Plucked String Emulation

Sounds like: A bright, quickly fading note reminiscent of a plucked guitar or koto string.

Sound type: pluck · Genre: Downtempo, Ambient · Style: guitar/koto-like plucked string character

An attempt at a plucked-string quality without sample playback — a bright, fast-decaying tone shaped to suggest a struck/plucked string rather than a synth pluck.

Open this patch in the interactive Patchpad

Digitone II

Approximation: FM pick transient stands in for a string model

SYN page 1

• ALGO: 8
• RATIO C: 1.00
• RATIO A: 7.00
• MIX: -40

SYN page 2 · Operator A

• LEV: 70
• ATK: 0
• DEC: 15
• END: 0

FLTR page 1 · Multi-mode

• FREQ: 89
• RESO: 19
• TYPE: 0 (LP)
• ATK: 0
• DEC: 38
• SUS: 13
• ENV: 57

AMP page

• ATK: 0
• DEC: 89
• SUS: 19
• REL: 51
• MODE: ADSR

FX page

• REV: 19

Operator A's high ratio (7.00), fast decay, and comparatively high level give the bright pick-attack transient before dropping out, leaving the plain ratio-1.00 carrier to ring on -- FLTR's own strong Env Depth plus a longer Decay/light Sustain shapes a string-like tail rather than a snap.

Syntakt

Approximation: FM pick transient stands in for a string model

SYN — SY TONE

• TUNE: 0
• RATIO: 32
• PNCH: 0
• DEC: 60
• FDBK: 20
• MOD: 50
• MENV: 40
• OVER: 0

FLTR PAGE 1

• FREQ: 89
• RESO: 19
• TYPE: Lowpass
• ATK: 0
• DEC: 38
• SUS: 13
• ENV: 57

AMP PAGE 1

• ATK: 0
• DEC: 89
• SUS: 19
• REL: 51

AMP PAGE 2

• MODE: ADSR

Syntakt's SY TONE machine is a two-operator FM voice (RATIO, FDBK, MOD, MENV), so FM is available on the melodic tracks. Moderate MOD with a quick MENV gives the bright pick transient, and a little FDBK adds string-like edge. RATIO is by ear.

Novation Summit

Approximation: Filter-envelope transient stands in for a string model

OSCILLATOR 1

• WAVE: Sawtooth
• RANGE: 8'

FILTER

• SHAPE: LP
• SLOPE: 12dB
• FREQUENCY: 89
• RESONANCE: 19
• SOURCE: Mod Env 1
• ENV DEPTH: 57

MOD ENVELOPE 1

• ATTACK: 0
• DECAY: 38
• SUSTAIN: 13
• RELEASE: 20

AMP ENVELOPE

• ATTACK: 0
• DECAY: 89
• SUSTAIN: 19
• RELEASE: 51

EFFECTS

• REVERB TIME: 35
• REVERB LEVEL: 15

Mod Envelope 1 is routed in via FILTER's SOURCE knob purely to give the fast attack transient, independent of the Amp Envelope's own longer, string-like tail shape.

Arturia MiniFreak

Exact match: KarplusStr plucked-string model

OSCILLATOR 1

• TYPE: KarplusStr
• WAVE (Bow): 20
• TIMBRE (Position): 65
• VOLUME: 100

ANALOG FILTER

• TYPE: Low Pass
• CUTOFF: 70
• RESONANCE: 15
• ENV/VELO: 20

ENVELOPE

• ATTACK: 0
• DECAY: 65
• SUSTAIN: 12
• RELEASE: 45

DIGITAL EFFECTS · FX1

• TYPE: Reverb (Room)
• TIME (Decay): 35
• INTENSITY (Damping): 35
• AMOUNT (Dry/Wet): 15

Osc 1 is KarplusStr, a plucked-string model: Wave is Bow (keep it low for a plucked, not bowed, tone), Timbre is Position and Shape is Decay. Values are on MiniFreak's native 0-100 scale.

Dreadbox Typhon

Approximation: Saw with a long filter decay stands in for a string model

FRONT PANEL

• WAVE: ~4 o'clock (VCO1 saw, minimal VCO2 blend)
• CUTOFF: ~2 o'clock
• RESON: ~10 o'clock
• EG LEVEL: ~12 o'clock (moderate)
• FILTER TIME: ~10 o'clock (slower, for a longer tail)
• AMP TIME: ~1 o'clock
• VOLUME: ~12 o'clock

FILTER ADSR

• ATTACK: 0
• DECAY: 55
• SUSTAIN: 10
• RELEASE: 40

AMP ADSR

• ATTACK: 0
• DECAY: 70
• SUSTAIN: 12
• RELEASE: 45

Typhon has no physical-modeling string engine, so a plain saw with a longer-than-usual FILTER ADSR decay and a touch of sustain approximates the string-like tail -- a simpler transient than the FM-capable synths but a reasonable approximation. Front-panel knobs are physically unmarked, so WAVE/CUTOFF/RESON/EG LEVEL/FILTER TIME/AMP TIME are described by clock position, not a percentage.

ASM Hydrasynth Desktop

Approximation: Filter transient stands in for a string model

OSCILLATOR 1

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

FILTER 1

• TYPE: LP Ldr12
• CUTOFF: 89.0
• RESONANCE: 19.0
• ENV 1 AMOUNT: 57.0
• KEYTRACK: 0%

ENVELOPE 1

• DELAY: 0 ms
• ATTACK: 0 ms
• DECAY: 150 ms
• SUSTAIN: 13.0
• RELEASE: 90 ms

ENVELOPE 2

• DELAY: 0 ms
• ATTACK: 0 ms
• DECAY: 350 ms
• SUSTAIN: 15.0
• RELEASE: 200 ms

REVERB

• TYPE: Room
• TIME: 1.0 s
• DRY/WET: 15%

Compared with other synths: A saw-leaning Oscillator 1 with a fast Filter 1 transient (Envelope 1, pre-wired to Filter 1) and a slower Envelope 2 (pre-wired to Amp) approximates the pick-attack-then-ring shape -- Hydrasynth's own waveform list has no dedicated string-modeling engine, so this is a subtractive/filter-envelope emulation rather than a literal physical model like MiniFreak's KarplusStr.

How the synths compare

This is an emulation via subtractive/FM synthesis, not a sample — expect a synth-y approximation of a plucked string rather than a literal string sound, more pronounced on synths lacking a dedicated pluck/string oscillator model.

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.