Remaking the lead synth from the 2020 song "Capital Freak Show" by Unknown 19916 can be an exciting challenge for any synthesizer enthusiast. Here’s how you can create the "Capital Freak Show" 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
The lead synthesizer in Unknown 19916’s “Capital Freak Show” delivers a bright, piercing timbre that dominates the track’s melodic structure. Characterized by sharp sawtooth waveforms and aggressive filter modulation, the sound likely employs a resonant low-pass filter with dynamic sweeps to create tension and release.
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 "Capital Freak Show" by Unknown 19916, 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
- Portamento: 70 ms
Amp Envelope
- Attack: 0 ms
- Sustain: 100%
- Release: 20 ms
Oscillators
- Oscillator 1
- Waveform: Saw
- Volume: 100%
Filter
- Type: Low Pass
- Cutoff: 65%
- Resonance: 65%
LFO
- Destination: Filter Cutoff
- Waveform: Triangle
- Amount: 40%
- Rate: 1 Bar
- Trigger: Off
Chorus
- Mix: 25% Wet
- Rate: Slow
Note: the patch settings may slightly differ in the Syntorial challenge.
Explore More
- How Do I Recreate Famous Sounds? Feat WIEE – YouTube (General synthesis techniques for EDM plucks)
- Pheek’s Guide To Making Dub Techno (Modulation and color techniques applicable to lead synths)
- How to recreate a synth sound you hear? – SOS Forum (General methodology for reverse-engineering synth sounds)
*Note: No specific sources were found for “Capital Freak Show” by Unknown 19916. The above references provide general methodologies for synthesizer sound recreation that could be applied to this track. For accurate recreation, consult official artist interviews, studio documentation, or professional sound design tutorials specifically addressing this song.*
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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