Remaking the lead synth from the 2014 song "Dorian Concept " by Draft Culture can be an exciting challenge for any synthesizer enthusiast. Here’s how you can create the "Dorian Concept " 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
Dorian Concept’s “Draft Culture” from the 2014 album *Joined Ends* features a distinctive gritty lead synth sound that emerges prominently at 0:38, characterized by its aggressive growl and textural complexity. This sound is emblematic of Dorian Concept’s signature approach, which often employs the MicroKORG for its raw, unpolished timbres. The lead combines sawtooth or square wave oscillators with heavy modulation (likely amplitude or frequency modulation) to create its biting, unstable quality, while a low-pass filter with resonance accentuates the growl. The sound’s rhythmic staccato phrasing and harmonic dissonance reflect Dorian Concept’s blend of electronic experimentation and jazz-influenced phrasing.
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 "Dorian Concept " by Draft Culture, 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: 60 ms
- Decay: 2300 ms
- Sustain: 0%
- Release: 800 ms
Oscillators
- Oscillator 1
- Waveform: Triangle
- Volume: 30%
- Oscillator 2
- Waveform: Pulse
- Pulse Width: 50%
- Pitch: +31 Semitones
- Volume: 70%
Filter
- Type: Low Pass
- Cutoff: 45%
- Key Tracking: 70%
Filter Envelope
- Modulation Amount: 40%
- Attack: 500 ms
- Decay: 900 ms
- Sustain: 0%
- Release: 300 ms
Distortion
- Drive: 53%
Reverb
- Mix: 20% Wet
- Size: Medium
Note: the patch settings may slightly differ in the Syntorial challenge.
Explore More
- How to make the sounds from Dorian Concept ‘Draft Culture’ with DRC (Tutorial demonstrating patch construction for the track’s signature synth sounds using DRC)
- Dorian Concept Joined Ends – XLR8R (Album review analyzing “Draft Culture”’s bass/synth hook and atmospheric shifts)
- Dorian Concept wants to hack the Synthesizer – HHV Mag (Interview detailing Dorian Concept’s approach to synth manipulation, including pitch wheel microtonalities and random modulation)
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
Comments
This recipe is the result of a Syntorial community preset remake request. Need support remaking this sound? Have comments?
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