Techno Bass
Electro · 1993 · 125 to 140 BPM · also known as Detroit Bass, Ghettotech
Techno bass is Detroit's answer to Miami bass: electro-funk hardened by the city's own techno culture, fast 808 patterns, vocoders, and a ghetto strain of science fiction. Aux 88 and DJ Assault hold its two poles, one cosmic, the other obscene, and ghettotech would be born from this crossing with Chicago's ghetto house. The name comes from both the label and the sound: bass treated as a vehicle.
11 reference tracks
- Aux 88: Bass Magnetic (1993)
- Underground Resistance: Transition (1994)
- DJ Assault: Ass N Titties (1996)
- DJ Godfather: Player Haters in Dis House (1998)
- DJ Rolando: Jaguar (1999)
- HiTech: ZOOTED (2023)
- HiTech: WHYYOUFUGGMYOPPS (2023)
- The Dare: I Destroyed Disco
- Underground Resistance: Baghdad Express
- DJ Assault: Asses Jiglin
- AUX 88: Clones
At a glance
- Tempo: 125 to 140 BPM
- First appeared: around 1993
- Machines: Roland TR-808, Vocodeur
- The sound: Roland TR-808 rapide, Vocoder, Basses electro, Scratches et voix hachées
- Labels: Databass Records, Direct Beat, Twilight 76, Underground Resistance
- Key artists: Aux 88, DJ Assault, DJ Godfather, Will Web
Producing Techno Bass
Techno bass runs 130 to 150 BPM, tipping to 155 or 160 once it crosses into ghettotech, with a strict grid, no swing, and the 808 quantized to the sixteenth. Two kick patterns split the genre: the classic electro pattern for the Aux 88 side, and a four-on-the-floor borrowed from Chicago ghetto house for the ghettotech side. Two basses coexist, a tuned 808 kick playing fast eighth-note motifs like Miami bass, and an electro synth bass, a saw or square with a fast-enveloped 300Hz lowpass filter jumping octaves in sixteenths, taking on the role of melody as much as bassline, usually in a minor key. Alternate the two, holding the 808 through the chorus and switching to the synth bass for the verses. The vocoder returns front and center, voices chopped into one-syllable fragments and played in rhythm.
The full production course, in French: tempo, drums, bass, sounds, arrangement, mix, plugins and machines, and a step by step start.
Frequently asked
What is Techno Bass?
Techno bass is Detroit's answer to Miami bass: electro-funk hardened by the city's own techno culture, fast 808 patterns, vocoders, and a ghetto strain of science fiction. Aux 88 and DJ Assault hold its two poles, one cosmic, the other obscene, and ghettotech would be born from this crossing with…
What tempo is Techno Bass played at?
Between 125 and 140 BPM.
Who are the key Techno Bass artists?
Aux 88, DJ Assault, DJ Godfather, Will Web.
