Summary of "How To Make Epic Trance Like DJ HEARTSTRING"

Summary — video tutorial overview

This video is a step‑by‑step remake/tutorial of DJ Heartstrings’ “Lichenberg/Lixenburg Fever Dream” in a Euro‑trance style. The creator shows patches, MIDI, arrangement techniques and promotes two sample packs used in the tutorial:

Euro Trance Vol. 2: 60+ presets and MIDI for famous euro songs.
Drums pack: loops and one‑shots used in the tutorial.

Goal

Recreate the track and demonstrate how to produce a similar Euro‑trance banger.
Show sound design, MIDI patterns, layering and arrangement techniques.

Bass

MIDI

Simple repeating rhythmic pattern that moves between scale notes (example: moves up to E, returns, ends on A♭/G#).
Chop off specific notes to create a rolling, driving feel—a common Euro‑trance technique.

Sound design (Serum 2)

Sub oscillator: sine, pitched down an octave for low end.
Main shape: square and/or saw elements layered for body.
Filter: “MG 24” mode with envelope modulating cutoff (big decay, long release for movement).
Drive/fat boost and resonance (~34) to add presence.
Distortion: tube distortion (drive ~68%, mix ~46%) to make a fat, aggressive bass.
Use a hefty kick sample and stacked/layered bass with distortion and resonant filtering for the thick Euro bass sound.

Key point: a strong kick plus a layered, distorted bass with resonant filter movement is essential for that thick Euro bass tone.

Kick and drum bus

Kick pattern: four‑on‑the‑floor (kick on every beat).
Kick selection: choose a kick with a lot of low “meat” and some top end so it sits with the bass.
Drum bus processing: use glue/compression (“pressure mode” in the creator’s bus) to gel layers together.
Tip: if you don’t have the pack, find a fat, hefty kick and combine it with top loops for groove.

Lead (main melodic hook)

MIDI / Melody

Two parts: the main melodic saw lead and a noise/percussion hit layer to thicken the sound.
Melody characteristics: often starts on the 5th of the scale (e.g., if root = C, it starts on G), somewhat sporadic—staying in key is the main rule.

Sound design (Serum 2)

Sub: square/off for low support.
Osc A: saw; Osc B: saw detuned (D‑tune ~17) for width.
Hard clip engaged for added distortion/character.
Osc C / noise: use a factory noise sample to create a percussive hit.
Envelopes:
- One envelope controls cutoff (example cutoff around 187 Hz), envelope amount up (100%) with a quick decay for movement.
- Envelope 2 creates a tight “perk” and controls the noise hit.
Effects chain: distortion/oversample → ping‑pong delay (16th notes) → reverb → EQ (top‑end boost) → additional hyper/distortion → final filter to tame excess highs.
Layering: add a secondary lead/noise layer (tight envelope on noise) to punch through the mix.

Drums and groove

Arrangement uses a top loop plus a chunky kick and a bell/cowbell or metal hit for character—cowbells/metal hits are common in this style.
Use groovy loops and apply swing/groove to percussion to capture the DJ Heartstrings feel.
Creator plans a future video to break drum programming down in more detail.

Closing notes

More Euro‑trance remakes and deeper tutorials on leads and bass are teased for future videos.
Viewer tips: pause to copy MIDI if needed, but do not publish someone else’s copyrighted melody.
Encourages comments and checks of the sound pack on the creator’s website.