Ableton Forum

Pretty much any unison capable VA will do.

If you dont make patches yourself, then I would suggest a Sylenth1 (my usual when I cant be bothered to mess with Virus Control for those kind of sounds) and get some patch sets, though the included patch set contain alot of classic prog house type sounds too.

Or just hunt around for some patches for Massive.

I think Massive is perfect for Prog House.

Hi,

Well i guess the answer is any synth really.

I suppose the real question would be 'how to make Progressive house', so first it depends on what you mean 'Progressive'.
Do you mean the trance stuff from the good ole days, the tribal stuff, the epic stuff or the more recent tech stuff?

Each one has a very different sound... But i think with progressive it's less about the noise and more about the arrangement.
You need to give the feeling that the track is heading somewhere, layer it up every 16 bars with something else... build and build it - create pressure. You want to create a relentless groove and then it's all about killer sound design on top and making some nice noises on the off beats or around the 3's. Good progressive house is deceptively simple - if you listen there is very little going on, but the placement and choice of sounds is the key. As you mention i think Massive is great for creating these kind of noises, especially using the steppper or performance modulations - Use these rather than LFO's to modulate pitch or filter cutoffs or even release lengths to really twist the sounds up! I also like to automate the reverb size (dry to wet) with an envelope perhaps on the off beat stabs. Also look into some delay units for noises - Audio Damages dub delay is good for this on a send track - set up a couple and feed one with the other - play with the feedback and create some strange rhythms over your 4/4 groove.

So in short -

Drum programming and bassline
Create a 'relentless' groove
Keep it simple


Arrangement
Create pressure
'call and answer' with drum hits and synth stabs
Add something subtle every 16
build and build

Sound design
dark twisted noises.
Delay - enrich the groove with feedback and odd timings
Reverb - play with space


Music theory
Create some emotion
Minor chords perhaps
Key change

Hope that helps!

Access VirusTI...

All of the synths. All of them.

jeskola01 wrote:So in short - [bunch of tips]

Is it weird that as I read through your tips I heard each one added to a made-up track running in my head? Either way, your tips completely nail the genre...good things to think about!

frep45 wrote:

jeskola01 wrote:So in short - [bunch of tips]

Is it weird that as I read through your tips I heard each one added to a made-up track running in my head? Either way, your tips completely nail the genre...good things to think about!

I was gonna say! They really break down the genre to its basics.

I'm pretty sure the secret to progressive house is a low-pass cutoff filter with a short decay envelope. then proceed to open filter cutoff. done.