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PATCH RECIPES · RESAMPLING CHAINS · YOUR GEAR
Vital Massive X Pigments 4 Operator Wavetable Drift Analog Lab V Kontakt 8 Tritik Krush Xfer OTT PanCake 2 Erosion Corpus Saturator Simpler / Sampler Drum Rack Splice Field Recordings
BASS PATCHES
TEXTURES & ATMOS
RESAMPLING
DRUMS & PERC
FX CHAINS
FIELD RECORDINGS
DEATHSTEP GROWL BASS DUBSTEP / DEATHSTEP · 140 BPM
Aggressive, gnarly growl bass with formant movement. The "talking" bass sound.
VitalTritik KrushOTTUtility
Vital — Init patch. OSC1: load wavetable "Harsh Digital" or "Growl" from spectral category. Set unison voices to 4, detune 30%.
Wavetable position → map to LFO1. LFO1: rate 1/8 synced, shape = triangle or custom S-curve. This creates the "wub" movement.
Filter 1: Low-pass, cutoff around 800 Hz. Map cutoff to Macro 1 (range: 200Hz–4kHz). Resonance at 25-35% for vowel character.
Filter 2: Band-pass, cutoff at 1.2kHz. Map to LFO2 at 1/4 rate, triangle. This is your formant sweep — the "talking" layer.
FX chain inside Vital: Distortion (type: soft clip, drive 60%) → Chorus (rate slow, depth subtle) → Compressor (fast attack, ratio 4:1).
External: Tritik Krush — Bit depth 8, downsample 4x. Mix at 40-50% (parallel). This adds the industrial grit layer.
External: OTT — Depth at 35-45%. Tames dynamics while adding presence. Don't exceed 50% or it'll eat your transients.
Utility — Mono below 120 Hz. Your sub needs to be dead center.
Aggressive growl with formant movement that "talks." Automate Macro 1 (filter cutoff) for drops. Resample the result for further mangling.
Layer with a clean sub (Operator sine at root note, -12dB below) for low-end weight. The growl lives above 100Hz, the sub lives below.
RIDDIM WOBBLE BASS RIDDIM · 140-150 BPM
Tight, punchy triplet wobble. The DUH-duh-DUH bounce.
Massive XOTTSaturator
Massive X — Init. OSC1: Gorilla wavetable (or any dense harmonic table). Mode: Standard. Voices: 1 (mono is key for riddim).
Insert effects: Insert 1 → Crusher (subtle, just adding harmonics). Insert 2 → Hard Clipper at moderate drive.
Route to Filter: Low-pass, resonance 40-50%. Cutoff automated by Performer (Massive X's step sequencer).
Performer setup: Length = 3 steps (triplet). Pattern: HIGH-low-mid. This creates the triplet bounce. Sync to 1/8T.
Amp envelope: Attack 0ms, Decay 150ms, Sustain 70%, Release 80ms. Tight and punchy, not sustained.
External: OTT at 30% depth. Keeps it controlled.
External: Saturator — Medium Curve, drive 8-12dB, output compensated. Adds warmth and harmonics to fill mid-range.
Tight, rhythmic wobble that grooves on triplets. The Performer creates consistent, mechanical bounce.
Riddim bass should be STACCATO — short, punchy hits, not sustained drones. If notes bleed together, shorten your release. The space between notes is as important as the notes themselves.
NEUROFUNK REESE DnB / NEURO · 174 BPM
Classic rolling Reese bass with modern neuro processing. Continuous, evolving, interlocking with drums.
VitalSaturatorEQ EightOTT
Vital — Init. OSC1: Basic Saw. OSC2: Basic Saw, detuned +7 cents. Both at full volume. This detuning = the Reese character.
Unison: OSC1 voices 2, detune 15%. OSC2 voices 2, detune 20%. Slightly different detune amounts = richer phasing.
Filter 1: Low-pass, cutoff 1.5kHz. Map to LFO1 at 1/2 bar rate, slow triangle. This is the slow, rolling filter sweep.
Filter 2: Comb filter, frequency at 800Hz. Map to LFO2 at 1/4 rate. Adds metallic, evolving character.
FX: Chorus (rate 0.3Hz, depth 40%) → Phaser (rate 0.1Hz, feedback 50%). Slow modulation = evolving texture.
External: Saturator — A Bit Warmer preset, drive 6-8dB. Fills out harmonics without harshness.
External: EQ Eight — High-pass at 30Hz (clean sub), notch at 300Hz if muddy, gentle boost at 1-2kHz for presence.
External: OTT at 25%. Light multiband compression for consistency across the filter sweep.
Rolling, evolving Reese bass that phases and moves continuously. Sits in 80-500Hz range, interlocking with the DnB breaks.
A good Reese never stops moving. Automate the filter cutoff manually over 8-16 bars for organic variation on top of the LFO movement. The combination of mechanical LFO + human automation = alive.
FM GROWL BASS NEURO / TEAROUT · ANY TEMPO
Harsh, metallic FM bass using Ableton's built-in Operator. No third-party plugins needed.
OperatorSaturatorEQ Eight
Operator — Init. Algorithm: B→A (Osc B modulates Osc A). Osc A: Sine. Osc B: Saw or Square.
Osc B level: Start at 50%, increase for more harmonics. This is your main timbral control. Map to Macro.
Osc B Coarse tuning: Set to ratio 3 or 4 for metallic harmonics. 5 and above = bell-like, extreme. 2 = warmer.
Osc B Fine tuning: Detune by +3 to +8 cents. Creates slow beating/phasing. Automate this for evolving timbre.
Filter: LP24, cutoff 1kHz, resonance 30%. Map cutoff to LFO (1/8 rate, triangle). Classic wobble movement.
LFO → Osc B level: Amount 40%. Now the FM depth changes with the filter = timbral complexity that shifts as it wobbles.
Saturator after Operator — Hard Curve, drive 12-15dB. Hard clipping adds aggression.
EQ Eight — HP at 35Hz. Low shelf cut at 200Hz by -3dB if too boomy. High shelf boost at 2kHz by +2dB for bite.
Harsh, metallic growl with timbral movement. The FM interaction creates harmonics no subtractive synth can match.
The secret to FM bass: small changes in modulator level = huge timbral shifts. Automate Osc B level by tiny amounts (±5-10%) for organic movement that sounds alive, not mechanical.
INDUSTRIAL DRONE BASS INDUSTRIAL / MIDTEMPO · 100-140 BPM
Sustained, evolving, menacing. The NIN-inspired wall of bass that breathes.
PigmentsTritik KrushErosionCorpus
Pigments — Init. Engine A: Analog mode, saw wave. Voices 4, slight detune. Engine B: Granular mode — load any noise texture or field recording.
Engine B settings: Grain size 50-100ms, density 6-8, position modulated by LFO1 at very slow rate (0.05Hz). Spray 30%.
Mix: Engine A at 70%, Engine B at 30%. A is the foundation, B is the living texture on top.
Filter: Low-pass, cutoff 600Hz. Modulated by LFO2 at 1/2 bar. Very slow, breathing movement.
Pigments FX: Distortion (tube) → Chorus (slow) → Reverb (dark, long decay, 20% wet).
External: Tritik Krush — Bit depth 10-12 (subtle degradation), downsample 2x. Mix 30%. Adds grit without destroying.
External: Erosion — Mode: Wide Noise, amount 5-8, frequency 3kHz. Adds hiss/dirt to the top end.
External: Corpus — Type: Pipe. Tune to your root note. Decay medium. Blend 20-25%. Adds metallic resonance.
A living, breathing drone bass that evolves constantly. The granular layer ensures it never repeats exactly. Corpus gives it physical, metallic presence.
This is a "set and forget" bass — it evolves on its own. Record 32 bars, bounce it, then use the bounced audio as a static texture you can chop and rearrange. Infinite variations from one patch.
HYBRID TRAP 808 TRAP / HYBRID · 130-150 BPM
Modern 808 with sustain and distortion. The pitched bass that IS the melody.
OperatorSaturatorGlue Compressor
Operator — Init. Osc A only: Sine wave. No FM modulation. Pure sub tone.
Amp envelope: Attack 2ms, Decay 0, Sustain 100%, Release 800ms-1.5s. Long release = the 808 tail.
Pitch envelope: Amount +24 semitones, Decay 40-60ms. This creates the "bwom" attack transient. Higher amount = punchier.
Saturator — Soft Sine curve. Drive 8-12dB. Adds harmonics so the 808 translates on small speakers. Output compensate.
Glue Compressor — Ratio 4:1, Attack 30ms, Release auto. Threshold to get 3-4dB reduction. Tames the pitch envelope transient.
EQ Eight — HP at 25Hz (removes rumble below audibility). Gentle boost at 60Hz shelf for weight.
Clean, powerful 808 with controlled sustain. Pitch it to your key and play melodic bass lines.
Write your 808 pattern as a MIDI melody, not just hits. The 808 IS the bassline. Use pitch bends (1 semitone down on note release) for that classic trap slide.
ADVANCED: MASSIVE X → PIGMENTS HYBRID
WAVETABLE → GRANULAR HYBRID BASS EXPERIMENTAL · ANY TEMPO
Two synths become one hybrid monster. Design in Massive X, evolve in Pigments.
Massive XPigmentsOTT
Massive X: Design a bass patch with heavy wavetable modulation. Automate WT position across a 4-bar loop. Get it sounding aggressive and complex.
Render/bounce the 4-bar Massive X output to audio. This is now your "source material."
Pigments: Engine B → Granular mode. Import the bounced Massive X audio as the granular source.
Granular settings: Grain size 20-40ms, density 6-10. Position mapped to Macro 1. Spray 15-25%.
Engine A: Analog mode, sub saw, detuned slightly. This provides the stable low-end anchor while the granular layer moves above.
Modulation: LFO1 → grain position (slow). LFO2 → grain size (medium). LFO3 → Engine A/B mix (very slow, 4+ bars). Every parameter evolving independently = organic complexity.
External: OTT at 30-40%. Glues the two engines together into one cohesive sound.
A bass that has the harmonic complexity of Massive X but the evolving, never-repeating character of granular synthesis. Two synths fused into one instrument.
This technique works with ANY source material in the granular engine. Try: vocal samples, metal scraping sounds, reversed piano, even other basslines. The weirder the source, the more unique the result.
DEATHSTEP ARSENAL
MACHINE GUN STACCATO PERCUSSION DEATHSTEP / TEAROUT · 140-150 BPM
Rapid-fire, mechanical percussion bursts that sound like an industrial machine gun. The signature deathstep fill sound.
OperatorSimplerDrum RackTritik KrushGateBeat Repeat
Source layer 1 — Operator: Algorithm A only. Sine wave, pitch at C1-D1 (low). Amp envelope: attack 0ms, decay 30-50ms, sustain 0, release 20ms. Ultrashort burst — barely a click.
Pitch envelope on Operator: Amount +48 semitones, decay 15-25ms. Creates the sharp "TICK" transient — the snap of the machine gun.
Source layer 2 — Noise: Add a second Operator on same rack. White noise oscillator, same ultrashort envelope (20-40ms decay). This is the "shell casing" layer.
Stack both in a Drum Rack. Layer on the same pad. Tune the pitched click to taste — lower = heavier thud, higher = sharper tick.
Tritik Krush on the rack bus: Bit depth 4-6 (extreme), downsample 6-10x. Mix 70-80%. This is where the sound becomes MECHANICAL — the bitcrushing makes each hit identical, robotic.
Saturator after Krush: Hard Curve, drive 15-20dB. Slamming into a hard clipper after bitcrushing = industrial distortion. Compensate output.
Programming the pattern: Write in 32nd notes (1/32 grid). Bursts of 4-8 rapid hits followed by silence. Pattern example: XXXXXXXX--------XXXX----XXXXXXXX. The gaps between bursts matter as much as the bursts.
Velocity programming: First hit of each burst at 127. Subsequent hits descending: 110, 95, 80, 70... This creates the natural "decelerating burst" of a real weapon.
ALTERNATIVE — Beat Repeat method: Instead of programming, play single quarter-note hits and use Beat Repeat: Grid 1/32, Variation 0, Chance 100%, Gate 4-8 repeats. Offset 0. Instant mechanical retriggering.
Rapid-fire, staccato percussion that sounds like an industrial riveting machine or automatic weapon. The signature deathstep "brrrrt" fill.
Layer this UNDER your snare fills for impact. The machine gun acts as a textural rapid-fire underneath the main snare roll. Also: automate Krush's downsample rate during the burst — start at 2x, sweep to 10x — the sound degrades as the burst continues. Disgusting in the best way.
DEATHSTEP IMPACT SNARE DEATHSTEP · 140 BPM
The snare that sounds like a building collapsing. Layered, processed, devastating.
OperatorSimplerDrum RackSaturatorOTTReverb
Layer 1 — Body: Find or record a thick, mid-heavy snare sample. Load in Simpler. This provides the 200-800Hz meat.
Layer 2 — Crack: Operator → white noise burst, decay 80ms. Band-pass filter at 2-4kHz. This is the top-end snap.
Layer 3 — Sub hit: Operator → sine at 80-100Hz, decay 60ms. Pitch envelope: +12 semi, decay 10ms. Gives chest-punch weight.
Layer 4 — Distortion tail: Take Layer 1, duplicate it. Run through Tritik Krush at 4-bit + Saturator Hard Curve max drive. Mix -8dB below clean layer.
All layers in one Drum Rack pad (stacked chains). Group process: OTT at 25%, then Glue Compressor (ratio 10:1, fast attack) for slam.
Reverb send: Short, dark reverb (0.5-0.8s decay). High-pass the reverb return at 400Hz. Just enough space to feel the impact, not enough to blur it.
A snare that physically hits. Four layers blended into one devastating impact — body, crack, sub weight, and distortion texture.
Sidechain everything else to this snare (not just the bass — everything). When this snare hits, the entire mix ducks momentarily. The silence around the impact makes it hit harder.
SCREAMING FORMANT BASS DEATHSTEP · 140 BPM
The bass that literally screams. Vowel formants swept aggressively through filter banks.
VitalVocoderTritik KrushOTT
Vital — Init. OSC1: dense harmonic wavetable (try "Harsh Digital", "Scream", or import a custom wavetable from a vocal formant). Unison 4 voices, detune 25%.
TWO filters in series. Filter 1: band-pass, resonance 60-70%. Filter 2: band-pass, resonance 50-60%. Different cutoff frequencies.
Map both filter cutoffs to different LFOs. Filter 1 → LFO1 at 1/8. Filter 2 → LFO2 at 1/4. The two filters sweeping at different rates create vowel-like formants: "EEE-AAA-OOO".
Macro mapping: Map Filter 1 center frequency to Macro 1, Filter 2 to Macro 2. Now you can manually "speak" with the bass by riding the macros.
External: Vocoder (Ableton's built-in) — put AFTER Vital. Carrier: Vital's output. Modulator: a vocal sample (scream, yell, or whispered words). 12-20 bands. This imprints actual vocal characteristics onto the bass.
External: Tritik Krush — Bit depth 6-8, downsample 4x, mix 50%. Makes the "scream" sound damaged and inhuman.
External: OTT at 35%. Pull the low band down to protect the sub.
A bass that shifts between vowel sounds, screaming and morphing like a tortured machine. The vocoder stage makes it genuinely sound like it's trying to speak.
Record yourself screaming a word (like "DIE" or "BREAK") and use that as the vocoder modulator. The bass will actually "say" the word, but distorted beyond recognition. Terrifying in a drop.
DEATHSTEP RISER / PRE-DROP DEATHSTEP · 140 BPM
The buildup that makes the crowd hold their breath. Ascending noise, filtered chaos, then silence before impact.
VitalOperatorAuto FilterUtility
Layer 1 — Noise sweep: Vital → white noise oscillator. Auto Filter after it: high-pass, cutoff automated from 100Hz → 16kHz over 8-16 bars. Resonance at 40% for screaming sweep.
Layer 2 — Sub riser: Operator → sine wave, pitch automated from your root note → one octave up over same duration. Subtle, you feel more than hear it.
Layer 3 — Distorted texture: Take any previous bass patch, record 1 bar, reverse it, stretch to 8 bars, run through Tritik Krush at 4-bit. Automate volume from silence to full.
Reverb on all layers: Automate wet amount from 10% → 60% over the riser. Everything gets increasingly washed out, dreamlike.
The silence: At the very end (last 1/4 to 1/2 bar), CUT EVERYTHING. Dead silence. Use Utility to kill output. The silence before the drop is the most important part of the riser.
Optional — reverse cymbal + impact: Layer a reverse crash that peaks exactly where the silence begins. The brain expects resolution and gets... nothing. Then drop.
A riser that builds genuine tension and dread. The silence at the end is what makes the drop devastating — the brain fills the gap with anticipation.
Automate your master bus stereo width during the riser. Start at mono, widen to 120% at the peak. When the drop hits in full stereo, it feels MASSIVE in contrast.
PITCH-DIVING BASS BOMB DEATHSTEP / TEAROUT · 140 BPM
The bass that falls off a cliff. Starts mid-range and pitch-dives into crushing sub territory. The "drop within the drop."
VitalSaturatorEQ Eight
Vital — Init. OSC1: saw or square wavetable. Unison 2-4. Start simple — the pitch envelope does the heavy lifting.
Pitch envelope (ENV2 → pitch): Amount: +24 to +36 semitones. Attack 0ms. Decay 200-500ms (this controls the speed of the dive). Sustain 0.
Play notes at your root. Each note starts 1-2 octaves HIGH and swoops down to the root. Longer decay = slower, more dramatic dive.
Filter: LP24, cutoff mapped to the SAME envelope as pitch. As the pitch drops, the filter closes. Sound goes from bright and screaming to dark and subby.
Saturator — Medium Curve, drive 10dB. The distortion harmonics shift as the pitch drops, creating evolving timbral movement through the dive.
Use sparingly: This is a one-shot weapon. Use it at the first hit of a drop, the start of a new 8-bar phrase, or as a transition effect. NOT every beat.
A terrifying pitch-diving bass impact that turns the first beat of your drop into an event. The listener physically feels the frequency sweep downward.
Pair this with your machine gun percussion. Bar 1: pitch-dive bomb. Bar 2: machine gun fill. Bar 3: main bass pattern. Bar 4: switch. This creates a 4-bar narrative arc within your drop.
GRANULAR HORROR TEXTURE DEATHSTEP · BREAKDOWN / INTRO
Background dread layer for intros and breakdowns. Makes the listener uncomfortable before the drop.
PigmentsErosionCorpusReverb
Source material: Record yourself whispering something unsettling. Or use a field recording of wind, creaking metal, or distant machinery.
Pigments — Granular engine. Import source. Grain size 10-20ms (very small = glitchy, fragmented). Density 3-4 (sparse). Spray 60% (randomized).
Position: Fixed at a single point that sounds interesting. Don't scan — the static position with random spray creates stuttering micro-loops.
Engine B: Analog sub drone at your root. Volume at 15-20%. Barely there. Felt, not heard.
Erosion — Sine mode, frequency 666Hz (yes, really). Amount 10-15. Adds a specific, unsettling resonance.
Corpus — Membrane type, detuned -5 cents from your root (intentionally off-pitch). Decay long. Blend 25%. Uncanny metallic resonance.
Reverb — Darkest algorithm you have. Decay 8-12s. Wet 70%. This lives in a cave.
A deeply unsettling atmospheric layer that makes breakdowns feel genuinely threatening. The slightly off-pitch Corpus and fragmented granular create subliminal unease.
Automate this layer's volume to slowly increase throughout your intro. By the time the buildup starts, it should be just barely noticeable. When the drop hits and it disappears, the relief is part of the impact.
NIN-INSPIRED INDUSTRIAL TEXTURE INDUSTRIAL / AMBIENT · ANY
The classic trick, expanded. Industrial texture from a single synth note. Trent would be proud.
Any SynthSimplerErosionChorusCorpus
Synth Note→ Bounce→ Simpler (Texture)→ Erosion→ Chorus→ Corpus→ Texture
Record a single synth note — any synth, any character. Sustain it for 2-4 seconds. Doesn't need to sound interesting yet.
Bounce to audio. Drop into Simpler. Set mode to Texture. Grain size large (200-500ms). Flux high.
Simpler Texture mode: Stretch the sample to extreme lengths (4-8x). The granular engine will create evolving micro-loops from the source.
Erosion — Mode: Wide Noise. Amount 8-12. Frequency around 4kHz. Adds degraded, damaged character.
Chorus-Ensemble — Rate 0.2Hz, Amount 70%. Widens and adds subtle movement.
Corpus — Type: Tube or Plate. Tune to your track's root note. Decay long. Blend 30-40%. This gives the texture physical resonance.
A haunting, industrial texture that breathes and evolves. Every single note you feed in produces a different world.
Stack this trick: run the OUTPUT through the same chain again for meta-textures. Each generation gets more abstract. Three generations deep = pure dark ambient territory.
GRANULAR VOCAL PAD AMBIENT / ATMOSPHERIC · ANY
Turn any vocal sample into an ethereal, evolving pad. Works with Splice vocal chops, field recordings of speech, anything.
PigmentsReverbChorus
Find a vocal sample — Splice, a field recording, even record yourself humming. The more character the source has, the better.
Pigments Engine A: Granular mode. Import the vocal. Grain size 80-150ms. Density 4-6. Spray 40%.
Position: Map to LFO1 at very slow rate (0.02-0.05Hz). The pad slowly scans through different parts of the vocal.
Engine B: Wavetable mode with soft pad table. Volume at 30%. Provides tonal anchor under the granular clouds.
Filter: Low-pass at 3-4kHz. Softens the granular artifacts. Gentle resonance 15%.
FX: Reverb (hall, 3-5s decay, 40% wet) → Chorus → Delay (1/4 dotted, 20% wet, heavy feedback filtering).
Shimmering, vocal-infused pad that sounds like voices from another dimension. Never repeats, always evolving.
ANALOG LAB TEXTURE LAYER ANY GENRE · ANY TEMPO
Use Analog Lab V's vintage sounds as a secret texture weapon. Not as leads — as atmosphere generators.
Analog Lab VSimplerAuto FilterReverb
Analog Lab V: Browse the Keys or Pads category. Find a sound with interesting character — Rhodes, Wurlitzer, old string machines, Mellotron.
Record a sustained chord or slow arpeggio, 8-16 bars. Keep it simple. The character of the vintage emulation is what we want.
Bounce to audio. Load into Simpler in Classic mode. Pitch it down -12 to -24 semitones. Slowing it reveals hidden textures.
Auto Filter — Band-pass, narrow Q. Frequency automated slowly. Sweeps through the harmonics of the pitched-down material.
Reverb — Long tail, 60-80% wet. Dark algorithm. This becomes a background atmosphere layer, not a foreground element.
Mix at -18 to -24dB below your main elements. You should barely consciously notice it, but you'll feel its absence if muted.
Subtle vintage texture that gives your track warmth and analog character. The "why does this sound so much better" layer.
The Gentleman piano from your Kontakt library is PERFECT for this. Record a sustained chord, pitch down, smear with reverb. Instant cinematic bed.
RESAMPLING PIPELINES
VITAL → SLICE → REARRANGE ANY BASS GENRE
Your bass design becomes a rhythmic instrument. Design a sound, then chop it into something new.
VitalSimplerDrum Rack
Vital Bass→ Bounce 4 bars→ Simpler (Slice)→ Drum Rack→ New Pattern
Design a bass in Vital with lots of movement — filter sweeps, wavetable animation, LFO modulation. Record 4 bars of the output.
Bounce to audio. Drop into Simpler. Switch to Slice mode. Sensitivity around medium — you want 16-32 slices.
Each slice is now a different "moment" of the bass, mapped to a MIDI note. Play the slices like a drum pad — each hit is a different timbral snapshot.
Right-click → "Slice to Drum Rack" for individual processing per slice. Now you can EQ, distort, or pitch each slice independently.
Write a new MIDI pattern using the slices. Your original 4-bar bass becomes a completely new rhythmic instrument with dozens of timbral variations.
Unique bass pattern that's impossible to recreate with synthesis alone. Every "note" is a different snapshot of your original sound design.
THE CLAY METHOD ANY GENRE · WORKFLOW
Use AI-generated audio, Splice loops, or rough ideas as raw clay to sculpt into refined compositions.
Simpler / SamplerWarpingAny FX
Generate or find raw material. AI audio, Splice loop, quick jam recording, even a phone recording. Quality doesn't matter — we're extracting DNA, not using it directly.
Import into Ableton. Warp to your project tempo. Identify the 2-3 moments that have energy, a cool rhythm, or an interesting texture.
Extract those moments: Crop, consolidate, load into Simpler. Now they're instruments, not loops. You control pitch, timing, everything.
Process heavily: Pitch shift, time-stretch, filter, distort, reverse. The goal is transformation — the source should be unrecognizable.
Layer with your own sound design from Vital/Massive X/Operator. The clay provides inspiration and texture; your synths provide the core sound.
Delete or bury the originals. By this point, they've served their purpose. Your track should stand on its own original sound design.
A workflow that uses external material as creative catalyst without depending on it. You get the spark of inspiration while maintaining originality.
This is especially powerful with field recordings. Record 10 minutes of an interesting environment, extract 3 seconds of texture, process it into a pad or percussion layer. The real world as sound design source material.
META-RESAMPLE CHAIN EXPERIMENTAL
Paulstretch → Granular → Bounce → Repeat. Each generation gets more abstract. Three deep = new dimension.
SimplerPigmentsReverb
Any Sound→ Gen 1: Stretch→ Gen 2: Granular→ Gen 3: Process→ Abstract Texture
GEN 1: Take any sound (synth, vocal, field recording). Load in Simpler Texture mode. Stretch to 8-16x length. Bounce.
GEN 2: Load Gen 1 result into Pigments Granular engine. Small grains (15-30ms), high density, position scanning. Bounce 8 bars.
GEN 3: Load Gen 2 into Simpler again. Reverse it. Add Erosion + Corpus + heavy reverb. Bounce final result.
Use the Gen 3 result as a texture layer, pad, transition effect, or atmosphere bed in your track.
By generation 3, the original source is completely unrecognizable. You've created a unique texture that literally no one else has.
KONTAKT BREAKS → DRUM RACK DnB / BREAKS · 170+ BPM
Chop Empire Breaks from your Kontakt library into individually processed drum rack pads.
Kontakt (Empire Breaks)SimplerDrum RackSaturator
Kontakt → Empire Breaks: Find a break you like. Record 2-4 bars of output. Solo different patterns/variations.
Bounce to audio. Drop into Simpler → Slice mode. Slice by Transient, sensitivity adjusted to catch individual hits.
Right-click → "Slice to new MIDI track" to get a Drum Rack with each hit on its own pad.
Per-pad processing: Open each pad's chain. Kick slices: Saturator (warm) + EQ boost at 60Hz. Snare: parallel compression + reverb send.
Hat slices: High-pass at 8kHz. Pitch up +2-5 semitones for brightness. Low velocity sends to reverb return.
Write new patterns using the chopped slices. Layer with your own kick and snare for the "real" transients — the break provides texture and groove.
Unique drum rack built from classic breaks, with individual processing per hit. Sounds organic and human, not programmed.
STUDIO DRUMMER HYBRID KIT INDUSTRIAL / METAL / HYBRID
Blend Kontakt's Studio Drummer acoustic samples with electronic processing for industrial hybrid drums.
Kontakt (Studio Drummer)Tritik KrushDrum RackSaturator
Studio Drummer: Record individual hits — kick, snare, toms, rides. One-shots, not patterns. Multiple velocity layers if possible.
Build a Drum Rack with the acoustic samples. Layer each pad with an electronic counterpart (808 under the acoustic kick, clap behind the snare).
Parallel bus: Tritik Krush on a return track. Send all drums to this bus at varying levels. Kick -6dB, snare -3dB, hats -12dB.
Krush settings: Bit depth 6-8, downsample 4-8x. This parallel channel provides industrial grit blended under the clean acoustic hits.
Saturator on the drum bus (after the rack, before sends). Analog Clip mode, drive 4-6dB. Glues the acoustic and electronic layers.
Drums that sound simultaneously acoustic and electronic. NIN-style industrial meets real drum room sound.
SHREDDAGE INDUSTRIAL PERCUSSION INDUSTRIAL / METAL
Use Shreddage Stratus guitar as a percussion source. Muted strings and palm mutes become industrial hits.
Kontakt (Shreddage)AmpDrum RackTritik Krush
Shreddage Stratus: Record palm mutes, muted strings, harmonic squeals, and pick scrapes as individual one-shots.
Bounce each to audio. Trim tightly. Load into Drum Rack pads via Simpler.
Amp effect on each pad — Heavy preset, cranked gain. Guitar amp distortion on percussion = industrial gold.
Tritik Krush on the bus — 6-bit, downsample 8x. Turns guitar artifacts into digital industrial percussion.
Layer underneath your main drum kit. Palm mutes on off-beats, pick scrapes as transitions, harmonics as textural accents.
Unique metallic percussion that bridges guitar and electronic worlds. Industrial texture that no sample pack provides.
SIGNATURE FX CHAINS
TRITIK KRUSH PARALLEL DESTROYER ANY ELEMENT
The right way to use Krush — on a parallel bus so you blend grit under clarity.
Tritik KrushEQ Eight
Dry Signal→ Return Track→ Krush→ EQ Eight→ Blend
Create a Return Track (Cmd/Ctrl+Alt+T). Name it "KRUSH BUS".
Tritik Krush: Bit depth 6-8. Downsample 4-8x. Drive moderate. Mix at 100% (it's a send, so always wet).
EQ Eight after Krush: High-pass at 200Hz (keep sub clean on dry channel). Low-pass at 8kHz (remove harsh aliasing artifacts).
Send amounts: Bass -6 to -3dB. Synths -8dB. Vocals -12dB. Drums -10dB. Automate for drops.
Industrial grit that blends under your clean signals. Crank the send during drops for intensity, pull back for clarity in breakdowns.
Automate the send amount over your entire arrangement. Breakdowns: sends at -inf. Build: gradually increase. Drop: full blast. Creates macro-level dynamic range.
PANCAKE 2 RHYTHMIC MOVEMENT ANY ELEMENT ABOVE SUB
Rhythmic panning on mid/high content. Adds stereo movement without losing center weight.
PanCake 2UtilityEQ Eight
EQ Eight FIRST — High-pass at 150Hz. We NEVER pan sub content. This goes on a mid/high layer or a send.
PanCake 2: Rate synced to 1/4 or 1/8. Depth 50-70%. Shape: sine or triangle for smooth movement.
Smoothing: Increase PanCake's smoothing parameter to avoid clicks. You want flowing movement, not choppy hard-pans.
Use on: Synth layers, hi-hats, textures, pads. NEVER on kick, snare, or sub bass.
Stereo interest and width without sacrificing mono compatibility on the low end. Creates a "living" stereo field.
Sidechain PanCake's rate to the snare (or modulate it) so the panning pauses momentarily on impact hits. Creates subtle rhythmic interaction.
THE WALL OF DISTORTION INDUSTRIAL / DEATHSTEP
Stacked distortion types for crushing, layered saturation. Each stage adds different harmonics.
SaturatorTritik KrushOverdriveEQ Eight
Signal→ Saturator (warm)→ Overdrive (edge)→ Krush (digital)→ EQ Eight (sculpt)→ Output
Stage 1 — Saturator: Analog Clip mode. Drive 8dB. Adds warm, even harmonics. This is your foundation.
Stage 2 — Overdrive: Tone at 60%. Drive 50-70%. Adds odd harmonics and edge. Different character than Saturator.
Stage 3 — Tritik Krush: Bit depth 10-12, downsample 2x. Mix 50%. Digital degradation on top of analog-style saturation.
Stage 4 — EQ Eight: HP at 40Hz (distortion generates sub-harmonics, remove them). Notch at 2-4kHz if harsh. Boost at 80Hz for weight.
Layered distortion where each stage adds its own character. Warm → edgy → digital → sculpted. More complex than any single distortion unit.
The ORDER matters enormously. Try: digital first (Krush) → analog (Saturator) for a completely different character. Experimentation is the point.
OTT: THE RIGHT WAY ANY ELEMENT
OTT is the most abused plugin in bass music. Here's how to use it intentionally, not as a crutch.
Xfer OTT
Rule 1: OTT depth at 20-40% for most applications. If you're at 100%, you're compressing away all your dynamics.
Rule 2: Adjust the individual bands. Click the OTT interface to expand. Low band: reduce upward compression (keep sub dynamic). High band: reduce if sibilant.
On bass: Depth 30-40%. Pull LOW band down -3dB. This preserves sub dynamics while controlling the mid/high presence.
On synths/leads: Depth 25-35%. Push MID band up slightly. Creates presence without harsh compression.
On drums: Depth 15-25% MAX. Pull HIGH band down if hi-hats become overpowering. OTT will bring up room noise and bleed.
On master bus: NO. Don't put OTT on your master. Use proper mastering chain instead.
Controlled multiband compression that adds presence and consistency without destroying dynamic range.
A/B test religiously. Solo the element, toggle OTT bypass. If you can't tell what it's improving, remove it. Every instance should solve a specific problem.
FIELD RECORDING → PRODUCTION PIPELINE
METAL OBJECTS → PERCUSSION INDUSTRIAL · ANY
Any metallic field recording becomes industrial percussion through Corpus and processing.
SimplerDrum RackErosionCorpusSaturator
Record metallic sounds: keys jingling, pipes clanging, radiator ticking, cutlery dropping, chain rattling. Close mic for detail.
Import into Ableton. Trim to individual hits. Look for transients — the moment of impact is what we want.
Load hits into Drum Rack via Simpler (Classic mode). One hit per pad. 8-12 different hits gives enough variation.
Per-pad chain: Erosion (Wide Noise, amount 6-10) → Corpus (Tube or Membrane, tuned to root note) → Saturator (medium drive).
Corpus tuning: Match to your track's key. This gives the random metallic sounds pitch relationship to your music. Game changer.
Individual sends: Bright hits → short reverb return. Dark hits → delay return. Mix to taste.
A percussion kit built from the real world, tuned to your key, with industrial character no sample pack can provide. Unique to you.
Record everything. Train stations, construction sites, kitchens, workshops. Every environment is a percussion sample library waiting to be harvested.
ENVIRONMENT → ATMOSPHERE ANY GENRE · BACKGROUND LAYER
Turn environmental recordings into custom atmosphere beds. Better than any stock ambience because it's YOUR world.
SimplerAuto FilterReverbUtility
Record an environment: rain, traffic, forest, crowd, machinery, HVAC hum, anything with sustained texture. 2+ minutes for variety.
Load into Simpler in Texture mode. Grain size large. Flux medium-high. This smooths the recording into a continuous evolving texture.
Auto Filter — Band-pass, narrow-medium Q. Frequency 800Hz-2kHz. Automated or LFO-modulated. Isolates specific frequencies from the noise bed.
Reverb — 60-80% wet. Long decay. Dark algorithm. The field recording becomes a reverb-smeared atmosphere.
Utility — Width at 150-200%. This is a background layer, push it wide to fill the sides while keeping center clear for your main elements.
Mix at -20 to -30dB below main elements. It's subliminal. A/B mute to confirm it adds value.
Custom atmosphere layer from your own recordings. Gives your track a unique sense of place and dimension that samples can't replicate.
VOICE → INSTRUMENT EXPERIMENTAL · ANY
Turn your own voice into a playable instrument. Hum, speak, scream, whisper — then process into something unrecognizable.
SamplerVocoderErosionReverb
Record yourself — a sustained vowel sound ("aaah" or "oooh"), 3-5 seconds. Doesn't need to be pretty. Character is good.
Load into Sampler (not Simpler — we want the multi-sample engine). Set root note. Enable loop mode with crossfade.
Zone the sample across the keyboard. Sampler will pitch it. Lower octaves = deep growl. Higher octaves = eerie, pixie-like.
Vocoder after Sampler — use a synth carrier (Operator saw wave) modulated by the voice. 8-12 bands. This creates a "talking synth" effect.
Erosion — Sine mode, frequency at 2kHz. Amount 5-8. Degrades the voice into something alien.
Reverb — Dark, 50% wet. Pushes it into an otherworldly space.
A playable instrument built from your own voice. Completely unique. Recognizably human in texture but musically controllable.
Record different vowel sounds and map them to velocity layers. Low velocity = "ooh" (dark), high velocity = "aah" (bright). Instant formant expression.
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