Furcloud is an American electronic producer based in New York City who has built his sound on delicate melodies, nuanced atmospheres, and exacting attention to detail. And he’s reaping the rewards of his blissful productions, which have amassed him a sizable following and support from some of the biggest names in the industry, including Lane 8, Nora En Pure, and others.
And while his tracks, like his latest single, “Alive,” might seem like they were produced on expensive hardware synths in studios that cost an arm and a leg, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Furcloud achieves his warm and analog-sounding vibe almost entirely in the box using powerful softsynths like Xfer Record’s Serum VST. And to celebrate his latest single, we invited Furcloud to come on and share his five favorite tips he uses in all of his productions to achieve that pro and analog sound.
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Use Serums Chaos to create imperfection.
Introducing imperfections is the best way to make Serum sound more like an analog synthesizer.
One way to achieve this is to use Serum’s built-in Chaos LFO system, which you can find in the Global tab. Chaos waves are a bit more complex than the normal basic LFO and you can modulate them in the Mod Matrix. I like to use these unique LFOs by selecting Chaos 1. For example, have the amount at around 4, then have the destination as (Global -> Mast. Tun), then have the (type) both ways (<—>) and have the output at around 4 or 5. The result makes Serum sounds like it’s going through a vintage tape machine which changes the vibe of the sound. This effect is perfect for those Rufus Du Sol-style pads.
You can also assign a little chaos to the filter cutoff to make it sound less computerized.
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Use built-in effects like chorus and distortion.
Try utilizing Serum’s built-in effects like chorus and distortion to create a more lush and warm sound. Chorus duplicates the wave of the sound and slightly delays the time and pitch, producing a wider and thicker sound, which is perfect if you’re going for a Juno synth-inspired sound. For example, in my track “Moments,” I have a synth pad that starts in the intro and loops throughout the whole track. To make it sound lusher, I added some Juno-like chorus and distortion to the sound (See image below)
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Distortion could also add an interesting effect as it enhances the harmonics and changes the timbre of the sound. Distortion could spice up a bass sound by adding those higher overtones, making it sound richer and more analog.
Use LFOs on fine tune, detune
Another way to achieve that warm analog character is by utilizing Serum’s LFOs and attaching them to different parameters in the Synth. A real analog synthesizer like a Prophet 5 is not perfect; therefore, if you want to achieve that type of sound in Serum, you need to introduce some inconsistencies.
To create that classic pitch drift, you can customize an LFO and attach it to the fine tune of both oscillators. You can also modulate the detune with the LFO to achieve a warm and rich sound.
Velocity / Note attached to filter cutoff.
Another great way to make Serum sound more analog is by using the Velocity / Note section in the lower right of the synth. One way I like to use this is by attaching the Note to the filter cutoff which will make the lower notes in the octave play with less cutoff and the higher notes play with more open cutoff.
This is especially great for arpeggios as all the notes will slightly have a different filter, making it sound less robotic and more natural.
Use the Noise Oscillator
If you want to add a bit more of that vintage analog vibe to a digital synthesizer, using the noise oscillator is a great idea. Serum has a lot of built-in noise samples from synths like the Juno 106. Try modulating the noise with the chaos LFO to make it more humanized.
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Will Vance is a professional music producer who has been involved in the industry for the better part of a decade and has been the managing editor at Magnetic Magazine since mid-2022. In that time period, he has published thousands of articles on music production, industry think pieces and educational articles about the music industry. Over the last decade as a professional music producer, Will Vance has also ran multiple successful and highly respected record labels in the industry, including Where The Heart Is Records as well as having launched a new label with a focus on community through Magnetic Magazine. When not running these labels or producing his own music, Vance is likely writing for other top industry sites like Waves or the Hyperbits Masterclass or working on his upcoming book on mindfulness in music production. On the rare chance he's not thinking about music production, he's probably running a game of Dungeons and Dragons with his friends which he has been the dungeon master for for many years.
