Remaking the bass synth from the 1973 song "Chameleon" by Herbie Hancock can be an exciting challenge for any synthesizer enthusiast. Here’s how you can create the "Chameleon" bass 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
Herbie Hancock’s 1973 jazz-funk masterpiece “Chameleon” opens with a squelchy synth bass that defines its iconic groove. This sound downward envelope filter for its characteristic “farty” resonance and rapid decay. You can hear this signature sound driving the track from the very first note at 0:00, underpinning the entire composition with its infectious sound and groove.
Original Performing Instrument
ARP Odyssey
Our Remake of The Bass Synth
This audio clip is how close we've matched the original tone of the bass synth from the song "Chameleon" by Herbie Hancock, 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: Mono
Amp Envelope
- Attack: 0 ms
- Sustain: 100%
- Release: 80 ms
Oscillators
- Oscillator 1
- Waveform: Pulse
- Pulse Width: 40%
- Volume: 100%
- Sub Oscillator
- Waveform: Pulse
- Pulse Width: 100%
- Pitch: -1 Octave
- Volume: 180%
Filter
- Type: Low Pass
- Cutoff: 40%
- Resonance: 65%
- Key Tracking: 30%
Filter Envelope
- Modulation Amount: 30%
- Attack: 0 ms
- Decay: 250 ms
- Sustain: 0%
- Release: 0 ms
Distortion
- Drive: 5%
Note: the patch settings may slightly differ in the Syntorial challenge.
Explore More
- Martin J Stephens Blog: Detailed breakdown of the Chameleon bass tone using bit-crusher and envelope filter pedals
- Nord User Forum: Community discussion on recreating the sound with sawtooth waves, 12dB filters, and resonance
- Sonic Pi Forum: Code-based approach using high-pass filters, envelope modulation, and bit-crushing
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
