Remaking the bass synth from the 1977 song "Europe Endless" by Kraftwerk can be an exciting challenge for any synthesizer enthusiast. Here’s how you can create the "Europe Endless" 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
Kraftwerk’s 1977 track “Europe Endless,” from the Trans-Europe Express album, features a distinctive electronic bass sound that anchors the entire composition with its precise rhythmic pulse. The bassline, created using a Moog synthesizer (likely a Minimoog based on historical context), employs a medium pulse wave with subtle unison and chorus effects to create its characteristic smeared texture, while minimal distortion adds bite to the otherwise clean tone. With an extremely quick filter decay setting, the patch generates a distinctive clicking attack transient that cuts through the mix while maintaining the song’s mechanical precision. You can hear this iconic bass synth enter prominently at 1:24, driving the track with its simple eighth-note octave pattern that sits slightly left in the stereo field.
Original Performing Instrument
Moog Minimoog
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 "Europe Endless" by Kraftwerk, 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
- Decay: 450 ms
- Sustain: 0%
- Release: 160 ms
Oscillators
- Oscillator 1
- Waveform: Pulse
- Pulse Width: 50%
- Volume: 100%
- Unison
- Oscillators: All
- Voice Count: 2
- Detune Range: 8 Cents
- Reset All Oscillators Phase On Note Start: Yes
Filter
- Type: Low Pass
- Cutoff: 60%
- Key Tracking: 50%
Filter Envelope
- Modulation Amount: 30%
- Attack: 0 ms
- Decay: 10 ms
- Sustain: 0%
- Release: 250 ms
Distortion
- Drive: 16%
Chorus
- Mix: 30% Wet
- Rate: Medium
Note: the patch settings may slightly differ in the Syntorial challenge.
Explore More
- Behind the Beet: “Europe Endless” Synth Patch Breakdown (YouTube)
- Synthpop Analysis: Europe Endless Bass Line Characteristics (Blog)
- Mini Moog Recreation of Europe Endless Bass Sound (YouTube)
- Reconstructing Europe Endless: Technical Bass Synth Analysis (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
Comments
This recipe is the result of a Syntorial community preset remake request. Need support remaking this sound? Have comments?
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