Gabber

History and character

Hardcore techno emerged between the late ’80s and early ’90s across the Netherlands (Rotterdam), Belgium and Germany (Frankfurt), from techno, acid house, new beat and EBM. Among the founding titles: “Sucking Energy (Hard Core Mix)” by à;GRUMH... (1985, the first use of the term “hardcore” in electronic music), “Rock to the Beat” and “Saigon Nightmare” by 101 (1988, new beat), “We Have Arrived” by Mescalinum United (1990, often cited as the first hardcore techno track), “Hardcore Uproar” by Together (1990); the sound of “Anasthasia” by T99 (1991) is cited among the first appearances of a typical gabber element.

Gabber is the Rotterdam and Amsterdam version: Paul Elstak co-founded Rotterdam Records (which released the first Euromasters record in 1992), with Rob Fabrie, Rotterdam Termination Source, Marc Acardipane, The Prophet and DJ Rob; Mokum Records is the Amsterdam reference, and Lenny Dee’s Industrial Strength is the New York one. ID&T’s Thunderdome parties (from 1993) drew up to 40,000 people. The sound: “a relentless mix of very fast BPMs, distorted kicks and screamed vocals,” film samples, dark themes, breakbeat house and hi-hat fillers; the kick drum, often a Roland TR-909 (or a Roland Alpha Juno), is saturated until it becomes almost a square wave with a recognizable note, and its pitch often follows the bassline. There is also an associated dance, the “hakken”.

In the late ’90s early hardcore lost popularity to hardstyle and remained underground for a few years; from 2002 it returned with a darker, more industrial sound. Mainstream hardcore (mainstyle or “nu-style gabber”), born in the early 2000s, is slower and smoother, with a deeper, longer kick, clean trance-style supersaw leads (which can make the tracks almost “happy”) and screamed or distorted vocals; it is popular above all in the Netherlands and in Italy, where Art of Fighters and The Stunned Guys are among the producers mentioned, along with Endymion, Kasparov and DJ Mad Dog. Angerfist entered the DJ Mag Top 100 in 2011 (No. 39); Neophyte is a historic figure. From the mid-2010s frenchcore, uptempo and terrorcore grew, with tempos beyond 200 BPM. This entry is placed under Hardstyle because the two scenes share events (Q-dance, Thunderdome, Defqon.1), kick techniques and audience.

Scales and keys

Minor and dark, with “trance” leads in mainstream. Examples in A minor (Am = i, F = VI, G = VII, C = III) and F minor.

Natural minor (Aeolian)

• Formula: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7. W H W W H W W. On A: A B C D E F G.
• Chords: i Am, ii° B°, III C, iv Dm, v Em, VI F, VII G.
• Use: mainstream supersaw leads (i–VI–III–VII), kick that changes note following the roots.
• Listening example: the trance melodies over the kick in mainstream hardcore (Art of Fighters, Angerfist).

Harmonic minor

• Formula: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7. On A: A B C D E F G#. Chords: i Am, ii° B°, III+ C+, iv Dm, V E, VI F, vii° G#°.
• Use: “epic” leads and V–i cadences before the kick returns.

Phrygian

• Formula: 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7. On F: F Gb Ab Bb C Db Eb. Chords: i Fm, bII Gb, III Ab, iv Bbm, v° C°, VI Db, vii Ebm.
• Use: industrial and terror hardcore: half-step kicks and stabs.

Chromaticism and tritone

• Tritone (e.g. A–Eb) and clusters for industrial hardcore and horror samples.

Major (happy gabber)

• Formula: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7. On C: C D E F G A B.
• Use: “happy” gabber and pop-song remixes, a bridge to happy hardcore.

How to choose

• Classic gabber: Aeolian or Phrygian, melodies of 2–4 notes.
• Mainstream: Aeolian/harmonic minor with supersaws.
• Industrial: Phrygian, chromaticism, tritone.

Harmony

• The kick makes the harmony: the distorted kick has a note; in gabber and mainstream its pitch changes to follow the bassline (the “melodic” kick).
• Lead: repetitive riffs (gabber) or 4-chord trance progressions (mainstream), one bar each (at 175 BPM = 1.4 s).
• Breakdown: pads, strings, choirs; minor progressions.
• Cadences: V–i (harmonic) before the kick resumes.
• Density: low in the drops (kick + lead), high in the breakdowns.

Typical progressions

Rhythm and groove

• Four on the floor at 160–200+, no swing; the kick is the dominant and often the only element in the low register.
• Open hat on the offbeat, eighth-note hats; breakbeat house in ’90s gabber.
• “Rolling” kicks (eighths, sixteenths) in the builds; kick-less sections with lead and then the “kick in”.
• The hakken (the dance) follows the quarter note with extremely fast steps.

Drums

Convention: 16 sixteenth-note steps; quarter-note beats on 1, 5, 9, 13. Reference rhythm r-gabber. At 180 BPM a quarter note = 333 ms.

Kick

• Steps 1, 5, 9, 13. Classic gabber: saturated/clipped TR-909 (almost a square wave), short-to-medium tail with a recognizable note; mainstream: deeper, longer kick, with an extended envelope and more controlled distortion; uptempo/frenchcore: very distorted, short kicks at 190–220 BPM.
• The kick’s note often follows the bass (automated pitch).

Clap and snare

• Steps 5 and 13: clap often low or absent (the kick fills everything); in ’90s gabber, layered breakbeat house.

Hi-hat and percussion

• Open hat on the offbeat (3, 7, 11, 15), closed hats in eighth notes; crash at the start of the phrase; hi-hat fillers (Wikipedia).

Dynamics and groove

• Uniform velocities; no swing.

Interaction with lead and vocals

• Lead and vocals with sidechain or volume shaping from the kick; screamed or sampled vocals sit above the kick.

How it changes by section

• Intro with kick and samples; breakdown without kick with lead/strings; build with kick roll; “kick in” with crash.

Fills and transitions

• Kick roll (eighths → sixteenths), reverse kick, a quarter-note stop, vocal samples.

Sound choice

• Distorted 909s (gabber), designed kicks (mainstream), film samples.

Typical mistakes

• Untuned kick; too many elements below 200 Hz; clap too loud; BPM inconsistent with the chosen style.

Building a gabber kick in FL Studio (indicative)

• Start from a 909 (or from a sine wave with a pitch envelope of +24 → 0 semitones in 30–50 ms and a 250 ms decay).
• Chain: Fruity Parametric EQ 2 (+6 dB at 60–80 Hz before the distortion) → heavy distortion/clipper (Fruity Blood Overdrive, Distructor or a clipper at 0 dB with 10–20 dB of input gain) → EQ after (low-pass 6–8 kHz, −3 dB at 400 Hz) → limiter.
• More gain before the clipper = squarer wave and a more evident note; adjust the note with the sample’s pitch until the kick’s “tonality” matches the tonic.
• Mainstream: add a longer tail layer (350–450 ms envelope) and less clipping; uptempo/frenchcore: shorter kicks, even more aggressive distortion, often with a noise layer.

Bass

• The kick is the bass: tuned kick note, often varied to follow the bassline.
• Synth bass in some subgenres (Wikipedia), rare in classic gabber.
• Notes: tonic, b7, b6; half steps in industrial.
• Register: fundamental 40–60 Hz, perceived note an octave above thanks to the distortion.

Harmonic instruments

• Clean “trance” supersaws (mainstream), stabs and hoover (’90s gabber), pads, strings, choirs in the breakdowns.

Melody and vocals

• Lead: short, repetitive riffs (gabber), 8-bar trance melodies (mainstream).
• Vocals: screamed, pitched or distorted (Wikipedia), film samples, MC; themes of violence and transgression.
• Effects: distortion, pitch shift, large reverb in the breakdowns.

Instruments

• TR-909 (kick), Roland Alpha Juno (cited for kicks and hoover sounds), samplers, supersaws, pads, strings, vocals and samples, FX.

Drum patterns

Synths and sounds

• Mini V — Kick and tail: Sine wave with a fast pitch envelope and medium decay, then external distortion/clipping: rebuilding a gabber kick.
• Jun-6 V — Hoover and stabs: Sawtooth with PWM and chorus, downward pitch bend: the ’90s “hoover” (the Alpha Juno is the historical reference).
• OP-Xa V — Mainstream supersaw: Unison and detune for clean trance leads.
• Korg MS-20 V — Industrial stabs: Resonance and drive for metallic, aggressive sounds.
• Augmented Voices — Choirs: Epic mainstream breakdowns.

Song structure

• Tracks of 3:30–5:00; sets alternate gabber, mainstream and uptempo.

Mixing and mastering

Sonic goal

• Dominant, distorted kick with a clear note; clean leads (mainstream) or aggressive riffs; in-your-face vocals; extreme loudness.
• References: Angerfist, Art of Fighters, The Stunned Guys, Neophyte.

Kick

• EQ: high-pass 25 Hz, emphasis on the fundamental (+2 dB), control of the “boxiness” at 300–500 Hz; distortion/clipping to the desired character; bus with clipper; mono.

Clap

• High-pass 250 Hz, +3 dB at 3 kHz; low in the mix.

Hi-hat and percussion

• High-pass 600 Hz; bright open hat.

Lead and supersaw

• High-pass 250 Hz, de-esser, width 140%, volume shaping from the kick 10–15 dB; hall reverb in the breakdowns.

Pads, strings, choirs

• High-pass 250 Hz, long reverb.

Vocals and samples

• High-pass 100 Hz, distortion, heavy compression, pitch shift; reverb and delay.

FX

• Impacts and risers below the kick level.

Buses and groups

• Kick bus; Music bus with volume shaping; Vocal bus.

Sidechain

• Kick → everything.

Master

• Chain: EQ → glue → clipper → limiter.
• Indicative targets: −4/−2 LUFS integrated on festival masters (working value); true peak −0.3 dBTP.

Common mistakes

• Kick with no defined note; leads that cover the kick; “random” distortion on the master.

Reference tracks for the mix

• Productions by Angerfist and Art of Fighters (mainstream); ’90s Rotterdam Records for classic gabber.

Typical automation

• Kick pitch following the bassline (automation per bar); low-pass filter on the kick in the build that opens at the “kick in”; lead volume lowered when the screamed vocal comes in; lead reverb that widens in the breakdowns.

Reference listening

• Mescalinum United — We Have Arrived (1990)
• T99 — Anasthasia (1991)
• Euromasters — primo EP su Rotterdam Records (1992)
• Thunderdome (serie di eventi e compilation ID&T, dal 1993)