Psytrance

The rolling bass: Operator saw with a filter envelope and a 60 ms gate

The sound: a filtered saw that goes "dum" three times between every kick. Its three timing parameters, amp attack, filter decay, and note length, are the genre. Everything below is starting points for 145 BPM; scale by tempo (1/16 = 15000 / BPM ms).

1. Operator, parallel A+B algorithm. Osc A Saw (the Saw waveform in Operator's waveform list) at 0 dB. Osc B Square, Coarse 1, −20 dB for odd-harmonic bite. Mono voice (Voices 1), no glide. Transpose so the root sits at D0–F0 (37–44 Hz fundamental; psy basses sit on the kick note, often F0 or F#0).
2. Amp envelope: A 2 ms, D 80 ms, S 0.6, R 20 ms. The release must end before the next kick: at 145 BPM the note is 70 ms, plus 20 ms release = 90 ms, inside the 103 ms 16th.
3. Filter: LP 24 dB, cutoff 150 Hz, resonance 15%. Filter envelope amount +40 st, A 0, D 60 ms, S 0, R 50 ms. This "chirp" from 150 Hz up to around 1.5 kHz and back in 60 ms is the "dum" transient; the harmonic content at the note start is what makes the bass audible on small speakers.
4. Program every 16th except the ones on the beat (where the kick is). Note length 65–75 ms (about 70% of a 16th). Velocity flat at 110; accent the 4th note of each beat to 127 for the forward push.
5. Saturator Analog Clip 4 dB adds the growl. EQ: HP 35 Hz 24 dB/oct (nothing below the kick's fundamental), +2 dB bell at 90 Hz, LP at 3 kHz. Compressor sidechained from the kick: 6:1, attack 0.1 ms, release 60 ms, 8 dB reduction (it catches the sustain tail of the note before the kick).

Rolling bass, Analog version: two filters for the "sub plus click" split

Analog's dual filter and dual amp let you split the bass into a sub path (sine-ish, longer) and a click path (saw, short, bright) inside one instrument, which is how a lot of modern psy basses are built in multi-filter synths.

1. Analog: Osc 1 Saw routed to Filter 1 only, Osc 2 Sine at the same pitch routed to Filter 2 only (use the routing section to keep them separate).
2. Filter 1: LP 24 dB, 160 Hz, resonance 20%, Filter Env 1 amount +45 st, decay 55 ms. Amp 1: A 1, D 70 ms, S 0.3, R 15 ms. This is the click/chirp path.
3. Filter 2: LP 12 dB, 100 Hz, no envelope. Amp 2: A 3, D 90 ms, S 0.7, R 20 ms. This is the weight path, slightly longer so the sub holds under the click.
4. Balance Osc 2 at about −4 dB relative to Osc 1. Mono voice, Unison off. Everything else as the Operator version.

Variations: Drift with Osc 1 Saw, Osc 2 Sine, MS2 filter and Env 2 → cutoff gives a slightly softer, drifting version good for progressive; a Pulse Width-modulated square (Analog Osc 1 Pulse, LFO → PW 10%) for the "hollow" goa bass.

The psy kick: Operator pitch-envelope sine with a knock, tuned to the bass root

A psy kick is short, tuned and clicky: a sine with a fast pitch drop for the body, a transient layer for the knock, and a total length under 200 ms so it hands over to the bass by the next 16th. It is tuned to the bass root (or a fifth below), always.

1. Body: Operator Osc A sine at the bass root (F0, 43.65 Hz). Pitch envelope +36 st with a 40 ms decay (Operator's pitch envelope section: set Initial high, fast decay to 0). Amp A 0, D 180 ms, S 0, R 10 ms.
2. Knock: Drum Sampler with a short acoustic kick or a wood knock sample, Punch 60%, Decay 40 ms, high-passed at 300 Hz; this is the 200–600 Hz "tok" that cuts through on a festival rig.
3. Click: Operator noise, 6 ms decay, band-passed at 4 kHz, mixed low: it is only there so the kick reads at low volumes.
4. Check the kick alone against the bass: solo both, play one bar, and watch a spectrum analyser. If the kick's tail is still visible when the first bass note starts, shorten the amp decay.

Offbeat hats, the snare/clap and the "psy groove" that is not swing

Psy drums are a four-to-the-floor skeleton with an open hat on every offbeat 8th, a clap or snare on 2 and 4, and 16th closed hats with velocity shaping. Everything is grid-straight; the feel comes from micro-delaying the open hat and from the bass accents.

1. Open hat on every offbeat 8th; set Track Delay +8 ms on its track (or nudge the clip). This tiny lateness is the "psy bounce".
2. Closed hats on 16ths, velocity 70 on 8ths, 45 on the in-between 16ths, 30 ghosts before beats; Velocity Shaper with a mild accent curve.
3. Clap layered with a short snare on 2 and 4, high-passed at 200 Hz. Add a 1/32 flam (two hits, 15 ms apart, second at −6 dB) on the clap of beat 4 every 8 bars.
4. Drum Buss with Transients +15% and Damp at 11 kHz; Glue very light. High-pass the whole hat/clap group at 200 Hz so it never touches the kick/bass band.

FM lead: Operator 4-op with ratio automation and a synced LFO on modulator level

The classic psy lead is metallic, moving FM: a carrier with two modulators whose levels pulse in time, so the timbre shifts every 16th. Operator's per-oscillator envelopes with Loop modes and its LFO give you the whole thing without automation.

1. Operator, algorithm with C→B→A serial plus D parallel. Osc A sine (carrier) 0 dB. Osc B sine Coarse 2, level −14 dB. Osc C sine Coarse 7, level −26 dB (the metal). Osc D Saw at −18 dB for a raw edge mixed in parallel.
2. Osc B envelope: A 0, D 90 ms, S 0.3, R 50 ms, with Loop mode set to Beat and the loop time 1/16: the FM depth re-attacks on every 16th regardless of note length. This is the "chattering" quality.
3. Operator LFO: sync, rate 1/16, waveform square, → Osc B level at 30%: alternate 16ths get a different FM depth.
4. Mono voice, Glide 15 ms, Legato on. Amp A 3, D 200, S 0.7, R 120 ms. Spread 20% for width without losing the centre.
5. Auto Filter LP 24 dB at 2.5 kHz with its LFO at 1/8T, 20%, Echo in Ping Pong mode (1/8 left, dotted 1/8 right, feedback 40%, HP 500 Hz, Modulation 10%). High-pass at 300 Hz; dip 1.2 kHz 3 dB to leave room for the acid line.

Acid and squelch lines: the TD-3 and the Analog/Drift equivalent

The second melodic voice. A TD-3 through External Instrument with Live's Roar in front of the kick gives the goa acid; Drift with a high-resonance MS2 and a fast filter envelope does the same in the box.

1. TD-3: saw, cutoff 30%, resonance 80%, env mod 70%, decay 40%, accents on every 4th note, slide on the last note of each 2-bar phrase. Sequence from Live via External Instrument so the pattern stays editable; record the audio back.
2. In-the-box version: Drift Osc 1 Saw, MS2 LP, cutoff 400 Hz, resonance 75%, Env 2 → cutoff +60%, Env 2 decay 110 ms, velocity → Env 2 amount 50% for accents. Mono, Glide 60 ms, Legato on so overlapping notes slide.
3. Roar Single Diode 25% with a 150 Hz pre-filter (the acid line must not add bass). Auto Filter band-pass with the Envelope Follower modulating cutoff to exaggerate accents.
4. Echo at 3/16 with 55% feedback and the Duck function at 30% so the delay breathes around the notes; HP 250 Hz.

Variations: run the TD-3 through Spectral Resonator at the bass root for a tuned, shimmering acid; use Live's Scale device set to Phrygian in front of Drift so the TD-3's recorded MIDI stays in key when transposed.

Risers and downlifters: noise through a resonant Auto Filter with pitch and width automation

Psytrance uses risers every 8 bars, not just before drops. Three layers: filtered white noise rising, a pitched sine rising an octave, and a reversed reverb tail. Build them once as 4-, 8- and 16-bar clips and reuse.

1. Operator: Osc A Noise 0 dB, Osc B sine at −16 dB with a pitch envelope rising 12 st over 8 bars (set the pitch envelope attack to its maximum and use clip automation of Transpose for the rest).
2. Auto Filter band-pass, 12 dB, resonance 45%, frequency automated 300 Hz → 8 kHz exponentially over the clip. Auto Pan-Tremolo (12.3) in Auto Pan mode at 1/8T, 40%, so the riser spins faster as it climbs (automate rate to 1/16 for the last bar).
3. Hybrid Reverb Prism, 3 s, wet automated 20 → 60%; Utility width 60 → 180%.
4. Downlifter: duplicate, reverse the automation, and pitch envelope falling 24 st over 1 bar. Place it on the 1 after a drop as the "release".
5. Reverse reverb: bounce 2 bars of a snare with a 4 s Hybrid Reverb tail, reverse the audio clip, and align its end to the downbeat.

Atmospheres and pads: Wavetable Shimmer unison under a long Hybrid Reverb

The pad in psy is subliminal: a wide, slowly moving chord (root + fifth + octave, sometimes the minor third) that establishes the key during breakdowns and disappears under the roll. Width and slowness are everything.

1. Wavetable Osc 1 any Collection-category table with LFO 1 → position at a 16-bar sync rate (triangle); Osc 2 Basics Saw detuned +12 ct at −6 dB. Unison Shimmer, 6 voices, 40%.
2. Filter 1 Clean LP, 1.2 kHz, 12 dB, with Env 2 → cutoff +20% over a 2 s attack. Amp A 1.5 s, R 3 s.
3. Chorus-Ensemble in Ensemble mode at 30%; Hybrid Reverb Dark Hall 6 s with 40 ms pre-delay at 55% wet. HP 180 Hz and a −3 dB shelf at 8 kHz so the hats keep their air.
4. Sidechain the pad from the kick lightly (Compressor 2:1, 3 dB) only in sections where the kick plays, so it recedes under the roll automatically.

Bass and lead edits: Beat Repeat gates and resampled 1/32 rolls for the 8th bar

The 8th bar of a full-on phrase almost always has an edit: the bass dropping out for a beat, a 1/32 roll, a filter closing and snapping. Beat Repeat on the lead and resampled bass slices cover 90% of it.

1. Beat Repeat with Interval 2 bars and Offset so it fires on the last beat of the 2-bar loop (Offset 7/4 at 1/4 grid), Grid 1/32, Gate 1/4 so it only repeats for one beat, Pitch Decay on for the falling stutter, Mix mode Gate so the original is silenced during the repeat.
2. Bass dropout: in the bass MIDI clip, delete beats 3–4 of bar 8 and put a single long note on beat 4 with the filter cutoff automated down to 60 Hz: the "swallow".
3. Bounce 1 bar of the bass (Bounce in Place) and load it into Simpler Slice mode; a 1/32 roll of the first slice with velocity descending 127 → 40 over the last two 16ths gives the "machine-gun" bass edit.
4. Follow every edit with an impact on the 1: a short Drum Sampler crash plus a sub drop (Operator sine F2 → F0 over 400 ms).