How to Make Rainbow Zaag Kicks

Normally you make color kicks with plugins like Chroma or Pitchmap or a vocoder. We cannot really do this in Serum 2, so the best method I found is a convolver. I load it up in the second distortion stage, and all we need is color impulses.

The team and I made a full list of color impulses, linked below for free. If you have the folder, just drag it in. If you click through it, it loads them based on the folder location. Increase the mix and you hear the impulse. It's a bit overwhelming, but we'll get to that.

Stretch the impulse and make it smaller and the pitch goes higher. Stretch it longer and it goes lower. So all you have to do to change the pitch in your convolver is go to the size. 50 is basically an octave higher than the normal impulse. I start with the first one at 100, cycle through the list, and try the good ones at 50 or 25%.

Later I duplicate the first convolver, because we want the exact same size. If you put the size on a macro, add it to both of them and make sure both are at like 20 in the matrix. That way we stretch them equally and get the exact same pitch output.

Now you just control the convolver, and you can really use the sub LFO for that. When the sub is boosted, the mids don't really have power. If I take the sub down a lot, the mids have a lot of power. So I add this LFO to the convolver, but on inverse. A lot of color here, then the color decreases over time. It also allows us to go at 100 mix, which we can't really do if we keep it open.

Because this LFO is added to all the subs, and on inverse to the color sound, playing with it completely changes the shape of the kick. The same move means color, but it also means low bass.

All that's left is fixing the stereo information. I use a splitter on mid side at the end, and in the side I add an EQ and remove all the sub and the bass. Make sure the distortion goes after the splitter, as well as the EQ. That way we first clean up the sub and then distort the sound.

Same thing if you load another convolver in the third distortion stage, for example with a coloration impulse instead of the colors. It has to come before the splitter, because this convolver once again adds stereo information. Add that first, then remove the sub from the side, then add your Zero-Square and you're good.