# Sound Recipe - Underworld / "Born Slippy .NUXX" Keyboard Chords ## Target The enormous, euphoric-but-melancholic chord signal at the beginning and end of Underworld's **"Born Slippy .NUXX"**: bright digital-poly stabs widened by chorus, suspended in a large reverb, then turned into a rhythm by dotted-eighth delay. The sound should feel: - Heavenly and forceful, not soft-focus ambient - Digital at the core, warm and wide around the edges - Simple in the hands; rhythmically complex only after the delay - Huge in the intro, but still clear enough to return over a full 909-driven track Follows the house method: **intention → source → notes → routing → settings → automation → taste checks.** --- ### Evidence [MusicRadar's history of the track](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/underworld-born-slippy-repub) identifies the chord sequence as **E♭ → Dm7 → B♭/D** and reports that Rick Smith designed the patch on a **Waldorf Microwave**, ran it through chorus and reverb, then fed the result to a dotted-eighth delay. An earlier [Computer Music recreation](https://www.musicradar.com/news/the-40-greatest-synth-sounds-of-all-time-no-32-underworld-born-slippy) reaches the same territory with detuned saw waves, noise, a driven low-pass filter, shaped envelopes, and effects. A [DJ Mag recreation](https://djmag.com/content/learn-how-play-underworlds-born-slippy-less-minute) demonstrates that the job can also be done on an OB-XA-style polysynth plus delay. That makes the owned **Waldorf Microwave 1** the obvious first reach. It is not just a generic 90s substitute; it is the modern version of the reported source instrument. --- ## Best Sources | Job | Best owned source | Useful alternative | |---|---|---| | Synth source | **Waldorf Microwave 1** ⭐ | Logic Retro Synth for speed; GForce OB-X / OB-E, Arturia Pigments, or Roland JUNO-106 for a different character | | Stereo width | **UAD Studio D Chorus** ⭐ | Skip it for a cleaner, narrower fast path | | Tone shaping | **FabFilter Pro-Q 4** ⭐ | Logic Channel EQ | | Rhythmic delay | **iZotope Cascadia** ⭐ | Logic Delay Designer | | Large digital space | **Lexicon PCM Native Reverb** ⭐ | Logic ChromaVerb | These are job-specific choices, not a general plugin ranking. Microwave 1 is the defining source; the other tools preserve its attack while supplying width, pulse, and scale. --- ## Fast Path 1. Set the project to **140 BPM** and create a software-instrument track. 2. Load **Waldorf Microwave 1** and start from an initialized bright poly patch. 3. Program **E♭ → Dm7 → B♭/D** as short, confident chord stabs. 4. Add **UAD Studio D Chorus** for width, then trim the low end with **Pro-Q 4**. 5. Send to **Cascadia** at dotted 1/8 and **Lexicon PCM** for the large digital space. 6. Keep the dry chord present. The delay supplies the pulse; the reverb supplies the sky. Use the channel-strip configurator above for the detailed **Produced Path** or the stock **Fast Path** route. --- ## Produced Path Use this when the chord is a featured arrangement event rather than a temporary writing sound. ### Notes and voicings | Chord | Basic notes | Practical close voicing | |---|---|---| | E♭ | E♭–G–B♭ | B♭3–E♭4–G4 | | Dm7 | D–F–A–C | A3–C4–D4–F4 | | B♭/D | D in the bass; B♭–D–F above | D3–B♭3–D4–F4 | Keep the upper voices near one another so the harmony moves smoothly. The slash chord matters: **D stays under B♭** instead of the bass jumping down to B♭. Try the chord bed around C3–C5, then move the whole part an octave if it crowds the vocal or snare. Performance rules: - Use full, even velocity; this is a declaration, not a delicate piano part. - Start with one stab per change and let the echo write the intervening rhythm. - Keep note lengths short enough that the dry chords do not smear, but long enough to excite the reverb. - Do not arpeggiate the MIDI. The repeats are the arpeggiator. --- ### Starting anchors (taste-check) — Waldorf Microwave 1 Start from an initialized poly patch rather than browsing pads. #### Oscillators - Oscillator 1: saw or a saw-heavy Basic Waves position - Oscillator 2: another saw-like wave, detuned about **+7 to +15 cents** - Add a little noise (**10–20%**) for the sprayed, breathy top - Polyphony: at least 8 voices; unison off - Keep wavetable movement subtle or static — the chord and delay are the movement #### Filter and envelopes - 24 dB low-pass; cutoff roughly **1.5–3 kHz** as a starting range - Low resonance; positive filter-envelope amount around **40–60%** - Add internal filter drive until the stab feels solid, then stop before it rasps - Amp attack: **0–10 ms** - Decay: **500–900 ms** - Sustain: **35–50%** - Release: **700–1,200 ms** - Filter envelope: similarly quick attack, medium decay, slightly longer release The goal is a bright front followed by a softer body. If it sounds like a static organ, increase envelope movement. If it sounds like a trance pluck, lengthen decay/release and darken the filter. ### Insert chain and routing #### Track inserts 1. **Waldorf Microwave 1** — source patch above 2. **UAD Studio D Chorus** — low mix, Mode I or II; widen without obvious wobble 3. **FabFilter Pro-Q 4** — HPF around 80–120 Hz; tame 2–4 kHz only if the stab bites 4. Optional **UAD Oxide** — very light density if the digital chord feels papery; skip by default #### Delay send — the identity At 140 BPM, a dotted eighth is: `60 ÷ 140 × 0.75 = 0.3214 seconds` → **321.4 ms** Use **iZotope Cascadia** on a 100% wet bus: - Time: dotted 1/8 / **321 ms** - Feedback: **25–40%** - Return HPF: **180–250 Hz** - Return LPF: **6–9 kHz** — brighter than the normal dub send - Start the track send around **15–25%**, then balance by rhythm rather than meters - Keep modulation low; this echo should propel the chord, not seasicken it The stock route uses **Logic Delay Designer** with the same timing and filtering. #### Reverb send — the scale Use **Lexicon PCM** Hall, Random Hall, or Concert Hall: - Decay: **2.5–4.5 s** - Predelay: **20–50 ms** - Return HPF: **200–300 Hz** - High cut: **7–10 kHz** - Send enough to make the chord enormous, but retain a clear dry attack The stock route uses **ChromaVerb** in a dark hall. ### Arrangement and automation - Begin with chords, air, and delay before the rhythm section arrives. - When drums enter, lower the reverb return slightly rather than shrinking the source patch. - Automate delay feedback upward on the last stab before a transition, then return it immediately. - Open the Microwave filter a little for the final return of the chords. - If the full mix masks the chord, raise its dry attack or clear competing 2–4 kHz energy before adding another layer. - Keep the 909 kick and bass out of the chord's low end; the chord owns width and upper-mid emotion, not sub weight. --- ### Taste checks 1. **Filter cutoff / envelope amount** — veiled digital hymn ↔ urgent bright stab 2. **Delay feedback** — disciplined pulse ↔ ecstatic cascade 3. **Reverb-to-delay routing** — clean modern separation ↔ smeared 90s monument Lock the oscillators, notes, and dotted-eighth timing. Those are the identity; the three controls above are the performance. --- ## Variations - **Logic Fast:** In Retro Synth, use Analog mode with two saws, light detune, low-pass filtering, a fast attack, medium decay/release, and moderate sustain. Use Channel EQ, Delay Designer, and ChromaVerb. It will not have Microwave 1's grain, but it preserves the musical job while writing. - **Closer historical routing:** Feed some of the reverb return into the delay so the reverberant chord is echoed. - **Cleaner modern routing:** Keep delay and reverb parallel on separate buses. The exported bundle provides separate returns so either routing stays possible. --- ## Avoid - **Using a supersaw preset:** too modern, too continuously bright, and usually too wide before effects. - **Playing a busy rhythm:** the delay already supplies it. - **Root-position B♭:** loses the D pedal movement that makes the progression ache. - **Too much chorus:** turns the attack blurry and phasey. - **Dark dub repeats:** this delay is part of the hook, so it can retain more top end than `S3 Dub Delay` normally would. - **All wet, no declaration:** the dry stab must remain audible at the front of the reverb. - **Adding compression by habit:** envelope shape and level automation are usually enough. --- ## Adjustment Rules | Problem | Try | |---|---| | Too trance / EDM | Less detune, less noise, darker cutoff, no unison, reduce chorus | | Too soft / pad-like | Shorter notes, faster attack, more filter-envelope amount, raise dry level | | Delay rhythm is unclear | Shorten source release, lower reverb, reduce feedback, verify 321 ms / dotted 1/8 | | Harsh over drums | Dynamic dip around 2–4 kHz, lower noise, darker delay return | | Feels small | More reverb send or route reverb into delay; do not add sub or stack another pad | | Harmony feels wrong | Check Dm7 includes C and B♭/D keeps D in the bass | | Mix turns cloudy | HPF source and returns, shorten release, lower reverb when drums arrive | --- ## Practical Summary At 140 BPM, play **E♭ → Dm7 → B♭/D** as simple stabs through an initialized two-saw **Microwave 1** patch with noise, a driven low-pass envelope, and moderate release. Widen it lightly with Studio D, remove unnecessary lows, then send it to a bright **321 ms dotted-eighth Cascadia delay** and a large Lexicon hall. Keep the dry attack proud, let the delay create the rhythm, and let the reverb create the scale. --- ## Related Pages - [08 - Synths and Keys](../../instruments/08-synths-and-keys.md) - [17 - Default Send Rack](../../reference/17-default-send-rack.md) - [Sound Recipe - FM Bells & Glass Textures](fm-bells-and-glass.md) - [Sound Recipe - One Dove / Dubby Dream-Pop Atmosphere](one-dove-dubby-dream-pop-atmosphere.md) - [Sound Recipe - TR-808/909 Electronic Pop Foundation](../drums/electronic-pop-808-909-foundation.md)