EBM Techno Bass in Ableton (with free rack)

Here’s a free EBM Techno Bass rack made in Ableton Operator and some built in Ableton FX, influenced by Phase Fatale, Front 242 etc… there’s a video below and the rack to download…

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See also: EBM Bassline Tutorial: Ableton (Nitzer Ebb / Phase Fatale style), EBM Techno Tutorial And Rack, Ableton Operator Tutorial, Ableton Operator Presets. Also: Free Ableton Wavetable Drum n Bass Reese Presets.

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How To Make An EBM Techno Sequence In Ableton Live…

Here’s a run down of the patch, of the midi effects, instruments and audio effects I’ve used to make the EBM rack…

This is made entirely in Ableton with no 3rd party plugins. It mainly uses frequency modulation and distortion inside Ableton’s Operator

For the midi: for an EBM sequence like this you want all 1/16th notes on, so it’s like a step sequencer with all notes on. you don’t want any longer notes, just punchy, percussive and short. You can put all notes on and then move a couple. I normally put all notes on and then move a couple until it sounds good. You can make a short loop and then duplicate it out if you like, like I did in the video.

The midi I used is:

I set the Ableton Routing up so I get 3 oscillators for FM (B, C and D) for a nasty FM stab, but then another separate oscillator (A) for sub bass. Its the backward “L” routing, I use this one a lot if I want an FM bass stab.

I set the coarse tunings for A and B to 0.5, I set C at 2 to bring the pitch up, and D to 0.5 like the others, to get a harsh metallic tone. I then move the fine tune on C and D a bit to make it harsher, more metallic. B is a Saw Wave, the others are sinewaves-

I cut the stab short with the filter and a tight filter envelope and the cut off down, so I get a short stab poking through the filter.

I use the analog modelling Filter Drive on the filter for more distortion and harmonics.

There are 2 filter settings that use velocity: Time<Vel And Freq<Vel. I use both of these. Then you can go back to your midi clip and draw in velocities and different settings make the filter open more and for longer. This gives the sequence much more movement. You can see and hear this at 6.40 in the video.

I then process the stab with Overdrive and Amp and EQ it.

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The Macro Controls For The EBM Rack

Time: this cuts short or elongates all envelopes in Operator – us it to elongate or cut short the stab.

Osc-C: the level of FM from oscillator C – turn it up for more harshness/metallic FM.

Filter Freq: filter frequency cut off – use this to open up the sound.

Filter Res: filter resonance cut off – use this to give it that harsh resonant scream.

Filter Drive: adds distortion.

Crazy LFO – the LFO amount – it is routed the pitch of C so the FM goes up in pitch if you turn it up – use it as a build.

Over Drive: adds distortion.

Amp: adds distortion.

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EBM Sequence In Ableton Live – Video:

Here’s a video tutorial and run down of the rack on our Youtube channel….

(video coming soon)

Please subscribe to the youtube if you haven’t yet: youtube.com/@studiobrootle 

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How To Make EBM in Ableton Live – Video

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