Making a Pitched NI Massive Trance Pluck Synth

Designing a perfect Trance pluck is equal parts tradition and innovation. What I mean by that is that there are certain hard and fast rules that apply to a sound of this kind, but the re is also plenty of room for creative interpretation and experimentation that can mean the difference between a common sound and a truly great sound. This particular NI Massive Trance pluck is so simple in its design that it will accept further processing easily and fit right into just about any kind of Trance music, as well as similar music styles.

This NI Massive Trance pluck synth starts out with a basic Square wave loaded into OSC1. This sound is routed directly to the Filter1 panel, where a Lowpass4 filter has been loaded. The Main Amp Envelope is set up with a short Attack and the Decay Volume is set to about half. A secondary Modulation Envelope is set up and assigned to control the Cutoff parameter of the Lowpass4 filter. This shapes the delivery of the sound dramatically. This same envelope is then assigned to modulate the Pitch parameter of OSC1.

A Rever effect is loaded into the FX1 tab to give this NI Massive Trance pluck some room to move around in. A synced Delay effect is loaded into the FX2 tab, which extends the sound quite a bit. The EQ is activated and used to accent the high end of this sound and attenuate the low end. And finally, a touch of Feedback is introduced to warm up the sound and add a little body. That’s it! Try experimenting with different settings with the effects, as well as using some Insert effects to add even more character to it in an effort to make it your own sound.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheers,
OhmLab