How to Make Progressive Trance from Scratch in Logic Pro — Enhanced & Black Hole Style
In this live, uncut session (episode 335 of the series), Mikas builds a dreamy progressive trance track completely from scratch in Logic Pro, returning to the sound that inspired his first release back in 2006. There’s no pre-planning here — every part is recorded in real time, layer by layer, until a full arrangement emerges. It’s a real-time look at how a track comes together when you simply chase a flow: drums, pads, bass, leads, percussion, ethereal textures, and a quick mix, all built around a 128–130 BPM dreamy soundscape.
What you’ll learn
- Laying down a foundation beat with Logic Pro’s Drum Machine Designer
- Designing rich, transient-heavy pads in Sylenth1 with sidechain compression and reverb
- Shaping a present, low-end bassline by reworking your existing chord MIDI
- Recording and refining a lead, then turning it into an arpeggio
- Creating a gated, “Age of Love”-style stab using a step effect into reverb
- Using background automation and high-pitched pad layers to add movement and depth
1. Build the foundation beat in Drum Machine Designer
Mikas starts with Logic’s Drum Machine Designer, dropping in a few progressions and choosing a punchy “big room” kit. He keeps the beat deliberately simple — nothing flashy — because the groove only needs to anchor the harmonic parts that follow. The goal at this stage is a solid pulse to play the rest of the track against.
2. Sculpt a mesmerizing pad in Sylenth1
His go-to synth for a richer sonic landscape is Sylenth1, loaded with an old favorite preset called “Definitive.” As he reminds us, it’s not about what you use but how you use it. He plays a thick pad sequence where the bottom chord stays held while a progression moves on top, giving the part both a stable root and motion above it.
3. Add sidechain, compression, and reverb to the pad
Straight away he drops a compressor on the pad and sidechains it to the kick to get that classic trance pumping action. Then he adds a large-room reverb (his “owner” reverb — an Aux send) and sends a portion of the signal to it, instantly giving the pad far more depth and space.
4. Shape the bassline from existing MIDI
Rather than start fresh, Mikas reworks the chord keys he already played into a bassline. The preset sits too high for a bass, so he transposes it down a couple of semitones to find the right key — landing somewhere around E, F, G — and notes how good the patch sounds when pushed into the low register. He keeps refining the note choices until the bass feels present and locked to the track.
5. Record and refine a lead
Back in Sylenth1, he hunts for a lead, records a phrase, and then turns it into a tight little arpeggio, refining the timing and pattern until it sits smoothly with the pad. To keep it from clashing, he cuts the lows on the lead so it occupies only the peaks of the frequency range and doesn’t crowd the other elements.
6. Program percussion and extra layers
With the core down, Mikas adds percussion using Drum Machine Designer for extra movement, then experiments with additional textures — a fast-attack pad that doubles as a longer lead, plus a choir-like layer he likes. He cleans each new part by rolling off the lows so they shine on top without muddying the mix.
7. Create a gated “Age of Love” stab
For a signature trance moment, he takes a dry part and runs it into a step (gating) effect, then sends it to his reverb — a simple gated, rhythmic sound reminiscent of “Age of Love.” He has it follow the bass pattern but moved up the register, adding a bright, pulsing counter-line to the arrangement.
8. Add movement with automation and a high pad
Mikas stresses his approach to arrangement: parts that sound just okay on their own can become powerful once you simply put them together. He automates a brass part for subtle variation and keeps gentle background movement throughout — never leaving anything fully static, but making sure the changes work together rather than piling on for the sake of it. Finally he layers a very high-pitched pad over the top to crown the whole mix.
Get the project file: Mikas builds these tracks live and turns them into ready-to-use templates for Logic Pro, Ableton, and FL Studio so you can open the full session and follow along. Download the template →
