Mike Dean's synth processing playbook
Wide, melted, and unmistakable. Reverse-engineering one of the most-imitated tones.
Mike Dean's synths sound like they were carved out of glass and lit on fire. The trick isn't the source — he often uses stock OB-X or Serum patches. The trick is the post. Heavy parallel saturation, surgical EQ to make room, and a delay-into-reverb tail that turns even a mono lead into a stereo cathedral.
Step by step
- Step 1Xfer RecordsSerum 2View plugin →
1. The source
Wide unison lead with subtle detuning
7 voices of unison, ~30% detune, slight phase randomization. The source isn't supposed to be exotic — it's supposed to be wide and full so the post-processing has something to chew on.
- Step 2SoundtoysDecapitatorView plugin →
2. Parallel saturation
Add harmonic body in parallel
Send to a parallel bus with Decapitator on 'E' style, drive at 5 o'clock, mix 100% on the bus, blend in 30–40% behind the dry. Adds saturation without destroying transients.
- Step 3FabFilterPro-Q 4View plugin →
3. Surgical EQ
Make space for vocals and 808s
Wide notch around 250–500 Hz to stay out of the vocal pocket. Slight boost at 8 kHz for air. Linear phase mode so the wide stereo image stays intact.
- Step 4Exponential AudioPhoenixverbView plugin →
4. Tail glue
Delay-into-reverb for the cathedral tail
Send to a delay (1/4 dotted, 35% feedback) → then into Phoenixverb on a long plate (4s decay). The delay primes the reverb so the tail feels wider than the room.
Same shape, less money
Budget version: Vital (free synth) → ChowTape (free tape saturation) → TDR Nova → Valhalla Supermassive. Free across the board, same architecture.
Songs using this processing
- ♪Travis Scott — STARGAZING
- ♪Kanye West — Wolves
- ♪The Weeknd — Heartless
- ♪Kid Cudi — Pursuit of Happiness