The audio demo above only uses synth instruments from this pack and drums from the 8-Bit Drum Kit series. No melodies or MIDI patterns are included, and no games were sampled.
8-Bit Synths: The Basics
8-Bit Synths: The Basics is the first in a four-part series of 8-bit sample instrument packs that captures the full spectrum of NES-style synth sounds used in classic video games from the late ’80s and early ’90s. The Basics focuses on the essential building blocks of 8-bit music, featuring the most common and widely used instrument types from that era.
The list below describes the instrument categories included in this pack, along with the total number of instruments in each. All four 8-Bit Synths packs share the same categories, but each pack features its own unique instruments and sound variations.
(For detailed explanations of each category, see the “More Instrument Info” dropdown below.)
- Lead Single (43) – sustained single-channel instruments
- Lead Combo (75) – sustained multi-channel instruments (combining two or more channels for chorused, octave, and interval sounds)
- Stab Single (48) – one-shot single-channel instruments
- Stab Combo (28) – one-shot multi-channel instruments
- Triangle Bass (6) – instruments using only the triangle channel, commonly used for bass lines
- Fundamental (4) – the four foundational waveforms of the original NES sound chip: Square, Pulse Width 1, Pulse Width 2, and Triangle (these instruments appear in all four 8-Bit Synths packs)
This pack contains:
- 204 8-Bit Synth Instrument Patches for Native Instruments Kontakt, Ableton Live, Maschine, Logic Pro EXS24/Sampler, FL Studio, MPC Expansion Pack, and TAL-Sampler
- 7,691 8-Bit Synth Samples
- 24-bit, 44.1 kHz WAV files
- 1.8 GB
More from this series
For more NES-style synth instruments from this collection, check out:
Get all four packs together in the 8-Bit Synths Bundle.
The audio demo above only uses synth instruments from this pack and drums from the 8-Bit Drum Kit series. No melodies or MIDI patterns are included, and no games were sampled.
More Instrument Info
The instrument types are further organized into the following categories:
Lead Single, Stab Single & Triangle Bass:
- Basic – simple synths with minimal shaping
- Transient – synths featuring a defined attack or distinctive note onset
- Vibrato – synths with vibrato baked into the samples
- Repeater – synths with built-in rhythmic or tremolo repetition
- Jump – sounds that quickly jump upwards or downwards in pitch (stabs only)
Lead Combo & Stab Combo:
- Chorus – synths with slight pitch offsets between channels to achieve a chorus effect
- Octave – synths with channels playing together in octave intervals
- Merge – synths where multiple waveforms blend into a unified tone
- Interval – synths combining channels separated by intervals such as 4ths or 5ths
- Jump – sounds that quickly jump upwards or downwards in pitch (stabs only)
Note on Playability
Every instrument includes the full keyboard range for convenience, but some patches are naturally best suited to specific ranges. For example, vibrato created on the original NES sound chip behaves differently across the pitch spectrum, as it is usually subtle or nearly absent in low notes and very exaggerated in high notes.
Additionally, extreme high and low notes in the patches were extended to cover all MIDI note values, even though the original NES hardware had strict frequency limits that prevented playback at those ranges.
Instrument & Sample List
Instrument Patches:
- 43 Lead Single 8-Bit Synth Instrument Patches
- 75 Lead Combo 8-Bit Synth Instrument Patches
- 48 Stab Single 8-Bit Synth Instrument Patches
- 28 Stab Combo 8-Bit Synth Instrument Patches
- 8 Triangle Bass 8-Bit Synth Instrument Patches
- 4 Fundamental 8-Bit Synth Instrument Patches
Sample List:
- 917 Lead Single Notes
- 1,053 Lead Combo Notes
- 3,504 Stab Single Notes
- 2,027 Stab Combo Notes
- 138 Triangle Bass Notes
- 52 Fundamental Notes
Formats Included
Instrument Formats & Required Software:
- Kontakt Library (Kontakt Instruments, .nki), Kontakt 4+
- Maschine Expansion Pack (.mxsnd), Maschine 2+
- Ableton Live Pack (.adv), Live 9+
- FL Studio DirectWave Patches (.dwp), FL Studio 12+
- MPC Expansion Pack (.xpn), MPC Software or MPC Beats
- EXS24/Sampler Instrument Patches (.exs), Logic Pro 9+
- TAL Instrument Patches (.talsmpl), TAL Sampler 3+
- Single WAV files (.wav), usable in any DAW or audio software
