How to Create Drumcode Style Techno (Adam Beyer, Space 92, Eli Brown)

This tutorial dives deep into the sound of Drumcode - the influential techno label known for its driving, high-energy productions. Niek breaks down the modern Drumcode sound layer by layer, covering driving baselines, FM bass shots, acid sequences, big Unison leads, and chord stabs, all built inside Serum and processed with professional-sounding chains. All sounds used in this tutorial come from the Radiant techno producer pack. If you want to understand what makes Drumcode-style techno tick and how to recreate it from scratch, this guide walks you through every step.

What Is the Drumcode Sound and How Is It Structured?

The Drumcode sound is built around three core pillars: driving baselines, crispy percussion, and hypnotizing vocals. The modern version of this sound - as heard across the label's recent releases - shares some similarities with the afterlife melodic techno style in terms of sound selection and layering, though it is distinctly more aggressive and industrial in character. The BPM sits around 135, which is the standard range for this style today. Rather than a simple four-on-the-floor kick, the Drumcode sound typically features a kick loop that combines a punchy high-transient kick for impact with a rumble sub section underneath it. This separation between transient and sub is fundamental - it allows the baseline to occupy the mid and low-mid frequencies without competing with the sub from the kick.

How to Create the Driving Drumcode Baseline

Because the kick loop already carries the sub content, the baseline is designed to cover only the mid and upper-low frequencies. Start by opening Serum and loading a preset like "Active" from the Radiant pack - a straightforward saw wave patch with minimal changes to the oscillator, a short envelope with a little sustain, and a second envelope linked to the filter for a slightly plucky character. In the piano roll, draw a 16th-note rolling pattern - similar to what you hear in modern melodic techno. Keep the notes non-legato with short gaps between them to maintain that crispy, driving feel. Processing steps:

1. Apply a steep EQ to remove all sub frequencies (already covered by the kick loop) and cut all high-mids and treble
2. Add OTT with depth at 30% and time at 200% - aggressive settings that give the signature crispy, square character of modern Drumcode
3. Add a steep sidechain to duck heavily under the kick for a pumping effect

The result is a tight mid-bass that locks in with the transient of the kick loop.

How to Layer a Top Bass for Fullness and Variation

On top of the mid-bass, add a top bass to fill the higher frequency range and add harmonic variation. Use a Serum preset like "Automatic" from the Radiant pack - a wider sound built from two saw wave tables where oscillator B is turned down to 0% level and used solely as an FM modulator for oscillator A. Oscillator A runs three voices of Unison with a small amount of detune. Envelope 2 is linked to the filter for a short, snappy character, and 80% Drive is applied to the filter for extra fullness. Processing includes OTT, a hyper effect for additional width, chorus at 50%, and a plate reverb at a short setting for depth. Copy the same 16th-note rhythm from the mid-bass and add octave jumps for variation. Apply a steep low cut to keep the sub clean, add OTT and sidechain, then layer with the mid-bass and kick loop for a full and driving low end.

How to Add an FM Bass Shot and Acid Sound

Two additional elements complement the baseline: an FM bass shot and an acid sequence. The FM bass shot uses a Serum patch built from two wave tables. The first is an FM wave table pitched down two octaves with its wavetable position set to 56% and envelope 2 modulating that position for movement. The second oscillator is an analog BD sine pitched down one octave at around 6% level, used as a modulator providing 30% FM modulation on oscillator A - creating the gritty FM texture. Velocity is linked to both cutoff and FM amount, so harder notes open the filter and increase FM aggressiveness. Envelope 3 adds a 50 ms decay transient linked to the coarse pitch of both oscillators for a clicky attack. For the acid sound, use a preset that closely emulates the original 303 - including a sampled 303 wavetable in Serum, a resonant filter matching the 303 character, and a short envelope 2 linked to the filter. Set the plugin to mono legato. Process both with a low cut, mid boost EQ, OTT, and sidechain. Place the acid one octave higher in the mix for best blend.

How to Build the Big Unison Lead

The defining lead sound in Drumcode-style techno is wide, massive, and room-filling. Use a Serum preset like "Lead Wanted" from the Radiant pack - built from two Moog-sampled wave tables. Oscillator A has nine voices of Unison and is pitched down one octave, while oscillator B runs one voice at standard pitch. The Unison stacking feature on oscillator A layers additional Unison voices across different octaves, creating extreme width - though it is CPU-heavy. Envelope 2 is linked to the filter for a short, punchy character. A slight vibrato effect is applied to the fine tuning of both oscillators. The velocity is linked to the cutoff for expressive playing. Processing:

• Low cut and a boost in the high frequency area
• Tube distortion to beef up the sound
• OTT for compression and punch
• Reverb at 48% wet with a 1.5-second decay time
• Subtle sidechain at 50%

What Are Chord Stabs and How Do You Use Them in Techno?

Chord stabs - often called "cord steps" in this style - are a stack of layered percussive harmonic hits that add to the signature techno sound. For this section, replicate the main lead patch and combine it with a few additional layers:

• Several techno-typical percussion samples layered for punch and texture
• A Serum patch made from layered saw waves manually detuned to form a minor chord - a classic technique for creating old-school chord stab sounds
• Additional samples adjusted for better blend in the overall mix

Route all four elements to a single bus channel. Apply distortion (such as the Destructor plugin) to the bus, then light OTT to glue everything together. Add a ping-pong delay for width, a high and treble boost EQ, reverb for room, and a sidechain. The result is a wide, punchy chord stab that drives the track forward.

How to Arrange and Finish a Drumcode-Style Track

For the arrangement, the key principle is to withhold elements and introduce them gradually rather than playing everything at once. Slowly bring in loops, rides, percussion, and claps as the track builds. For the FX and atmos section, use impact sweeps, downward filter sweeps, and two types of ambience - one more tonal and one more industrial and noisy. A saw sweep patch is useful for gluing one section of the drop into the next: build it in Serum using two saw waves with LFO 1 set to a one-bar rate slowly opening the filter, and add heavy reverb and delay linked to a macro to make it massive and wide. Top off the arrangement with a vocal layer to complete the full Drumcode aesthetic - a short, repeated vocal phrase works perfectly to tie the energy of the track together.

Every sound used in this tutorial - including the kick loops, baselines, leads, acid presets, and the full project file - is included in the Radiant Techno Producer Pack. It is a complete bundle with samples, Serum presets, loops, and much more for producing professional techno tracks in this style.

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