How to make a rave stab in Serum 2

A rave stab is a full chord fired on a single key: bright detuned saws, a short decay, and a lot of room around it. The sound comes from three things together: the chord voicing, a quick envelope and the space you put it in.

Oscillators

  1. Set oscillator A to a saw with 5 to 7 unison voices and moderate detune.
  2. Set oscillator B to a saw or square one octave down, with fewer voices, for body.
  3. Keep the stereo width high on A and lower on B, so the low end stays centred.
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 chord on one key

The classic rave stab is a minor chord stacked into one sound: root, minor third, fifth and octave. Either play the chord yourself, or set it up so one key plays it: in oscillator A and B, transpose extra voices with the semitone and octave controls (for example B at +7 semitones for the fifth), or use a chord MIDI effect in your DAW. Playing a riff with one finger is what makes it sound like rave.

Envelope and filter

  • Set ENV 1 to zero attack, 250 to 400 ms decay and low sustain, with a short release.
  • Route through a 12 dB or 24 dB low-pass with the cutoff fairly open.
  • Drag ENV 2 onto the cutoff with a short decay, so each hit starts bright and darkens.

Space

Add chorus, then a large reverb with a long tail mixed fairly high. A little distortion before the reverb adds grit. Our Rave stab presets in VISIONS OF TOMORROW are three takes on this sound.

Rave stab presets for Serum 2 →Three rave stabs with acid basses and techno leads in VISIONS OF TOMORROW. $29.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.A breakbeat 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

What chord is a rave stab?

Usually a minor chord stacked into one sound: root, minor third, fifth and octave, played as a riff from one key.

How do I play a chord from one key in Serum?

Transpose the second oscillator or extra layers by semitones (for example +7 for a fifth), or put a chord MIDI effect before Serum in your DAW.

What tempo is rave music?

Early rave and breakbeat hardcore sit around 130 to 145 BPM.

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