How to make synthwave in your browser

By Tongkit Leong · August 3, 2026 · 8 min read

Synthwave is built from a driving eighth-note bassline, gated-reverb drums, lush analog-style pad chords, and a soaring lead melody — and you can program all four from scratch in the Tracks browser studio in an afternoon, with no software to install and no account to create.

The anatomy of a synthwave track

Before you open the drum machine, it helps to know what separates synthwave from other electronic genres. It borrows its sound from 1980s film scores and analog synthesizers, and a handful of production choices make that era instantly recognizable:

• Gated-reverb drums — a big, roomy snare or clap where the reverb tail cuts off sharply instead of trailing away naturally, the signature sound of 80s drum production.
• Driving eighth-note bass — a steady, pulsing bassline that rarely rests, giving the track constant forward motion under everything else.
• Lush pad chords — slow-moving, reverb-drenched chords that fill out the middle of the mix and carry most of the emotional weight.
• A soaring lead — a simple, memorable melody, usually with a filter or volume swell so notes bloom in rather than snapping on.
• Verse/chorus structure with a steady pulse — synthwave tends to keep its groove constant through a track, using arrangement density rather than tempo or rhythm changes to build energy.

Tracks has every tool you need for this built in — the 808/909 drum machine for the beat, a subtractive synth for the bass, pads, and lead, reverb sends for the gated snare and pad width, and automation for the filter swells that give the lead its glow.

Step 1: Set your tempo

Open the Tracks studio and set the BPM in the transport bar. Synthwave covers a fairly wide range depending on the mood you're after:

• Slower, moodier cuts: 80–95 BPM. More cinematic, more spacious.
• Classic driving synthwave: 100–110 BPM. The most common range, built for a steady highway-drive feel.
• Darksynth and outrun-leaning tracks: 110–118 BPM. More urgency, more aggression.

105 BPM is a safe, versatile starting point if you're not sure which end of the genre you're aiming for.

Step 2: Program the gated-reverb drums

Add a track and open the drum machine. Lay down a simple rock-style pattern on the 16-step grid: kick on steps 1 and 9, snare or clap on steps 5 and 13. This straightforward backbeat is what most synthwave drum parts are built on — the interest comes from the drum sound itself, not a complicated pattern.

To get the gated-reverb effect, send the snare or clap to a reverb bus with a fairly long decay, then open the automation lane on that send and draw the level dropping sharply to zero right after the hit instead of fading out naturally. The result is a huge, roomy snare that stops dead instead of trailing off — the single most recognizable texture in synthwave drum production. See Reverb and delay explained for more on how the reverb sends work in Tracks.

Step 3: Write a driving eighth-note bassline

Add a new instrument track and open the subtractive synth. Set the oscillator to a sawtooth or square wave and apply a low-pass filter with the cutoff around the midrange — round and warm, not buzzy.

Open the piano roll on the bass track and write a repeating one- or two-bar pattern using even eighth notes, mostly locked to a single root note with an occasional jump up an octave for lift. This constant, pulsing motion is what gives synthwave its forward-driving energy, so resist the urge to make the pattern too busy — repetition is the point.

Keeping the bass and kick from fighting

If the bass and kick feel muddy together, open the mixer and apply an EQ cut on the bass track around the frequency where the kick is loudest. This carves out room so the kick's attack stays punchy while the bass fills in the sustain underneath it.

Step 4: Layer a lush pad chord progression

On a second synth track, voice a slow-moving two- or four-chord progression — minor keys and simple I–vi or i–VI style movements are a genre staple. Set the amplitude envelope with a slower attack and a long release so the chords swell in and overlap smoothly instead of snapping on and off.

Send the pad generously to a reverb bus for width and depth, and consider loading a warm pad or string SoundFont for extra texture layered underneath the synth pad. Keep the pad's volume behind the bass and drums in the mix — its job is to fill space, not to lead.

Step 5: Add a soaring lead melody

On a third synth track, write a simple, singable melody using long, sustained notes rather than fast runs — synthwave leads work because they're memorable, not because they're complex. A sawtooth wave with a touch of chorus gives a classic wide, analog-style lead tone; see Chorus, phaser, distortion, and bitcrusher for how to dial that in.

Open the automation lane on the lead track and draw the filter cutoff rising over the first part of each phrase, so notes bloom in from muffled to bright rather than starting at full volume. Reserve the lead for the chorus or the track's biggest moments — letting the verses run without it makes the lead's entrance land harder.

Step 6: Arrange the track

Synthwave arrangements tend to build through density rather than through tempo or rhythm changes. A common structure looks like this:

1. Intro (8–16 bars): drums and bass only, or a bare pad, to set the mood before the full arrangement enters.
2. Verse (16 bars): drums, bass, and pad, with the lead held back.
3. Chorus (16 bars): the full arrangement — drums, bass, pad, and the lead melody on top.
4. Breakdown (8 bars): strip back to pad and bass, letting the reverb tails breathe before the drums return.
5. Final chorus (16 bars): full arrangement returns, often with a second lead layered on top for extra lift.
6. Outro (8–16 bars): fade the lead and pad out, leaving drums and bass to close.

Block these sections out on the Tracks timeline before you polish any one part — see How to arrange a song for more on building a structure from scratch.

Step 7: Mix and export

Before you export, spend a few minutes balancing levels in the Tracks mixer:

1. Balance the kick and bassline first so they share the low end without fighting.
2. Apply a compressor on the drum bus with a fast attack and a moderate ratio to glue the kick and gated snare together.
3. Watch the pad's reverb send — it's easy for a wide, wet pad to wash out the bass and lead if it's pushed too hard.
4. If the bass and pad still feel crowded together, try a light sidechain duck on the pad triggered by the kick — see Sidechain compression explained for how to set it up.

When the balance feels right at a comfortable volume, export to WAV for a clean master file or MP3 to share online — see How to export your song to MP3 or WAV for the full walkthrough. Your project stays in your browser the entire time; Tracks never uploads it anywhere.

Frequently asked questions

What BPM is synthwave?

Most synthwave sits between 80 and 118 BPM. Slower, moodier tracks run 80–95 BPM, the classic driving feel sits around 100–110 BPM, and darker, more aggressive darksynth pushes toward 110–118 BPM. 105 BPM is a solid starting point if you're not sure which subgenre you're aiming for.

Why does synthwave always use gated reverb on the snare?

Gated reverb was a hardware quirk of 1980s drum production — a noise gate cutting off a reverb tail early, by accident at first and then by design. It gives a snare a huge, roomy sound without the wash of a long, natural decay, and it's become one of the clearest sonic signatures of the era that synthwave draws from.

Do I need real analog synth hardware to get the synthwave sound?

No. The genre's sound comes from a handful of production choices — sawtooth and square waves, low-pass filtering, chorus for width, and generous reverb — all of which are built into the Tracks synth and effects. The gear matters less than the arrangement and the filter movement.

How long should a synthwave track be?

Most synthwave tracks run 3.5 to 5 minutes, long enough for a full verse-chorus-breakdown arrangement without overstaying the central groove. Instrumental tracks built for video or game soundtracks can run shorter, closer to 2 to 3 minutes.

Can I use a MIDI keyboard to play the pad and lead parts instead of clicking them in?

Yes. Tracks supports Web MIDI, so if you have a MIDI keyboard connected over USB you can play the pad chords and lead melody live and record your performance directly into the piano roll. See How to use a MIDI keyboard in a browser DAW for the setup steps.