Remaking the arp synth from the 1985 song "Take Me Home" by Phil Collins can be an exciting challenge for any synthesizer enthusiast. Here’s how you can create the "Take Me Home" arp 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
Phil Collins’ 1985 track “Take Me Home” from the album “…But Seriously” features a distinctive arpeggiated pluck synthesizer sound that dominates the intro. This sound is characterized by a chorused square wave oscillator, with filter and amplitude envelopes shaping its percussive pluck texture, while velocity sensitivity adds dynamic variation to note volumes. The arpeggiator pattern creates a rapid, bleeping sequence that underscores the track’s rhythmic foundation, heard prominently from the opening seconds. This combination of timbre and modulation techniques gives the synth a bright, mechanical quality that defines the track’s opening.
Original Performing Instrument
Unknown
Our Remake of The Arp Synth
This audio clip is how close we've matched the original tone of the arp synth from the song "Take Me Home" by Phil Collins, 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: 240 ms
- Sustain: 0%
- Release: 20 ms
Oscillators
- Oscillator 1
- Waveform: Pulse
- Pulse Width: 100%
- Volume: 100%
Filter
- Type: Low Pass
- Cutoff: 45%
- Key Tracking: 100%
Filter Envelope
- Modulation Amount: 25%
- Attack: 0 ms
- Decay: 50 ms
- Sustain: 0%
Chorus
- Mix: 50% Wet
- Rate: Slow
Reverb
- Mix: 20% Wet
- Size: Medium
Velocity
- Destination: Volume
- Modulation Amount: 100%
Note: the patch settings may slightly differ in the Syntorial challenge.
Explore More
- Take Me Home (Phil Collins) synth cover (Hardware synth recreation demonstrating potential methods for achieving the pluck sound)
- Phil Collins’ ”Take Me Home” TR-909 pattern (While focused on drum programming, provides insight into Collins’ use of Roland gear that may relate to synth integration)
- Phil Collins – Take Me Home (Official Music Video) (Primary source material for analyzing the original synth timbre)
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
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