KVR Audio

Scotrick · Post by **Scotrick** » Sun Sep 10, 2006 4:39 pm

Okay, I know this has probably been asked before, but I couldn't find anything in a quick search for 'Eurythmics,'... but I would love to hear some ideas about how to get the sort of Bass thump or whatever one wants to call it at the start of the song 'Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This.'
I imagine it is probably a combination of samples?
It sounds to my ears like a bass note combined with a drum sample? But when I try something like that it never has the same 'whump,' that the Eurythmics's song has.
I use Cubase SX 3 and Reason 3. Any direct suggestions would be helpful. I know this might be too Newbie of a question, and I wouldn't have asked if I could figure it out myself.
Thanks for any ideas or advice. I don't have a sample of the song... but it happens at the very first moment of the song.

NAD · Post by **NAD** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 1:16 am

It's possible you won't get many replies because not many people have a copy of the song on hand (or at least I hope!). You'd best upload a clip if you possible can so people can hear it quickly without having to find the song.

Reverse Engineer · Post by **Reverse Engineer** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 1:42 am

I read somewhere once that dave stewart used to sample a lot of inanimate objects such as coke bottles being hit etc, so it may be something like that. I'm googling it just now to see if i can find out though.

Edit: Well, couldn't find anything about his sampling. I did find that he used the 'Movement Drum Computer' on that album (and perhaps that track too).

filkertom · Post by **filkertom** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 1:43 am

You might want to try combining a couple of different bass notes with a good solid low tom or kick, and (a) shifting pitch on one or more of them while (b) adding some gated reverb.

BONES · Post by **BONES** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 1:47 am

I always figured it was just an electronic kick slowed down.

filkertom · Post by **filkertom** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 2:09 am

BONES wrote:I always figured it was just an electronic kick slowed down.

Oh, yeah, sure, if you want to do it the easy way....

GW · Post by GW » Mon Sep 11, 2006 3:14 am

I'm not sure about the thump sound (you're talking about the bass drum, right?) but I do remember once reading that the snare sound was a rubber hose hitting a door. They had the use of a warehouse type building after hours and an eight track tape machine. A lot of the sounds were recorded with the space's reverb. It was quite a while ago I read this so I might have it wrong, but I listen to that song with this in mind. The bass drum sounds like a basketball being bounced.

Scotrick · Post by **Scotrick** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 3:52 am

hi all, thanks for the suggestions so far, and I guess their music is older than I had realized... anyway, I stuck this snippet up on my website, there's no navigation to the snippet, just the direct link:

www.scotrick.com/sweetDreams.mp3

should get you a sound? I haven't tried to link a sound snippet like this before, but it seems to work on my computer...

again, thanks for all of your help, listening to it now, it seems like there's an initial hit and then a second hit a moment later, like a delay'd bass drum?

Scotrick · Post by **Scotrick** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 3:54 am

I mean, I know I can hear the standard thin bass sound thumping along on the beat... one two three four... and then there's that deeper whump that happens... that's what I've been having a hard time getting in my own work...

Reverse Engineer · Post by **Reverse Engineer** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 4:08 am

GW wrote:The bass drum sounds like a basketball being bounced.

I thought that myself. It does have that hollow sound a ball can make when bounced. More like one of those cheap vinyl kids balls than a basketball though.

annode · Post by **annode** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 1:07 pm

Isolated it here and had a good listen.Have the cd.
It's a standard bass drum kick/thud with a very low synth note ontop of it.
I'd add also that the synth note sounds as if it has a compressor on it with a fast attack,fairly high attenuation ratio,and a long release,like 500ms.You can sometimes hear it expand upward 500ms after the note sounds.That expansion sounds along with the second sounding of the bass synth note doubled on the opposite channel.

The synth or sample they're using is not that important that it be exact if you want to dulicate this combination sound.Use any square wave synth note.Add some distortion.Play it on one of the low keys on your keyboard,or process it to half speed.
If you setup that compressor on that synth note so it has a delayed expand,I think you'll have it.

EDIT-1-(left channel) I think it may be the same prophet5 synth sound they are using for the synth bass,and then they have slowed it down somehow to get it to sound crunchy and deep.(don't forget the compression)

EDIT-2-(right channel) The bass synth and maybe the slowed down synth sample are doubled.They may use a slapback delay on that one note,or just play it twice.(the kick is not slapped)

PS: The basketball court ambience you hear on the kick once or twice at the break before the song begins to fade is just at that break.

scuzzphut · Post by **scuzzphut** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 1:10 pm

sounds like the same kick through a reverb to me

deastman · Post by **deastman** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 1:30 pm

Agreed, a kick through a reverb. Not sure if its a sample or a synth kick, but you can add a low frequency sine wave with a sharp attack to any old kick drum and get that kind of effect.

annode · Post by **annode** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 1:39 pm

There's nothing on that kick...it's DRY.

pethu · Post by **pethu** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 2:03 pm

I would say, a standard 80's analog drum machine low pitched tom, played at half speed... or something akin to it.

thump at the beginning of the Eurythmics's 'Sweet Dreams...'