- Where is the line between synth-pop and synthwave?
- Synth-pop is a song: vocal-led, with real lyrics and a chorus. Synthwave is usually instrumental, serving atmosphere and imagery at slower tempos with darker tone and a cinematic streak. One is a song, the other is a landscape.
- How do I get an eighties feel rather than modern electronic?
- Describe gear and process instead of the decade. "Analog synths, drum machine, plate reverb, tape saturation, arpeggiator" works far better than "eighties style" because each word maps onto something audible.
- What does the arpeggiator actually contribute?
- It breaks chords into fast repeating single-note sequences, supplying groove and filling the midrange at once — the single most identifiable ingredient in the style. Naming "running synth arpeggio" in the prompt sharpens the genre signal immediately.
