Hi, I'm pretty new here, and I've been trying to make some 80s drum sounds and synths. Any advice on how to make the kicks, snares, hats, and toms sound 80s? What about the synths? What kinds of waves should I mess around with and in what ways can I alter them for that sound? I'm just messing around with it now, but can't seem to figure it out, so any advice would be greatly appreciated!
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Try looking for a 707 drum kit, I've found that the 707 sound really fits that 80s vibe with a little tweaking. It's also just generally good to mix and match different drum sounds to taste as well. As for the synths, start with a saw wave as the base. You can also introduce another oscillator slightly detuned for a more lush sound. Use the ADSR section of whichever synth to your advantage. In my experience, having a small amount of attack, a long decay, and a medium release on both the amp and filter sections, with the filter at about half open sounds the best for synthwave styles. It also helps to add some slight, slow vibrato for a more interesting sound. You can also use a square wave as a base for the synths as well, just keep experimenting and you'll eventually stumble across something interesting. Happy producing!
For 80s snare sounds, gated reverb is mandatory. You can use the Quasar reverb, as it models a plate reverb, then use the Gate pedal to cut the reverb tail.