If the laid-back beats of ambient techno have got you inspired to create, then arming yourself with the basics doesn’t have to be a daunting procedure. Creating a genre-angled template within your DAW, which is equipped with a characterful sound set, is the perfect starting place to sonic discovery.
As with all music and production, this will hopefully lead you down other paths and avenues, and your music will be all the better for it. But to get us off the blocks, here are some ideal core elements for basic consideration.
Building the core elements of ambient techno
1. The kick
As we are talking about ambient techno, rather than any other techno counterpart, we don't want our kick to feel overpowering.
Without wishing to sound like one company has captured this market, Roland have plenty of form in providing the right sonic spirit. Kick sounds drawn from vintage machines, such as the TR-808, TR-606 or CR-78 are ideal contenders.
They provide the right degree of ‘thud’ without being overbearing, and are all plentifully available in sampled or modelled form. You will probably find that your DAW provides many of these sound sets as standard.
2. Snares
Many of the snares which are suitable for this genre are similarly drawn from vintage machines. You've guessed it, the same machines listed above are perfect candidates for snares, as they tend to adopt a lighter touch, however if you are armed with hardware or software synthesisers that can provide white noise, this is a perfect time for you to sculpt a snare sound of your own. Moreover, it will offer a degree of uniqueness which can be attributed to you as a producer.
3. Hi-hats
The hats provided by the 808 have always been popular, but so have other drum machine models such as the Roland TR-909 or Oberheim DMX. Both of these machines provide sampled hi-hats, and can also sound excellent when used in combination with 808 hats.
The lighter character is definitely a consideration here, so be sure to blend whichever sound you use with the rest of your drum components.
4. Percussion
Using electronic congas or bongos, such as those found on the TR-808, are all ideal for providing movement to your drum pattern, but without feeling overbearing. These sounds were originally created in the analog domain, meaning that they didn't sound terribly authentic when compared to their acoustic counterparts. They did however provide an electronic solution, to a genre which lends itself to reimagined synthesised elements.
5. Bass
Creating the right sort of bass sound for an ambient techno arrangement requires the use of a mono synth, with a low pass filter.
It's simple enough to create your own sound, from a sawtooth waveform and a large amount of filtering to eliminate too many upper harmonics.
If you have the capacity to add a sub oscillator, this will strengthen your sound significantly. Many of the usual suspects can be used here, such as. Minimoog plugins, or those akin to the Roland SH2/101.
This includes many of the onboard mono synths that ship with most DAWs. More often than not, they draw inspiration from the aforementioned classics. Don't forget to add a liberal amount of compression, to keep your filtered sound stable and foundation-like.
6. Pads
Pads are an essential component for ambient techno, and there is considerable choice for selecting something appropriate. At the simpler end, any form of string-like chorussed pad will do the trick, but pads which contain more movement and interest can also be excellent contenders.
Try adding a subtle amount of LFO modulation to the pitch of your pad. The slightly woozy effect can be perfect for the genre, particularly if bolstered with some additional effects, such as delay or a generous reverb.
7. Plucky synths
Among the pad-like textures, using more percussive synthesiser sounds can be ideal for hammering home riffs.
Be careful though; you don't want your riffs to become overbearing when placed against the other elements in your track. This is supposed to be ambient music, not heavily produced EDM where riffs are used to an extreme.
Think in terms of finding sounds which are the electronic equivalent of a pizzicato string section; subtle, but you know they are there, and you would miss them if they weren’t!
8. Leads
Sometimes, though, you just have to have a lead sound to glide over the top of your track. This can often be the domain of the mono synth, but it is also the sort of production detail that would benefit from real time control or automation, so that your sound glides in and out of your mix.
This can be done using volume control, or if your sound response to it, automate your cut-off frequency control, within your filter. Much like our plucky synth sounds, we won't want this to be too overbearing.
9. Mix
Ambient techno mixes are often a game of two halves; on the one hand, you have a regular and pulsating kick drum, placed within a relatively regular and repetitive drum pattern, which provides the rhythmic element alongside your bass sound.
Meanwhile, your other elements could glide effortlessly across the drums. It's worth summing together your drum components, along with your bass, and placing compression across these elements, in order to create the perfect foundation for your track.
10. Effects
Many examples of ambient techno offer relatively dry mixes. The drums, in particular, often remain quite dry or benefit from a small amount of subtle and short reverb. When you combine the drums with the bass, it creates a solid foundation for your pads and leads, leaving space for these track elements to move over the top of the foundation.
These may benefit from healthy amounts of delay and reverberation. It's easy to oversaturate a mix with reverb, so be sparing.
