How to make a French house filter sound in Serum 2

French house is built on a filter that opens and closes slowly over a looped chord or riff, with everything pumping against the kick. In Serum 2 you get there with a simple saw sound, a resonant low-pass on a macro, and effects that move.

Oscillators

  1. Set oscillator A to a saw with 3 to 5 unison voices and light detune.
  2. Set oscillator B to a square one octave down at lower level for a fuller chord.
  3. Play chords, often sevenths, in the middle register.
VISIONS OF TOMORROW71 finished Serum 2 presets for house and techno: 26 basses, leads, pads, plucks, keys, stabs and FX. Royalty-free.Requires Serum 2.

The filter sweep

  • Route both oscillators to a 24 dB low-pass with medium resonance.
  • Map the cutoff to a macro and automate it over 8 or 16 bars, from dark to open and back.
  • For movement inside each bar, add a slow LFO on the cutoff with a small amount.

Phaser and pump

Add a phaser with a slow rate, then compression. The pumping comes from sidechain: duck the sound with the kick in your DAW, or draw an LFO shape on the volume that dips on each beat. Our free French Touch preset is a lead built in this style and is a good one to open and compare.

Five free Serum 2 presets →A house 808, a distorted 303, a French touch lead, a retro pad and a trance pluck. Open them and see how they are built.Serum 2 lead presets →French Touch, Bazz Houze and seven more leads in VISIONS OF TOMORROW. $29.A nu disco beat to play it over →Hear the pattern and download it as MIDI.Where to save your Serum 2 preset →The Serum 2 presets folder on Windows and Mac, and how to make new presets show up.

Five free Serum 2 presets

From our VISIONS OF TOMORROW pack: an 808 bass, a distorted 303 acid bass, a French house lead, a retro pad and a trance pluck. The same download has 16 house drums and three guitar loops. Royalty-free.

Your download now, then two short emails: how to use the sounds, and a 25% code for any of the full packs, valid for a week. Unsubscribe any time.

Questions

How do you get the French house filter sound?

Loop a chord or riff through a resonant low-pass and sweep the cutoff slowly over several bars, with sidechain pumping.

What tempo is French house?

Usually 118 to 126 BPM.

Is there a free French house preset?

Yes: French Touch is one of our [five free Serum 2 presets](/free/serum-2-presets).

More guides