KVR Audio

NickMo · Post by **NickMo** » Tue Dec 22, 2015 7:32 pm

I'm drafting my letter to Santa and I'm wondering what would be the best soft synth for bass, mainly to be used in DnB. I've been looking at Cyclop and Subboombass. Anyone used either for DnB?

And anyone have experience of VST drums. Addictive looks pretty nice. Thoughts?

thecontrolcentre · Post by **thecontrolcentre** » Tue Dec 22, 2015 7:48 pm

Cyclop is a hoot to mess about with. It has a pretty aggressive sound. Great for modern DnB and Dubstep ... for DnB drums I like to use pitched up breaks, and a few choice kick & snare combos. I use Drum Racks in Live a lot.

The Chase · Post by **The Chase** » Tue Dec 22, 2015 8:49 pm

Honestly, any decent subtractive synth will do. Most reeces start life out as a basic patch like 2 detuned saws or a modulated pulsewave. The rest of the sound comes from heavy processing. Try Charlatan.

For drums, a decent sampler and a good library is really all you need.

DnB is notorious for complex processing over simple sources.

NickMo · Post by **NickMo** » Tue Dec 22, 2015 11:00 pm

Thanks both. I may eventually get Cyclop, but Charlatan will be fun in the meantime.
The Chase: I find your words quite reassuring. I have a bit of a fear that I can't compete without the latest synths, but actually it's probably more that I need to put some effort in to get the sounds I want. In fact I just made a crazy bass sound by playing an electric guitar in the lower register and then downtuning it an octave.

The Chase · Post by **The Chase** » Tue Dec 22, 2015 11:33 pm

NickMo wrote:I have a bit of a fear that I can't compete without the latest synths, but actually it's probably more that I need to put some effort in to get the sounds I want.

A lot of novice music communities have this blind-leading-the-blind thing where you absolutely need Massive/Sylenth/Serum to make the latest sounds, which can be off-putting to newcomers. The music subreddits are particularly bad for that. When really Noisia endorse Synth1 (free VST) and the SH-201 (cheap hardware), synths not known for being the best sounding nor most capable.

Start with 2 detuned saws through an open filter, and experiment with distortion, modulation effects, and modulated filters. You'll start to recognize the sounds you're after, and see the directions you want to move in.

NickMo · Post by **NickMo** » Wed Dec 23, 2015 12:11 am

That is good to hear. The charlatan synth is amazing. I downloaded some presets from the kvr database and straight away got the kind of dirty digital sound I want. Thanks! I like the simplicity of the synth as well. A lot of synths seem overcomplicated and are just too daunting when I just want to make some music in the limited time available.

Lejurai · Post by **Lejurai** » Mon Jan 04, 2016 2:26 pm

NickMo wrote:I just made a crazy bass sound by playing an electric guitar in the lower register and then downtuning it an octave.

Congrats! You've just figured out how DnB basses were made back in the sampler days

Grab a sample (or play by yourself like you did), pitch it down like heck, lowpass it to the taste and start building a beat. Add some sine subbies if wanted/needed.

*edit*

Works in house/techno too

NickMo · Post by **NickMo** » Mon Jan 04, 2016 4:42 pm

Yes, must experiment more with that. Strangely enough I haven't had very good results from an actual bass guitar. Really hard to get a good sound when it's D.I. It only seems to sound good when played through a huge bass amp, which isn't really practical in my studio.

Lejurai · Post by **Lejurai** » Thu Jan 07, 2016 3:12 pm

Bass needs quite a lot of fx and eq'ing.

chk071 · Post by **chk071** » Thu Jan 07, 2016 3:14 pm

Wasn't Massive specifically marketed for this type of thing?

Lejurai · Post by **Lejurai** » Fri Jan 08, 2016 9:03 pm

DnB bass soft synth? VST drums?