Serum Tips & Tricks
Serum psycho Adam Pollard, aka Multiplier, brings you a full series of Serum Tips & Tricks video tutorials! Learn essential tips, tricks, and creative techniques for getting the most out of XFer Record’s powerful wavetable software synthesizer and make original sounding synth parts that will infect everyone who hears them!
Videos
• Wavetable Synthesis (05:09) - In this video Multiplier uses the visual feedback in Serum to explain how Wavetable Synthesis works.
• Designing A New Preset (04:46) - In this video Multiplier runs through how he approaches designing a new preset from scratch.
• Creating Width with Filter Stereo Offset (03:16) - Multiplier explains how you can create width in a new and interesting way, using the filter module in Serum.
• Killer Distortion Using The Filter Drive (04:04) - When you want nice, warm saturation/distortion for your bass sound, you get better results using the drive control in the filter module, instead of using the distortion effect. In this videos Multiplier shows you how.
• Modulating Filters (05:03) - Multiplier Uses the interesting filters in Serum (such as Combs, Allpasses, and Reverb) to create brand new and unusual sounds.
• Advanced Unison Parameters (08:46) - The unison mode parameter allows yo to choose how we spread apart the voices in the stereo image. Multiplier shows how you can use unison stacking to spread the voices over different octaves and intervals.
• Adding Random Variation with the Chaos Oscillators (05:57) - You can use the chaos oscillators as modulation sources to add some random variation. Multiplier explains the difference between Chaos1 and Chaos2, and then demonstrates how you could use a chaos oscillator to simulate analog pitch drift.
• Velocity Sensitivity Presets (06:06) - In this video Multiplier explains how you can use velocity sensitivity to make your presets more expressive.
• Aftertouch Modulation Presets (05:31) - We now take an overview look at another editor here and discover how it both differs and mirrors other editor windows. We do this by inspecting a bass midi file.
• The Sub Oscillator Explained (05:58) - Multiplier demonstrates the two main ways the sub oscillator is typically used: first, to add a sub layer underneath a main synth, and secondly, to add back in the fundamental component of a sound that may be missing it.
• Controlling Phase When Using Multiple Oscillators (08:37) - Multiplier explains what phase means in the two contexts it is typically used, and how you can adjust phase in Serum. Then he demonstrates how you can use this knowledge to prevent random phase interference/cancellation in a common situation involving multiple oscillators.
• Slide & Glide with Portamento (05:46) - Multiplier explores the two different types of portamento, and how slow times are used for melodic purposes, whilst fast times are used for sound design reasons. He also runs through what the always, scaled, and curve options do.
• Control Re-triggers with Legato (01:59) - In this video Multiplier looks at how you can use Legato to control envelope and LFO re-triggers.
• The Noise Oscillator Explained (04:37) - Multiplier explores each control, from the one-shot button and keyboard tracking, to pitch and the confusingly named phase parameter.
• Using the Noise Oscillator (03:49) - The first technique Multiplier demonstrates involves using the noise oscillator in one-shot mode, with a kick transient. The second technique uses a white noise sample to fill in the high frequency space in a preset.
• Getting Creative with the Noise Oscillator (03:38) - In this video Multiplier looks at how you can creatively use the noise oscillator to make something super interesting. In particular, he uses a percussive transient in looping mode, and by modulating pitch and pan, something really cool happens.
• Vinyl Scratch Effect with the Noise Oscillator (04:02) - Multiplier shows how to create a vinyl scratch effect in Serum. The key idea behind this is to modulate the phase position. This mirrors how you modulate the position of a vinyl record as you scratch.
• Common Pitch Bend Strategies (05:36) - Multiplier explains what pitch bend is and how to set pitch bend limits in Serum. He then discusses three different pitch bend limits, and explains in which situations you might want which limits.
• The LFO Settings Explained (09:04) - Multiplier explores the different LFO modes, trigger, envelope, and off. Then, the BPM mode options, anchor, triplet, and dotted. And finally, he demonstrate the rise, delay, and smooth parameters, and in what situations it can be useful to use them.
• Drawing Better LFO Curves Shortcuts (05:42) - These shortcuts include holding shift to draw steps, and holding alt/option to snap nodes to the grid. Multiplier also includes some interesting and hard to discover shortcuts, like holding ctrl/cmd to go into rainbow mode, which allows you to move a section of LFO around proportionally.
• Quantized Bass Modulation Using LFOs (03:56) - In this video, you will uses your knowledge of LFOs to set up a quantized bass modulation in Serum. Multiplier makes a nice, simple dubstep wobble riff, quantized to the grid and tempo of our track.
• Keytracking Presets (05:09) - Multiplier describes how keytracking works, and then goes on to provide a nice typical example of it in action.
• Amount Control for Modulation Using Auxiliary Sources (03:25) - In this video, Multiplier demonstrates how you can use auxiliary sources to create an amount control for any modulation in Serum. It’s a cool technique that uses the mod matrix.
• Setting Up a Vibrato Control (06:06) - In this video Multiplier shows how to set up a vibrato control.
• Add Notes to Presets (03:43) - Multiplier gives a few examples of useful things you could put in the notes space.
• 0Hz Rate Trick for Effects (03:45) - In this video, Multiplier reveals the 0Hz rate trick for effects. You can use this trick to either control the movement more precisely, or get creative, and do something new and different but modulating the effect in a non-standard way.
• New Wavetables using the Wavetable Editor (05:50) - Multiplier introduces the interface and demonstrates the basic drawing tools (as well as a cool trick where you set the grid size to 0). Finally, he introduces the concept of morphing, which allows you to create a complete wavetable from a set of source cycles.
• The Morph Options Explained (04:42) - Multiplier gives the technical descriptions of each morph option, but then simplifies things by giving some day-to-day best practices, explaining when it is best to use which option.
• Make a New Wavetable by Importing Audio (06:12) - Multiplier makes a detailed new wavetable by importing a kick drum sample into Serum’s wavetable editor. He end ups making a mechanical bass sound, and uses some interesting tools and features of the wavetable editor along the way.
• Making an Aggressive Dubstep Sound (07:52) - Multiplier applies lots of ideas and techniques that you have learned in the series so far, including wavetable position modulation, sub oscillator modulation, noise oscillator modulation, using an interesting filter, and assigning a macro.
• Make a Supersaw (06:12) - Multiplier uses unison stacking to create a big, thick sound, and then a pitch envelope to give the attack portion some bite and prominence. He also uses a few effects to finish things off nicely.
• Make a Bubble Woop Sound (05:49) - In this video, Multiplier creates the woop using a pitch envelope, and the bubble using an envelope on a low pass filter. He then demonstrates a useful little technique for making a preset into a one shot. And finally, he uses a traditional delay trick to create some stereo width.
• Make a Dark Heavy Bass One Shot (05:16) - Multiplier carefully sets up an envelope to open up a low-pass filter, thicken up the sound with the drive control on the filter, and finds a nice tone by choosing an appropriate wavetable.
• Make an Ethereal Pad Sound (06:24) - Multiplier first uses the standard ideas in making pads (unison, low pass filtering, slow envelopes, and reverb), and then adds an interesting final touch by applying our knowledge of keyboard tracking to the filter and wavetable position.
• Make a Programmable Riser by Using Macros (07:07) - Multiplier sets up a simple, but effective riser effect.
• 808 Trap Kick (06:52) - Multiplier makes the top/attack portion of the kick by using the noise oscillator, and routing it through a high pass filter. He then makes the body/tail using a nice analog wavetable oscillator, and two different envelopes. Finally, he runs it through some reverb to give it that extra bit of something.