Detuned Supersaw Lead

Sounds like: A huge, wide, shimmering lead like a stack of saws, made for anthems.

Sound type: lead · Genre: Trance, Electro, Techno · Style: classic wide unison supersaw leads

A big, wide, unmistakably 'synth' lead built from several detuned saws stacked together — should feel huge and slightly chorused even with no effects added.

Open this patch in the interactive Patchpad

Digitone II

Exact match: SWARMER machine

SYN page 1 · SWARMER

• TUNE: 0
• SWRM: Saw
• DET: 80
• MIX: 100
• M.OCT: 0
• MAIN: Saw
• ANIM: 40

FLTR page 1 · Multi-mode

• TYPE: 0 (LP)
• FREQ: 89
• RESO: 13
• ATK: 13
• DEC: 60
• SUS: 76
• ENV: 25

AMP page

• ATK: 6
• DEC: 35
• SUS: 108
• REL: 45
• MODE: ADSR

FX page

• CHR: 44

Digitone II's SWARMER machine (select with FUNC+SYN) is a real supersaw engine: one main oscillator plus six detuned swarm oscillators. DET sets how far the swarm is detuned from the main oscillator, and ANIM adds hidden LFO movement to the swarm. SWRM and MAIN choose the waveforms; SWRM/MIX/ANIM values are starting points to adjust by ear (their exact ranges were not verified on hardware). CHR (Chorus send) widens the result further.

Syntakt

Exact match: SY SWARM machine

SYN — SY SWARM

• TUNE: 0
• DET: 90
• MIX: 100
• ANIM: 60

FLTR PAGE 1

• TYPE: Lowpass
• FREQ: 89

AMP PAGE 1

• ATK: 6
• DEC: 35
• SUS: 108
• REL: 45

AMP PAGE 2

• MODE: ADSR

SY SWARM is Syntakt's real supersaw-style machine -- six detuned oscillators over a fundamental, built specifically for this kind of wide/thick sound, with DET pushed hard and MIX at maximum so all the detuned voices sit loud in the mix. AMP PAGE 2's MODE must be ADSR or SUS on AMP PAGE 1 is ignored. Melodic tracks use Digital, not Analog, machines.

Novation Summit

Exact match: Three detuned saw oscillators

OSCILLATOR 1

• WAVE: Sawtooth
• RANGE: 8'
• DIVERGE: 90

OSCILLATOR 2

• WAVE: Sawtooth
• RANGE: 8'
• FINE: +25 cents

OSCILLATOR 3

• WAVE: Sawtooth
• RANGE: 8'
• FINE: -25 cents

FILTER

• SHAPE: LP
• FREQUENCY: 89
• RESONANCE: 13
• SOURCE: Mod Env 1
• ENV DEPTH: 25

MOD ENVELOPE 1

• ATTACK: 13
• DECAY: 60
• SUSTAIN: 76

AMP ENVELOPE

• ATTACK: 6
• DECAY: 35
• SUSTAIN: 108
• RELEASE: 45

MODULATION MATRIX

• Slot 1 sA: ModWheel
• Slot 1 Destin: Osc2Ptch
• Slot 1 Depth: +6
• Slot 2 sA: ModWheel
• Slot 2 Destin: Osc3Ptch
• Slot 2 Depth: -6

EFFECTS

• CHORUS DEPTH: 70
• CHORUS RATE: 35
• DELAY SYNC: 8th D
• DELAY LEVEL: 25

Best-suited synth here for a true supersaw feel -- all three real oscillators run the same Sawtooth at slightly different FINE offsets (plus DIVERGE for per-voice detune spread on Osc 1), giving genuine multi-voice width before Chorus and dotted Delay widen it further. Live control: the Mod Wheel spreads Osc 2 up and Osc 3 down through two Mod Matrix slots for live detune width; raise OSCILLATOR DIVERGE for the per-voice spread.

Arturia MiniFreak

Exact match: SuperWave unison engine

OSCILLATOR

• TYPE: SuperWave
• WAVE (Waveform): Sawtooth
• TIMBRE (Detune): 100
• SHAPE (Volume of copies): 60
• VOLUME: 100

ANALOG FILTER

• TYPE: Low Pass
• CUTOFF: 70
• RESONANCE: 10
• ENV/VELO: 20

ENVELOPE

• ATTACK: 5
• DECAY: 20
• SUSTAIN: 85
• RELEASE: 35

DIGITAL EFFECTS · FX1

• TYPE: Chorus
• TIME (Rate): 40
• INTENSITY (Depth): 70
• AMOUNT (Dry/Wet): 60

Macros

• M1: SuperWave unison/detune spread, for live width control.

Osc 1 is SuperWave, the stacked-detuned-copies engine: Detune (100) sets the spread between the copies and the third knob (60) sets the copies' level against the original. 0-100 scale throughout. Macros: M1: SuperWave unison/detune spread, for live width control. Values are on MiniFreak's native 0-100 scale.

Dreadbox Typhon

Approximation: Only 2 VCOs: wide detune plus Ensemble

FRONT PANEL

• WAVE: ~6 o'clock (VCO1 saw blended evenly with VCO2 saw)
• TUNE 2: ~2 o'clock (detuned as wide as musically usable)
• CUTOFF: ~2 o'clock (fairly open)
• RESON: ~9 o'clock (low)
• EG LEVEL: ~1 o'clock (moderate)
• FILTER TIME: ~12 o'clock
• AMP TIME: ~12 o'clock
• VOLUME: ~12 o'clock

AMP ADSR

• ATTACK: 5
• DECAY: 25
• SUSTAIN: 85
• RELEASE: 45

FX2

• TYPE: Ensemble
• DEPTH: 70
• WIDTH: 100
• MIX: 50

Only 2 VCOs, so true supersaw width isn't achievable -- TUNE 2 pushed wide gets it as close as Typhon can, and FX2's Ensemble (a polyphonic chorus, wider than plain Chorus) leans hard on faking additional width. Will read as 'wide-ish', not a full supersaw stack -- say so plainly when dialing this in. Typhon's front-panel knobs are physically unmarked, so those values are clock positions, not percentages.

ASM Hydrasynth Desktop

Exact match: Mutator WavStack

OSCILLATOR 1

• MODE: Single
• WAVE: Saw

MUTATOR 1

• MODE: WavStack
• DEPTH: 80.0
• DRY/WET: 100%

OSCILLATOR 2

• MODE: Single
• WAVE: Saw
• CENTS: 18

FILTER 1

• TYPE: LP Ldr12
• CUTOFF: 89.0
• RESONANCE: 13.0
• ENV 1 AMOUNT: 25

ENVELOPE 1

• ATTACK: 10 ms
• DECAY: 200 ms
• SUSTAIN: 76.0

ENVELOPE 2

• ATTACK: 5 ms
• DECAY: 100 ms
• SUSTAIN: 108.0
• RELEASE: 150 ms

PRE-FX

• TYPE: Chorus
• DEPTH: 60.0
• DRY/WET: 40%

DELAY

• TYPE: Pan Delay
• DRY/WET: 20%

Macros

• Macro 1: Mutator 1 WavStack Depth, for live unison-spread width control.

Macro 1 is a real performance-macro module, unrelated to the Mutator's oscillator-shaping job.

Compared with other synths: Mutator 1's WavStack mode is a real built-in 5-voice-unison thickener applied to Oscillator 1, and Oscillator 2 is detuned +18 cents on top of that for further width -- a genuinely wide multi-voice stack, one of this library's stronger translations of this patch alongside Summit.

How the synths compare

Summit and Hydrasynth (true multi-voice unison), Digitone II (SWARMER) and Syntakt (SY SWARM) have real supersaw-style engines; Typhon can only approximate it.

Patchpad is a free reference of drum patterns and synth patches written for real hardware: Digitakt II, Digitone II, Syntakt, Novation Summit, Arturia MiniFreak, Dreadbox Typhon and ASM Hydrasynth Desktop.