Synthwave has made a strong comeback in recent years. For guitar players, that means wide modulation, classic drive pedals, and unapologetically 80s tones are cool again.
In this guide, I want to show you how to sound like synthwave on guitar using a simple but very effective setup.
Disclaimer: This content was sponsored by BOSS. They provided me with the two BOSS pedals I use in the video/post, and I was monetarily compensated for my work. However, the company had no say in the things I mention in the video, and they don’t get to see the content before it is released.
Choosing the Right Guitar for Synthwave
When choosing the guitar for this track, I had two goals.
First, I wanted jangly and slightly mid-scooped clean tones. Second, I wanted a humbucker for heavily distorted and modulated lead parts. That is why I used the Vola OZ with its HSS pickup configuration. The in-between pickup positions gave me exactly the kind of clean-ish tone I was after.
For a guitar with a vintage-inspired look, the Vola OZ bridge humbucker also has a lot of punch and a nice midrange bump. That made dialing in the lead tones a lot of fun.
That said, I do not think the guitar itself matters as much as you might expect. Once you start adding this much modulation and distortion, a lot of the smaller tonal differences between guitars matter less. As long as your guitar does not hum or feed back too much, you can absolutely get into synthwave territory with many different instruments.
My Synthwave Guitar Signal Chain
From the guitar, I ran into my studio pedalboard and used different drive The signal chain is a big part of this sound.
From the guitar, I ran into my studio pedalboard and used different drive pedals for different parts of the song. The pedals I used were the BOSS SD-1, Caline Pure Sky, NUX Steel Singer, KMA Logan, and REVV G3. After that, all of those tones ran through the BOSS DC-2w.
From the DC-2w, I split the signal into a stereo rig:
- Output A went to the REVV D20
- Output B went to the Two Notes CAB M, where I used both amp and cabinet simulation
That stereo setup is a huge part of why the synthwave guitar tones feel so wide and immersive.
Synthwave Clean Guitar Tones
For the clean-ish tones, I used the in-between pickup positions on the Vola OZ and added the BOSS SD-1 to give the sound a little bit of hair. On its own, that tone might sound slightly too distorted. However, in a dense mix, that extra grit helps the arpeggios cut through while still sounding clean enough.
I also used the BOSS DC-2w on the second mode. That made the clean passages feel wider and created the illusion of double-tracked arpeggios sitting nicely in the mix.
Synthwave Rhythm Guitar Tones
For the rhythm guitar parts, I switched to the humbucker on the Vola and pushed the gain on the SD-1 much harder.
I had not used the SD-1 much before this, but it immediately made sense why it is such a classic. It gives you exactly the kind of driven tone that works well for this style. Adding the DC-2w on the third mode then made the rhythm sound wide and almost double-tracked, which I absolutely loved.
Synthwave Lead Guitar Tones
For the lead tone, I wanted more gain and more attitude.
So besides the SD-1, I also added the Caline Pure Sky with the gain almost fully cranked. Then I brought in the DC-2w again for extra width and modulation.
At that point, things got a little noisy. Still, they also sounded so, so good. The result was pure 80s lead guitar magic and a lot of fun to play.
What Matters Most for Synthwave Guitar Tones?
Overall, I was slightly shocked how easy it was to dial in these tones. SD-1 gives you exactly the kind of drive tone you want to have for this type of music. And adding the BOSS DC-2w transports you to the past with its awesome modulated tones. Using DC-2w might have also ruined mono guitar for me, but that’s a different story for some other time…
The biggest surprise for me was how easy these synthwave guitar tones were to dial in.
The BOSS SD-1 gave me exactly the kind of drive character I wanted for this style. Then the BOSS DC-2w did the thing that really transports the sound back in time. That wide modulated stereo feel is such a huge part of the whole vibe.
So if you want to sound like synthwave on guitar, you do not necessarily need a complicated rig. A good drive pedal, a strong modulation pedal, and a stereo setup can already get you very far.
Final thoughts
If you want to sound like synthwave on guitar, think less about perfection and more about width, modulation, and attitude.
A jangly clean tone, a driven rhythm sound, a saturated lead tone, and a stereo modulation pedal will take you surprisingly far. That was the biggest lesson for me from this whole experiment.
If you’re interested in acquiring any of the gear mentioned here and support what I do, you can use the affiliate links here:
►►Get The Gear at Thomann: https://www.thomann.de/fi/thlpg_to75kzs7bv.html
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►►Get The Boss SD-1 at Sweetwater: https://www.sweetwater.sjv.io/m5RAQO
►►Get The Boss DC-2w at Sweetwater: https://www.sweetwater.sjv.io/DK0P4b