Remaking the lead synth from the 1975 song "Shine On Your Crazy Diamond" by Pink Floyd can be an exciting challenge for any synthesizer enthusiast. Here’s how you can create the "Shine On Your Crazy Diamond" lead 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 lead synthesizer sound in Pink Floyd’s “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” is a soft, brassy lead that enters the track near the beginning but becomes more prominent around 0:31. This distinctive sound is a key element of the song’s atmospheric and introspective opening section. The sound is often attributed to Richard Wright’s use of the VCS3 synthesizer, which was a staple in Pink Floyd’s early electronic music endeavors. We’ll recreate this sound with just a single synth patch.
Original Performing Instrument
- EMS VCS 3
Our Remake of The Lead Synth
This audio clip is how close we've matched the original tone of the lead synth from the song "Shine On Your Crazy Diamond" by Pink Floyd, 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: 1050 ms
- Decay: 10000 ms
- Sustain: 0%
- Release: 80 ms
Oscillators
- Oscillator 1
- Waveform: Saw
- Volume: 100%
Filter
- Type: Low Pass
- Cutoff: 60%
- Resonance: 50%
Modulation Envelope
- Destination: Pitch
- Modulation Amount: 18 Semitones
- Attack: 0 ms
- Decay: 10 ms
- Sustain: 0%
- Release: 10 ms
LFO
- Destination: Pitch
- Waveform: Triangle
- Amount: 42 Cents
- Rate: 1/8 Note
Chorus
- Mix: 50% Wet
- Rate: Slow
Reverb
- Mix: 20% Wet
- Size: Medium
Note: the patch settings may slightly differ in the Syntorial challenge.
Explore More
- Pink Floyd – Shine On Your Crazy Diamond intro string pad – sound design tutorial (YouTube)
- Recreate That Sound | Shine On You Crazy Diamond [Synth Lead] (YouTube)
- The 40 greatest synth sounds of all time, No 6: Pink Floyd – Shine On… (MusicRadar)
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