Serum 2 sci-fi horns and an Ableton rave template
Tonight's stash opens with a Serum 2 patch walkthrough that turns a talking sub sample into a knobbly sci-fi horn — the diffuser filter trick alone is worth dragging in a random vocal chop. There's also a dead-simple harmony lesson for anyone tired of major keys sounding like a toothpaste ad, and a free EQ plugin that handles auto-gain more honestly than most paid tools.
published today
▶ A sci-fi techno horn from a talking sub in Serum 2
This walkthrough loads a vocal sample into the wavetable oscillator, then runs it through an acid ladder filter, a diffuser, and OTT-style multiband compression to get a tight, modern stab. A utility modulated by an LFO creates a scatter staccato effect you can control with the mod wheel — and the preset is free.
◢ learn
▶ Build a 90s progressive house track in Ableton with stock devices
Demi Riquísimo works entirely inside Ableton's built-in plugins to program drums, design an organ sound, and nail the classic rave chord. The session is long but the template means you can pull apart the routing decisions yourself without guessing.
Why starting a major-key progression on the tonic can kill the mood
A quick harmony lesson that shows how delaying the tonic chord (and leaning on a 2-6-5 instead) makes a major key feel deeper. Adding 7ths, inversions, and a passing G6 voicing pushes it further from cheesy toward something you'd actually use in a house track.
◢ the word
▶ EQ Pro by Jeesonic packs per-band dynamic control into a free plugin
The standout feature is deterministic auto-gain — it compensates for level changes caused by your EQ moves in real time, so A/B comparisons aren't fooled by a loudness bump. You also get mid/side per band, external sidechain per band, and true band-stop notching that matches the drawn curve exactly.
Bastian Bux — Only U
The vocal chop that ducks under the kick during the breakdown, then re-emerges with a swung shaker pattern. · Today's owner pick, sitting in the same late-night pocket the 90s progressive template above aims for.
🔮 Producer Horoscope (for fun) — Your hi-hats will shift 3 ms late overnight. Blame the interface update, not your timing.
Go make the kick knock and the chord hurt a little.
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covered in this issue: serum 2