What is Rave stab?
A rave stab is a short, bright, chord-based synth hit — originally sampled from classic synths and sped-up piano/organ chords in early-90s rave music — used as a rhythmic and melodic accent in techno, hard techno and hardcore.
Modern rave stabs are made by sampling a dense chord (often a minor chord with added ninths), pitching it up, shortening the envelope and processing it with chorus, reverb and distortion. They typically appear on off-beats or as call-and-response phrases in drops. The nostalgic, aggressive character of stabs is central to the current wave of hard techno and its 90s-revival aesthetic.