Synthwave is a love letter to the 1980s: lush analog pads, an arpeggiated bassline and big gated-reverb drums. A strong Suno prompt asks for those retro textures by name and keeps the tempo in the steady, driving 110 range.
Quick recipe
- Tempo: 100-120 bpm — sweet spot 110
- Core tags: synthwave, analog pads, arpeggiated bass, gated reverb drums, retro 80s
- Vocals: instrumental, or airy reverb-drenched 80s vocals
- Mood: nostalgic, neon, cinematic, driving
The prompt
Paste this into Suno's Style of Music box and adjust to taste:
synthwave, retro 80s, lush analog synth pads, arpeggiated bassline, gated reverb drums, neon and nostalgic, 110 bpm, instrumental, wide stereo, cinematic outrun
Keep the strongest genre and mood tags up front, state the BPM as a number, and trim anything that does not earn its place — Suno responds best to tight, ordered prompts. The reasoning behind that order is in how to write a Suno style prompt.
Why these tags
Each tag is doing a specific job. The genre word sets the overall template; the tempo locks the feel (see the BPM cheat-sheet); the instrumentation and production tags supply the texture that separates a convincing Synthwave track from a generic one. Swap individual descriptors before you add more — more tags rarely beats better tags.
Make it yours
Change the vocal line, push or pull the BPM a few points, or fold in a second genre using the base-plus-accent method from how to blend two genres in Suno. For the full picture, this guide is part of the complete guide to Suno prompting.
Frequently asked questions
What BPM is synthwave?
Most synthwave sits between 100 and 120 bpm, with 110 a dependable default — fast enough to drive, slow enough to stay cinematic.
How do I get the 80s sound in Suno?
Lean on era-specific tags: analog synth pads, arpeggiated bass, gated reverb drums and retro 80s. The gated reverb on the drums in particular reads as instantly 80s.
Does synthwave need vocals?
It works either way. Many tracks are instrumental; if you add a voice, ask for airy, reverb-drenched 80s vocals so it blends into the neon wash rather than sitting on top.
Build a Synthwave prompt visually
The free Suno Profiler turns genre, tempo, mood and vocal choices into a clean prompt you can copy and save.
Open the Suno Profiler →