Suno Custom Mode, mastered — 1,000-char Style field, 5,000-char Lyrics on V4.5/V5/V5.5 (200/3,000 on V4 & older), Genre → Mood → Instruments → Vocals order. Everything Suno needs, spelled out:
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TL;DR
indie pop, dreamy, shimmering reverb guitars, soft female vocals, layered harmonies, warm analog production, 120 BPM
Custom Mode separates input into a Style field and a Lyrics field, giving creators far more control than Simple Mode. On the current models — Suno V4.5, V5, and V5.5 — the Style field holds about 1,000 characters and the Lyrics field holds 5,000 (on V4 and older those caps are 200 and 3,000; the limit is set by the model version, not your plan). The Style field follows a Genre → Mood → Instruments → Vocals → Production order, while the Lyrics field accepts structural tags like [Verse], [Chorus], and [Bridge]. HookGenius generates the complete style prompt and structured lyrics for you in about 30 seconds.
Last updated: July 2026
Suno's Custom Mode is the difference between random results and intentional music. Instead of typing a sentence and hoping for the best, you get dedicated fields for style tags and lyrics — with full control over structure, genre, mood, and production. If you've been using Simple Mode and wondering why your songs sound inconsistent, this is why.
HookGenius is the pre-production engine for AI music — the professional prompt, lyrics, and title generator creators use to get the best output from Suno and other AI platforms.
Suno songs are hit or miss — HookGenius gets you hits every time. Auto-generates Custom Mode prompts with genre-tuned style tags, structure, and lyrics in 30 seconds.
Generate Your First Song Free →Simple Mode takes a natural language description and handles everything. It's easy but unpredictable — you have no control over structure, lyrics style, or tag priority.
Custom Mode splits your input into two fields:
Custom Mode produces more consistent, higher-quality results because Suno knows exactly what each piece of your input means. The style field tells Suno how it should sound. The lyrics field tells it what to sing.
The style field is capped at 1,000 characters on V4.5/V5/V5.5 (200 on V4 & older) — but concise still wins, so every word counts. Follow this order — Suno weighs earlier tags more heavily:
indie pop, dark trap, progressive housemelancholic, aggressive, euphoricacoustic guitar, 808 bass, warm synth padssoft female vocals, raspy male singing, rap deliverylo-fi, polished mix, raw and grittyThe caps depend on the Suno model version you generate with, not whether your account is free or paid. V4.5 raised every field limit:
| Field | V4.5 · V5 · V5.5 | V4 & older | Best Practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Style of Music | 1,000 |
200 |
8-12 comma-separated tags. No sentences. |
| Lyrics | 5,000 |
3,000 |
Use structure tags; ~3,000 stays the sweet spot before Suno rushes. |
| Title | 100 |
80 |
Short, memorable. Suno uses this for context. |
modern pop, upbeat, catchy hooks, polished production, bright synths, female vocals, powerful chorus, radio-ready mix, 122 BPM
dark pop, brooding, atmospheric synths, pulsing bass, breathy female vocals, haunting melody, minimalist production, cinematic
trap, aggressive, 808 bass, hi-hat rolls, dark synths, male rap vocals, hard delivery, distorted bass, professional mix, 140 BPM
boom bap, old school hip-hop, vinyl crackle, jazzy samples, punchy drums, confident male rap, golden era, head-nodding groove
synthwave, retro 80s, analog synths, arpeggiated bass, neon atmosphere, driving beat, nostalgic, cinematic, warm pads, 118 BPM
deep house, four-on-the-floor, warm bassline, soulful vocal chops, jazzy chords, late night club, groovy, smooth, 124 BPM
indie folk, acoustic guitar, soft vocals, intimate, fingerpicking, warm harmonies, campfire feel, storytelling, gentle percussion
americana, acoustic guitar, slide guitar, warm male vocals, rootsy, storytelling, dusty atmosphere, country influences, organic
modern r&b, smooth, silky female vocals, lush pads, muted 808, late night vibe, sensual, atmospheric, reverb-heavy, 90 BPM
neo-soul, warm keys, rhodes piano, groovy bass, soulful vocals, jazzy chords, organic drums, analog warmth, laid-back groove
| Mistake | Why It Fails | Fix |
|---|---|---|
Writing sentences in style field |
Wastes character limit, Suno reads tags better | Use comma-separated tags: genre, mood, instrument, vocal |
Contradicting tags |
"calm aggressive" confuses the model | Pick one mood direction. Remove conflicting descriptors. |
Too many tags (20+) |
Dilutes priority — Suno can't focus | Limit to 8-12 tags. Put most important first. |
No vocal direction |
Suno picks random voice type/style | Always specify: gender, tone, delivery style |
Missing structure tags in lyrics |
Suno can't distinguish verse from chorus | Use [Verse], [Chorus], [Bridge], [Outro] tags |
Exceeding the style limit (V4: 200, V4.5+: 1,000) |
Text gets cut off — last tags ignored | Front-load key tags. Use abbreviations: BPM not beats per minute |
Most Suno songs are hit or miss. HookGenius is the #1 Suno prompt generator — it builds genre-tuned Custom Mode prompts with the right tags, structure, and lyrics so every generation counts.
Try Free — 5 Songs on Signup128 BPM is more precise than medium tempo or upbeat.90s, 2010s, or modern dramatically changes production style.Simple Mode lets you describe your song in natural language and Suno handles everything. Custom Mode gives you separate fields for style/genre tags and lyrics, plus control over structure tags like [Verse], [Chorus], and [Bridge]. Custom Mode produces more predictable, higher-quality results because you control exactly what Suno generates.
It depends on the Suno model version, not your plan. On V4.5, V5, and V5.5 the Style of Music field holds about 1,000 characters and the Lyrics field holds 5,000; on V4 and older those caps are 200 and 3,000. Regardless of the cap, use concise comma-separated tags instead of full sentences. Example: 'indie pop, dreamy, reverb guitars, soft female vocals, 120 BPM' instead of describing the sound in paragraphs.
Follow this order: Genre → Mood → Instruments → Vocals → Production quality. Example: 'dark trap, aggressive, 808 bass, distorted synths, male rap vocals, hard-hitting, professional mix'. Put the most important tags first since Suno weighs earlier tags more heavily.
Common causes: conflicting tags (e.g., 'calm' and 'aggressive' together), too many tags diluting the prompt, wrong genre name (Suno may not recognize obscure subgenres), or missing vocal direction. Simplify your prompt to 8-12 focused tags and make sure none contradict each other.
Yes. Add 'instrumental' as one of your style tags and leave the lyrics field empty or use only structure tags like [Intro], [Build], [Drop], [Outro]. You can also add 'no vocals' to reinforce the instrumental direction.
Go Deeper
The Suno Mastery Guide
61 genre deep-dives, 150+ tags + 80-term glossary, 41 artist profiles, v5.5 walkthrough, monetization playbook. 371 pages + 25 HookGenius credits.
Get the Mastery Guide — $29 →Stop burning credits on bad generations. HookGenius auto-builds Custom Mode prompts — genre-tuned style tags, structure, and lyrics in one click. Sign in with Google, get 5 free songs. No credit card.
Start Generating Free →HookGenius writes the prompt for you. Sign in with one click — your lyrics + Suno prompt in 30 seconds.