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In Episode 325, we dive into the creation of a progressive house track from scratch. Focusing on the theme of Classic Prog house, we harness well-known sounds and presets to craft our composition. Join us as we explore the following chapters:
0:00 Introduction
1:34 Composing a Moog-inspired bassline
3:35 Arranging and designing our bass
5:45 Creating captivating accent plucks
9:19 Recording and crafting a deep pad sound
10:53 Adding accents by repurposing elements from the bassline
13:54 Final thoughts
May the sounds be with you!
How to Make Classic Progressive House Like Sasha & John Digweed
In this live, no-cuts studio session, Mikas builds a classic progressive house groove from scratch — the kind of deep, rolling, emotional sound that made Sasha, John Digweed, and Hernan Cattaneo legends. Working in Logic Pro, he keeps it deliberately short and focused: a Moog-style bassline, accent plucks, a lush pad, and just enough percussion to drive the groove. The philosophy throughout is “the fewest elements to provoke the most emotion.”
What you’ll learn
- Writing a characteristic Moog-inspired progressive house bassline and editing it into a rolling pattern
- Sidechaining the bass to the kick for that signature pumping movement
- Designing captivating accent plucks and bell hits with octave variations
- Recording a deep, grandiose pad using Alchemy and a large room reverb
- Repurposing the bassline sequence to create rhythmic accents that sit in tune with the track
- Mono-bass / stereo-effects tricks and delay widening to add space without losing punch
1. Lay down the percussion foundation
Mikas starts with the groove rather than the melody. He programs a hi-hat and adds a delay to it for movement, then dials in a 16th-note clap with its own touch of delay. A bit-crusher adds aggression to the percussion. The goal is a simple, energetic backbone — not a busy drum kit — that leaves room for the bass and pads to carry the emotion.
2. Write a Moog-inspired bassline
The heart of the track is a classic Moog bass, instantly recognizable for its round, characterful tone. Mikas drops in a quick bass pattern, noting that he often tracks by ear. Don’t worry about perfection on the first pass — the raw idea is what matters before editing.
3. Edit the bass into a rolling pattern
Next he goes straight into the piano roll to turn the pattern into a rolling, signature progressive house groove. He fixes the spacing of the notes, removes a closing phrase that clashes with the opening, and adds a couple of extra hits to make it roll more convincingly. A subtle timing change — simple but effective — gives the bassline its forward motion and energy.
4. Sidechain the bass to the kick
To get that breathing, pumping feel, Mikas adds a compressor to the bass and sidechains it to the kick. He sets roughly a 4:1 ratio with a quick attack and quick release, and turns off auto-release because it doesn’t behave well here. After compressing, he rebalances the bass level in the mix so it doesn’t sit too loud.
5. Keep the bass mono, widen the effects
A dry, mono bass can sound boring, so Mikas widens the delay for a nicer stereo image. His preferred trick: keep the core bass tone (the “hum”) in mono for punch, while letting the delay and other effects spread out in stereo. This adds width and interest without weakening the low end — a technique that works very well in progressive house.
6. Create captivating accent plucks and bell hits
Moving to the keys, Mikas hunts for a bell-like hit to add melodic accents. He keeps it simple — often just a single hit — then creates a variation by jumping a whole octave higher. A touch more delay binds the accents into the groove. These small, well-placed notes provide the emotional sparkle without cluttering the arrangement.
7. Record a deep, grandiose pad
For the pad, Mikas reaches for Alchemy and recalls a rich preset he likes. He records the pad live, then sends it to a big room reverb (Logic’s Silver Verb) for a grandiose, spacious wash. This is the layer that gives the track its deep, atmospheric, Digweed-style emotion underneath the rolling bass.
8. Repurpose the bassline into rhythmic plucks
For the final accents, Mikas duplicates his bass sequence rather than writing something new. He keeps only part of the sequence — a few choice notes on the beat — so the pluck stays partly in tune with the bass but isn’t a carbon copy. He changes the sound, pushes it up in pitch, and routes it to a delay and reverb (using the drum machine’s delay) for a wild, spacey accent that lifts the whole track.
Get the project file: Mikas built this entire groove on top of a ready-to-use template, available for Logic Pro, Ableton, and FL Studio. Watch the session, then open the template and start producing your own classic progressive house track right away. Download the template →
