Making retro synth presets sound fresh: Hyunji-A shares her workflow

Oftentimes I browse through presets and jam around to feel inspired. One of the presets I like to use for that is “Volcano Eruption.” What I like to do is to remove its “B” synth (“Broken Subs”) since I like the pluck-y sound of “Wooden Square” and its arpeggiated rhythm; I love plucks and I incorporate them in my music a lot.

“Bright Glamour” is another of my favourite presets in Analog Dreams. It has a marimba-like sound that reminds me of my childhood. I used to play a lot of fantasy RPGs, and the music made the gaming experience so fun (and now nostalgic). The game had soundtracks similar to “Bright Glamour”, so this preset brings back many fond memories. Music plays such a huge role in any visual experience, whether through games or cinema.

The presets in Analog Dreams are already rich in their sounds, so when it comes to freshening them up, I actually do minimal adjustments – I don’t feel the need to do much to them, other than adding a few effects here and there, or changing the ADSR a bit. Oftentimes, less is more.

Pro tip from Hyunji-A: Due to their rich and warm sounds, some patches in Analog Dreams are wide to begin with. For extra emphasis on nostalgic vibes in your music, further widen the stereo field of some of the sounds, such as pads. You can use a plugin such as the iZotope Ozone Imager to achieve this.