Espen Kraft’s Pitch Bump Brass: Five Synths, One Fat Attack

Espen Kraft kicks things off by dissecting that iconic, fat synth brass sound—the one with a cheeky pitch wobble at the start, just like a trumpet player flexing their lips. Forget flat, lifeless attacks; this is about adding movement and attitude right at the front of the note. The secret sauce? A pitch envelope, dialled in to give your brass that signature bump.

He starts with a scratch patch on a Roland JX-8P (well, the PG-8X VST version), showing how envelope one can modulate the pitch of oscillator one. By cranking the envelope amount and tweaking the decay, you get that short, punchy pitch drop that sets the tone apart. It’s all about balancing the decay time and envelope amount to taste, so your brass hits with just the right amount of swagger.

Espen doesn’t just stick to one synth—he drags five into the ring. The JX-8P/PG-8X gets things rolling, but then it’s on to the OB-Xd (Oberheim XA emulator), where the pitch envelope lives under oscillator two and the decay knob does the heavy lifting. Each synth has its quirks, but the core idea stays the same: envelope modulates pitch, and you dial in the decay for flavour.

The Arturia Jupiter-8, Prophet 5, and OP-XA V all get their moment in the spotlight. The Prophet 5 uses Poly Mod to route the filter envelope to oscillator frequency, while the OP-XA V hides its pitch envelope magic in the advanced modulation section. Espen shows how to set up each one, but doesn’t get bogged down in menu-diving—he’s all about results. If you want every knob-turn and click, you’ll have to watch the video and see these synths flex in real time.

One of Espen’s key points: don’t just stick to a positive envelope (pitch from above)—try inverting it so the bump comes from below. Both approaches can sound fat, and which one you use depends on the vibe you’re after. Some synths make this easy, others hide it in menus, but the payoff is worth the hunt. Experimentation is the name of the game, and Espen encourages you to twist those envelopes until your brass stabs punch through the mix like a rave siren in a library.