Remaking the bass synth from the 1988 song "Blue Monday 88" by New Order can be an exciting challenge for any synthesizer enthusiast. Here’s how you can create the "Blue Monday 88" 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
New Order’s 1988 reissue of “Blue Monday” features a defining bass synth that anchors the track’s rhythmic foundation, entering prominently at 0:09. The original sound was generated by a Moog Source synthesizer, combining stacked sawtooth and square wave oscillators for a thick, pulsating texture. This bass employs unison detuning and chorus effects to enhance width, paired with a quick filter decay that creates percussive, plucked characteristics. The synth’s rhythmic pattern becomes a central element of the track’s structure, particularly noticeable during the instrumental breaks and vocal transitions.
Original Performing Instrument
Moog Source
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 "Blue Monday 88" by New Order, 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.
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: 250 ms
- Sustain: 20%
- Release: 160 ms
Oscillators
- Oscillator 1
- Waveform: Saw
- Volume: 70%
- Oscillator 2
- Waveform: Pulse
- Pulse Width: 100%
- Volume: 30%
- Unison
- Oscillators: All
- Voice Count: 4
- Detune Range: 11 Cents
- Stereo Spread: 100%
- Reset All Oscillators Phase On Note Start: Yes
Filter
- Type: Low Pass
- Cutoff: 55%
- Key Tracking: 50%
Filter Envelope
- Modulation Amount: 25%
- Attack: 0 ms
- Decay: 300 ms
- Sustain: 0%
- Release: 10000 ms
Chorus
- Mix: 50% Wet
- Rate: Medium
Note: the patch settings may slightly differ in the Syntorial challenge.
Explore More
- Greatest synth sounds: New Order – Blue Monday (MusicRadar)
- Blue Monday Track Teardown (Siebz)
- Recreating New Order’s ‘Blue Monday’ Live (Sound On Sound)
- New Order “Blue Monday” Bass Synth Discussion (KVR Audio)
- New Order – Blue Monday Bass 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
- Vital
Comments
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