Effects

What are effects?

Effects change a sound after it’s made, a bit like filters on a photo. A plain synth can sound like it’s in a cathedral, an echoing canyon or an old game console, just by adding effects.

Each synth sound has its own effects on the FX tab, and the whole song shares some more in Song settings.

The main effects

Reverb makes a sound feel like it’s in a room. A little sounds natural, and a lot sounds huge and far away. Room size sets how big the space is.

Echo (also called delay) repeats the sound, in time with the beat. Echo repeats sets how many times it comes back.

Chorus plays slightly wobbly copies of the sound to make it wider and shimmery.

Drive pushes the sound until it distorts, for grit and attitude, like a guitar amp turned up.

Bitcrusher makes the sound crunchy and lo-fi, like an old video game.

Press Play, then try the starting points and move the sliders while it loops. The drums stay dry so you can compare.

How to use them well

Less is more. Turn an effect up until you can clearly hear it, then back it off a little. If everything has lots of reverb, the whole song turns to mush.

Keep the bass and kick dry, with little or no reverb, so they stay punchy. Reverb and echo sound best on leads, pads, snares and vocals.

Leave space for echoes. A melody with gaps lets the repeats fill them in, which sounds amazing. A busy melody plus echo gets messy.

Use effects to make things different. A dry, close verse makes a big reverb-y chorus feel even bigger.

For one shared reverb that makes everything sound like it’s in the same room, use the sends in Song settings.

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