Cyberpunk and Dark Techno Basics in Bitwig

Tutorial | Sep 19, 2024

In today's video, I explore how to create cyberpunk, dark techno, and 90s Prodigy-style sounds using basic subtractive synthesis techniques, focusing on raw sounds and heavy distortion. I walk you through setting up a monophonic saw wave, creating a repetitive bass pattern, and adding various effects like LP filtering, diode distortion, and bit reduction to achieve a signature cyberpunk vibe. Lastly, I show how to complement the synths with simple drum patterns and side-chaining for added depth and rhythm, and mention that the project file will be available on my Patreon.

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Summary #

Maybe you don't watch the video, here are some important takeaways:

Hey folks, welcome back to another video. Today, I want to do something a bit different in terms of style or genre. I'm going to give some basic advice on how to approach styles like cyberpunk, dark techno, or something like The Prodigy did in the 90s. Maybe I'll touch on dubstep too. You can use these tips across different genres, but the key idea is to use raw and basic sounds with a lot of distortion.

First, I started with a basic subtractive synthesizer, using Polymer. For this, I selected a saw wave table and set the synthesizer to monophonic mode with just one voice. You want to aim for bass notes like F, E, or F# in the lower register, as these work best for the type of basslines typical in cyberpunk music.

Next, I created a simple pattern using 16th notes but added some variation by moving the third note up one octave, giving it a triplet feel. In cyberpunk or dark techno, you usually don't stick to a specific scale, but rather the chromatic scale, which involves a lot of half-step movements.

I then used an LP2 filter to cut some of the top-end frequencies from the saw wave, leaving enough elements for further distortion. For distortion, I opted for the classic circuit model, typically used for BSA and clipping. I played around with different types of distortion like hard clipping and asymmetrical distortion to shape the sound further.

To enhance the distorted signal, I added a Bit-Crusher to reduce the bit rate, which added a gritty layer to the sound. I also introduced some dubstep drum sounds to complement the bassline, creating a simple pattern and adding some reverb and EQ adjustments to make the drums sit well in the mix.

Additionally, I experimented with the unison setting on the synthesizer to add width and richness to the sound. I tried different step modes and patterns to vary the resonance and other parameters, giving the sound more movement and dynamism.

For the lead sound, I followed a similar approach, staying in the same key (F) and adding some unison to widen the sound. I used another Bit-Crusher effect to simulate an 8-bit computer sound, which is quite common in synthwave music.

I also demonstrated how to separate kick drum notes from a drum pattern and use them for side-chaining the bass and lead sounds. This technique creates that pumping effect typical of many electronic music genres.

Towards the end, I experimented with different filters and additional sounds to show how you could build a complete track with these elements. The process is relatively simple and centers around using basic saw waves, distortion, chromatic scales, and step-by-step modulation.

If you're interested, I'll be putting the project file on my Patreon for download. I might also do more tutorials exploring similar styles and techniques. Thanks for watching, leave a like, and subscribe to stay updated. See you in the next video. Bye!

Transcription #

This is what im talking about in this video. The text is transcribed by AI, so it might not be perfect. If you find any mistakes, please let me know.
You can also click on the timestamps to jump to the right part of the video, which should be helpful.

[00:00:00] [Music]
[00:00:08] Hey folks, welcome back to another video.
[00:00:12] In the day, I want to do something a bit different in terms of style or genre.
[00:00:16] I want to give some basic advice on how to approach styles like cyberpunk
[00:00:22] or dark techno or something like Prodigy does or did in the 90s.
[00:00:29] Maybe also dubstep. I don't know.
[00:00:30] So you can use this in all kinds of different genres,
[00:00:33] but it's always kind of the same idea that you use raw and basic sounds
[00:00:40] and use a lot of distortion.
[00:00:42] So here we create just a subtractive synthesizer, very basic one, polymer, right?
[00:00:47] We can use here saw, the wave table.
[00:00:51] We don't need this and this.
[00:00:52] We also use here monophonic or just one voice.
[00:00:57] And we go down to let's say one on the PPM.
[00:01:01] If you want to do something like cyberpunk music or dark techno,
[00:01:04] I don't know how it's called really.
[00:01:06] There's many names.
[00:01:08] So you go in here and create some kind of note
[00:01:12] and you just go for one note.
[00:01:16] Usually something low here like F or E or F sharp.
[00:01:21] It doesn't really matter.
[00:01:23] But in these region, it's the best way for bass notes.
[00:01:29] And then we let's say we put here on the master peak limiter just to make sure.
[00:01:38] Okay, so we create just some 16 notes or maybe let's do two and then the third one
[00:01:47] and the third one goes one octifier.
[00:01:53] And we get this kind of triplet or yeah.
[00:01:56] Yeah, just kind of triplet feel sounds like this.
[00:02:00] And you can hear this in all kinds of cyberpunk or dark techno songs.
[00:02:06] This kind of better.
[00:02:07] It's always repeated and you don't usually use a scale in these kind of genres.
[00:02:13] You use the chromatic scale, which means you can just go from one note to the next
[00:02:19] note or use a lot of half steps.
[00:02:21] This one here is exactly the same note.
[00:02:23] All we use now is basically one note lower or one note up one half step.
[00:02:29] Right.
[00:02:29] It's not really a scale in these kind of terms.
[00:02:33] So you can do this and then you go might be down.
[00:02:38] You go up stay.
[00:02:40] You go down something very basic.
[00:02:43] Right.
[00:02:46] And then you have basically already this kind of pattern.
[00:02:51] Then we use here LP two and that's important in my opinion because it just
[00:02:57] cut some top end away from the saw, but it leaves a lot of stuff still there
[00:03:03] that you can distort then.
[00:03:05] And then they have Xbox here.
[00:03:07] We're going to use at least that's what I do is I use filter plus and no filter
[00:03:14] and here for the distortion device.
[00:03:15] I use this the old classic circuit model used for BSA and clipping
[00:03:21] because you can not only hard clip here.
[00:03:24] You can also just use asynchrone distortion, which sounds kind of nice.
[00:03:30] And then you go with this into that.
[00:03:33] Then use a lot of resonance probably or you dial it into your taste.
[00:03:47] You can also make acid with this.
[00:03:49] If you want to do more like acid music, get also this type of sound here or
[00:03:55] sometimes for what's the name synth wave.
[00:03:59] We have these longer.
[00:04:01] We can also go.
[00:04:06] We need more distortion.
[00:04:17] Yeah.
[00:04:18] You can already hear.
[00:04:22] You can already hear how it sounds right?
[00:04:26] It's just typical.
[00:04:27] Cypher punk sound.
[00:04:30] Okay, let's join us here at the end.
[00:04:39] Maybe we go up here.
[00:04:43] Yeah.
[00:04:43] Also interesting could be here on this distorted signal.
[00:05:01] You put a bit eight and reduce just here the bit rate.
[00:05:07] Yeah.
[00:05:07] Or you tried before.
[00:05:17] That's too.
[00:05:20] That's too noisy.
[00:05:34] Right.
[00:05:34] And with this, you can then play around and add some drums.
[00:05:38] And most of the times I go for dubstep sounds.
[00:05:44] They fit very well.
[00:05:46] So if you like this.
[00:05:59] Yeah.
[00:05:59] And some kind of rights.
[00:06:09] Maybe go for this here.
[00:06:28] Let's try this one out.
[00:06:29] Very simple pattern.
[00:06:32] Okay, let's bring a bit of free work in there.
[00:06:44] And on that use a leveler here.
[00:06:57] And we can bring an EQ five before that.
[00:07:03] [Music]
[00:07:32] We'll review the Unison, but we dial down the spread to zero.
[00:07:37] [Music]
[00:07:49] So everything has a different sound, right? It's the Unison setting, or if you just use a single
[00:07:56] wave shape, it all, you know, changes the sound a little bit in one or the other direction.
[00:08:02] And also there's a step mode here, eight notes maybe. Just a small,
[00:08:11] small pattern here to change this.
[00:08:15] [Music]
[00:08:46] [Music]
[00:08:55] [Music]
[00:09:15] Or maybe we use a step mode here for the resonance.
[00:09:23] [Music]
[00:09:51] So when you have this down, you can then go to another synthesizer and bring in some tops.
[00:09:58] And you more or less do the same thing here. So we are on F here.
[00:10:05] [Music]
[00:10:12] Maybe do another trick.
[00:10:13] [Music]
[00:10:17] Okay, go to the reonison, make this a bit wider.
[00:10:20] [Music]
[00:10:32] And we bring this up one octave.
[00:10:36] [Music]
[00:11:06] And also here you can bring in a bit eight.
[00:11:08] Just simulate an eight-bit computer.
[00:11:15] [Music]
[00:11:44] Also important is probably here then let's drag this out.
[00:11:49] Beat as MIDI. Bam, so we can disable this.
[00:11:55] This. Now we use here just as MIDI.
[00:11:58] Then we separate here the kicks from all the
[00:12:09] kick only. This is just your note filter from C1 to C1 because the kick drum is always on C1.
[00:12:18] So we get here the note informations only from the kick not from the snare and the hi-hats.
[00:12:23] You can see this here. Right and then we can receive this here with the tool.
[00:12:34] And side chain, side chain, then we can select the XOR kick only note filter.
[00:12:43] [Music]
[00:12:58] And you can put this also here on this lead sound.
[00:13:01] [Music]
[00:13:11] So this is something good too. You can also here go for some up sound.
[00:13:17] [Music]
[00:13:33] [Music]
[00:13:54] And then you play around with filters and stuff like this.
[00:13:57] But you can see it's very easy to create these kind of cyberpunk sounds here
[00:14:02] with the basic synthesizer with a bit of saw and a bit unison.
[00:14:05] And then here this diode distortion transfer curve.
[00:14:12] A bit of bit eight, bit reduction. It already sounds very nice.
[00:14:20] So yeah, these are my general tips how I approach these type of sounds with these chromatic
[00:14:26] scales and with distortion and with basic sounds. And I think it's already a good starting point.
[00:14:33] I guess I put this also here on my Patreon if you want to download this.
[00:14:37] And maybe I do some more tutorials for more ideas around these kind of styles.
[00:14:44] Thanks for watching. Leave a like, leave a subscription. See you in the next video. Bye.
[00:14:49] Thank you.