If you want to learn how to make tech house in Ableton, start with one idea: groove beats complexity. A tech house track is usually a punchy kick, shuffling percussion, a short rolling bassline and one memorable hook, arranged so a DJ can mix it. Below is a six-step workflow using Live's own devices, then a finished project you can open and compare against.
Edition note (Live 12): Drift is in every edition; Analog and Electric need Standard or Suite; Operator, Wavetable, Meld, Echo, Hybrid Reverb and Roar are Suite-only.
Step 1: Tempo and swing
Set the tempo somewhere around 124–128 BPM and the grid to 1/16. Open the Groove Pool, drag in a 16th swing groove from the Core Library and apply it to hats and percussion clips only. Start with a low Global Amount and raise it until the hats feel like they lean forward. Keep the kick straight.
Step 2: Kick, clap and tops
In a Drum Rack, put the kick on every beat and a clap on 2 and 4. Closed hats go on the off-beats; a shaker fills the 16ths. Add two percussion sounds (a rim and a conga, say) that answer each other across a two-bar loop. On the drum group, Drum Buss adds weight: try a little Drive and Boom, and keep Crunch subtle.
Step 3: The rolling bassline
Tech house bass is short and rhythmic. In Drift or Analog, pick a saw or square, close the filter and give it a fast filter envelope with a short decay. Write notes in the gaps between kicks and stay mostly on the root, moving once or twice per bar. Put Utility on the bass with Bass Mono switched on, and sidechain a Compressor to the kick if the low end gets crowded.
Step 4: One hook
Pick one: a chord stab, a synth riff or a vocal chop. For a chop, drop a vocal phrase into Simpler, switch to Slice mode and play the slices as a rhythm. Then automate an Auto Filter's frequency over 8 or 16 bars so the hook keeps evolving without new notes.
Step 5: Arrange it for DJs
Open with 16–32 bars of drums so DJs have something to mix over. Bring in the bass, then the hook. For the breakdown, pull the kick, filter the bass and throw the hook into a long reverb. Return with everything at once. A simple map: intro, groove, breakdown, drop, second groove with a variation, outro. Change something every 8 bars.
Step 6: Mixdown
Kick and bass are the loudest things in the mix; check them in mono. High-pass everything else with EQ Eight, run the drum group lightly through Glue Compressor, and keep reverb and delay on return tracks. Leave headroom and use Limiter on the master only to check loudness.
Common tech house mistakes
- Ten weak loops instead of three strong ones.
- A long or stereo bass note fighting the kick.
- A six-minute arrangement where nothing changes.
Percussion tricks that add movement
Print a percussion loop to audio and reverse every other hit. Use Velocity ranges in the Drum Rack to switch between two samples, and let a short Beat Repeat burst run before every 8-bar change.
Get the project file
Our John Summit, venbee – palm of my hands (Odd Mob Remix) Ableton Template is a fully arranged Ableton Live project. The product page lists key Eb, length 3:23, Ableton Live 10 or higher, Serum and Kickstart V2 as required plugins, and all drum samples included (54.8 MB). Solo the percussion first: hearing how few elements carry the groove is the fastest lesson in the genre.
More to explore: Tech House Ableton templates and House Ableton templates.
This is an Ableton template inspired by the original track, built to show how the sound can be recreated in Ableton Live. It isn't an artist-made project file.
FAQ
What BPM is tech house?
Usually around 124–128 BPM. The product page doesn't list a BPM, so check the tempo field when you open the project.
Can I make tech house with stock devices only?
Yes. Drum Rack, Drift, Simpler, Drum Buss, EQ Eight and Glue Compressor cover this guide. The featured project itself requires Serum and Kickstart V2.
How long should a tech house track be?
Club versions tend to be long enough for a DJ to mix in and out. The featured project runs 3:23.