How to Make a Simple Dark Ambient Pluck in Serum
If you're anything like me, you've probably fallen in love with that signature dark ambient sound floating around TikTok. Artists like Øneheart, Antent and .diedlonely are absolutely nailing it. Their music feels simple at first, but there’s something deeply emotional and reflective about it. The detail is in the sound design.
I've been building my own ambient catalogue under my Eleftherios project, and I’ve found Serum to be one of the best synths for crafting this kind of music. Today, I’ll walk you through creating a soft, moody pluck sound - perfect for dark ambient, or any style of music where you want to inject a sense of emotion. This tutorial is beginner-friendly, but I’ll also show you a neat trick for adding velocity sensitivity, which is great for expressive playing.
✨ PS: The preset from this tutorial, along with 67 others - is included in my Winter Ambient pack.
Step 1: Open Serum & Shape Your Envelope
To make a pluck, we need a short, snappy envelope.
- Go to ENV1, which controls the amp by default.
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Set a fast attack (~3ms), short decay (~800ms), no sustain, and a moderate release (~500ms).
These settings give us a quick, clean hit - perfect for ambient-style plucks.
Step 2: Add a sine wave
Click on Oscillator A, and from the wavetable menu, select Basic Shapes. Use a sine wave (the first shape). This is the foundation of this genre - clean, pure, and soft.
(Ah, I love sine waves…)
You should now have a sound that feels minimal, pure, and perfect for building out a reflective atmosphere.
Step 3: Add Reverb & Delay
Click over to the FX tab and enable Reverb and Delay.
Reverb:
- Set it to Hall
- Increase Mix to 35%
Delay:
- Leave the defaults
- Turn Mix up to 40% for a more washed-out feel
Ambient music loves space - these effects make your pluck drift and breathe.
Step 4: Make It Velocity-Sensitive (Advanced Tip)
By default, Serum presets are not velocity-sensitive - but here’s a quick trick to make this one respond to how hard you play your keyboard.
- Turn the Level knob on Oscillator A all the way down.
- Grab the VELO modulation source (bottom right) and drag it onto the Level knob.
- Now when you play softer, the volume lowers naturally - giving the sound a more human, dynamic feel.
That’s It! Your Custom Dark Ambient Pluck Is Done
This sound works beautifully layered under a pad or sitting alone in a sparse mix.
It’s minimal but expressive, and that’s what this genre thrives on.
Want the Preset?
This preset is part of my Winter Ambient pack, a Serum collection featuring 68 handcrafted presets that live in the same dark, emotional world.
The preset we just made is called Forest Dream, you can explore the full pack below.
If you enjoy creating this kind of music and want high-quality, expressive sounds, you’ll love this pack.
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