One of the cornerstone sounds in Trance music is the pluck synth and this video tutorial shows how to make one in very little time using Reason to produce it.

 

This sound starts out with loading a Thor synthesizer and choosing your desired waves for your oscillators. As it is explained int he video, you can use a lot of different waves with good results, but for this example he has chosen to keep things simple and just use some basics. A square wave, a sawtooth wave raised up one octave ans a sine wave dropped one octave are all loaded and then run through a lowpass filter. The filter is what will do a lot of the work in changing this sound into a traditional Trance style pluck.

Lowering the Decay, Sustain and Release values on the Filter Envelope will begin to shape the sound so it takes on more of a pluck character. Increase the Envelope Amount on the lowpass filter itself and then turning down the Frequency knob will bring us even closer to that signature sound. Small amounts of Chorus and Delay can be added to your liking, which will provide more depth and movement in the sound. Just one more way to generate interest and character.

You will probably want to use some reverb, as this is one of the key components to Trance music today. In the video the Hall 2 preset is used in a small dose, but the kind of reverb you use and how much is all up to you and what works best for your music. With the Sustain value increased on the main Amp Envelope you can hold a note for transitions, and automating various effects and other envelope and filter parameters will give you an almost unlimited number of options when using this sound in your productions.

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Cheers,
OhmLab 

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