The Xmas 2018 Serum Presets pack by W. A. Production is a broad, serviceable collection of 370 Serum presets that does exactly what it promises, and not much more. It's the right buy if you work across multiple EDM subgenres and want a stocked library fast; it's the wrong buy if you want presets that push Serum's sound design into territory you haven't heard before.
We tested every category. Some landed hard. Others felt like filler dressed up in a festive name. Here's the full picture, no holiday cheer, just the facts.
What You're Actually Getting
This is a pack of 370 presets built for Xfer Records Serum. The breakdown splits across 9 genre folders: 75 EDM, 43 Future Bounce, 20 Future EDM, 27 Future House, 25 Future Pop, 20 Future Pop 2, 70 Neuro DnB, 50 Riddim Dubstep, and 40 Synthwave.
Sound types covered include bass, leads, plucks, sub bass, wobbles, growls, and sounds ranging from hard and heavy to melodic and rhythmic. There's no additional content here. No MIDI, no samples, no FX chains. Just .fxp preset files that load directly into Serum.
Current price on Plugin Boutique is $19.90. Check the manufacturer's site for any current sale pricing.
The Good
The Neuro DnB folder is where we spent the most time. And honestly? We love what's in there. The reese bass patches are properly layered, mid-range saturation sitting around 800Hz to 2kHz, with the sub component clean enough to avoid phase issues when you print it. We ran one of the "NeuroBass" patches through a send chain with 8ms of pre-delay on a short room reverb. It sat in the mix without any carving needed.
The Riddim Dubstep section is the other standout. Those 50 presets cover the genre's needs: harsh screeches with the right amount of upper harmonic crunch above 5kHz, mid wobbles that modulate at typical 1/8th-note intervals, and sub patches that don't fight the kick for space below 60Hz. We dropped a riddim wobble against a 140 BPM kick. First try. No notching required.
Value is hard to argue with at this price point. 370 presets across 9 subgenres means you pay a fraction of a cent per sound at full price. The pack carries a 4.6 rating from 1,616 buyers on Plugin Boutique, that's a meaningful sample size, not 8 reviews from a launch-week spike. The community response is consistently positive.
W. A. Production positions themselves around strict quality standards, with producers who are active in the EDM scene. On this pack, it shows in the DnB and Dubstep categories. Less so elsewhere.
The Not-So-Good
Here's what's frustrating: there are no macro labels or patch notes anywhere in the pack. You load a preset called "FH_Pluck_07" and you have no idea which macro controls the filter cutoff versus the pitch envelope versus the FX wet/dry. You're spending 10 minutes per sound just mapping what does what before you can dial it in.
That's annoying on a 27-preset folder. It's a real problem across 370 sounds.
The Future Pop and Future House sections feel thin. 25 and 27 presets respectively, and most of them are competent but predictable. These categories have a cookie-cutter quality: the leads all share similar wavetable choices, and the plucks lean on the same short attack, medium decay shape that you'd find in any comparable free pack. We didn't find a single Future Pop preset we'd actually use without significant modification.
The "Future EDM" folder at 20 presets is the weakest of all. It's vague by name and vague by content. Skip it and go straight to the main EDM folder.
Compared to the Alternatives
W. A. Production's own InstaSerum preset collection is a tighter, more focused alternative if you work in a single genre. Fewer sounds, more consistent quality control, and better macro implementation.
Cymatics' Serum preset packs, particularly their genre-specific drops like the Orbit Future Bass pack, offer fewer total sounds but include MIDI files and full macro documentation per patch. If you're the kind of producer who wants to understand what you're loading, not just browse it, Cymatics wins that workflow.
Surge Sounds' Serum bundle reviews take a different angle: smaller libraries (100-150 sounds) focused on one subgenre with heavy macro automation baked in. You pay more per preset and get far more usable sounds per session.
For pure volume at low cost, this pack holds its own. For sound design depth or workflow efficiency, the competition outperforms it.
Who Should Buy This
- ✅ Buy if you produce across multiple EDM subgenres and need a broad starting library.
- ✅ Buy if Neuro DnB or Riddim Dubstep are your primary genres, those two folders alone justify the price.
- ✅ Buy if you already own Serum and want to fill your preset browser with options before a deadline.
- ❌ Skip if you don't own Xfer Records Serum. These files are completely useless without it.
- ❌ Skip if you work in Future Pop or melodic house, there are better, more focused packs for those genres.
- ❌ Skip if macro control and patch documentation matter to your workflow. You'll spend more time mapping than making music.
Score Breakdown
| Category | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sound Quality | 3.5/5 | Neuro DnB and Riddim are strong; Future Pop and Future EDM folders are weak |
| Value for Money | 4.5/5 | 370 presets at $19.90 full price is hard to argue against |
| Ease of Use | 3.0/5 | No macro labels, no patch notes, browsing 370 unlabelled sounds takes real time |
| Features | 3.5/5 | 9 subgenre folders is a smart structure; no MIDI or extras is a miss at this scale |
| CPU Efficiency | 4.0/5 | Preset files add zero overhead; Serum's own CPU draw is unchanged |
| Overall | 3.8/5 | A solid bulk library with two genuinely great subgenre sections and several skippable ones |
Alternatives to Consider
W. A. Production InstaSerum, W. A. Production InstaSerum review. Tighter quality per preset, better macro implementation, lower total count. Our pick for producers who want fewer but more battle-ready sounds.
Cymatics Orbit Future Bass Serum Pack, Cymatics Serum presets review. Fewer presets, full macro documentation, MIDI included. Wins on workflow efficiency for melodic producers.
Surge Sounds Serum Bundles, Surge Sounds Serum bundle review. Genre-specific focus, deep macro automation, higher cost per sound but higher use rate per session. Best for producers who commit to one subgenre.
If DnB and Dubstep are your world, stick with the Xmas 2018 pack. Those two folders alone at $19.90 make it satisfying value. If you're building a Future Pop or melodic track, look at Cymatics first.
The bottom line: buy this for the Neuro DnB and Riddim Dubstep folders, treat everything else as a bonus, and accept that you'll be doing your own macro mapping before anything ships.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need Xfer Records Serum to use the Xmas 2018 Serum Presets?
Yes, absolutely. The system requirement is simply Xfer Records Serum. These are .fxp preset files that load exclusively inside Serum. If you don't own Serum, these files won't open in any other synth. There's no workaround.
How many presets are in the pack and how are they organised?
The pack contains 370 presets split across 9 folders: 75 EDM, 43 Future Bounce, 20 Future EDM, 27 Future House, 25 Future Pop, 20 Future Pop 2, 70 Neuro DnB, 50 Riddim Dubstep, and 40 Synthwave. Each folder loads as its own bank inside Serum's preset browser, so you can navigate by genre without digging through one giant list.
Are the macros pre-mapped on the presets?
Some presets have macros assigned, but W. A. Production don't include any documentation explaining what each macro controls per patch. You'll need to open each sound in Serum and check the macro routing manually. For a library this size, that's a real time cost. We'd strongly suggest building a quick reference note for your most-used patches as you go.
Is the Xmas 2018 Serum Presets pack still worth buying in 2026?
The pack holds a 4.6 rating across 1,616 buyers on Plugin Boutique, which suggests sustained satisfaction well past its original release. Serum's .fxp format hasn't changed, so compatibility isn't an issue if you're on a current Serum version. The Neuro DnB and Riddim Dubstep folders remain genuinely useful for producers in those genres. The weaker folders, Future Pop, Future EDM, are less relevant as those sounds date faster. Buy for the DnB and Dubstep content; treat the rest as gravy.