Lead sounds

The one place on the device where browsing presets is genuinely the fastest way to work.

You now have: drums, a bassline, and the ability to play parts in live.

This lesson is being written. The outline below is what it will cover.

Planned outline

• Track 11 is Lead, running the Mono Synth — and unlike the drum tracks it ships with real preset variety:

Preset	Use it for
Default	A clean starting point
Bass	A round sub, if you want a second bass rather than a lead
Acid	A brighter, more aggressive line
Pluck	Short and percussive — good for arpeggios and stabs
Drone	Long and evolving, for pads and texture

• Page 1 of the Mono Synth is Shape, Timbre, Color, Warp — a different four from the drums, because this is a modelled oscillator rather than a drum voice. Turning Shape moves between whole synthesis models.
• SR Red on page 2 is a sample-rate reducer — the quickest route to a lo-fi lead.
• Track 12 is Lead2, running the Wavetable Osc with 32 factory wavetables, plus a proper ADSR envelope on page 3. Very different flavour, same role.
• Writing a lead that doesn’t fight the bass: leave the low end alone, play in the gaps the drums leave, use fewer notes than you think.
• Getting an arpeggio without playing one: the per-pattern arpeggiator on the Track Parameters screen — direction, steps, distance, speed and gate.

The finished exercise will let the learner audition the small preset set, choose a starting sound, play a few notes, and shape it with the four visible parameters.

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Next: 11 · Chords and harmony · Previous: 9 · Playing it in

Reference: Mono Synth · Wavetable Osc · Macros & presets