Remaking the pad synth from the 2022 song "Karma" by Taylor Swift can be an exciting challenge for any synthesizer enthusiast. Here’s how you can create the "Karma" pad 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
Taylor Swift’s song “Karma” from her album *Midnights* features a prominent pad synthesizer sound around 0:10. This sound is characterized by its warm, quivering texture and contributes to the song’s disco and electroclash elements. The pad synthesizer is part of the song’s lush, synth-heavy arrangement, adding depth and atmosphere to the track. We’ll recreate this sound with just a single synth patch.
Our Remake of The Pad Synth
This audio clip is how close we've matched the original tone of the pad synth from the song "Karma" by Taylor Swift, 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: Poly
- Voice Count: 6
Amp Envelope
- Attack: 20 ms
- Sustain: 100%
- Release: 300 ms
Oscillators
- Oscillator 1
- Waveform: Pulse
- Pulse Width: 50%
- Volume: 50%
- Oscillator 2
- Waveform: Pulse
- Pulse Width: 50%
- Pitch: +1 Octave and -3 Cents
- Volume: 50%
Filter
- Type: Low Pass
- Cutoff: 80%
- Key Tracking: 100%
LFO
- Destination: Pulse Width
- Waveform: Triangle
- Amount: 35%
- Rate: 1/16 Note
Chorus
- Mix: 50% Wet
- Rate: Medium
Reverb
- Mix: 20% Wet
- Size: Medium
Pitch Bend
- Range: +/- 12 Semitones
Note: the patch settings may slightly differ in the Syntorial challenge.
Explore More
- Karma (Taylor Swift song) – Wikipedia
- Recreating 5 Synth Sounds From The Pop Charts (+ Free Presets) – YouTube
- Karma by Taylor Swift Chords, Melody, and Music Theory Analysis – Hooktheory
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
