https://soundcloud.com/feelmybicep/bice ... yssey-dont
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWr8BRyyzRE
Two good examples of this technique being used. I use reason subtractor to mainly make my syths,i was previously told to use a 909 kick or sine wave to produce this however i'm still struggling to get the sound. Just wondering if anyone would have some filter setting ideas with a.d.s.r.
NAKID
Struggling to make this bass sound
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 35 posts since 14 Oct, 2014 from U.K.
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- KVRAF
- 1595 posts since 17 Nov, 2007 from Seattle, WA
The sine suggestion was correct as far as I can tell; On the first one I'm struggling to understand what could go wrong in recreating it, unless I'm simply misunderstanding what you're looking for. It sounds like only a sine wave to me, no modulation of fx on it, besides stuff for the final mix stage. Sine wave, no filter of course, short amplitude decay, mid/low sustain, some release. Make sure everything else in the track is very quiet so that the bass can be made super loud. This is literally as basic as it gets, accomplished in about a dozen clicks. If you're new to synthesis, this is a go-to video to nail down the fundamentals.
Or if I'm missing the issue, try posting up a sample of what you've got, so we can talk with less generalities, and more specifics.
Second example's a different patch. Has too much going on to be a sine. I think I hear a saw and/or square going through a lowpass filter, whose cutoff is set real low, with a severe curve so that very little frequencies above the cutoff get through. Set the synth to monophonic, turn on portamento. After those basics are in place, go back to experimenting with the texture, perhaps with altering oscillators' relative phase, changing the waveform, changing one's octave, maybe add a quiet 5th interval(+7 semitones), bump the filter resonance a little, try a dab of distortion.
Or if I'm missing the issue, try posting up a sample of what you've got, so we can talk with less generalities, and more specifics.
Second example's a different patch. Has too much going on to be a sine. I think I hear a saw and/or square going through a lowpass filter, whose cutoff is set real low, with a severe curve so that very little frequencies above the cutoff get through. Set the synth to monophonic, turn on portamento. After those basics are in place, go back to experimenting with the texture, perhaps with altering oscillators' relative phase, changing the waveform, changing one's octave, maybe add a quiet 5th interval(+7 semitones), bump the filter resonance a little, try a dab of distortion.
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 35 posts since 14 Oct, 2014 from U.K.
I'm after that sucking bass sound, like it's been side chained but it has a sharp attack,almost like it has a kick on it. I try and show the audio of my sound with screen shots of my settings
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- KVRAF
- 1595 posts since 17 Nov, 2007 from Seattle, WA
So it's the impact of the attack that's the big part of it? Well, you could try accomplishing it with a compressor, but before trying that, it'd be better to try and craft it inside the synth, with the ADSR. A compressor will be used at some point anyways, probably, but the more you can manage from within the synth, the better the mix process is.
There's a few other tricks you can use though. Some synths give you the option of a little noise burst in the immediate attack, sort of a low-freq pop. This can help give some impact. If that option isn't there, you could try to replicate it manually with a separate oscillator using it's own separate envelope, where its only audible on the note's immediate attack.
One thing that you could try is a pitch envelope with a super brief attack, like ~0.1 seconds, where the pitch drops by an octave to it's resting pitch. It's almost imperceptible, but it definitely can perk up the attack phase. And as I listen to it again, I think this might be occurring.
If what I'm talking about there is unclear, imagine a synth patch where every note hit slides down from +1 octave. It's the same here, just it happens so quick you barely hear it, but can perceive how it affects the sounds.
I see now why you mention the option of a pitched kick sample as the bass. Bare in mind, those kick samples are often synthesized, and precisely with the above technique. So from that standpoint, if you can figure out how to synthesize it, that'll be a good item for your toolbox. It's super useful being able to synthesize percussion like a bass drum manually.
Finally, it's likely gonna be real important that the bass is much louder than everything else in order to really come through. So the volume of everything else will need to be dragged down to make that room available.
There's a few other tricks you can use though. Some synths give you the option of a little noise burst in the immediate attack, sort of a low-freq pop. This can help give some impact. If that option isn't there, you could try to replicate it manually with a separate oscillator using it's own separate envelope, where its only audible on the note's immediate attack.
One thing that you could try is a pitch envelope with a super brief attack, like ~0.1 seconds, where the pitch drops by an octave to it's resting pitch. It's almost imperceptible, but it definitely can perk up the attack phase. And as I listen to it again, I think this might be occurring.
If what I'm talking about there is unclear, imagine a synth patch where every note hit slides down from +1 octave. It's the same here, just it happens so quick you barely hear it, but can perceive how it affects the sounds.
I see now why you mention the option of a pitched kick sample as the bass. Bare in mind, those kick samples are often synthesized, and precisely with the above technique. So from that standpoint, if you can figure out how to synthesize it, that'll be a good item for your toolbox. It's super useful being able to synthesize percussion like a bass drum manually.
Finally, it's likely gonna be real important that the bass is much louder than everything else in order to really come through. So the volume of everything else will need to be dragged down to make that room available.
