Chappell Roan "Good Luck, Babe!" Breakdown

"Good Luck Babe" is a standout track by Chappell Roan, featured on her debut album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. Released in September 2023, this album marks a significant milestone in Chappell Roan's career, showcasing her evolution as an artist. The album blends indie pop with a hint of retro vibes, and "Good Luck Babe" is a perfect example of her ability to create catchy yet emotionally resonant music.
In this tutorial we are recreating the captivating soundscape of "Good Luck Babe" by Chappell Roan! If you've ever found yourself mesmerized by the unique blend of instruments and textures in this song, you're in the right place. In this tutorial, we'll dive deep into the sound design that gives "Good Luck Babe" its distinct character, breaking down the instrumental layers and revealing the creative processes behind them.

 This article was possible because all of the presets from this breakdown came from our Indie Pop pack and it has have 20% off with the code: SP01

The first thing you'll notice in the song is this incredible lead synth that really grabs your attention. To create it, we’ll start with two basic mini waveforms, one in each oscillator. Next, we’ll use LFO 1 to modulate the phase of both oscillators at a rate of one bar, which gives the patch a more analog feel.
After that, we’ll bring in Envelope 2 to control the filter's cutoff. It’s key to set the attack of Envelope 2 to around 55 ms, which adds a nice brassy vibe to the sound. For Envelope 1, which is the primary amplitude envelope by default, you’ll want to go with a short decay time between 200 and 300 ms.
Finally, head over to the FX tab and load up on reverb and delay to give the sound some space and depth—and there you have it!

This funky bassline really drives the groove of the track. Drawing from techniques we've covered before, we’re using Serum as our go-to sampler. First, we record a C note on our Fender Jaguar Bass and load it into Serum’s noise oscillator. By enabling one-shot mode and pitch tracking, we ensure that the sample plays in tune with whichever MIDI note we trigger, also enable Mono and Legato to be able to make the slides of the notes.

To give the sound more warmth and fullness, we bring in a sinewave wavetable on oscillator A and a Sweep 20 wavetable on oscillator B. These layers help to create a thicker, richer bass tone. In the FX tab we added some compression and distortion to add some upper harmonics.

Creating the chords for the song is a breeze! Start by setting oscillator A to a Basic Shape, and oscillator B to SQR_SAW_Wrd both of them have 5 voices slightly detuned. Next, use Envelope 2 to modulate the filter cutoff, which will filter out everything above 5kHz, giving the sound a slightly darker tone.
For Envelope 1, which controls the synth's volume, set the attack to 25 ms for a smooth brassy effect, and more importantly, keep the decay short—around 220 ms. This will give the chords a nice, tight feel.

This string sound makes its entrance during the bridge and carries through into the chorus, adding a rich layer to the track. To create it, start with a Basic Shape in oscillator A and the ICanHasKick waveform in oscillator B. To achieve that staccato feel, use LFO 2 to modulate both the oscillator level and the filter cutoff, synced to a quarter note.
The real trick to making this patch sound like a string instrument lies in the FX tab. Enable a filter and select the Reverb type. Set the cutoff between 30 Hz and 100 Hz. This filter mimics the resonance of string vibrations by creating peaks at specific frequencies, emphasizing harmonics in a way that gives the sound an organic, string-like quality.

The Fx Tab