Chords & Stabs

Dub techno chord (Analog or Operator + Echo)

A minor 9th or minor 7th played as a single short hit, low-passed hard, with a dotted delay that carries it across the bar and a filter that opens and closes across 16 bars. The whole genre is in the feedback knob.

1. Analog: Osc 1 Saw, Osc 2 Saw at +7 ct detune (or Operator: Osc A Saw, Osc B Saw −3 dB Fine +6 ct, parallel algorithm). Filter 1 LP 24 at 500 Hz, Res 15%, Filter env +25% with Decay 300 ms. Amp: A 5 ms, D 350 ms, S 0.2, R 400 ms.
2. Clip: one chord — C minor 9 voiced C2, G2, Bb2, D3, Eb3 (root doubled low, extensions above) — on the "and" of beat 2, note length 1/16. Some tracks add a second hit on the "and" of 4.
3. Saturator Soft Sine, Drive 4 dB, Soft Clip on — the saw stack needs grit before the filter smooths it.
4. Auto Filter (12.2): LP 12 dB, 900 Hz, Res 20%. Envelope follower from the stab itself, amount +20%, so each hit pops the filter. Automate cutoff 400 → 2.5 kHz over 16-bar phrases.
5. Echo: Sync, Left 3/16, Right 1/4, Ping Pong, Feedback 60–75%, Dry/Wet 45%. Filter inside Echo: HP 250, LP 2 kHz so repeats get darker. Modulation 15% at 0.5 Hz (Wobble) for tape drift. Noise 10%.
6. Hybrid Reverb Dark Hall, 4 s, 25%, Low Cut 300 Hz. Utility: Bass Mono below 200 Hz.

Variations: Operator with Osc B as a modulator at ratio 1, −24 dB with a 50 ms decay adds the "FM click" to the chord attack. Replace Echo with Delay in Fade mode with time automation for tape-style pitch dives. See Dub chord rack and Dub techno.

House piano and organ stabs (Electric, Simpler)

The classic house piano is a sampled piano with a hard velocity, a short release and compression; the organ stab is the same idea on a drawbar sound. Electric handles the Rhodes-flavoured version; Simpler does the sampled piano/organ.

1. Simpler with a multisampled piano (any Live Pack piano, or the Sampler version). Amp release 150–250 ms so the chord cuts off; attack 0. Velocity → Volume 60%. Filter LP 24 at 6 kHz with Drive 10% for the "house" edge.
2. MIDI: 7th and 9th chords in 2nd inversion, root in the middle, played on the "and" of 2 and 4 or in the classic "1 . and-a-3" syncopation. Length 1/16–1/8.
3. Compressor hard: 4:1, Attack 2 ms, Release 60 ms, 6 dB GR, Makeup. This is what flattens the piano into a stab.
4. For organ: Operator, parallel algorithm, Sine oscillators at Coarse 1, 2, 3, 4 at 0, −6, −9, −12 dB (drawbars), Amp A 0, D 0, S 0 dB, R 50 ms (gate). Add Chorus-Ensemble Vibrato mode at 6 Hz, 10% for Leslie-ish wobble, or the Auto Pan-Tremolo (12.3) in Tremolo mode at 6 Hz.
5. Electric for the Rhodes stab: Mallet Force 70%, Stiffness 80%, Fork Tine 50%, Damper Release short, Pickup Symmetry 40%; global Release 150 ms. Then the same compressor.

Variations: Redux at 12-bit 22 kHz on the piano for the 90s sampler sound. Pitch the piano sample +5 or +7 in Simpler with Warp off for the "rave piano" formant shift.

Techno stab (Operator FM)

The hard, slightly metallic chord hit that defined 90s techno. Short FM burst on top of a sawtooth chord: the modulator's envelope is shorter than the amp, so the hit is bright and the body is woody.

1. Operator algorithm: one where B modulates A, and C goes straight to output (the "B→A, C, D parallel" layout). Osc A Saw at 0 dB; Osc B Sine, Coarse 3, level −12 dB; Osc C Saw at Coarse 0.5 (one octave down) at −12 dB for mono weight.
2. Osc A env: A 1 ms, D 220 ms, S −inf, R 150 ms. Osc B env: A 0, D 45 ms, S −inf (the click). Osc C env: D 300 ms.
3. Filter: LP 12 at 2.5 kHz, Res 10%, env +20% with 100 ms decay. Tone 50% so the FM aliasing is tamed. Spread 0 — mono stab.
4. Chords: minor triads and sus2 chords in the C3–C4 range, triggered on 1/16 off-beats; add 4 Repeats in an Arpeggiator in Chord Trigger style for the stutter stab.
5. Roar: Serial routing, stage 1 Hard shaper 20%, stage 2 Diode 25%, post filter LP 6 kHz. Keep Tone or the Roar post-filter dark; techno stabs are mid-forward, not bright.

Variations: Osc B ratio 1 with Feedback 30% for a buzzier Detroit tone. Ratio 5.5 for a bell-like industrial stab. Run through Erosion (Sine, 2 kHz, 30%) for the grainy "sampler" version.

Garage and 2-step chord stabs

Garage stabs are pitched-up sampled chords, swung hard, with a short gate and a filter that opens on velocity. The signature is the "chopped vocal/chord" bounce: a sample warped so every chord is the same length regardless of pitch.

1. Resample a 1-beat chord from Drift (Saw + Rect, LP 1.5 kHz, amp D 400 ms) at C. Load into Simpler, One-Shot, Trigger, Warp on (Beats mode, Transients), Fade Out 80–120 ms.
2. Transpose +5 or +7 for the formant shift. Because Warp is on, length stays constant: that constant-length, rising-pitch chord is the garage sound.
3. Pattern: 2-step kick (1 and the "and" of 2 + 4 off-beats), chord hits on the swung 16ths between kicks. Groove: MPC 16 Swing-62 from the groove pool, or Live 12's Rhythm transformation with Swing 60%.
4. Auto Filter with its envelope follower at +40%: louder hits are brighter, which lets velocity carry the rhythm.
5. Redux 12-bit at 22 kHz for the sampler crunch. Delay 1/16 at 20% feedback 15% for the tight bounce.

Variations: Future garage: same chain, LP 2 kHz, Hybrid Reverb Shimmer 30%, half the velocity, add a Granulator III pad underneath. Speed garage: pitch down −5 with Warp off, Saturator Drive 6 dB, organ bass underneath. See UK garage.

Grime and trap orchestral stabs

A short orchestral hit — strings, brass or both — with a hard transient, pitched to the key, heavy saturation and a gated tail. Grime uses them as the riff; trap uses them as a one-bar accent.

1. Sampler with an orchestral multisample (strings marcato + brass staccato in two zones layered). Amp env A 0, D 400 ms, S 0.3, R 120 ms. Velocity → Volume 50%, Velocity → Filter cutoff 40%.
2. MIDI: root + fifth + octave (no thirds — grime stabs are modal), in a square rhythm: 1, the "and" of 2, 4. At 140 BPM, 8-bar riff that moves root by a semitone or a minor third at bar 5.
3. Saturator Hard Curve 6–10 dB, Soft Clip on. Then Gate with Sidechain from its own input, Release 150 ms, Floor −inf — this trims the sampled tail so the hit is dry.
4. EQ: HP 120, +3 dB bell at 2.5 kHz (the brass bite), −2 at 500. Reverb short and dark, 18%.
5. Trap variation: pitch the whole thing −7, add a Drum Buss with Boom at the chord root for sub weight, and only hit on beat 1 of every 2 bars with a 1/4-note Hybrid Reverb Freeze for the tail.

Variations: Tension with a Bow excitator, Damping low, Body Guitar, and 4-voice unison via a rack with 4 chains detuned ±10 ct makes a synthetic string stab that is tunable to any system. Add Operator saws underneath for the "synth-orchestra" grime sound.

Voicings with Chord, Expressive Chords (12.2) and Stacks

Three ways to go from one finger to a voicing: the Chord MIDI effect (fixed intervals), Expressive Chords (scale-aware, with velocity and MPE-sensitive voicings), and the Stacks generator (writes chords into the clip for editing).

1. Chord: six Shift slots in semitones. Dub techno minor 9th: +3, +7, +10, +14; add −12 at −6 dB velocity for the low root. Put a Scale device after it in the set key so playing any root yields a diatonic chord (the Chord intervals are fixed, Scale forces them in).
2. Expressive Chords (12.2): chord type and voicing selected by the device's chord set, follows the clip/set Scale so the 3rd and 7th adapt per degree. Velocity can add or drop extensions; MPE pressure/slide can re-voice. Use its spread control to open the voicing across two octaves — far cleaner in the low mids than close voicing.
3. Stacks generator: in the clip MIDI Tools tab, select the single-note melody, Generators → Stacks, choose chord quality per step or a fixed interval set, apply. Now the chords are notes you can edit: drop the 3rd on the low chords, raise the 9th an octave.
4. Inversions: for stabs that walk a root motion, keep the top note constant (voice-lead) and move the lower notes. Stacks with Inversion control, or Chord with slots set to negative values (−5, −9) for drop-2 voicings.

Variations: Chord + Random (chance 30% on the 9th slot) for stabs that are sometimes 7ths and sometimes 9ths. Expressive Chords feeding Arpeggiator in Chord Trigger style for rhythmic re-triggers.

Rhythm via Rhythm generator and Euclidean patterns

Where the stab lands matters more than what it is. Generate the hit pattern, then let the chord follow.

1. Clip Rhythm generator: 16 steps, Density 5 with the Euclidean distribution, Rotation 3 — gives the classic afro/techno "3-3-4-3-3" stab grid. Pitch fixed at root. Then apply Stacks for the voicing.
2. Or live: Euclidean Sequencer device feeding Chord. Ring 1: 5/16 for the main stab, Ring 2: 3/16 rotated 1 on a different note (the "answer" chord) at lower velocity.
3. Arpeggiator Chord Trigger style, Rate 1/16, Repeats 3, Gate 50%: a stutter-stab triplet on each MIDI hit for hard techno.
4. Quantize transformation at 1/16 with 60% strength on a hand-played stab: keeps human push and pull but removes the sloppiness.
5. Time Warp on a 2-bar stab pattern (stretch the second bar) for a lurching halftime-style stab that still resolves on 1.

Variations: Rhythm generator density changed per 8-bar phrase (4 → 5 → 7) as the arrangement builds. Recombine on the stab clip to shuffle pitches but keep the Euclidean grid.

Filter and delay dub treatment

The dub treatment is a performance: send amount, feedback, filter cutoff and delay time all move. Build it so every one of those is one knob on Push.

1. Insert Auto Filter (12.2): LP 24 dB, cutoff 800 Hz, Resonance 25%, Drive 10%. The LFO at 4 bars, 15%, for slow breathing. Map cutoff to a macro.
2. Return A: Echo, 3/16 ping-pong, Feedback 70%, filter HP 300 LP 2.5 kHz, Echo Reverb 20%. Return B: Delay, 1/4, Feedback 50%, Fade mode, Filter on, 500 Hz–3 kHz band.
3. Send A on the stab track automated: 0% normally, 70–100% for one hit every 4 bars ("the throw"). Send B constant at 20%.
4. Return A's Echo feedback mapped to a macro 40 → 95%: pushing it to the top for 2 bars builds a wash, pulling it back clears it. Echo's Gate section (Duck on) keeps the wash from stepping on new hits.
5. Delay time automation on Return B (1/4 → 1/8 → 1/16) produces the tape-speed pitch dive in Fade mode (Repitch mode gives the actual pitch ramp).
6. Both returns → a reverb return (Dark Hall 6 s, HP 400) at 30%, so echoes recede into a room.

Variations: Spectral Time in Freeze mode on Return C: send a single stab, freeze it, and ride the Spectral Time delay for a frozen chord bed. Full page: Dub FX & delays.

Sampling and resampling chord hits, then chopping

Resample a chord progression with all its processing, slice it, and play the slices as new stabs. The processed audio has baked-in tails, pitch artefacts and transients that no synth gives you twice.

1. Record 4 bars of the finished stab (with Echo/Reverb) to an audio track set to Resampling, or Bounce in place (12.2) on the MIDI track.
2. Drop into Simpler, Slice mode, by Transient, Sensitivity 60%, Playback Mono. Or right-click → Slice to New MIDI Track with a Drum Rack: one slice per pad.
3. Play slices from the pad grid in a new rhythm; take slices from different chords for progressions that never existed.
4. Pitch slices via Simpler's transpose; with Warp on, pitch changes keep the length — the chopped-vocal-chord effect of garage and house.
5. Saturator 3 dB → EQ HP 180 → Compressor 4:1 2 ms/80 ms to glue the chops into a single instrument.

Variations: Reverse half the slices in Simpler (per-slice reverse in the slice editor). Beat Repeat on the chopped track at 1/16 with Chance 20% for stutters. See Resampling workflow.

Auto Filter 12.2 envelope follower on stabs

The redesigned Auto Filter has an envelope follower that can track its own input or an external sidechain. On a stab it turns velocity and hit density into brightness without any synth-side programming.

1. Auto Filter LP 24 (or the MS2-style circuit for grit), cutoff 600 Hz, Res 20%, Drive 15%.
2. Envelope section: amount +45%, Attack 2 ms, Release 150–200 ms. Each hit opens the filter by ~1.5 octaves and closes it before the next 1/8.
3. External sidechain: feed the hat or the kick instead — the stab brightens on every hat hit even while sustaining, a rhythmic filter without an LFO.
4. Combine with the LFO section at 4 bars, 10%, for slow motion underneath the fast envelope motion.
5. Stack a second Auto Filter in HP mode at 150 Hz with a negative envelope amount: on loud hits the lows get cut, which keeps big chords out of the kick.

Detune, width and sidechain for stabs

Stabs want to be big but they also want to hit. The compromise: detune and width above 400 Hz only, mono below, and a sidechain that is faster than the stab's own envelope.

1. Instrument Rack with two chains of the same synth, Fine ±8 ct, panned L/R 40%. Below 350 Hz Utility Bass Mono collapses the pair so the detune only beats above the root.
2. Sidechain Compressor from the kick: Ratio 8:1, Attack 0.1 ms, Release 60–80 ms (short — the stab should re-emerge within the kick's own decay), 4 dB GR. Place it before Chorus so the chorus does not smear the duck.
3. Chorus-Ensemble Chorus mode, Rate 0.8 Hz, Amount 20%, Width 100%: adds the stereo movement after the mono check.
4. Utility: Width 110–120%, Bass Mono at 350 Hz. Check in mono: the chord should lose width, not level.
5. Trance stabs: unison 4 in Wavetable plus this rack-level detune gives the 8-voice supersaw stab; keep the HP at 250.