Remaking the lead synth from the 2017 song "South Of The River" by Tom Misch can be an exciting challenge for any synthesizer enthusiast. Here’s how you can create the "South Of The River" 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
Tom Misch’s “South of the River” features a distinctive lead synthesizer solo performed by Rob Araujo, emerging prominently around 2:17 to elevate the track’s melodic progression. The sound combines a bright, piercing timbre with a smooth, legato quality. A touch of distortion adds warmth, slow subtle Unison provides slow swirling movement, and Mod Wheel-controlled LFO vibrato brings in a wobble at key moments.
Original Performing Instrument
Unknown
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 "South Of The River" by Tom Misch, 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 Legato
Amp Envelope
- Attack: 0 ms
- Sustain: 100%
- Release: 20 ms
Oscillators
- Oscillator 1
- Waveform: Pulse
- Pulse Width: 50%
- Volume: 100%
- Unison
- Oscillators: All
- Voice Count: 2
- Detune Range: 4 Cents
- Stereo Spread: 50%
- Reset All Oscillators Phase On Note Start: No
Filter
- Type: Low Pass
- Cutoff: 55%
- Resonance: 70%
- Key Tracking: 100%
LFO
- Destination: Pitch
- Waveform: Triangle
- Amount: 0%
- Rate: 1/16 Note
Distortion
- Drive: 2%
Reverb
- Mix: 10% Wet
- Size: Medium
Modulation Wheel
- Destination: LFO Amount
- Modulation Amount: 25%
Note: the patch settings may slightly differ in the Syntorial challenge.
Explore More
- Tom Misch | South of the River (Synth Solo) – YouTube
- Tom Misch – South Of The River (Synth Solo Transcription – Updated)
- Tom Misch – South of the River (Full Transcription)
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
- Serum
- Vital
Comments
This recipe is the result of a Syntorial community preset remake request. Need support remaking this sound? Have comments?
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