Our first Michael Jackson classic, this one’s taken from the hit album Bad (1987) and produced by Quincy Jones. This album relied heavily on use of the New England Synclavier (which combined FM synthesis and sampling together in one box for the first time) along with other analogue synths - the bassline on this track is a combination of Synclavier with those other unlisted Jackson/Jones analogue synths.

Listen: Michael Jackson - The Way You Make Me Feel

How to get the sound

Recreating this sound proved challenging with one plug-in, but if there’s one Logic synth that’s up to the job, it’s the ES2 synth. For this sound we used a three oscillator mix, combining triangle and saw waves with medium resonance and low cutoff, some fine detuning between the oscillators for roundness and warmth, the additional sine oscillator for some added low end, a little distortion for some grit and a snappy envelope attack (on both the filter and amp envelope) for punch and snap. In a word, ‘he-heeeeee’!