Microtonal Detuned Lead

Sounds like: A lead that's quietly a little out of tune, in an unsettled way.

Sound type: lead · Genre: Experimental, IDM · Style: deliberately slightly-off-pitch lead for an unsettled, experimental character

A lead intentionally tuned a fraction off standard pitch — not enough to sound broken, but enough to sound quietly wrong. Used for unsettled, exploratory material rather than conventional melody.

Open this patch in the interactive Patchpad

Digitone II

Exact match: WAVETONE TUN1 in cents

SYN page 1 · WAVETONE

• TUN1: +20 cents
• WAV1: Sine (PRIM table)
• PD1: 0
• LEV1: 100
• TUN2: 0
• WAV2: Sine (PRIM table)
• PD2: 0
• LEV2: 0

SYN page 2 · WAVETONE

• OFS1: 0
• TBL1: PRIM
• MOD: OFF
• RSET: ON
• OFS2: 0
• TBL2: PRIM
• DRIF: 0

FLTR page 1 · Multi-mode

• TYPE: 0 (LP)
• FREQ: 60
• RESO: 15
• ATK: 10
• DEC: 50
• SUS: 55

AMP page

• ATK: 10
• DEC: 45
• SUS: 70
• REL: 45
• MODE: ADSR

Digitone II's WAVETONE machine (select with FUNC+SYN) tunes oscillator 1 in cents (the manual: TUNE adjusts the pitch in cents), so TUN1 at +20 cents is exactly the +15-to-30-cent offset this patch wants; LEV2 is 0 and MOD is OFF so only that one oscillator sounds. FM TONE's RATIO C is limited mostly to integers, so it cannot make a fine offset. Dial the cents by ear against a reference pitch.

Syntakt

Approximation: Oscillator TUNE stands in for a fine-tune (scale unverified)

SYN — SY RAW

• WAV1: Saw
• TUNE: 3
• LEV2: 0

FLTR PAGE 1

• TYPE: Lowpass
• FREQ: 60
• RESO: 15
• ATK: 10
• DEC: 50
• SUS: 55

AMP PAGE 1

• ATK: 10
• DEC: 45
• SUS: 70
• REL: 45

AMP PAGE 2

• MODE: ADSR

SY RAW's own TUNE parameter is the closest fine-tune control on Syntakt's melodic tracks -- a small offset (3) approximates the same +15-to-30-cents-ish feel as the other synths' fine-tune knobs; the manual doesn't give an exact cents-per-step figure for this parameter, so dial it by ear against a reference pitch rather than trusting the raw number literally. Melodic tracks use Digital machines, not Analog.

Novation Summit

Exact match: Whole voice tuned a few cents off pitch

OSCILLATOR 1

• WAVE: Sawtooth
• RANGE: 8'
• FINE: +9 cents

FILTER

• SHAPE: LP
• FREQUENCY: 60
• RESONANCE: 10
• SOURCE: Mod Env 1
• ENV DEPTH: 20

MOD ENVELOPE 1

• ATTACK: 10
• DECAY: 50
• SUSTAIN: 55
• RELEASE: 40

AMP ENVELOPE

• ATTACK: 10
• DECAY: 45
• SUSTAIN: 70
• RELEASE: 45

OSCILLATOR 1's FINE knob is a real ±100-cent fine-tune (the display shows cents) -- a small offset like +9 cents gives a genuine cents-level detune from standard pitch, the actual mechanism behind this patch's whole concept.

Arturia MiniFreak

Exact match: Whole voice tuned a few cents off pitch

OSCILLATOR

• TYPE: BasicWaves
• WAVE (Morph): 50 (pure sawtooth)
• TIMBRE (Sym): 0
• SHAPE (Sub): 0
• TUNE/OCT (fine, cents): +20
• VOLUME: 100

ANALOG FILTER

• TYPE: Low Pass
• CUTOFF: 60
• RESONANCE: 10
• ENV/VELO: 15

ENVELOPE

• ATTACK: 10
• DECAY: 30
• SUSTAIN: 70
• RELEASE: 30

Osc 1 is BasicWaves with Morph at 50 (pure sawtooth): the Morph knob runs from a square (0) through a sawtooth (50) to a double sawtooth an octave up (100), Sym only changes the pulse width below 50, and Sub adds a sine an octave down (0 here). Env/Velo is kept light (15) since this is a tuning trick, not a timbral one. 0-100 scale for the non-tuning parameters above. Values are on MiniFreak's native 0-100 scale.

Compared with other synths: MiniFreak's fine-tune (click-hold on the Tune/Oct knob, in cents) is the same kind of tuning-only trick described on the other synths -- +20 cents lands inside this patch's +15-to-30-cents target.

Dreadbox Typhon

Exact match: Master Tune in cents (global setting)

FRONT PANEL

• WAVE: ~9 o'clock (VCO1 alone, VCO2 unused)
• CUTOFF: ~2-3 o'clock (mostly open)
• RESON: ~8-9 o'clock (low)
• EG LEVEL: ~9-10 o'clock (minimal)
• FILTER TIME: ~10 o'clock
• AMP TIME: ~10 o'clock
• VOLUME: ~12 o'clock

AMP ADSR

• ATTACK: 10
• DECAY: 45
• SUSTAIN: 70
• RELEASE: 45

MENU · Global settings

• Master Tune: +20 cents

Typhon's Menu > Global settings has a Master Tune of -100 to +100 cents, so +20 cents offsets the whole instrument by the +15-to-30-cent target. It is a global setting rather than part of a preset, so it is not saved with the sound; TUNE 2 only offsets VCO2 against VCO1.

ASM Hydrasynth Desktop

Exact match: Whole voice tuned a few cents off pitch

OSCILLATOR 1

• MODE: Single
• WAVE: Saw
• SEMI: 0
• CENTS: +20
• KEYTRACK: 100%

FILTER 1

• TYPE: LP 1 Pole
• CUTOFF: 60.0
• RESONANCE: 10.0
• ENV 1 AMOUNT: 15
• KEYTRACK: 0%

ENVELOPE 2

• ATTACK: 10 ms
• DECAY: 150 ms
• SUSTAIN: 70.0
• RELEASE: 150 ms

Compared with other synths: Hydrasynth's OSC1 CENTS is a real ±50-cent fine-tune -- +20 cents lands squarely in this patch's +15-to-30-cents target range, the most literal and precise fine-tune mechanism of any synth in this library.

How the synths compare

This is entirely a tuning trick, not a timbral one — it translates identically to every synth here since every one offers a fine-tune parameter.

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.