How To Make Tech House Like Chris Lake

Chris Lake's tech house tracks are known for groovy basslines, snappy leads, and dynamic arrangements. We’ll break down every step to help you produce a Chris Lake-inspired track. Follow these instructions to make professional-quality basslines, leads, and grooves for your tech house music.

What Makes Chris Lake's Tracks Sound Different?

Chris Lake’s tracks stand out because of their precision and balance. You could call it groovy simplicity with technical expertise.

• Groovy Basslines:
  • Syncopated patterns with pitch slides and low-pass filters (200–300 Hz) create a clean yet dynamic foundation.
  • The bassline is tightly sidechained to a kick tuned to the track’s key for a cohesive groove.
• Polished Leads and Textures:
  • Plucky saw wave leads feature sharp attack and short decay, enhanced with tempo-synced delay and plate reverb.
  • Atmospheric pads with detuned saws and LFO-modulated filters add movement, while white noise sweeps ensure seamless transitions.
• Dynamic Drums and Arrangement:
  • Layered hi-hats, shakers, and claps with slight swing and EQ shaping provide clarity.
  • Minimalist arrangements alternate between bass-heavy drops and melodic breaks.

Tech House Basslines

Tech house basslines collection of audio samples. aggressive, analog synth bass, bass, bassy, coarse/harsh, cold, compressed, distorted, dry, fat, hard, house, loop, processed, short, tech house, techno, and warm

Sample FocusBy

1.Tempo, Key, and Structure

Set Your DAW for Tech House

• Tempo: Set the BPM between 120–126 to capture the tech house vibe.
• Key: Chris Lake tracks often use minor scales, like G minor or A minor, for a darker edge.

Basic Structure for Tech House

1. Intro (8–16 bars): Start with drums and subtle FX.
2. Build (16 bars): Introduce bassline and percussion.
3. Drop (16 bars): Feature the bassline and main groove.
4. Breakdown (8–16 bars): Strip elements for tension.

2. Create a Chris Lake-Style Bassline

How to Make a Bass Sound Like Chris Lake

1. Sound Design Basics
   • Use a synth like Serum, Massive, or Arturia Mini V.
   • Start with a saw wave for fullness and layer a sine wave an octave lower for sub-bass.

1. Processing the Bassline
   • Saturation: Add warmth using a plugin like FabFilter Saturn or a stock saturator. Set drive to 20–40% for subtle harmonics.
   • Low-Pass Filter: Cut above 200–300 Hz to focus the bassline in the low end.
   • Sidechain Compression: Use your DAW’s compressor and sidechain it to the kick drum. Set a fast attack and release for a tight, pumping effect.

1. Groove and Dynamics
   • Program a syncopated MIDI pattern emphasizing off-beats. For example:
     • Notes on 1.2.3 and 1.4.3 (16th notes in a bar).
   • Quantize with a slight swing to humanize the rhythm.
2. Add Movement
   • Modulate the filter cutoff with an LFO, synced to 1/8 or 1/16 notes.
   • Add pitch slides (portamento) between notes for extra texture.

3. Design a Tech House Lead

How to Make a Tech House Lead Like Chris Lake

1. Sound Design
   • Oscillator Settings: Use a saw wave for brightness and layer with white noise for presence.
   • Envelope: Set a sharp attack (10 ms), short decay (300 ms), and no sustain for a plucky sound.
2. Add Effects
   • Delay: Use a tempo-synced delay at 1/8 notes, with 20–30% feedback and mix at 20–40%.
   • Reverb: Choose a short plate reverb with decay under 1 second for depth without muddying.
3. Melody and Expression
   • Keep the melody simple and repetitive, with slight variations every 4–8 bars.
   • Use the G minor scale and play with syncopated rhythms.

4. Build the Drum Groove

Drums in Tech House

1. Kick Drum:
   • Use a punchy kick tuned to the track’s key (e.g., G for G minor).
   • Adjust the low end to peak at 50–60 Hz using EQ.
2. Hi-Hats and Claps:
   • Layer closed hi-hats on the off-beats and open hi-hats sparingly for variation.
   • Add a snappy clap on beats 2 and 4.
3. Percussion and Tops:
   • Use shakers or ride cymbals to fill high frequencies. Pan them slightly left and right for width.
4. Layering Tips:
   • Combine multiple percussion loops and carve out space with EQ.
   • Apply light compression to glue the groove together.

Tech House Kicks

Tech House Kicks collection of audio samples. drums, kicks, one shot, tech house, and techno

Sample FocusBy

5. Add Atmospheric Textures

1. Background Pads:
   • Use a synth like Sylenth1 or Omnisphere. Detune multiple saw waves and add a chorus effect for stereo width.
   • Modulate the filter cutoff with a slow LFO (0.1 Hz).
2. Noise Sweeps:
   • Generate white noise in your synth.
   • Automate a low-pass filter sweep from 200 Hz to 20 kHz over 8–16 bars for smooth transitions.
3. Vocal Chops:
   • Chop a short vocal sample and pitch-shift it for texture.

6. Mixing and Mastering Tips

Mixing for Tech House

• EQ:
  • Cut below 100 Hz on everything except the kick and bass.
  • Boost 2–5 kHz on hi-hats and claps for clarity.
• Compression:
  • Apply bus compression to your drums. Use a ratio of 4:1 with a medium attack and release to maintain punch.
• Stereo Placement:
  • Keep bass and kick mono. Pan hi-hats, percussion, and FX for a wide stereo image.

Mastering Basics

• Add a limiter to ensure loudness. Set the ceiling to -0.1 dB and adjust the threshold for clean loudness without clipping.

Final Words

Chris Lake’s signature sound combines groovy basslines, snappy leads, and tight drums. Follow these steps, tweak settings to match your style, and then experiment to find your sound.

Ready to get started? Browse Sample Focus for tech house samples and loops.