Build a laser zap

About 8 minutes

Start from nothing

Open a blank sound ↗ (opens in a new tab)

1. A fast fall in pitch

1. Press + Tone and set Wave to square.
2. Set Pitch to 1800.
3. Switch on Slide to another pitch and set Slides to to 200.
4. Set Length to 0.2 and Volume to 0.2.
5. Play. A classic "pew": the pitch drops from very high to low in a fifth of a second.

Hear step 1 ↗ (opens in a new tab)

2. Make it bite

Metallic (FM) adds a second tone that shakes the first. A little gives a ring like a bell; a lot gives harsh, robotic, sci-fi sounds.

1. Change Wave to sawtooth, which is brighter and harsher than square.
2. Switch on Metallic (FM).
3. Set Ratio to 2, Amount to 8 and Amount at the end to 0.
4. Play. The sound starts rough and cleans up as it falls, because the metallic shaking fades to nothing by the end. That "settling" is a big part of what makes it sound like energy being released.

Hear step 2 ↗ (opens in a new tab)

3. A click at the start and a tail

1. Press + Noise. Set Length to 0.04, Volume to 0.1, switch on Filter, set Kind to highpass and Cutoff to 3000. A tiny bright click on the very first instant makes the shot feel like it leaves the weapon.
2. Press + Tone, leave Wave as sine, and set Pitch to 400, Slides to to 100, Starts at to 0.05, Length to 0.25 and Volume to 0.12. A soft, low echo that keeps ringing after the zap.

Hear the finished laser ↗ (opens in a new tab)

4. Make it yours

• Faster, a smaller blaster: shorten Length to 0.1 and raise Slides to.
• A big cannon: lower both Pitch values, lengthen the layers and raise the FM Amount.
• Going up instead: make Slides to higher than Pitch, and you have a charge-up or a power-up.
• Try the Laser button under Start from, then open its layers to see which settings it chose.