MusicRadar

Thanks to today's über-powerful, super-affordable software instruments, making synth-based music has never been easier. However, while it's possible to buy, download and install a plug-in in seconds (there are many that you don't even have to pay for), the fundamentals of synth programming still apply.

Happily, MusicRadar is here to help you master them: we have an abundance of step-by-step guides, videos, tips and other tutorials that will get you to the sound you're looking for in no time. Whether you want to emulate a synth patch that you've heard on record or create something completely original, there's a lesson for you.

Below, you'll find a directory of MusicRadar's very finest synth tutorials. Find one that grabs you, click through to it and get busy.

Step-by-step guides

How to make a Prodigy Breathe-style bassline
Six steps to a Liam Howlett-esque growl

How to make a massive synth bass sound
A house/trance bassline using a virtual Minimoog

How to make a Justice-style bass sound
A free route to their mighty low-end

How to make a massive lead synth sound
Craft a beefy high-end patch using Sylenth1

How to make a Giorgio Moroder-style bassline
Feel the love using Reason's Thor synth

How to make a Kanye West Stronger-style synth sound
Create a polysynth patch for chords and leads

How to make a Prodigy Voodoo People-style lead sound
Get ready to wreak some distorted havoc

How to make a Tiësto-style Dance 4 Life stab sound
Get some detuned dirt going on in Albino 3

How to make a dubstep bass sound
Program one today in Albino 3

How to make a Dr Dre Gin & Juice-style lead sound
Recreate a classic G-Funk synth

How to make a Deadmau5 Faxing Berlin-style synth sound
Tweak your way to a progressive house patch

NEXT: More essential synth tutorials