Ever wondered how those iconic house stab sounds and classic 90s rave chords were made? In this deep dive, we’re breaking down two of the most famous stabs in dance music history — sounds that helped shape eurodance, classic house, and even modern sample-based music production.

First up: the unmistakable stab from 2 Unlimited – Get Ready For This. Spoiler alert — they didn’t design it from scratch. We’ll trace its origin back to a quirky 80s sample CD called 250 Disco Jingles, and I’ll show you exactly how that original orchestra hit was sampled and transformed into the stadium-filling riff we all know.

Next, we’ll explore the legendary Landlord stab, one of the most sampled and re-used house music stabs ever, famously used in the track “I Like It.” We’ll get into the possible source (the Korg M1 or Korg 4B ClaV Ensemble preset), how it was made, and why it sounds so punchy and timeless — especially when pitched and processed creatively.

🎛 Along the way, we’ll dig into essential sound design tips for chord stabs and how to use:

• Pitch shifting and formant preservation
• Sample manipulation in Ableton Simpler
• Formant filters and overtone shaping in synths like Helm
• Layering, resampling, and retro-style processing
• Creating your own house stabs, eurodance riffs, and old-school chord sounds from scratch

💡 Whether you’re a beginner learning about sample-based sound design or a seasoned producer interested in how classic dance tracks were built, this video offers a unique blend of history, production insight, and practical sound design techniques.

I also talk about the concept of formants — what they are, why they matter when pitching vocals or instruments, and how to preserve them to avoid the dreaded chipmunk or monster effect. You’ll learn how formants influence the character of samples, especially when working with acoustic instruments, vocals, or classic synthesizers.

BONUS: If you’re looking for high-quality, ready-to-use classic house chord stabs, FM clavs, rave hits, and more, I put together a small but powerful chord stab pack available now on my sample shop. These are ideal for genres like: Classic House, Deep House, Eurodance, Rave / 90s Techno, UK Garage, Lo-fi House

Timestamps

0:00 Intro

0:33 2 Unlimited – Get Ready For This Stab Sound

2:22 Formants & Formant Shifting Explained

02:57 Example Formants in Vocals – Warp Modes

05:14 Formant Filter & Vowels

05:55 Making Chord Stabs

07:12 Clav & Landlord Stab