Most synths can create supersaws with the traditional method; multiple sawtooth oscillators, heavy unison and varying amounts of detune. SuperStarSaw, the latest plugin from Native Instruments, is a software synth entirely dedicated to creating and perfecting this sound. It’s a niche idea, but with the current popularity of the supersaw sound, it may be exactly what many producers are looking for.
Created in collaboration with E. G. Cook, a producer who played a major role in the development of the hyperpop sound, SuperStarSaw includes a wide range of features for creating, sculpting and modulating the stacked saw wave sound. It has two engines (each containing sixteen oscillators), deep voicing controls, an XY morphing pad for live performance and a strong selection of presets that show off its creative potential. This article will explore the main features, creative workflow, sound design potential and my notes from testing the plugin to determine whether SuperStarSaw is just another software synth in an already bloated category, or a genuinely useful specialist instrument.
Key Features
- Two sawtooth synthesis engines with sixteen oscillators each
- Deep controls for voice stacking, detuning, glide, panning and more
- XY-Pad style Morpher, LFO and envelopes for modulation and performance
- Built-in chorus, delay and reverb effects
- Preset library with a wide range of different sounds and effects
- Randomisation options for happy accidents
Main Synthesis Engine and Morpher
Unlike most software synths, SuperStarSaw isn’t designed to create sounds from the bottom-up. Instead of the typical wave-selection oscillators, patches start with stacked sawtooth waves that are already wide, dense and powerful. You could be forgiven for using just the initial patch, which sounds exactly like the supersaws used in major records and heard at raves. But by digging a bit deeper, you can start to shape the sound into something more unique.
The main controls for each engine are shown on the left panel, with a choice of 16 oscillators arranged across the stereo field, the width of which can be controlled by a simple width slider. There’s also a spread slider for detuning the voices, panning controls for stereo placement, an amplitude section for controlling the dynamics, and a motion module that introduces variations in each oscillator’s pitch, panning position and amplitude. These basic controls are for balancing the patch; width allows you to stack many voices without it becoming unfocused, spread gives the voices depth, and motion creates the micro-movements that bring the sound to life. For the classic, powerful supersaw sound, you could have one engine with a few voices in the center of the stereo field, then the second engine with more voices, wider and more detuned.
There are also pitch controls, which can get fairly complex, but the key feature here is the To Chord button, which snaps the detuned voices to notes within a selected chord, with the option of selecting a scale to keep it in key. This makes for some really interesting effects, especially when modulated. You can play a lead where the voices spread to create a harmony within the sound where, or play a pad where the chord voicing is continuously changing based on the Motion control.
One feature I really enjoyed was the randomisation buttons attached to most settings. This is great for happy accidents and quick inspiration, and the randomisation seems truly random. Sometimes it’ll barely change the sound, sometimes it will completely mangle it. Not a feature for precise control, but it’s a fun inclusion.
In the center panel, there’s a mix slider for balancing the two engines, and an XY-pad-style morphing control for modulating between different versions of each engine (you can click the corners to save your current settings as one of the versions, giving you two possible setups for each engine). The morphing engine provides incredibly smooth transitions between the different versions, so you could use a slow morph to gradually move between characters in a more ambient part of the song, or quick movements to instantly change the sound for an EDM drop or to introduce a new section.
On the flip side of the central module are the global voicing controls, which allow you to fine tune the detune, unison, pitch bend and stereo width to an incredibly deep level. Here you can set individual glide amounts for each voice, leading to some pretty chaotic pitch bending effects at higher values. With the plain interface, clear labelling and helpful hints when you hover the mouse above a control, SuperStarSaw encourages highly precise control over the harmonic character of a sound. Settings that would be hidden under layers of modules and pages in other synths are presented front and center, and they can all be pushed to the extreme, making the changes easy to hear.
I’m a big fan of SuperStarSaws UI design, which blends useful colour coding with accurate and educational visuals, often showing you (quite literally) the effects of the controls. Adding more voices is represented in the stereo visualiser, adding dynamics makes the voice-nodes grow, pitch bends are shown as lines that literally bend as you move them, the motion indicator grows and shrinks to display its value; everything is highly visual and reactive.
Effects and Modulation
The built-in effects are fairly basic, with a minimalist approach to chorus, delay and reverb. Each has just a few controls, and sound fine, but they’re not major additions to the plugin. I didn’t see this as a big issue; the modulation and voice-shaping are enough for creating a wide variety of sounds, and can become chaotic long before the effects are applied. The chorus sounds good, and I would usually use dedicated plugins for delay and reverb anyway.
The modulation is much deeper. As previously mentioned, the motion panel gives you access to the standard LFO controls (phase and rate). But on the flip-side of the effects panel is the real modulation engine, with one LFO and two envelope modulators that can be freely assigned to almost any parameter. Below this are the pitch wheel and modulation wheel, which are modeled on MIDI keyboard controls and can be used to perform modulation and pitch bending live.
These modulation options allow for much more variety and evolution in your patches. Slower movements are excellent for creating atmospheric pads, whilst quicker moves work well for EDM-style build-ups, transitions and lead performances. As mentioned before, the UI is simple with intuitive colour coding, so you won’t find yourself staring at a massive modulation matrix, trying to figure out what parameter each source is affecting.
Presets
To better understand SuperStarSaws capabilities, it’s worth exploring the presets. They’re organised into eight categories: artist, bass, lead, pad, pluck, sound effects, soundscapes and stabs & chords. Each category has so much variety that they could easily be subdivided into separate groups. It would be useful here to have a preset browser similar to Absynth 6’s, with character tags alongside the sound types; as is, you’re left to guess based on the names, which can be quite random (“Bread or Butter”, “Bee Machine” and “MultiColor Poncho” were some of my favourites).
Nevertheless, the presets are high-quality, with deep modulation, considered voice-shaping and built-in performance tools. In the bass category, “Easy Reesy” is a classic Reece sound with smooth portamento, “Axe Blows” and “Lately” are heavy stabs, and other options like “Hornet” and “Skin Scrub” are full of weird, wobbly and squelchy character. The leads range from rhythmic patterns to screeching synths, with some insane sounding pitch bends (try “Phosphorescent” and “Brass Drips”) and classic festival EDM sounds. Some of the pads and soundscapes are ethereal and magical sounding, whilst others are twisted and inharmonic. SuperStarSaw has one of the best preset libraries of any plugin I’ve tried, and I highly recommend checking out a few YouTube videos to hear some examples.
The Verdict
SuperStarSaw is, in my opinion, a massive success. With the supersaws current popularity, it clearly defines its target audience, and absolutely delivers on the idea. The amazing preset library demonstrates its depth and versatility, the randomisation feels genuinely rewarding when it clicks, the UI is clear and descriptive, and the modulation controls bring any static sound that you’ve built to life. My only major complaint is the lack of a demo or trial, which means you’ll need to decide whether to purchase based on video demonstrations and reviews.
Some producers may be put-off by the focus on one sound type, and it’s tempting to imagine how powerful it could be with the addition of different waveforms in the oscillators, but that’s simply not the point. If the supersaw sound is important to your production, this is a game changer. If you’re already comfortable with building complex patches on your main synth, then maybe this isn’t for you, but I wouldn’t dismiss it as a one-trick pony. SuperStarSaw demonstrates how flexible and interesting a sawtooth wave can become with the right settings, and that’s an important reminder for beginner producers and expert sound designers alike.
Pros
- Excellent supersaw sound quality with a huge number of potential voices
- Deep controls for voice-shaping
- Morpher and modulation system make patches expressive and easy to perform
- Fast workflow with an excellent UI
- One of the best preset libraries of any plugin I’ve tested
- Randomisation for quick inspiration
Cons
- Niche compared to general-purpose synths
- Built-in effects are basic
- No demo or trial
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