What it sounds like
Acid house was an accident. In 1985 some Chicago kids — DJ Pierre, Spanky, Herb J — got their hands on a Roland TB-303, a discontinued bass synth nobody wanted, and discovered that turning the resonance knob past noon turned its already-strange tone into a thing: a squelchy, vocal-cord-like cry that nothing else had ever made. Phuture’s Acid Tracks put it on a 12” in 1987 and the entire UK rave scene was built on top of it three years later.
Two bars and you’ve got it: a TB-303 line bending and squealing under a four-on-the-floor kick, almost no chord movement (the song stays on one key for ten minutes), and percussion sparse enough that the 303 is the lead, the bass, AND the song. The DJ’s job is to ride the filter cutoff knob in real time. Acid house is the only genre where the filter is the melody.
The chord moves
There’s barely a chord move at all — that’s the discipline. Acid house typically vamps on one minor 7th chord for 16 or 32 bars, then briefly hints at the iv or VI before dropping back. The chord pad is background texture, not melody. All the harmonic interest comes from the 303 bassline weaving in and out of the chord tones as the cutoff opens and closes.
Try --progression i,i,iv,i --chord minor7 --voicing rootless and let the bass do the heavy lifting.
The groove
Steady 4-on-the-floor at 122–128 BPM, TR-909 or TR-707 kit. Open hat on the offbeat, closed hat on the 16ths, clap on 2 and 4. Nothing fancy. The drums are intentionally boring so the 303 can be the star.
The 303 line itself plays straight 16th notes with slides and accents marking specific notes. The cutoff and resonance are automated to open through builds and crash on the drop. Listen to Acperience 1 with one hand on a knob if you want to feel the pattern.
The sounds
- Bass: a TB-303 (Phoscyon, ABL3, or the real thing). Resonance at 75-95%. Cutoff modulated by hand or LFO. Saturate slightly for warmth.
- Chords: warm sustained pad, single chord, low in the mix. Often just a Juno-style PWM hum.
- Drums: TR-909 kit, dry, no reverb. Hi-hats can have a tiny touch of vinyl saturation.
- FX: white noise sweeps for builds. Reverb tail on the 303 only at peak moments. Occasional licensed or self-made rave-stab texture.
Production tells
Want it modern? Cleaner low end, sidechained pad, some stereo width on the hi-hats. A modern acid track might layer two 303 lines (one mid, one high). Master at -10 LUFS but not louder.
Want it 1988-vintage? Drier mix, pre-EQ everything for vinyl, slight tape saturation, narrow stereo. Use a 303 emulation, a hardware 303, or a licensed 303 sample pack. The imperfection of the 303’s pitch tracking is part of the sound — don’t tune it perfectly.
Am7 → Am7 → Dm7 → Am7
Click to hear it.
Listen to
Three records that show the style at full strength. Read them as listening pointers, not templates to copy.
Acid Tracks
Phuture
listen ↗
Acperience 1
Hardfloor
listen ↗
Generate Power
DJ Pierre
listen ↗
Six recipes
Six ways to cook Acid house.
One starter recipe, three variations that each take the style in a different direction, one sectioned recipe, and one curated Live handoff recipe. Each one cooks from a Markdown recipe — edit it before the MIDI lands in your DAW.
Starter
303 Companion Stabs
An acid-house first cook with offbeat minor stabs, acid bass, root drones, and sparse motif detail.
Study: Phuture, “Acid Tracks” (1987). Use the reference for acid bass focus, minimal harmony, and filter-ready arrangement, not for melody, hook, groove, or sound design copying.
python jamburgr.py --config configs/recipes/acid_house/acid_house_303_companion_stabs.mdVariation
Filter Bass Lock
A bass-first acid loop with sidechain gaps, acid bass pressure, and fifth-drone support.
Study: Adonis, “No Way Back” (1986). Use the reference for acid bass focus, minimal harmony, and filter-ready arrangement, not for melody, hook, groove, or sound design copying.
python jamburgr.py --config configs/recipes/acid_house/acid_house_filter_bass_lock.mdVariation
Minimal Squelch Cell
A reduced acid cell with lofi push-pull chords, pedal bass, and quiet motif taps.
Study: Armando, “Land of Confusion” (1987). Use the reference for acid bass focus, minimal harmony, and filter-ready arrangement, not for melody, hook, groove, or sound design copying.
python jamburgr.py --config configs/recipes/acid_house/acid_house_minimal_squelch_cell.mdVariation
Warehouse Acid Rave
A rave-leaning acid lane with call-response stabs, acid bass, and high-shimmer tension.
Study: 808 State, “Flow Coma” (1988). Use the reference for acid bass focus, minimal harmony, and filter-ready arrangement, not for melody, hook, groove, or sound design copying.
python jamburgr.py --config configs/recipes/acid_house/acid_house_warehouse_acid_rave.mdSectioned
Filter-Open Acid Sketch
A section-aware acid-house sketch that stages bass filter pressure and chord punctuation.
Study: A Guy Called Gerald, “Voodoo Ray” (1988). Use the reference for acid bass focus, minimal harmony, and filter-ready arrangement, not for melody, hook, groove, or sound design copying.
python jamburgr.py --config configs/recipes/acid_house/acid_house_filter_open_acid_sketch.mdLive handoff
Live 303 Session
A Live acid-house session with section clips, synth cards, and licensed percussion/FX prompts.
Study: Mr. Fingers, “Can You Feel It” (1986). Use the reference for acid bass focus, minimal harmony, and filter-ready arrangement, not for melody, hook, groove, or sound design copying.
python jamburgr.py --config configs/recipes/acid_house/acid_house_bridge_ready_303_session.mdOpen in Live or Download uses the local bridge on this Mac. Download MIDI works in any DAW.
Ready when you are
Cook a Acid house pack.
Drop this in your terminal and you'll have a Standard MIDI pack in a folder, ready to drag into Live. Edit anything, swap any sound, throw out what doesn't work.
python jamburgr.py --key "A minor" --style acid_house --progression i,i,iv,i --pattern pulse --output-mode pack --out ./jams/acid-house