The Trance Gate (Volume 1).

There are a ton of VST effects that do this, but NONE of ‘em sound this good!

This is one method of creating those huge gated synth sounds that are such a staple of modern dance music…

Step 1 – Set up the D-Beam (Synth). You need a big sound with plenty of harmonic content, so the obvious choice is the Sawtooth wave, but the pulse works well too on harsher settings. For scale, select a major one for an uplifting feel or a minor one for darker, more driving trance.

Finally, set the range. Keep it small!! Most people have huge troubles playing with the D-Beam synth, just because they set the range too wide. A narrow range means that big changes in hand position will create only small changes in the sound.

Step 2 – Set the 606’s BPM to the same as your track!!

Step 3 – Set MFX 1 as ‘BPM SLICE + FLANGE’. Play with the patterns until you get something you like. This effect can easily be overdone, so apply the ‘less is more’ rule! Set the flange about half way up for trance or all the way for techno.

Step 4 – Set MFX 2 as ‘FILTER + DRIVE’. Now you can do the traditional ‘trance build-up’ live and in realtime in front of your audience. Slowly open up the filter, and then crank the drive until you’ve got a nasty wall of trance..



Note 1: Swap the effects order for a more subtle effect.

Note 2: For breakdowns/drops – use TAPE DELAY as the second effect and turn up the feedback slowly…

Note 3: Even though this is a trance/techno effect, people like Timbaland have been using it to good effect in more urban styles (think the big synth stabs in ‘sexy back’)..

Enjoy!