Survive - Stranger Things Theme | Keys Synth Patch Remake

Remaking the keys 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" keys 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 organ-style unison pulse keys patch that swells through the Stranger Things title theme is a filtered analog synth voice that slowly opens the cutoff over roughly two bars then snaps fully open as the big lead comes in. It’s a chordal bed swelling in volume behind the classic arpeggiated lead patch. A subtle 1/16 vibrato and gentle tremolo give the chord a slightly eery and unstable personality. The sound is credited to the duo SURVIVE and built from vintage analog polysynths and SEM-style filters.

Original Performing Instrument

Roland Jupiter-8

Our Remake of The Keys Synth sound

This audio clip is how close we've matched the original tone of the keys 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 allx 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: Poly 3

Oscillator Setup

Oscillator 1

• Mix: 71%
• Wavetable: Basic Shapes
• Wave Frame: Thin Pulse (position 256)
• Routing: Filter 1
• Transpose: 12 st
• Unison Voices: 5
• Unison Detune: 13%
• Unison Stereo Spread: 64%
• Modulations:
• Lfo 1 → Tune
• Lfo 1 → Level
• Lfo 2 → Spectral Morph Amount

Filter Settings

Filter 1

• Model: Analog
• Style: 24dB Slope
• Blend: Band Pass (1)
• Cutoff: 64% (916.465 Hz)
• Resonance: 74%
• Keytrack: 100%
• Modulations:
• Lfo 2 → Cutoff

Envelope Settings

Envelope 1 (Amp)

• Attack: 5.75 s
• Decay: 1.00 s
• Sustain: 99%
• Release: 4 ms
• Attack Curve: Logarithmic
• Decay Curve: Logarithmic
• Routed to:
• Modulation 1 Amount (14%)
• Modulation 2 Amount (7%)

LFO Settings

LFO 1

• Mode: Trigger
• Sync: Tempo Dotted
• Tempo: 1/16
• Shape: Triangle
• Destinations:
• Osc 1 Tune (amount 0%)
• Osc 1 Level (amount 0%)

LFO 2

• Mode: Trigger
• Sync: Tempo
• Tempo: 2/1
• Shape: Triangle (custom)
• Destinations:
• Filter 1 Cutoff (amount 36%)
• Osc 1 Spectral Morph Amount (amount 27%)

Modulation Matrix

• LFO 1 → Osc 1 Tune 0%
• LFO 1 → Osc 1 Level 0%
• Envelope 1 → Modulation 1 Amount 14%
• Envelope 1 → Modulation 2 Amount 7%
• LFO 2 → Filter 1 Cutoff 36%
• LFO 2 → Osc 1 Spectral Morph Amount 27%

Note: the patch settings may slightly differ in the Syntorial challenge.

Explore More

• Scoring Stranger Things (Sound On Sound)
• Recreating the theme from Stranger Things (Splice)
• Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein on the signature sounds of Stranger Things (Spitfire Audio Composer)
• The Synthesizers Used in The Stranger Things Theme (Syntorial)
• Interview With Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein (SynthHistory)

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:

• Vital