Remaking the arp synth from the 2016 song "Stranger Things Theme" by Survive can be an exciting challenge for any synthesizer enthusiast. Here’s how you can create the "Stranger Things Theme" 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
That rapid blippy arpeggiated line that opens the Stranger Things theme is the title cue’s high arpeggio heard in the first few bars of the credits. It is a tight, plucked-sequence with fast attack and short decay over the amp, filter and pitch envelopes to create prominent and squelchy attack transient. Studio writeups and interviews identify the main arpeggiated sequence as played on an Oberheim SEM Two Voice. You can hear this part prominently at the very beginning of the theme and throughout the title sequence.
Original Performing Instrument
Oberheim SEM Two Voice
Our Remake of The Arp Synth sound
This audio clip is how close we've matched the original tone of the arp synth from the song "Stranger Things Theme" by Survive, 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: 300 ms
- Sustain: 0%
- Release: 20 ms
Oscillators
- FM Amount: 20%
- Carrier
- Waveform: Saw
- Volume: 100%
- Modulator
- Waveform: Sine
- Pitch: +3 Octaves
- Volume: 0%
- Noise Volume: 20%
Filter
- Type: Low Pass
- Cutoff: 80%
Filter Envelope
- Modulation Amount: 10%
- Attack: 0 ms
- Decay: 50 ms
- Sustain: 0%
Modulation Envelope
- Destination: Pitch
- Modulation Amount: 13 Semitones
- Attack: 0 ms
- Decay: 30 ms
- Sustain: 0%
LFO
- Destination: Filter Cutoff
- Waveform: Triangle
- Amount: 20%
- Rate: 1 Bar
- Trigger: Off
Chorus
- Mix: 50% Wet
- Rate: Slow
Delay
- Mix: 5% Wet
- Feedback: 50%
- Time: 1/2 Note
Reverb
- Mix: 30% Wet
- Size: Big
Velocity
- Destination: Volume
- Modulation Amount: 100%
Note: the patch settings may slightly differ in the Syntorial challenge.
Explore More
- Scoring Stranger Things — Sound On Sound
- Learn to Rebuild the Spooky Arpeggiated Synth of Stranger Things — Flypaper (Soundfly)
- Sound Behind the Song: “Stranger Things” by Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein — Roland
- Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein on the signature sounds of Stranger Things — Spitfire Audio
- The Synthesizers Used in The Stranger Things Theme — Syntorial
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
EN 
JA 
FR 
ES 
DE