelope 2

• Attack: 0 ms
• Decay: 215 ms
• Sustain: 0%
• Release: 90 ms

LFO Settings

LFO 1

• Mode: Trigger
• Sync: Tempo
• Tempo: 1/16
• Shape: Triangle (custom)
• Destinations:
• Filter 1 Cutoff (amount 36%)

LFO 2

• Mode: Sync
• Sync: Tempo
• Tempo: 8/1
• Shape: Triangle (custom)
• Destinations:
• Filter 1 Cutoff (amount 88%)

LFO 3

• Mode: Sync
• Sync: Tempo
• Tempo: 1/4
• Shape: Triangle (custom)
• Destinations:
• Osc 1 Level (amount 60%)

Effects Processing (Ordered)

Reverb

• Mix: 8%
• Size: Default (50%)
• Chorus Amount: 5%
• Chorus Frequency: Default (0.250 Hz)
• Time: -1.661 s

Modulation Matrix

• LFO 1 → Filter 1 Cutoff 36%
• LFO 2 → Filter 1 Cutoff 88%
• LFO 3 → Osc 1 Level 60%

Note: the patch settings may slightly differ in the Syntorial challenge.

Explore More

• EMBRZ – Higher (Official Video) [Ultra Music] – YouTube
• EMBRZ – Higher (SoundCloud)
• Anyone care to guess what instruments were used for this EMBRZ track? – Reddit (edmproduction)
• EMBRZ Heal Pluck Remake – YouTube
• Making SICK PLUCK SYNTHS (easier than you think) – 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

Comments

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