TAL-BassLine-101

TAL BassLine-101 is a silky-smooth re-creation of the vintage Roland SH-101monophonic (one note at a time) analog bass synth with an optional poly-mode feature. TAL has been producing excellent quality no cost or low-cost plugins for many, many years, and they are always of the highest quality. BassLine-101 is no exception. This synth is authentic, elegantly designed, and easy to use. The sound is raw with great filters. The default startup patch shows-off the analog filter with plenty of crunch, growl, and buzz. The sub basses are capable of producing lows that go deep, beyond my MacBook's speaker range. There's a lot of power under the hood of the TAL BassLine-101. The crisp, clean GUI is nicely arranged. Just like its hardware counterpart, all of the sound is generated from within — no samples are used. The unit comes with lots of factory presets, which are easily selected and managed from the selector that is top center. The presets are very usable, but programming your own sounds will be irresistible. It has a built-in arpeggiator and step sequencer that makes auditioning easy. Not surprisingly, one of BassLine's biggest strengths is its ability to generate 303 style lead bass lines. BassLine is a natural fit for dance tracks creation; yet, it lends itself to any genre of music that moves and shakes! It's also capable of drums, percussion, and haunting atmospherics.

PROS

• Clean, crisp GUI.
• Controls include: Tune, modulator, VCO, VCA, Env, Master, Pitch/Mod, Velocity, and an Arpeggiator/Sequencer.
• Snappy envelope controls (stolen phrase from another review :-).
• Lively filters.
• Easy to use.
• Programmable pitch wheel.
• Midi learn.
• Step sequences (sync-able to DAW)).
• Arpeggiator (sync-able to DAW).
• Portamento.
• Great support from developer (communication and updates).

CONS

• Could be a little lighter on CPU.

CONCLUSION

TAL BassLine-101 is inspiring and fun for making music. It's suitable for any e-musician, producer, sound designer, DJ, etc., who digs rhythmic bass lines and all the other goodies this plugin can produce. Best of all — the price. It should sell for much more, but thankfully, it doesn't :-). Tommy Zai gives BassLine-101 two pulsating thumbs up. Thank you TAL for creating an awesome audio plugin.

NOTE!

I have read many online comments comparing TAL BassLine-101 to D-16 Group's LUSH and arguments over which is better. IMO, they are both unique and worth putting on your wish list. Two great developers; two great plugins.