Creating a Melodic Techno Bass Line in Serum 2
Melodic techno thrives on hypnotic grooves and bass lines that lock in with the kick while adding movement and energy to your track. With Serum 2, you don’t need to start from scratch – its built-in MIDI clip tab and flexible modulation tools make crafting the perfect bass line fast and creative.
In this guide, we’ll build a powerful, moving bass step by step, adding sound design tricks and movement macros so your bass line feels alive in the mix.
Step 1: Start with a Simple MIDI Pattern
Load Serum 2 on a new MIDI track in Ableton (or your DAW of choice).
Head to the Clip tab and choose a simple 1-bar MIDI bass pattern – short, rhythmic notes are perfect for techno.
Expand it to 4 bars to start creating a groove with a little repetition.
Pro Tip: Keep your pattern in a minor key (like A, G# or D#) for that dark, melodic techno feel.
Step 2: Build Your Oscillator Foundation
The oscillator stage is where your melodic techno bass begins to take shape. A strong bass sound needs weight, warmth, and subtle movement, which comes from how you layer and tune your oscillators in Serum 2.
Oscillator 1 – The Core of Your Bass
Choose the MB Saw wavetable
This wavetable is a classic techno starting point, delivering a rich, analog-inspired tone that works perfectly in the low-mid range.Keep Unison at 1 for now
A single voice keeps the low end tight and mono-compatible, which is crucial for club playback.
Why this matters: Your first oscillator defines the fundamental body of the bass. A clean, focused core ensures the sub and kick have room to breathe.
Oscillator 2 – Adding Width & Motion
Duplicate Oscillator 1 to match its wavetable and pitch.
Add Warp: Bend (-) for subtle movement and tonal complexity.
Increase Unison to 8 voices, and slightly detune to create width and stereo shimmer.
Pro Tip: Keep your detune amount low (around 0.10–0.15) so the stereo spread adds air without thinning the bass.
Why this matters: This oscillator acts as your texture layer, giving the bass a modern, evolving character that keeps it from sounding static.
Sub Oscillator – The Low-End Anchor
Activate the Sub Oscillator and set it to Direct Out.
This bypasses the filter and effects, ensuring the sub remains clean and punchy.
Keep it at Sine or Triangle wave for the purest low-end energy.
Why this matters: Sub energy needs to be clean and centered to translate on club systems. Direct Out ensures your processing (distortion, filtering) doesn’t muddy the most important frequencies.
By layering these three elements, you create a powerful oscillator foundation:
Osc 1: Solid mono body
Osc 2: Stereo width and movement
Sub: Clean low-end anchor
From here, you can start shaping envelopes and filters to turn this into a grooving, evolving techno bass line.
Step 3: Shape the Envelope for a Tight Groove
A melodic techno bass line isn’t just about the sound—it’s about rhythm and movement. The envelope determines how your bass hits and breathes, ensuring it locks perfectly with your kick without muddying the low end.
In Serum 2, the Amp Envelope (Env 1) controls the volume contour of your sound. By shaping this envelope, you can create a short, punchy, and controlled bass that grooves in sync with your drum pattern.
Step 3.1 – Tighten the Amp Envelope (Env 1)
Lower the Sustain
Reduce it to around 30–40% to make the note naturally fade out rather than stay full volume.
Adjust the Decay
Set a short decay (around 300–500ms) to tighten the transient while leaving room for movement.
Shorten the Release
Around 50–100ms is enough. This stops overlapping notes from muddying the low end.
Why this matters:
A snappy envelope ensures your bass is punchy and rhythmic, leaving space for the kick to cut through—essential for any techno track in a club environment.
Step 3.2 – Add Groove with Velocity and Note Length
Vary MIDI note lengths: Try alternating 1/8th and 1/16th notes to create a rolling, hypnotic pattern.
Use velocity modulation: Map velocity to oscillator level or filter cutoff for subtle dynamics.
Pro Tip: Slight velocity changes give your bass a human-like pulse, avoiding the “static loop” feeling that can make electronic basslines feel flat.
Step 3.3 – Listen with the Kick
After shaping the envelope:
Solo kick + bass and listen to how they interact.
Adjust the decay and release until the bass breathes with the kick.
In melodic techno, pocketing the bass under the kick creates the signature rolling low-end groove.
At this stage, your bass is tight, controlled, and rhythmic.
Next, we’ll add filter movement to bring your sound to life and create the hypnotic flow that defines melodic techno.
Step 4: Add Movement with Filter & Envelope
Now that we have a tight, rhythmic bass, it’s time to make it come alive.
In melodic techno, movement is what makes a bassline feel hypnotic and evolving rather than static.
We can achieve this in Serum 2 by combining:
A low-pass filter to control harmonics.
Envelope modulation to create rhythmic movement.
Step 4.1 – Set Up the Filter
Activate Filter 1 in Serum 2.
Choose MG Low 12 or MG Low 24 (classic low-pass filters).
Pull the Cutoff Down to remove high-frequency content from your bass.
Start around 200–400 Hz for a deep, warm tone.
Optionally, add a touch of Resonance (10–15%) to accentuate the movement when the filter opens.
Why this matters:
Low-pass filtering focuses your bass in the low and low-mid frequencies, leaving space for leads and atmospheres while giving the bass its signature techno warmth.
Step 4.2 – Use Envelope 2 for Filter Movement
Copy Env 1 to Env 2
Hold Alt + Drag in Serum 2 to duplicate the envelope quickly.
Assign Env 2 to Filter Cutoff
Drag and drop the modulation handle onto the cutoff knob.
Adjust Env 2 Shape
Short attack and decay times create a plucky, breathing movement on each note.
This makes the bass pulse in sync with your rhythm.
Pro Tip: Lower your cutoff and use a small modulation amount first.
Subtlety is key in melodic techno—movement should feel alive but not distract from the groove.
Step 4.3 – Test Different Filter Modulation Speeds
Play your loop with the kick and listen to how the filter plucks on each note.
Slightly increase decay if you want a longer sweep during breakdowns.
For variation, map a Macro to Filter Cutoff so you can open the filter gradually during transitions.
With this step, your bass breathes with the beat and has that rolling, hypnotic energy that defines the genre.
Next, we’ll enhance the character with FX and subtle spatial processing.
Step 5: Add FX for Grit and Space
With your oscillators, envelopes, and filter dialed in, your bass line now has a solid foundation and groove.
The final step in Serum 2 sound design is to polish the tone and add subtle space using the FX section.
In melodic techno, we use FX to:
Add character and grit so the bass feels alive.
Shape the low end for clarity in the mix.
Create subtle width and movement without muddying the sub.
Step 5.1 – Main FX Chain
Distortion (Hard Clip) – Adds harmonic richness and presence. Keep the drive moderate to avoid losing low-end clarity.
Equalizer – Sculpt the tone by boosting low-mids (~100–200Hz) and gently trimming harsh highs.
Multiband Compressor (OTT mode) – Tightens the dynamic range, making the bass punchy and controlled in the mix.
Tip: Always monitor in context with the kick—FX can quickly change how the low end interacts with your drums.
Step 5.2 – Bus FX for Stereo Interest
Ping-Pong Delay – Adds rhythmic echoes that enhance movement without overwhelming the groove.
Chorus – Creates gentle stereo widening, giving the bass a modern, immersive feel.
Utility – Ensures your mono low end stays focused while allowing stereo effects to sit in the mids/highs.
Bus EQ – A subtle final shaping to maintain clarity after spatial effects.
Pro Tip: Keep these effects subtle. In melodic techno, the bass should support the track, not wash out the mix.
Step 5.3 – Filter & Routing Overview
Filter 1 handles tonal shaping and envelope plucks.
Bus 1 hosts spatial FX (delay and chorus).
Main FX Chain handles tone-shaping and final dynamics.
By routing your FX like this, you get the best of both worlds:
A tight, punchy sub that stays mono and club-ready.
Rich stereo texture in the upper harmonics for depth and movement.
At this stage, your melodic techno bass line is fully alive—it has weight, movement, subtle grit, and stereo interest.
The final touch is to map macros for live tweaking and automation in your arrangement, ensuring your bass evolves throughout your track.
Step 6: Bring Your Bass to Life with Macros & Automation
Now that your melodic techno bass has weight, movement, and polish, the final step is to make it dynamic and evolving.
In techno, small changes over time keep listeners engaged and prevent your bass from feeling like a static loop.
Serum 2 makes this easy with Macros.
By assigning key parameters to macros, you can perform and automate your bass to match the flow of your track.
Step 6.1 – Assign Macros for Performance
Your Serum 2 patch uses 8 macros (1–4 on the left, 5–8 on the right), with 7 actively mapped for performance and automation:
Left (1–4):
Cutoff – Controls the filter cutoff for energy builds and breakdown sweeps.
Res – Adjusts filter resonance for tonal sharpness and emphasis.
Filter Env – Controls envelope depth for plucky or smooth filter movement.
Time – Alters envelope/LFO timing for rhythmic variation.
Right (5–8): 5. Movement – Adds subtle wavetable/LFO motion for evolving texture. 6. (Unused) – Reserved for future creative assignment. 7. Sync – Tweaks oscillator sync for timbral variation and grit. 8. Space (Delay) – Controls delay mix to introduce or remove atmosphere.
Pro Tip: These macros let you perform or automate tone, movement, and space. Keep your adjustments subtle—techno thrives on gradual tension and release, not sudden jumps
Step 6.2 – Automate in Your Arrangement
In Ableton (or your DAW of choice):
Draw in smooth automation curves for your macros.
Focus automation around transitions—like leading into a drop, or during a long breakdown.
Use one macro at a time to keep the movement cohesive and intentional.
For example:
Open the Filter Cutoff Macro gradually in a breakdown.
Slowly increase Distortion Drive in the drop to build energy.
Automate LFO Rate for subtle rhythmic shifts across 8–16 bars.
Step 6.3 – Final Groove Check
Before you wrap:
Play the full loop with kick, bass, and drums.
Listen for balance and flow—does the bass breathe with the track?
Adjust macro ranges or automation to keep it engaging but not overpowering.
By the end of this step, your Serum 2 bass line is no longer just a static loop—it’s a living, breathing element in your track.
With envelopes, filters, FX, and macro automation, you’ve built a club-ready melodic techno bass that evolves naturally and holds listener attention from start to finish.
Wrapping Up
You’ve now created a melodic techno bass line in Serum 2 that is tight, punchy, and full of movement. By starting with a simple MIDI clip, layering oscillators and sub, and using filters, envelopes, and macros, you can quickly shape a bass that drives your track.
Experiment with different wavetables and MIDI patterns to craft unique variations. Once this bass is locked in, you’re ready to layer pads, leads, and percussion to complete your melodic techno groove.
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