Create a Dynamic Style Track Like Solomun and Max Styler

Diynamic is one of the most iconic underground dance music labels in the world, and in this tutorial Niek builds a full Diynamic-style track from scratch at 127 BPM - focusing on the deep, groovy aesthetic pushed by artists like Max Styler and Ugo Bunchi. Starting with just a kick, he works through a complete production process covering bass design, lead melodies, drum programming, arrangement, and atmosphere. Every sound used in the tutorial comes from The Producer School's sample packs, including presets from the Oblivion Serum 2 sound bank.

What Is the Diynamic Sound and How Do You Start a Track in That Style?

Diynamic Music was founded in 2006 and is known for combining deep grooves with melodic elements - a sound that works equally well in clubs and at large festivals. Over the years the style has evolved toward a very distinctive groovy character, defined by hard and punchy kicks, swinging drum programming, deep filtered bass, and emotive melodic leads. The session is opened in Ableton Live with a carefully chosen kick from the Aesthetic pack, and the BPM is set to 127 - a tempo consistent with the Max Styler style of production. The foundation of the track is built around the interplay between kick, bass, heads, and snare before any melodic elements are added.

How Do You Program the Drums for a Groovy Diynamic Style Track?

The drum approach here is built around an acoustic hi-hat loop rather than programmed individual hits. An acoustic hat loop is described as really distinctive for this sound - it adds organic feel and makes the groove feel alive rather than robotic. The kick is set to minus 6 dB as a reference level, and the acoustic hat loop is leveled accordingly. A simple acoustic snare is added on top and shortened slightly for a tighter feel. Main swing is set to 25% in the piano roll, which adds extra groove to the overall track - the difference between 0% and 25% swing is significant and easier to feel once both options are heard back to back. This swing setting applies to the full arrangement and makes the bassline and percussion feel noticeably more locked in.

How to Design the Bass for a Deep Groove Track

The bass preset used is called Lead Trigger - actually a plucky saw bass from the Oblivion pack for Serum 2. The preset is built from two saw wave tables from the Model D engine, run through a filter with basic envelope and FX. A small amount of distortion is added for grit, and the bass is set to mono to avoid low-end phase issues. Processing in the mixer includes:

1. A Decapitator for saturation and harmonic warmth
2. An EQ to shape the mid and high frequencies
3. Sidechain compression from the kick, with the kick's long tail taken into account when setting the release

Short notes are placed in between the kick hits to create the rolling, interplaying groove that is the foundation of this style. The cutoff is left as a key automation target for arrangement use later.

How to Build the Lead Melody and Arrangement Structure

The lead sound used is called Lead Trigger from the Oblivion pack - it uses a saw drift preset with noise, an LFO set to one bar linked to the wavetable position, and a fine tuning parameter for an unstable, slightly detuned feel. The envelope is kept very short so it can be automated for movement. Processing on the lead includes a Valhalla room reverb for depth, a short ping pong delay with a band pass filter, Decapitator for saturation, and a stereo widener.

Short, fast notes for the lead interact directly with the bass notes to create melodic tension. The cutoff of the lead is a central tool in the arrangement - it is kept filtered for most of the intro, gradually opened toward the drop, then pulled back at the start of the drop for impact before fully opening in the main section. The decay parameter is also automated to shift the feel of the lead between different sections of the track.

What Additional Synth Elements Fill Out the Track?

To add depth and harmonic variety, several additional Serum 2 elements are layered on top of the core bass and lead. Bass Voice from Oblivion - a saw wave combined with a subie saw wave table using 16-voice unison and high unison detune - is used as a step sound that plays on the first hits of phrases. A pitch automation is added to create slight slide effects. This element is processed with OTT, sidechain compression, and reverb, and kept low in volume so it acts as a subtle texture rather than a competing element.

A plucky square top bass is added for another rhythmic layer, processed with low-end removal and Decapitator saturation. For atmosphere, street ambience and a tonal atmosphere sample are added under the track - alongside FX elements like downfilters and sweeps - to make the overall sound feel alive and real. Risers and uplifters from the Voyage pack are added into the buildup along with a short sweep for maximum drop impact.

How to Arrange the Track From Intro to Drop

The arrangement follows a deliberate slow-build approach, which is described as key to this style - keep it as simple as possible for as long as possible, then introduce changes that contribute to the high point without overcomplicating the track. A practical approach to the arrangement structure:

1. Intro: Shorter kick for a calmer feel, no full impact yet
2. Lead introduction: Slowly bring in the filtered lead over time - the groove carries the energy
3. Pre-drop: Remove the kick entirely and open the cutoff, building tension toward the first drop
4. First drop: Pull the cutoff back down and strip out drums momentarily, then bring the groove back in for maximum impact
5. Buildup: Add a new bass progression, filter everything with a high-pass automation on bass and kick, build in synth chords for tension
6. Main drop: Fully open cutoff on lead, extra percussion and open hi-hat for energy
7. Outro: Very dry - just the acoustic hat loop and the lead with filter brought back down

What Percussion and Finishing Touches Complete the Track?

For the main drop, an open hi-hat is added on the offbeats, and a cowbell percussion sound is layered alongside it - cowbell sounds are described as common in melodic techno right now. The cowbell is pitched up two octaves and kept very subtle in the mix with short reverb tail. A simple white noise one-shot is added for extra transient impact at key moments. Synth chords are added in the buildup only, using a sustained pad to create tension - keeping the same top note across chord changes adds harmonic tension that resolves at the drop. The project file for this track is available for free download on The Producer School website, giving you direct access to the full arrangement and all processing decisions.

Several of the key sounds used in this tutorial come from Oblivion, the Serum 2 sound bank for melodic house and techno producers. Explore the full pack at The Producer School.

Tutorial by Niek, co-founder of The Producer School. For more production tutorials, subscribe to The Producer School on YouTube (280K+ subscribers).