Chris Lorenzo's production tricks, decoded
trax.house
SIGNAL 11
2026-07-23
for people who make house
   
Sucrose dropped today — free, open-source harmonic generator from UnplugRed and BlepFX, all Hilbert transform phase multiplication so you get clean harmonics without the usual distortion mud. Tonight we've also got a Chris Lorenzo production grab-bag, how to reverse-engineer any synth patch in Ableton Wavetable, and an EQ habit that might be thinning your kicks.
📅 Today · Time-Sensitive
▶ Chris Lorenzo's production toolbox
A dense set of moves: add grit to kicks with Ableton Erosion, use Snapback for reverse snare textures, pitch-bend perc hits with +12 semitone range in Serum 2, craft FM percussion via envelope-to-pitch, and dial bass tone with Diva's low cutoff and resonance. You'll walk away with a list of things to try tonight.
published today · watch →
◢ Learn
 
▶ Ditch the steep high-pass on your low end
A shelf filter is gentler for cleaning subsonic rumble; hard high-passing strips weight and smears phase. Most of the time, leaving the kick and sub alone is the better call. A reality check from 20 years in the trenches.
▶ Fundamental dip trick for midrange separation
Cutting 1–2 dB from a sound’s fundamental frequency can reduce mud without losing body. Apply across clashing keys, synths, and percussion in the same octave and the whole midrange opens up — subtle, repeatable, and instantly usable.
◢ Free & Gear
 
Sucrose harmonic generator from UnplugRed & BlepFX (free)
Open-source clean harmonic generation via Hilbert transform. Route a sine through it and you get thick harmonics without intermodulation artifacts — zero latency, plus a sub-octave mode inspired by flip-flop guitar pedals. A genuinely different alternative to standard distortion.
2 min read · grab it →
◢ The Word
 
▶ Rebuild any synth sound in Ableton Wavetable
A methodical approach to reverse-engineering patches: listen for waveform type, spot frequency content with EQ Eight, then build from scratch using saw/square layers, Wavetable's shimmer mode, dual oscillators at octave, band splitting, and modulation via MIDI Envelope and Shaper. Sharpens your ear and gets you away from preset dependency.
♫ In Rotation
 
— LarryLuxe's pick
📊 The Charts
 
Fastest riser: Disperse Black — Pep N Ya Step (Original Mix)
"Pep N Ya Step (Original Mix)" by Disperse Black (Robsoul Recordings) — a ~85-spot leap in 7 days on the Traxsource Jackin House chart, into the upper-mid.
Producers: A ~85-spot leap in a week is buyer demand, not editorial placement — the release behind it and Robsoul Recordings's current slate are worth studying.
DJs: Now in the upper-mid and still moving.
Fastest riser: Mattei & Omich — Groove 558 (Extended Mix)
"Groove 558 (Extended Mix)" by Mattei & Omich (Mattei & Omich Music) — a ~65-spot leap in 7 days on the Beatport Jackin House chart, into the upper-mid.
Producers: A ~65-spot leap in a week is buyer demand, not editorial placement — the release behind it and Mattei & Omich Music's current slate are worth studying.
DJs: Now in the upper-mid and still moving.
Fastest riser: Small Talk, Homero Espinosa — Found My Friends (Original Mix)
"Found My Friends (Original Mix)" by Small Talk, Homero Espinosa (Moulton Music) — a ~65-spot leap in 7 days on the Traxsource Nu Disco / Indie Dance chart, into the thick of the pack.
Producers: A ~65-spot leap in a week is buyer demand, not editorial placement — the release behind it and Moulton Music's current slate are worth studying.
DJs: Now in the thick of the pack and still moving.
Remix outperforming: Chasing Kurt, Reznik — From The Inside (Reznik Extended Remix)
"From The Inside (Reznik Extended Remix)" by Chasing Kurt, Reznik (Defected), a remix, is charting in the front of the board (#2) on the Traxsource Melodic House & Techno chart — a rework outrunning the field.
Producers: A remix charting this high shows the original is open to reinterpretation — a lane Defected is validating right now.
DJs: This remix is charting in the front of the board — the version buyers are reaching for.
Back on the board: Miro (AR) — Watching Me (Extended)
"Watching Me (Extended)" by Miro (AR) (Music is blaah!) has re-entered the Beatport Tech House chart in the deep end after dropping off — a comeback worth noting.
Producers: A re-entry signals durable demand — Music is blaah!'s record is charting again on its own pull.
DJs: Back in the mix in the deep end after falling off the chart — renewed demand with buyers.
Back on the board: Marco Faraone — Like That (Extended Mix)
"Like That (Extended Mix)" by Marco Faraone (Nervous Records) has re-entered the Beatport Tech House chart in the deep end after dropping off — a comeback worth noting.
Producers: A re-entry signals durable demand — Nervous Records's record is charting again on its own pull.
DJs: Back in the mix in the deep end after falling off the chart — renewed demand with buyers.
The Numbers · taught this month
127
median bpm
bpm: 116–160BPM (n=13)
18
median filter slope
filter slope: 12–24dB/oct (n=9)
From the archive: Ableton Live Extensions Explained: Installation, Community Tools, and Workflow Examples — “talk a little bit about Ableton Live's new extensions that they”
🔮 Producer Horoscope (for fun) — Your 808 is holding a grudge against the hi-hats. A touch of sidechain compression can broker peace, at least until the next drop.
Go make something that moves air — catch you tomorrow.

one of these lands every morning, for working house producers with a track already half-finished — free:

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