Patch Suggestions for Christian Music
What Patches to Use for Certain Worship Songs
This page is constantly being added to, so
feel free to "refresh" the page. Also, I am going to split
off the System-8 from the other Plug-Outs and the System-1 and
its Plug-Outs soon.
When I first got my Roland System-1, and especially after I purchased my System-8, I became overwhelmed with how many patches Roland has made available (currently 2,100+ for just the System-8 and its Plug-Outs). So I wrote this to help others quickly find a patch that is close to parts of worship songs. This list is modeled after MultiTracks. If you want me to add to this list for your own synthesizer, contact me and arrange to ship me one.
All patches for the System-1 and System-8,
as well as their Plug-Outs, come from Roland. I will
include a list, later, of what patches from Roland come from
what location. Below the list are some performance
notes. Artists in parenthesis indicate this is an
alternate recording of a song not written by them.
One of the limitations of using HTML4 for this is that I can't sort the table easily, so please use your "find" feature in your web browser to search for songs.
My other Aira pages:
- System-1: main, blog, Plug-Outs, samples, suitability
- System-8: main, blog, performance
modes, Plug-Outs, setup, suitability
| Song |
Artist |
Part |
Synth. |
Set |
Patch |
Patch Name |
Notes |
| Anything that calls for piano |
Any Artist |
Keys | System-8 |
2 |
B-2 |
KY Piano Age |
Closest Piano Sound, voted by 3 musicians |
| Anything that calls for a Fender Rhodes
sound |
Any Artist |
Keys |
System-8 |
2 |
B-1 |
KY Legend FM EP |
Closest sound to Fender Rhodes and/or
Wurlitzer |
| This Is Amazing Grace |
Phil Wickham |
Lead |
System-8 |
1 |
G-5 |
PD Super Saws |
|
| Great Things |
Phil Wickham |
Lead |
JX-3P |
1 |
E-1 |
SY Poly Stabber |
Substitute Electric Guitar? |
| Build My Life |
Pat Barrett | Pad |
Jupiter-8 |
1 |
B-3 |
PD JP Soft Pad |
|
| Build My Life | Pat Barrett | Pad | System-1 |
1 |
A-5 |
PD Deep Pad |
|
| Who You Say I Am |
Hillsong |
Lead |
System-8 |
Synwave-1 |
A-6 |
KY Silky Pluck |
Close |
| Who You Say I Am |
Hillsong |
Pad |
Juno-106 |
1 |
D-8 |
PD Juno Soft Pad |
|
| Love Is War |
Hillsong |
Intro Strings |
Juno-106 |
1 |
D-5 |
PD PWM Stringer |
|
| Way Maker |
Leeland |
Sparkly Pads |
JX-3P |
Synthwave |
B-7 |
PD Emotive Pad |
|
| Great Are You Lord |
All Songs & Daughters |
Organ |
JX-3P |
1 |
A-3 |
Organ 2 |
Might be a Hammond B-3. |
| Raise a Hallelujah |
Bethel |
Pads |
System-8 |
1 |
G-6 |
PD Super Saws |
Sweep the LPF cutoff |
| Living Hope |
Phil Wickham |
Sparkly Pads |
JX-3P |
Synthwave |
B-7 |
PD Emotive Pad |
|
| Unstoppable God |
Elevation |
Interlude Synth |
Pro Mars |
Novaline |
I invert the filter, personally. |
||
| Unstoppable God | Elevation | Synth Pluck |
Juno-106 |
Synthwave |
D-3 |
PL Fat Pluck |
Maybe |
| Unstoppable God | Elevation | Synth Pluck | JX-3P |
1 |
G-2 |
Compu-Lead |
Maybe |
| Raise A Hallelujah |
Bethel |
Pulsating Pads |
|||||
| Raise A Hallelujah | Bethel | Arpeggios |
|||||
| Raise A Hallelujah | Bethel | Hi Plucks |
Jupiter-8 |
1 |
A-5 |
PL Poly Stack |
Close enough |
| Raise A Hallelujah | Bethel | Hi Plucks |
Juno-106 |
Synthwave |
H-3 |
SY Dreamy |
|
| King of Kings |
Hillsong |
Harp |
System-1 |
Mine |
A-8 |
RAD Harp |
|
| King of Kings |
Hillsong |
Harp |
System-8 |
2 |
F-8 |
PL Syn-Harp |
|
| King of Kings |
Hillsong |
Harp |
Jupiter-8 |
1 |
F-8 |
1981 Harp |
|
| King of Kings |
Hillsong |
Keys 4 (Low Drone) |
System-1 |
1 |
A-5 |
PD Deep Pad |
See pad notes. |
| King of Kings |
Hillsong |
Strings |
System-1 |
4 |
A-1 |
PD Strings 1 |
|
| King of Kings |
Hillsong |
Strings + Brass |
System-8 |
Perf Mode |
Pick One |
2018 Orchestra |
System-8 Set 1 A-5 PD Rich Strings + Set 1
B-4 Brass Fanfare |
| O Come To The Altar |
Elevation |
Keys 1 (Low Drone) |
System-1 |
1 |
A-5 |
PD Deep Pad |
Octaves. See pad notes. |
| O Come To The Altar |
Elevation |
Keys 2 (thick pad) |
System-8 |
1 |
E-5 |
PD Big Pad |
See pad notes. |
| Lion and the Lamb |
New Life Church |
Keys 1 (sparkle pad) |
JX-3P |
Synthwave |
B-7 |
PD Emotive Pad |
Adjust LPF cutoff to control "sparkles" |
| Living Hope |
Phil Wickham |
Keys 1 (noise & flutters |
JX-3P |
Synthwave |
B-7 |
PD Emotive Pad |
Add pink noise and adjust LPF to control
"sparkles" |
| Living Hope |
Phil Wickham |
Keys 2 (big arpeggio pads) |
System-8 |
1 |
G-5 |
PD Super Saws |
See pad notes. |
| Living Hope |
Phil Wickham |
Keys 3 (high delayed notes) |
System-8 |
1 |
A-3 |
PL Synth Edge |
Might be too aggressive. |
| Living Hope |
Phil Wickham |
Keys 3 (high delayed notes) |
System-8 |
1 |
E-5 |
PD Big Pad |
See Pads into Plucks notes. |
| Living Hope |
Phil Wickham |
Keys 4 (high delay notes) |
System-8 |
coming soon* |
|||
| God You're So Good | Passion |
Keys 1 (shimmer pad) |
JX-3P |
Synthwave |
B-7 |
PD Emotive Pad |
Modulate LPF to adjust "shimmer" |
| God You're So Good | Passion |
Keys 2 (plucks) |
System-1 |
1 |
A-8 |
SY Tele Pluck |
Adjust delay and reverb to taste |
| Run To The Father | Cody Carnes | Electric Piano |
System-8 |
2 |
A-1 |
KY FM Chorus EP |
|
| Run To The Father | Cody Carnes | Mellotron |
System-8 |
Perf Mode |
N/A |
N/A |
See Mellotron notes. Combine 2 of
your preferred choir voice pads into a performance mode. |
| Run To The Father | Cody Carnes | Organ |
JX-3P |
1 |
A-3 |
1983 Organ 2 |
See Hammond B3 notes. |
| Run To The Father | Cody Carnes | Keys 1 (pads) |
System-1 |
1 |
A-5 |
PD Deep Pad |
See pad notes. |
| Run To The Father |
Cody Carnes |
Strings |
Jupiter-8 |
1 |
G-1 |
1981 Lo Strings |
See Strings Notes. |
| Do It Again (Radio Version) |
Elevation |
Keys 1 (shimmer pad) |
JX-3P |
Synthwave |
B-7 |
PD Emotive Pad |
|
| Do It Again (Radio Version) |
Elevation |
Keys 2 (buzzy arp pads) |
System-8 |
1 |
C-5 |
PD Sizzle Pad |
Adjust noise/filter to taste |
| Do It Again (Radio Version) |
Elevation |
Keys 2 (buzzy arp pads) |
System-8 |
DystopicST |
A-1 |
PD Apocalypse Pad |
Adjust noise/filter to taste |
| Do It Again (Radio Version) |
Elevation |
Strings |
Jupiter-8 |
1 |
G-2 |
1981 Hi Strings |
See Strings Notes. |
| I Got Saved |
Corey Voss |
Keys 1 (pads) |
System-1 |
1 |
A-5 |
PD Deep Pad |
|
| I Got Saved |
Corey Voss |
Keys 1 (pads) |
JX-3P |
Synthwave |
B-7 |
PD Emotive Pad |
|
| Revelation Song |
Any |
Pads |
System-8 |
1 |
E-5 |
PD Big Pad |
Adjust LPF and/or Noise to taste |
| Gone |
Elevation |
Keys 1 (Lead) |
Jupiter-8 |
1 |
A-5 |
LD Poly Stack |
|
| Gone |
Elevation |
Keys 2 (arps) |
System-8 |
Transient-4 |
B-6 |
KY Ambient Piano |
Musician seems to use two patches for this
song |
| Gone |
Elevation |
Keys 2 (buzzy pads) |
System-8 |
1 |
G-5 |
PD Super Saws |
Adjust LPF to get more brights in some
places |
| Gone |
Elevation |
Keys 3 (soft pads) |
System-1 |
1 |
A-5 |
PD Deep Pad |
In my opinion, a better option |
| Gone |
Elevation |
Keys 3 (soft pads) |
Jupiter-8 |
1 |
B-7 |
PD JP Phaser Pad |
Reduce phaser and modulate LPF |
| Gone |
Elevation |
Aux: SFX |
SH-2 |
3 |
E-3 |
FX Crash Noize |
See noise notes. This part optional. |
| King of Kings (Spirit Rise) |
Travis Cottrell |
Keys 1 (Lead) |
Juno-106 |
1 |
D-6 |
LD Bright Unison |
Pretty close* |
| King of Kings (Spirit Rise) |
Travis Cottrell |
Keys 3 (pad drone) |
System-8 |
1 |
E-5 |
PD Big Pad |
|
| Let the Praises Ring |
Lincoln Brewster |
Organ |
JX-3P |
1 |
A-3 |
1983 Organ 2 |
See Hammond B3 notes. |
| Let the Praises Ring |
Lincoln Brewster |
Keys 1 (sweeping pads) |
Juno-106 |
1 |
D-8 |
PD Juno Soft Pad |
|
| What a Beautiful Name / Agnus Dei |
Travis Cottrell |
Keys 1 (leads) |
Juno-106 |
1 |
D-6 |
LD Bright Unison |
|
| Is He Worthy? |
Shane & Shane (Hymns Live) |
Aux: Strings |
System-8 |
1 |
A-5 |
PD Rich Strings |
The recording sounds like a real cello
player noodling. |
| Is He Worthy? |
Chris Tomlin |
Keys 1 (pad/bells) |
System-8 |
1 |
F-1 |
SY Bell Synth |
|
| Is He Worthy? |
Chris Tomlin |
Keys 1 (pad/bells) |
JX-3P |
Synthwave |
F-8 |
LD Frantasia 3P |
|
| Is He Worthy? |
Chris Tomlin |
Keys 2 (pings) |
Jupiter-8 |
Techno |
D-8 |
PL Time Sines |
You might change reverb to "MOD" & set
LEVEL to max |
| Is He Worthy? |
Chris Tomlin |
Aux: Strings |
System-8 |
1 |
A-5 |
PD Rich Strings |
Might be a real string section |
| No Longer Slaves |
Bethel |
Aux: Strings |
System-8 |
1 |
A-5 |
PD Rich Strings |
Might be a real string section |
| No Longer Slaves |
Bethel |
Keys 1 (organ? pad?) |
System-8 |
Sounds like a buzzy pipe organ and a high
sparkle* |
|||
| Behold Our God |
Sovereign Grace |
Keys 1 |
Jupiter-8 |
1 |
G-3 |
1981 Mellow Strings |
This is my preference for simulating real
strings. |
| Behold Our God |
Sovereign Grace |
Keys 2 |
System-8 |
1 |
F-1 |
SY Bell Synth |
|
| Only King |
Elevation |
Keys 1 (pads) |
Juno-106 |
1 |
D-8 |
PD Juno Soft Pad |
It sounds like they ramped the LPF cutoff
right before the 1st chorus |
| Only King |
Elevation |
Keys 2 (plucks) |
System-8 |
1 |
A-3 |
PL Synth Edge |
Finger pressure controls how extreme. |
| Only King |
Elevation |
Keys 3 (fuzzy leads) |
Pro Mars |
Curiosity Set |
A-1 |
LD String |
All intros and choruses |
| See A Victory |
Elevation |
Keys 1 (plucks) |
System-1 |
1 |
E-1 |
SY Sky Drive |
Set amp ADSR to a pluck (A=0 D=max S=0
R=half), Reverb=max, & ENV= 2 o'clock |
| See A Victory |
Elevation |
Keys 2 (arps) |
System-8 |
1 |
G-5 |
PD Super Saws |
I set filter velo. sens. to half. See
filter velo. notes. |
| God So Loved |
We The Kingdom |
Keys 1 (plucks) |
System-8 |
Bjorn #1 |
A-2 |
PL Dreamer |
|
| God So Loved |
We The Kingdom |
Keys 2 (pad) |
System-8 |
Christian #1 |
A-6 |
CV-Pad 3 |
|
| God So Loved |
We The Kingdom |
Keys 1 |
Jupiter-8 |
Techno |
D-1 |
PL Autoevolver |
Turn Arpeggiator off |
| God So Loved |
We The Kingdom |
Keys 2 |
Jupiter-8 |
1 |
B-3 |
PD JP Soft Pad |
|
| God So Loved |
We The Kingdom |
Keys 2 |
Juno-106 |
1 |
D-8 |
PD Juno Soft Pad |
|
| God So Loved |
We The Kingdom |
Keys 1 |
Juno-106 |
House Techno |
F-7 |
SY Nice Chord |
|
| God So Loved |
We The Kingdom |
Keys 1 |
Juno-60 |
Synthwave |
C-2 |
PL Ultimae |
|
| God So Loved |
We The Kingdom |
Keys 2 |
Juno-60 |
Synthwave |
B-1 |
PD Drifting |
Reduce LFO modifications and portamento to
taste |
| Evidence |
Josh Baldwin |
Organ |
System-8 |
Driven |
E-6 |
KY Powerorgan |
|
| Evidence |
Josh Baldwin |
Keys 1 |
System-8 |
Transient #4 |
B-6 |
KY Ambient Piano |
See piano note |
| Evidence |
Josh Baldwin |
Keys 2 |
System-8 |
2 |
C-6 |
SY Dreaming |
|
| Evidence |
Josh Baldwin |
Strings |
System-8 |
Synthwave |
B-4 |
PD String Section |
|
| Evidence |
Josh Baldwin |
Organ |
Jupiter-8 |
Epic JScottG |
E-7 |
PD Old Organ |
sort of |
| Evidence |
Josh Baldwin |
Keys 1 |
Jupiter-8 |
Mindflux |
E-1 |
SY Distant Pluck |
select polyphonic mode |
| Evidence |
Josh Baldwin |
Keys 2 |
Jupiter-8 |
1 |
E-7 |
SY Jupiter PWM |
or Synthwave F-1 SY Separate |
| Evidence |
Josh Baldwin |
Strings |
Jupiter-8 |
1 |
G-2 |
1981 Hi Strings |
Set Amp Attack = 0 |
| Evidence |
Josh Baldwin |
Organ |
Juno-106 |
Original Vol 1 |
A-6 |
KY Organ II |
|
| Evidence |
Josh Baldwin |
Keys 2 |
Juno-106 |
1 |
A-1 |
SY Anthrax |
or EspenCraft A-2 SY Natural Juno, or
Synthwave H-3 SY Dreamy |
| Way Maker |
(Brentwood Baptist) |
Intro Arpeggios |
System-8 |
2 |
F-8 |
PL Syn-Harp |
* See harp notes |
| Way Maker |
(Brentwood Baptist) |
Intro Arpeggios |
Jupiter-8 |
1 |
F-8 |
1981 Harp |
|
| Way Maker |
(Brentwood Baptist) |
Intro Arpeggios |
Juno-106 |
Original Vol 2 |
A-3 |
SY Chorus Vibes |
|
| Way Maker |
(Brentwood Baptist) |
Intro Piano |
System-8 |
Transient #4 |
B-6 |
KY Ambient Piano |
|
| Way Maker |
(Brentwood Baptist) |
Intro Piano |
Jupiter-8 |
Mindflux |
E-1 |
SY Distant Pluck |
set polyphonic mode |
| Way Maker |
(Brentwood Baptist) |
Intro Piano |
Juno-106 |
Brother Tiger |
A-6 |
BT Triangle Keys |
Reduce LFO pitch and filter mod levels |
| Glorious Day |
Kristian Stanfill |
Keys 1 |
Jupiter-8 |
Brother Tiger |
C-7 |
BT Blanket Pad |
|
| House Of The Lord |
Phil Wickham |
Jupiter-8 |
1 |
F-3 |
PL Poly Stack |
Drop sub to -5 for 5th and use sequencer |
|
| House Of The Lord |
Phil Wickham |
System-8 |
Bjorn-1 |
A-1 |
LD Trance Hero |
Possibly sub for vox chops |
|
| Goodness of God |
Bethel |
Strings |
System-8 |
1 |
A-5 |
PD Rich Strings |
Louder parts. See Performance Mode
Notes. |
| Graves Into Gardens |
Elevation |
Organ |
System-8 |
1 |
F-3 |
KY OD Organ |
Adjust LFO and Overdrive to taste |
| Graves Into Gardens |
Elevation |
Keys 4 |
System-8 |
1 |
A-5 |
PD Rich Strings |
Adjust amp release to zero |
| Christ Be Magnified |
Cody Carnes |
Organ |
System-8 |
1 |
F-3 |
KY OD Organ |
Adjust LFO and Overdrive to taste |
| O Come O Come Emmanuel |
Matt Maher |
Organ |
System-8 |
1 |
F-3 |
KY OD Organ |
Adjust LFO section and overdrive to taste |
| Go Tell It On The Mountain |
The Worship Initiative |
Bells |
System-8 |
Mystical |
B-5 |
BL Magic Bells |
Adjust delay to taste |
| Go Tell It On The Mountain |
The Worship Initiative |
Organ |
System-8 |
1 |
F-3 |
KY OD Organ |
Adjust overdrive and tone to taste |
| Go Tell It On The Mountain |
The Worship Initiative |
Keys 1 |
System-8 |
2 |
B-1 |
KY Legend FM EP |
Only mentioning it because there is another
keys part. Adjust overdrive and octave to taste. |
Notes
- The first and most important note: you can always synthesize your own patches if you want super-realistic emulations of the sounds on MultiTracks. So it might benefit you to learn how.
- The second most important note: most professional and/or
talented musicians will be able to tell that your patches
don't sound identical to what's on MultiTracks. But 99%
of those who attend your church services either can't tell the
difference, aren't paying attention, or don't care.
Don't get hung up on perfectionism.
- To turn almost any patch into a pluck, set amp ADSR attack
to zero, delay to max, sustain to zero, and release to half.
- Pads: keep in mind to use the HPF and LPF to alter how the pad sounds as the song transpires. Don't just "play the same old pad," that gets boring.
- Strings: this note is to remind you that the System-1 and
System-8 are not intended to reproduce extremely realistic
sounding strings. But they will do good enough.
- Synth Brass: synthesized brass is probably not going to sound nearly as good as a real brass section.
- Synth Pianos: synthesized pianos aren't going to sound identical to real pianos.
- Harps: this note points out that what is on the recording isn't actually a harp.
- Performance Mode: this note is to point out that sometimes
you should combine two patches into a performance mode.
For example, for Goodness of God (Bethel), you can put FM
Legend EP as the lower part and Rich Strings as the upper
part. Then start the song with only the lower part
enabled, and add upper when the song gets louder.
Performance modes work great in worship!
- Sequencer: this is just to help run a repetitive patch,
usually something arps in a pattern where you have a 16th note
rest followed by three 16th notes. Sort of a
trance/dance pattern.
- Mellotron: note that you will not get a Mellotron sound from
any instrument but a Mellotron. So my advice is to do
your best to simulate it. As well, the Mellotron had
lots of different voices and patches, so be sure to listen to
what the track is using. What I recommend for Mellotron
use will change with basically every song because the
Mellotron has multiple sounds it can make.
- Hammond B3: few synthesizers can emulate a proper Hammond B3 organ. But you can get close enough. If you map the mod and bend functions of this patch properly, you can at least include the expressiveness that is characteristic of the B3.
- Noise: You own noise "slap" sound is pretty easy for any
synthesizer that has a noise oscillator. Simply ramp up
the noise oscillator, shut off all other oscillators, set the
filter section mostly off, and the amp section to a pluck-like
setting (ADSR: A=0 D=full S=0 R=half). You may not have
enough resources to incorporate this effect into worship, due
to resources being utilized in the more important musical
elements, but it's worth mentioning.
- Drone: I don't mind playing drones in church. However, this note designates a song where the drone seems to clash with the written chords, so I recommend resolving rather than clashing.
- Filter Velo. Sensitivity (Turning Pads into Leads/Plucks): sometimes if you need a keyboard setting where you have a pad and also have notes being accentuated as if part of a solo or lead line, there are ways to make the notes stand out more:
- You can adjust the filter of a pad patch to be more bright
on the attack using the filter section.
- You can take an electric piano patch you like and increase
the amp ADSR sustain to maximum. This results in a
pad-like sustain while you hold down the notes.
- On the System-8, you can increase the filter section
velocity sensitivity setting to at least half: when you
press down harder on the keys, they stand out more, but
otherwise they stay more like a pad. This means you
make notes stand out by pressing them harder.
- On the System-8, you can also combine the pluck or keyboard patch you like for the notes with a pad that you like for the sustain into a Performance Mode patch. Then you can turn the pad or the keyboard elements on or off as the song goes. For example, if my "lower" is a pad and my "upper" is a keyboard, I could start off the song with just keyboard by shutting off the lower, add the pad back by turning on the lower during the main part of the song, then at the end as the worship leader prays I can shut off the upper and have just a pad.
- With synthesizers, there is almost always more than one way
to do things. Keep that in mind, experiment, get to know
your instrument, and have fun!