KVR Audio

Shaloxeroligon · Post by **Shaloxeroligon** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 3:08 am

Hello,

Are there any freeware FM synthesizers out there that can actually produce a growl bass? I've tried FMMR, Brzoza, and mda DX10, and none of them can frequency modulate in the same way that Sytrus does. This is to say, none of them do FM by applying the frequency of one oscillator to the pitch modulation of the other.

I'm really struggling. I want to be able to create a growl bass without having to resort to Sytrus or FM8, but I don't know where to look. Any help would be appreciated.

Cuauhtli · Post by **Cuauhtli** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 5:57 am

If you can find Odo Synths's synths. He had a bunch of free FM synths. There's also Big Tick Rhino CM.

I'm not sure if they can do what you want but those are the freebie FM synths that come to mind.

How about Hexter? I think you can still find a Windows version.

ragout · Post by **ragout** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 7:41 am

I think with the free Dune LE edition you should be able to accomplish that.

Mutant · Post by **Mutant** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 10:01 am

What is a growl bass ???

synaesthesia · Post by **synaesthesia** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 12:38 pm

Good old Tyrell N6 by u-he can do a bit of this.

I've done a couple of free banks for it that have some fairly nasty basses in there.

http://soundcloud.com/the-unfinished/kuu

And then the last third of this one...

http://soundcloud.com/the-unfinished/tyrelln6-kuu-tuu

Hope my self-pimping is okay given it's for free stuff!

awol9000 · Post by **awol9000** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 1:30 pm

I've heard some nice basses from Synth1 and Noisemaker.

Shaloxeroligon · Post by **Shaloxeroligon** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 2:12 pm

Thanks for the quick feedback. I'll try all of these out and see if I can get similar results as I can get with Sytrus.

The main reason I want a free one is so that I can show people how to make a growl/talking FM bass without having to spend $100+ on a synth.

NAD · Post by **NAD** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 2:42 pm

I think it may help to make a distinction between distorted wobble bass sounds in general and growl sounds in particular. The growl is a distinct FM thing rather than a resonant low-pass through distortion.
A good example of this would be at 0:40 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSeNSzJ2-Jw
Personally I'm baffled by FM synthesis and I wouldn't know what to do in FM8 or Sytrus to get such a sound.

Shaloxeroligon · Post by **Shaloxeroligon** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 2:51 pm

Well then you should check out my VoxFX tutorial series (currently still in production). I'm planning on doing an episode on growl basses in the future. If you want to be on the list of people to see it first, you should subscribe to my channel.

https://www.youtube.com/user/Shaloxeroligon1

Sorry for the shameless plug, but I couldn't resist.

androidlove · Post by **androidlove** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 4:09 pm

Shaloxeroligon wrote:Well then you should check out my VoxFX tutorial series (currently still in production). I'm planning on doing an episode on growl basses in the future. If you want to be on the list of people to see it first, you should subscribe to my channel.

https://www.youtube.com/user/Shaloxeroligon1

Why not hoof bump this thread when the series is ready?

BTW, Sonny John Moore, if you're reading this, will you marry me?

Debutante · Post by **Debutante** » Sat Mar 01, 2014 9:25 pm

Your list suggests mainly FM synthesis . BY FAR the best growly bass for free comes from KX77FREE's KX-omni 600. Its a subtractive/phase dist hybrid. Awesome sound from bespoke modules. The only things about it that make it a little difficult for bass:

1 - Its not pretty. It really requires time to get to know.
2 - It's not phase smart.

PROS

1 - overall sound - can be intensely aggressive
2 - Timbre creation and control is quick and impressive, but stymied by lack of phase control.
3 - I think the internal modulation scheme is a little unique... actually, I haven't come across anything else with this kind of wiring
http://www.kvraudio.com/product/kxomni_600_by_kx77free

fluffy_little_something · Sat Mar 01, 2014 10:07 pm

I know what growl is with a Music Man or Fender bass, but with synths? Maybe it is just an EQ thing

fluffy_little_something · Sat Mar 01, 2014 10:20 pm

NAD wrote:I think it may help to make a distinction between distorted wobble bass sounds in general and growl sounds in particular. The growl is a distinct FM thing rather than a resonant low-pass through distortion.
A good example of this would be at 0:40 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSeNSzJ2-Jw
Personally I'm baffled by FM synthesis and I wouldn't know what to do in FM8 or Sytrus to get such a sound.

Terrible, but if that is growl, hm, sounds a bit like a formant filter to me.

RunBeerRun · Post by **RunBeerRun** » Sat Mar 01, 2014 10:34 pm

So the only parameter you're modulating in Sytrus is pitch? Is that the carrier or modulator(s) oscillator, are you also modulating the amount mixed in?

Not sure what a growl is, might want to narrow down what exactly you want to do.

Shaloxeroligon · Post by **Shaloxeroligon** » Sat Mar 01, 2014 10:47 pm

So the only parameter you're modulating in Sytrus is pitch? Is that the carrier or modulator(s) oscillator, are you also modulating the amount mixed in?

Without going into too much detail, I know how to create an FM growl bass in Sytrus. You modulate (as in, apply the waveform of one to the other) a sine wave with a triangle wave and a high-frequency sine wave, and then automate the modulation amount of the triangle wave. What I'm trying to do is find a freeware VST synthesizer that follows the same process, so that I can recommend it to other people instead of Sytrus (because Sytrus costs a lot of money).

Creating a growl bass WITHOUT using Sytrus or FM8