Synth Preset Reference

This document provides a complete reference for all built-in synth presets, organized by category.

Overview

Relanote includes 80+ professionally designed synth presets covering:

Basic - Classic synths and 8-bit sounds
Piano - Acoustic and electric pianos
Bass - Various bass instruments
Brass - Trumpet, trombone, and sections
Leads - Synth lead sounds
Pads - Atmospheric sounds
Pluck - Percussive melodic instruments
Drums - Full drum kit with pitch envelopes
Percussion - Hand percussion instruments
Retro - Vintage and lo-fi sounds

Piano & Electric Piano

Acoustic Piano

Preset	Character	Best For
`AcousticPiano`	Warm, natural	Ballads, classical
`BrightPiano`	Clear, present	Pop, rock
`MellowPiano`	Soft, dark	Jazz, ambient

rela

synth AcousticPiano = {
  osc: (Sine |> mix 0.6) + (Triangle |> mix 0.25 |> octave 1) + (Sine |> mix 0.15 |> octave 2),
  env: envelope 0.005 0.4 0.3 0.8,
  filter: LowPass 5000 0.2
}

Electric Piano

Preset	Character	Best For
`Rhodes`	Warm, bell-like	Jazz, R&B, neo-soul
`Wurlitzer`	Gritty, biting	Rock, funk
`DXPiano`	Bright, FM	80s pop, fusion
`Clavinet`	Funky, percussive	Funk, disco

Bass Instruments

Preset	Character	Best For
`WoodBass`	Warm, upright	Jazz, acoustic
`ElectricBass`	Punchy, round	Rock, pop
`SynthBass`	Fat, electronic	EDM, synth-pop
`SubBass`	Deep, sub-heavy	Hip-hop, dubstep
`AcidBass`	Squelchy, resonant	Acid house, techno
`ReeseBass`	Detuned, wide	Drum & bass, dubstep

Bass Design Tips

text

For punchy bass:
├── Use Saw + Square oscillators
├── Fast attack (< 20ms)
├── Low filter cutoff (200-600Hz)
└── Moderate resonance (0.4-0.6)

For sub bass:
├── Use pure Sine
├── Very low cutoff (< 200Hz)
├── Low resonance
└── Optional: add octave-down sine

Brass Instruments

Preset	Character	Best For
`Trumpet`	Bright, cutting	Jazz, Latin, big band
`MutedTrumpet`	Soft, nasal	Jazz, film noir
`Trombone`	Rich, warm	Jazz, orchestral
`FrenchHorn`	Mellow, noble	Orchestral, film
`Brass`	Generic section	Pop, rock
`BrassSection`	Wide, powerful	Big band, soul

Brass Envelope

Real brass has a characteristic "bloom":

text

Trumpet envelope:
│
│     ╱────────╲
│    ╱          ╲
│   ╱            ╲
│  ╱              ╲
│ ╱  A=80ms       R=200ms
└──────────────────→
   Slow attack for realism

Synth Leads

Preset	Character	Best For
`Lead`	Classic, versatile	Any genre
`SuperSaw`	Huge, detuned	Trance, eurodance
`HyperSaw`	Massive, wide	EDM, big room
`SquareLead`	Hollow, punchy	Chiptune, retro
`ResoLead`	Squelchy, filtered	Acid, techno
`SoftLead`	Gentle, smooth	Ambient, chill
`OctaveLead`	Full, octaved	Rock, metal

SuperSaw Anatomy

The iconic trance/EDM sound:

text

SuperSaw = 3 detuned saw waves

       -12 cents    center    +12 cents
           │          │          │
           ▼          ▼          ▼
       ┌──────┐   ┌──────┐   ┌──────┐
       │ Saw  │ + │ Saw  │ + │ Saw  │
       │ 0.33 │   │ 0.33 │   │ 0.34 │
       └──────┘   └──────┘   └──────┘
           │          │          │
           └──────────┴──────────┘
                      │
                      ▼
                  HUGE SOUND

Synth Pads

Preset	Character	Best For
`SoftPad`	Simple, warm	Backgrounds
`WarmPad`	Rich, enveloping	Ambient
`StringPad`	Orchestral	Film, classical
`ChoirPad`	Vocal, ethereal	New age, ambient
`GlassPad`	Crystalline, bright	Electronic
`DarkPad`	Deep, ominous	Cinematic, horror
`SweepPad`	Moving, filtered	EDM, progressive

Pad Envelope Tips

text

Slow attack for pads:
│
│           ╱──────────────╲
│          ╱                ╲
│         ╱                  ╲
│        ╱                    ╲
│       ╱  A=0.5-1.0s          R=1.0-2.0s
└───────────────────────────────→
    Creates smooth, ambient feel

Pluck Instruments

Preset	Character	Best For
`Pluck`	Generic, bright	Arpeggios
`PluckBass`	Punchy, low	Bass lines
`PluckLead`	Articulate	Melodies
`Marimba`	Woody, mellow	World, jazz
`Vibraphone`	Bell-like, sustain	Jazz, chill
`Xylophone`	Bright, percussive	Classical
`Kalimba`	Thumb piano	African, ambient
`Harp`	Plucked strings	Classical, new age

Drum Kit

Kick Drums

Preset	Character	Best For
`Kick`	Basic, simple	General use
`DeepKick`	Sub-heavy	Hip-hop, R&B
`PunchyKick`	Attack-focused	Rock, EDM
`SubKick`	Ultra low	Bass music
`HardKick`	Aggressive	Metal, hardcore
`SoftKick`	Gentle	Jazz, acoustic

rela

; DeepKick with pitch envelope
synth DeepKick = {
  osc: Sine,
  env: envelope 0.001 0.15 0.0 0.1,
  pitch_env: (150, 40, 0.08)  ; 150Hz → 40Hz in 80ms
}

Snare Drums

Preset	Character	Best For
`Snare`	Basic	General use
`TightSnare`	Short, punchy	Funk, rock
`FatSnare`	Big, roomy	Hip-hop, pop
`CrispSnare`	Bright, snappy	Electronic
`RimShot`	Sharp, crack	Latin, funk
`SideStick`	Subtle, click	Jazz, ballads

Hi-Hats

Preset	Character	Best For
`HiHat`	Basic closed	General use
`ClosedHat`	Tight, short	Dance
`OpenHiHat`	Sizzle, long	Rock, jazz
`PedalHat`	Medium, foot	Jazz
`TightHat`	Very short	Electronic

Toms

Preset	Pitch Range	Best For
`Tom`	Basic	General use
`HighTom`	High	Fills
`MidTom`	Mid	Fills
`FloorTom`	Low	Accents, fills
`LowTom`	Very low	Tribal, cinematic

Cymbals

Preset	Character	Best For
`CrashCymbal`	Bright, explosive	Accents
`RideCymbal`	Sustained, ping	Jazz, rock
`RideBell`	Bell-like	Latin, jazz
`SplashCymbal`	Quick, bright	Fills
`ChinaCymbal`	Trashy, exotic	Rock, metal

Percussion

Preset	Character	Best For
`HandClap`	Snappy	Pop, dance
`Cowbell`	Pitched, metallic	Latin, disco
`Shaker`	Rhythmic noise	Latin, acoustic
`Tambourine`	Jingly	Pop, rock
`Conga`	Deep, tonal	Latin
`Bongo`	Higher, tonal	Latin, jazz
`Timbale`	Bright, sharp	Latin
`WoodBlock`	Clicky, pitched	Classical, Latin
`Claves`	Short, high	Latin

Retro / Lo-Fi

Preset	Character	Best For
`LoFiPiano`	Filtered, warm	Lo-fi hip-hop
`VintageOrgan`	Classic drawbar	Gospel, rock
`RetroSynth`	80s, punchy	Synthwave
`TapeBass`	Warm, saturated	Lo-fi
`VHSPad`	Detuned, warbly	Vaporwave, lo-fi

8-bit / Chiptune

Preset	Character	Best For
`Chiptune`	Square wave	Retro games
`Chip8bit`	Pure square	NES style
`NES`	Classic Nintendo	8-bit covers
`GameBoy`	Narrow pulse	GB style
`Kick8bit`	Square kick	Chiptune
`Snare8bit`	Noise snare	Chiptune
`HiHat8bit`	Noise hat	Chiptune

Usage Examples

Full Song Arrangement

rela

scale Major = { R, M2, M3, P4, P5, M6, M7 }

let song = section "Pop Song" {
  part "Lead" {
    | <5> <6> <5> <3> | ++ | <1> <2> <3> <1> |
  } |> voice Rhodes |> volume 0.8

  part "Pad" {
    | [<1> <3> <5>]:1 | ++ | [<4> <6> <8>]:1 |
  } |> voice WarmPad |> volume 0.5

  part "Bass" {
    | <1> - <1> <5> | ++ | <4> - <4> <1> |
  } |> voice ElectricBass |> volume 0.7

  part "Drums" {
    | R - R - | ++ | R - R R |
  } |> voice PunchyKick

  part "HiHat" {
    | R R R R | ++ | R R R R |
  } |> voice ClosedHat |> volume 0.4
}

compose([song])

Layered Sound

rela

; Layer multiple synths for richness
let layered_pad = | [<1> <3> <5>]:1 |

let layer1 = layered_pad |> voice WarmPad |> volume 0.5
let layer2 = layered_pad |> voice StringPad |> volume 0.3
let layer3 = layered_pad |> voice GlassPad |> volume 0.2 |> octave 1

compose([layer1, layer2, layer3])