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3XOSC SUPERSAW LEAD | How to Make Supersaw in FL Studio | Chord Synth Tutorial Hardstyle & Trance

In this lesson you’ll learn how to make a 3xOsc supersaw lead in FL Studio very easily. A supersaw is the very famous saw wave synth, mostly used to create leads, melodies and chords. It’s basically the foundation of trance, hardstyle or any EDM genre.

The 3xOsc supersaw lead

The 3x Osc is a stock plugin in FL Studio that can do great things. However, some people aren’t used to the 3x Osc interface. They can’t seem to produce the result they’re after, but it’s actually really simple. You just have to know all it’s little secrets.

To help you understand the power of the 3x Osc, I’ve set up this supersaw lead lesson. Learning how to make a supersaw lead is absolutely part of the essential basics as a producer. They’re the foundation of all EDM genres.

However, if you want a more in detail approach, start now with the Supersaw FL Studio instruction guide by clicking this link. It will give you a quick step-by-step template to design your own professional supersaw lead in FL Studio. Get it before the offer expires.

How to make a supersaw lead?

Make sure to add the 3x Osc to the Channel Rack (click “Add” in the menu and select the “3x Osc”). Now you can simply follow the steps below.

  • On the 3x Osc, give all the oscillators a saw waveform.
  • Set the “course” knob for the oscillators at the same amount (“12” in the example). The course is the pitch of that oscillator. You can also put one at 12 and one at 24, so they play a different octave.
  • Detune each oscillator quite a bit. Optionally, use the “phase offset” sliders to create a bit more width.
  • Open the “phase rand” knob completely (this knob is located at the bottom of the 3x Osc).
  • Optionally, go to the “volume” tab and set a volume envelope. You can give your supersaw lead a bit of release by turning the “rel” knob.

The steps above are the most important settings. When everything goes right, you already have a supersaw -ish type of sound. But it probably doesn’t sound that fat yet.

Make some chords to hear your supersaw lead

Now, to hear you supersaw lead so far, it’s a good idea to draw some basic chords on the Piano Roll. This way you can listen to the sound as a whole and easily get a feel for what’s right and what’s wrong. Learn here about How to Make Chords in FL Studio.

You can even give it a rhythm or a short melody to put your supersaw lead to action. This really helps to get the right impression.

When you do this, you probably hear that the lead isn’t finished yet. It still sounds a bit wonky, empty or monotone. This is probably what most people experience when they’re using the 3x Osc. They can’t seem to make it sound right.

But this is completely normal because we aren’t done yet. Please pay attention, because the next step will show you the secret to make it work…

3xOsc supersaw lead secret

The magic of the 3x Osc lays in the “Echo delay / fat mode” section on the “Misc” tab. So, go to that section and then follow these steps:

  • Turn the “time” knob down completely.
  • Open the “feed” knob completely.
  • Enable the “Fat mode” check box.
  • Now very gently… turn the “pitch” knob either slightly to the right or slightly to the left. It’s really sensitive, so if you go too far, your sound will be very detuned.
  • Set the “Echoes” to about 7-8. The echoes are like the voices. It’s the same signal multiplied by 7 (or whatever number you use).

Now play your chords again and listen… We suddenly have ourselves a fat supersaw lead!

TIP: when you apply the fat mode on the 3x Osc “Misc” tab, the volume decreases depending on the amount of voices (echoes) you use. If you want more volume, just turn open the volume knob of the 3x Osc or add your lead to the mixer where you can use effects that can control volume.

Fine-tune your 3xOsc supersaw lead

At this point everything is set for you to have a fat supersaw lead. Now you can use your “taste buds”. Simply go back and forth between the settings to shape and tune your supersaw lead a certain way. May be you want a less detuned sound or some more volume release. Just go with your senses.

Of course, you probably also want to add the 3xOsc supersaw lead to the mixer. On the mixer you can use effects to shape the sound. It’s a very good idea to use an equalizer and reverb. These are needed to balance the sound in the frequency spectrum and to give the lead a sense of space and fullness.

Let us hear your 3xOsc supersaw lead

That’s really it. It’s not difficult, but you simply need to know the secrets. Now you know and now it’s your turn to make a fat supersaw lead.

If you still struggle a little bit to get the sound right, just follow the Supersaw FL Studio instruction guide by clicking this link. It contains more details, forms a better template and uses a convenient step-by-step approach. Start now.

Plugins

For this lesson, the following FL Studio stock plugins were used:

  • 3x Osc
  • Fruity Parametric EQ 2
  • Fruity Reeverb 2

If you have a question you would like me to answer in a future video or article, you can send it (3-4 paragraphs/500 words max) to this email address: cep@screechhouse.com

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Thank you for your support and please, keep practicing!

– Cep
Music producer & creator of Screech House

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