trax.house archive

issue 75 · 2026-09-21 · for people who make house

Vhyce label release: iPhone vocal, toy keys, zero sends

An iPhone vocal, a toy keyboard for percussion, and barely any sends — that’s the whole palette behind a track that landed on labels.

◆ start here

▶ iPhone Vocal, Toy Keys, Zero Sends: A Label Track Deconstructed

The main vocal was recorded on an iPhone, percussion came from a cheap DJX keyboard, and sends were almost nonexistent — just a short plate on kick and vocals. The track’s texture proves deliberate lo-fi beats pristeen every time.

gold at 00:00, 00:30, 00:40 · watch →

◢ learn

▶ Afro House Bass: Stacking Saw Waves Against a Perfect Fifth

The bass sound builds from stacked Model 10 saws with fine tuning, then a second oscillator pitched up a fifth — gives that ‘minique’ character without a preset pack. The chord progression trick of keeping one root note in every voicing glues it together.

watch →

A-Range Console Channel With a Pultec Trick on the Highs

The high band boosts and cuts the same frequency for air without harshness. The added ElektraComp does one-knob parallel compression, and the preamp saturates to add size, not grit — useful on drum bus or synths.

2 min read · read →

◢ free & gear

Mango Glitcher, Bloom Ambisonic Cloud, and a Plate Modelled With Finite Elements(free)

Mango sequences gater, grain, delay, distortion, and filter per step — perfect for percussive fills. Bloom turns one take into a sphere of voices for ambient breakdowns; ModalDish creates physical plate resonances that sound nothing like a standard reverb.

1 min read · deal →

◢ the word

A Machinedrum in Your Browser, No ROM Required

It’s a sound simulation, not a 1:1 clone, but the TRX and EFM engines are there. If you’ve only heard the Machinedrum in YouTube demos, this lets you click through its weirdness instantly.

4 min read · read →

Underworld on Making 'Second Toughest' With No Plugins, No Compressors, No Gates

Rick Smith says the magic came from sound sources not locked to the same digital clock — tiny timing shifts created space. The gear list (ARP 2600, OSCar, TB-303, a Sony DAT) is a time capsule worth studying if you’re chasing that early-90s looseness.

4 min read · read →
♫ In Rotation
 
MODBIT — Move
— LarryLuxe's pick
📊 The Charts
 
▼ #17 Mili, HUGEL, LaBritney — Stay Sexy (Extended Mix)
▼ 6 · 7d · ▶ hear · profile →
▲ #01 Brunello — Ghost Dance (Original Mix)
▲ 4 · 7d · ▶ hear · profile →
▲ #19 Le Brousse — Kepasa (Original Mix)
▲ 66 · 7d · ▶ hear · profile →
▲ #31 Velouré — Tato (Original Mix)
▲ 66 · 7d · ▶ hear
▼ #97 Effendi — All Good (Extended Mix)
▼ 37 · 1d · ▶ hear · profile →
Glossary
linear-phase eq — Linear-phase EQ shifts each frequency band's timing equally instead of smearing transients — everything stays punchy, but you get a pre-ring before big cuts or boosts. You use it on the mix bus or groups when you need surgical cleanup that doesn't kill the kick's snap. Also works on a master for broad tonal shaping without pumping. It's only worth it when the source is already tight — if your drums are sloppy, fix the arrangement first. The tradeoff is latency and CPU, so use it on buses, not live tracks. On a snare with a 200 Hz honk, set a 3 dB cut at Q 1.0 and you'll hear it pop through without the body turning to mush. For a vocal that's harsh at 3 kHz, a 2 dB dip with a wide Q 2.0 cleans it up while keeping the take's air. Just remember: pre-ring is real, so avoid big boosts above 5 kHz on a whole mix. If you need old-school vibe, linear-phase won't add that color — it's transparent, so pair it with a character EQ after. The show-off trick is using it on a drum bus to pull out room tone without losing the transient — set a high-pass at 30 Hz, then boost 8 kHz with a narrow Q. You'll hear the difference in a club. For a quick win, drop Pro-Q 3 in Linear mode on your master bus, set a low-cut at 25 Hz, and tuck a 5 kHz presence lift at +1.5 dB — done. Just don't touch it more than three bands, or you're overthinking it. Non-linear is still king for tracking; this is a mix tool, plain and simple. — seen in Chris Lake Played This Track… So I Rebuilt the Bass
🎯 Tonight's Move
Two-Layer Wide Bass with Redux Instead of More OTT
Your main bass gains a wide, crunchy low-mid layer where Redux provides bite, letting you keep OTT subtle on that layer.
  1. 1. Load two instances of Wavetable. On the first, pick a wavetable and automate Wavetable Position slightly for movement.
  2. 2. Add OTT (Multiband Dynamics OTT preset) for bright metallic texture, then high‑pass to clear the low end for your sub.
  3. 3. On the second instance, load a different wavetable. Crank Unison Voices high and keep Detune moderate — just enough to spread, before it sounds messy. Insert Redux for high‑end crunch. Add a touch of OTT, lighter than the first layer. High‑pass to clean the lows.
Why it works: Redux adds high‑frequency harmonics like OTT but from bitcrushing, so you can use less compression on the wide layer and avoid muddy buildup.

🔮 Producer Horoscope (for fun) — A ghost note you muted by accident will end up being the hook. Don't touch it.

Now go make something that sounds better than it looks.

one of these lands every morning.

for working house producers with a track already half-finished.

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