Speed Garage and Rally House

If you're trying to produce that UK garage and speed house style, like Jack Marlow, Obskur and Sammy Virji, I got you. I'll run you through all the subtleties that make this style great, so you have a good understanding of how to produce it moving forward.

In this tutorial

    My notes from this video

    01

    Put your own sub under the lead

    Watch 3:22

    Low cut the sub out of the lead preset and put your own sub under it, instead of using the sub that's built into the preset. For the sub I use a second Serum 2 playing the same melody. If it starts clipping or gets a little too powerful, that typically means you're sharing too many frequencies with the lead sounds. Cut more of those frequencies out of the leads.

    02

    Sidechain everything with LFOTool

    Watch 5:02

    I use LFOTool for my sidechain. With a 4x4 drum pattern it's super fast to set up, and you have a lot of control over it, instead of just writing an automation clip.

    Besides the sub, put it on the other sounds too, with just a really quick duck. Even though they're not low end heavy, it gives the transient of the kick room to shine through and cleans up your mix. Drag the last bit of the curve back a little, so it rolls off before the next duck instead of clicking.

    Xfer LFOTool on the Serum 2 sub channel in FL Studio, a volume curve that drops to zero on the kick and comes back up
    LFOTool on the sub. It ducks every time the kick comes in.
    03

    Use the EQ like a filter

    Watch 6:28

    This sound is meant to be a bit grimy and almost lo-fi, so I use the EQ almost like a filter. Carve out some of the sound and boost some of the other parts. That's a characteristic of this genre, if you listen to the way the stabs, chords and plucks work. This lead is just a little too bright, and taking that out gives it that vintage analog feel.

    Fruity Parametric EQ 2 on the Serum 2 lead, with a wide boost from the bass up to the mids, a dip in the high mids and the lowest lows rolled off
    The EQ on the lead, used like a filter.
    04

    Snap loops to the grid with the time knob

    Watch 11:54

    A lot of this style sits between 130 and 140 BPM. I prefer 135 and up, which I classify as speed house. When a loop is at another tempo, like this 138 BPM clap loop, turn the time knob with snapping on and it snaps to your grid automatically. Set the stretching mode to e3 generic, so the loop keeps its tone even though you're stretching it.

    FL Studio sample settings for a 138 BPM clap loop from the UK Garage Production Suite, with the time stretching mode set to e3 generic
    Stretching mode e3 generic, so the clap loop keeps its tone.
    05

    Make the vocal chops your own

    Watch 15:11

    Vocals and vocal chops are a huge, very important part of this sound. A lot of people sample old 80s, 90s and 2000s R&B and pop records, play with the pitch and add some delay and reverb. If you start from chop loops, re-chop them, change up the processing and make them unique.

    The lead sounds here aren't complex. A lot of getting this style right is the drums, the vocal chops, the FX and the ear candy.

    What I use in this video

    FL Studio·Serum 2·GClip·LFOTool·Fruity Parametric EQ 2·FabFilter Saturn 2·Fruity Reeverb 2

    Artists are mentioned as inspiration only. We're not affiliated with them and don't sell their work.

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    UK Garage Production Suite artwork

    UK Garage Production Suite

    Every sound in this track comes from this suite, from the drum loops and Serum 2 presets to the vocal chops and build-ups.

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