Remaking the bass synth from the 1995 song "Higher State Of Consciousness" by Josh Wink can be an exciting challenge for any synthesizer enthusiast. Here’s how you can create the "Higher State Of Consciousness" 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
Josh Wink’s “Higher State Of Consciousness” features a classic Roland TB-303 bassline that becomes prominent around 1:01 in the track. This iconic sound is characterized by its squelchy, acidic timbre, typical of the TB-303’s unique filter and envelope modulators. The bassline is built around a simple, repetitive pattern that underscores the track’s hypnotic rhythm.
Original Performing Instrument
Roland TB-303
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 "Higher State Of Consciousness" by Josh Wink, 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
- Decay: 6650 ms
- Sustain: 0%
- Release: 20 ms
Oscillators
- FM Amount: 5%
- Carrier
- Waveform: Pulse
- Pulse Width: 20%
- Volume: 40%
- Modulator
- Waveform: Pulse
- Pulse Width: 20%
- Pitch: +1 Octave
- Volume: 70%
Filter
- Type: Band Pass
- Cutoff: 30%
- Resonance: 70%
Filter Envelope
- Modulation Amount: 15%
- Attack: 0 ms
- Decay: 3900 ms
- Sustain: 0%
Distortion
- Drive: 44%
Note: the patch settings may slightly differ in the Syntorial challenge.
Explore More
- Josh Wink tells us how he really made ‘Higher State Of Consciousness’ (Mixmag)
- How to Make an Acid Bassline with the TB-303 by Roland Cloud (Point Blank Music School)
- Websites that identify synth sounds in songs (Harmony Central)
- Roland TB-303: a complete tutorial (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:
- Primer, our free synthesizer VST
