P33

Objectives

By the end of this chapter you will be able to:

  • Set the PO-33 to Tencho mode (140 BPM).
  • Write a techno drum pattern.
  • Layer a synth bassline (often acid-style).
  • Recognise techno drum patterns.

What is techno?

Techno is a genre of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit in the 1980s. It is the fastest of the three PO-33 BPMs (140 BPM is typical). It is built on four-on-the-floor drum patterns (same as house) but with acid synths, robotic feel, and longer tracks.

Hewitt (Music Theory for Computer Musicians) characterises techno as repetitive and hypnotic — the beat is the same for 4–8 minutes, with subtle changes (a filter opening, a snare roll, a hi-hat pattern shift) that build tension and release.

Sidebar — “Tencho”. The PO-33 calls its 140 BPM preset “Tencho” (with a typo, intentional). This is Teenage Engineering’s joke — “techno” with a typo. Most techno is actually 130–150 BPM, so 140 is right in the middle.

The techno drum pattern

Techno uses the same four-on-the-floor as house (kick on every beat), but with more hi-hat activity and snare rolls. A simple techno pattern:

  • Kick on every beat: steps 1, 5, 9, 13.
  • Snare on steps 5 and 13 (or every 8th-note for “machine” techno).
  • Hi-hat on every eighth-note: steps 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15. Or with skips: 1, 5, 9, 13 (every beat).
  • Open hi-hat on step 15: a longer hi-hat sound that rings into the next bar.

To write a basic techno pattern:

  1. Set BPM to Tencho (140). Set swing to 0 (no swing — techno is robotic).
  2. Press WRITE, PLAY.
  3. Step 1: pad 9 (kick), pad 11 (hi-hat).
  4. Step 3: pad 11.
  5. Step 5: pad 9, pad 10, pad 11.
  6. Step 7: pad 11.
  7. Step 9: pad 9, pad 11.
  8. Step 11: pad 11.
  9. Step 13: pad 9, pad 10, pad 11.
  10. Step 15: pad 11 (closed hi-hat).
  11. Press WRITE to exit.

To add an open hi-hat on step 15: record a longer hi-hat sound into slot 12 (a “tssssh” that rings for 0.5 seconds). Use pad 12 for step 15 instead of pad 11.

The acid bassline

Techno’s signature sound is the acid bassline — a squelchy, resonant synth bass that mimics the Roland TB-303. The PO-33 cannot generate a real 303, but you can fake one by:

  1. Recording a short synth bass note into slot 2.
  2. Pitch-shifting it down (Tweak Tone mode, Knob A down by 12 semitones).
  3. Adding a low-pass filter: switch to Tweak Filter mode (tap FX until it reads FILTER). Knob A is the cutoff.
  4. Twisting Knob A while the note plays to “sweep” the filter.

For a sequence:

  1. Step 1: pad 1 ©.
  2. Step 3: pad 5 (E).
  3. Step 5: pad 8 (G).
  4. Step 7: pad 5 (E).
  5. Step 9: pad 1 ©.
  6. Step 11: pad 5 (E).
  7. Step 13: pad 8 (G).
  8. Step 15: pad 13 (C, octave up).

This is a “rolling” acid bassline that moves in fourths and fifths.

Techno arrangement

A techno track is usually:

  • 1 bar of intro (drums only).
  • 4 bars of build (drums + filter sweep).
  • 16 bars of full groove (drums + bass + synth).
  • 4 bars of breakdown (drums only or filtered).
  • 16 bars of peak (drums + bass + synth + filter open).
  • 1 bar of outro (drums fade).

On the PO-33, you can’t do filter sweeps dynamically while the pattern plays, but you can chain patterns (Chapter 15) to make a multi-section track.

Voice management for techno

A typical techno track uses 4 voices:

  • Kick (slot 9).
  • Hi-hat (slot 11).
  • Bass (slot 2).
  • Synth chord or lead (slot 1 or slot 3).

If you want a snare, you have to drop one of these. Most techno tracks have snare on steps 5 and 13 — they are part of the drum pattern. So you’d be:

  • Kick + snare + hi-hat = 3 voices.
  • Bass + 1 voice = 4 voices.

That’s the maximum. No chord pad in a techno track.

Guided exercise: a complete techno loop

Success criteria: a beat with kick on 1+5+9+13, snare on 5+13, hi-hat every off-beat, acid bassline on every odd step. Plays at 140 BPM.

  1. Record kick (slot 9), snare (slot 10), hi-hat (slot 11), bass (slot 2).
  2. Set BPM to Tencho (140). Set swing to 0.
  3. Write the techno drum pattern above.
  4. Write the acid bassline (pads 1, 5, 8, 5, 1, 5, 8, 13 on steps 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15).
  5. Press PLAY. Listen for 1 minute.

You should hear a clear techno groove. The bass moves. The kick is steady. The hi-hat ticks.

Creative challenge: the filter sweep

Apply a filter sweep to the bassline. Switch to Tweak Filter mode and turn Knob A gradually from low to high while the bass plays. This is the classic “filter sweep” — the bass starts muffled and opens up to full brightness.

To bake the sweep into a song, use chained patterns (Chapter 15): write the same pattern several times with the cutoff set higher each time, then chain them.

Sidebar — filtering vs. punch-in FX. Filtering on the PO-33 is a tweak parameter, not a punch-in: tap FX until the mode reads FILTER, then Knob A is the cutoff (Knob B is resonance). The 16 punch-in FX (hold FX + a pad) are a separate list — FX + 1 is loop 16, FX + 15 is reverse, FX + 16 is no effect. See Appendix B for the full punch-in list.

Listening assignment

Listen to:

  • Rhythm Is Rhythm, “Strings of Life” (1987). Detroit techno. Four-on-the-floor, acid bassline, string sample. This is the “Tencho” preset at 140 BPM.
  • Plastikman, “Spastik” (1993). Minimal techno. The bassline is a single squelchy note. The drums are pure four-on-the-floor. This is what an acid techno track sounds like.
  • Jeff Mills, “The Bells” (1997). The bassline is a single tone. The hi-hat is a clap. The kick is steady. This is the essence of techno.
  • Bicep, “Glue” (2017). Modern techno. Notice how the kick and bass are perfectly locked. The hi-hat has subtle swing. This is the “humanised techno” approach.

Summary and checkpoint

Key takeaways:

  • Techno is 4/4 dance music at 140 BPM.
  • Same drum pattern as house (four-on-the-floor) but faster and more robotic.
  • Acid basslines move in fourths and fifths; filter sweeps are essential.
  • Most techno tracks use exactly 4 voices.

Self-check:

  • [ ] Can you write a four-on-the-floor at 140 BPM?
  • [ ] Can you write a rolling acid bassline?
  • [ ] Can you sweep the filter on the bass?
  • [ ] Do you understand why techno is “hypnotic”?

If you answered “yes” to all four, move on to Chapter 14.