Koji Kondo - Super Mario Pipe Sound | FX Synth Patch Remake

Remaking the fx synth from the 1985 song "Super Mario Pipe Sound" by Koji Kondo can be an exciting challenge for any synthesizer enthusiast. Here’s how you can create the "Super Mario Pipe Sound" fx 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 short “pipe” warp sound in Koji Kondo’s Super Mario Bros is the pipe-entry/exit SFX heard whenever Mario travels through pipes in the NES game. It was programmed directly for the console and generated by the NES audio hardware rather than an external keyboard. The patch itself is just a square wave, as simple as it gets. The notes do the heavy lifting by playing an incredibly fast cascade of notes downward.

Original Performing Instrument

Ricoh 2A03

Our Remake of The FX Synth sound

This audio clip is how close we've matched the original tone of the fx synth from the song "Super Mario Pipe Sound" by Koji Kondo, 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 unlimited famous sound challenges for free.

REMAKE IT BY EAR

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.

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

Explore More

• 2A03 – NESdev Wiki
• Ricoh 2A03 (Wikipedia)
• Game Sound Design – Pipe Warp sound! (YouTube)
• SMB Warp Pipe/Power Down Sound – Soundeffects Wiki (Fandom)
• The Sounds Of Super Mario Bros – Almalibre Studios

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