Remaking the bass synth from the 1987 song "Acid Tracks" by Phuture can be an exciting challenge for any synthesizer enthusiast. Here’s how you can create the "Acid Tracks" 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
Phuture’s 1987 track ‘Acid Tracks’ is a seminal piece in the acid house genre, and its bassline is a defining element of this sound. The super squelchy 303 bass sound, which becomes prominent at 1:27, is characterized by its high resonance and distinctive squelching effect. This sound is produced by the iconic Roland TB-303, a monophonic analog bass synthesizer.
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 "Acid Tracks" by Phuture, 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
- Sustain: 100%
- Release: 20 ms
Oscillators
- Oscillator 1
- Waveform: Pulse
- Pulse Width: 100%
- Volume: 100%
Filter
- Type: Low Pass
- Cutoff: 40%
- Resonance: 95%
- Key Tracking: 20%
Filter Envelope
- Modulation Amount: 15%
- Attack: 0 ms
- Decay: 450 ms
- Sustain: 0%
Distortion
- Drive: 39%
Reverb
- Mix: 10% Wet
- Size: Medium
Modulation Wheel
- Destination: Cutoff
- Modulation Amount: 20%
Note: the patch settings may slightly differ in the Syntorial challenge.
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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
