How to Recreate Show Me How by Men I Trust (Song Breakdown)

Few bands capture the essence of calm like Men I Trust. Their track “Show Me How” feels like a late-night drive under soft neon lights, hypnotic, melancholic, and effortlessly cool. The band’s sound blends Indie Pop, Dream Pop, and Downtempo Electronica, creating a space where basslines groove like whispers and synths shimmer with subtle emotion. Released in 2018, “Show Me How” became a defining song for the band’s minimal yet deeply textured production style. The lush chorus pads, glossy electric bass, and slightly detuned lead tones make the mix feel both intimate and expansive, the kind of sound that seems to breathe on its own.

In this breakdown, we’ll rebuild the entire atmosphere of “Show Me How”  from the liquid-clean bass tone and washed-out synth chords to the lo-fi keys and dreamy spatial pad. Every detail will be recreated step by step using Serum. Let's get into it.

• This article was possible because all of the presets from this breakdown came from the Dreampop Serum pack, and it has 20% off with the code: DC20

This Serum preset is a deep, textured bass designed to add both warmth and realism to a mix. It blends classic analog-style synthesis with subtle sampling, creating a sound that feels grounded and alive rather than sterile or digital. The patch uses the Noise Oscillator as a sampler, loaded with the OS_IP13 sample, which is a recording of a Fender Bass since it’s set to one-shot mode, it triggers naturally every time a note is played, making the bass feel more responsive and dynamic. The foundation of the sound comes from Oscillator A, which uses the Analog_BD_Sin wavetable. This sine-based waveform is rich and smooth, providing the low-end weight and clarity that make the patch sit perfectly in a mix without muddying other instruments. It’s tuned one octave down to reinforce the sub frequencies and paired with mild FM modulation coming from Oscillator B. Oscillator B uses the Sweep20 wavetable, which introduces subtle harmonic content that adds color and bite to the tone without making it too bright. The combination of these two oscillators creates a bass that’s clean in the lows but still has enough harmonic movement to be interesting. The sound is shaped through an MG Low 24 filter, which keeps the higher frequencies in check and gives the bass its rounded, analog feel. The filter is modulated by Envelope 2, which opens it up quickly with each note before closing it again, creating that punchy, plucky motion that helps the bass groove with the rhythm. The envelope has a very short attack and decay, giving it a tight response, while the sustain stays low to ensure the body of the note remains controlled. It’s a simple movement, but it makes a big difference.

This Serum preset, called GT – Revelation, was created to capture the tone and character of Men I Trust’s main guitar sound. What makes this patch special is that it made with a real guitar recording with synthesis to build a tone that feels organic but still perfectly controlled. For this sound, we recorded a real Fender Stratocaster and imported a short, clean one-shot sample into the Noise Oscillator of Serum. That sample acts as the transient layer — it captures the natural pick attack, fret noise, and subtle string imperfections that make a real guitar feel alive. Every time you press a key, that one-shot plays, giving the patch a realistic touch you can’t get from pure synthesis alone.

The body of the tone comes from Oscillator A and Oscillator B, which are designed to blend with the sampled texture. Oscillator A uses the FFT_Add_4ths wavetable, providing a rich, harmonic base with a slight metallic tone that mimics the way guitar strings naturally resonate together. It’s pitched one octave down to give warmth and fullness to the sound. Oscillator B uses an Analog_BD_Sin waveform, which adds a soft sine layer that rounds out the tone and smooths any harsh edges, keeping it silky and balanced. Both oscillators have multiple unison voices (eight on A, five on B) with light detuning to recreate that subtle width and stereo movement you hear when a Stratocaster is recorded through a stereo setup or double-tracked.

The filter section uses the Flg (flange) filter type, which gives the sound a slightly phase-shifted, resonant character, enhancing the “string” quality and helping it sit naturally in the mix. The cutoff is set fairly low, which keeps the tone smooth and controlled, while the resonance adds a gentle peak that emphasizes the midrange frequencies — the same area where a Stratocaster naturally shines.

Envelope 2 controls the dynamics of Oscillator B, giving each note a plucky, responsive attack followed by a gentle decay. This helps replicate the natural motion of a picked guitar note — quick, expressive, and never static.

Once the core tone was set, the signal went through an external processing chain in Ableton. The UADx SSL 4000E Channel Strip was the main mixing tool, giving the guitar more definition and control. The EQ was used to boost around 3 to 4 dB in the 8k area. The UADx Pure Plate Reverb added that final sense of depth — a smooth, vintage-style plate reverb that makes the guitar sound wide and dreamy, just like in the original track. To conclude, modulation effects in Ableton — specifically Chorus Ensemble and Phaser-Flanger — were layered subtly to add gentle motion to the sound. The chorus provided width and warmth, while the phaser added that slow, liquid swirl that keeps the tone alive even when it’s holding long chords. Together, these effects created a shimmering, fluid guitar tone that perfectly captures the nostalgic, late-night vibe of “Show Me How.”

This Serum preset is built to emulate the smooth, bell-like warmth of a Rhodes electric piano, blending a classic tone with a clean modern touch. The sound starts with both Oscillator A and Oscillator B using simple sine-based waves from the Basic Shapes wavetable, which form the foundation of that pure, rounded tone. These waveforms are slightly detuned from each other, creating a gentle chorusing effect that mimics the natural pitch imperfections of a real Rhodes. The oscillators are balanced evenly, with Oscillator B sitting just a bit softer in the mix to add body without overpowering the main harmonic layer. The filter is set to an MG Low 12, a smooth Moog-style low-pass filter that takes off the high-end bite and leaves behind that velvety tone characteristic of a classic electric piano. The cutoff sits in the midrange, allowing enough brightness for clarity while keeping the top end soft and round. The LFO 1 is mapped to the amplitude, slowly modulating the overall level at a quarter-note rate. This introduces a subtle volume movement that feels like a soft tremolo, giving the sound that organic pulse often found in vintage electric piano recordings. 

The pad acts as a soft secondary layer that blends perfectly with the main keys, playing the same chords to fill out the mix with warmth and atmosphere. It’s designed to sit subtly in the background, thickening the harmonic content and adding that smooth, emotional depth you often hear in dreamy or indie pop productions like Men I Trust or Kali Uchis. The sound is built around two oscillators that complement each other beautifully. Oscillator A uses the ICanHasKick wavetable, which gives the tone a slightly rounded, organic body with a touch of grit in the lower mids. This makes the pad feel grounded and textured instead of overly clean. Oscillator B uses the SQR_SAW_Wrd wavetable — a hybrid between a square and saw wave — adding harmonic richness and gentle high-end presence. The unison settings (six voices on A and five on B) and slight detuning spread the sound across the stereo field, creating that lush, wide character that helps it surround the main keys without fighting for space. The filter is a smooth MG Low 18, which removes the brighter frequencies and leaves behind a silky midrange focus. This makes the pad feel warm and blended rather than sharp or synthetic. The cutoff is set moderately low, and the drive adds a soft layer of analog-style saturation, giving the sound that cozy, vintage tone that works perfectly behind the Rhodes-like main keys. Envelope 1 controls the overall shape of the sound, with a slow 70ms attack and an 875ms decay that allow the chords to fade in gently. The sustain keeps the pad steady, while the one-second release ensures the notes flow into each other seamlessly, creating that dreamy wash of sound that never feels abrupt.

This preset is designed to act as a sustained background layer during the chorus, filling out the mix with warmth and depth while maintaining a smooth, organic tone. It’s the kind of sound that doesn’t demand attention but makes everything around it feel fuller and more emotional, like the string pads often used to support dreamy or chill indie tracks. The sound begins with Oscillator A, which uses the Basic_Mdc wavetable to generate a soft, rounded waveform that provides a clean, harmonic foundation. This oscillator has six unison voices with slight detuning to give it that lush stereo width associated with synthetic string ensembles. Oscillator B uses the ICanHasKick wavetable, which brings in subtle harmonic motion and texture — it adds richness and character to the top end, making the patch feel alive instead of flat. It’s set with thirteen unison voices, gently detuned to create an expansive stereo image that feels like multiple layers of strings softly blending together. Underneath, the Sub Oscillator adds low-end warmth, reinforcing the body of the sound and giving it a deeper, more cinematic presence without muddying the mix. The filter is a Low 18, used to smooth out the top frequencies and create a rounded, warm tone. The cutoff is set moderately low so that the highs stay controlled, leaving just enough brightness to make the sound shimmer in the background. A little drive and fatness are added to introduce subtle analog-style warmth, helping the sound feel more natural and less digital. Envelope 2 controls the overall volume dynamics of all oscillators, shaping how the patch breathes over time. It has a soft attack of around 200 milliseconds, allowing the sound to fade in smoothly rather than hitting abruptly. The long decay and high sustain keep the tone steady and continuous, perfect for holding long notes or chords throughout the chorus. The release is set just under half a second so that each note fades away gracefully when released, ensuring a seamless transition between chords.