The dub techno chord is a one-note trigger expanded to a minor triad over detuned oscillators, filtered low with a tight envelope

The signature dub techno chord is voiced from a single played MIDI note. A Chord device set to intervals 0, +3, +7 turns any one note into a minor triad (root, minor third, perfect fifth) — so one finger on B gives B–D–F#. That triad feeds a synth whose oscillators (commonly two detuned sawtooths, the characteristic dub-techno waveform) are detuned slightly against each other for width, movement, and a thick, chorused character; push the detune far and it tips toward a rave stab. A low-pass filter then tames the chord, and a tight envelope with a short decay makes the stab percussive and minimal rather than sustained, with the envelope-modulation amount driving a small filter sweep. The result is a deliberately minimal, felt-more-than-heard voice you can retrigger and reshape from one note — kept simple because it is brought to life afterward by automating and tweaking its filter over time.

Examples

Chord unit 0/+3/+7 (minor triad) → synth with two detuned saw oscillators (fine-tune mapped to a macro) → low-pass filter, short decay, Env ~16 → optional stereo Echo with left/right delays offset slightly (e.g. L +3.1% / R −2.1%). Playing B2 yields a B-minor triad; increasing detune thickens it toward a rave stab.

Assessment

Produce a dub techno chord in any synth: turn one played note into a minor triad, explain what the two detuned saw oscillators contribute to the timbre, and explain why a short filter-envelope decay yields a more ‘dub’ feel than a slow one.