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Bassline workflow...?
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golem
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
109
Posts :
70
Posted : Apr 3, 2012 01:59:01
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How do you usually create bassline? I suppose these answers should be divided to to classes.
1. your bassline consist usually of only one note (most of progressive psy and dark psy).
2. your bassline consist of many different pitch notes
I think the workflow might be a bit different for these scenarios.
Until now I tried to render the whole bassline but I hear more and more people sampling individual bass notes from synths and then using individual notes. If that is the case for are you satisfied with only one note (e.g. E2) which you then use to play all the notes in bass octave or do you sample each note separately (C2, C#2, D2, D#2, etcetc...).
If you have multiple note bassline do you separate every note to different track and equalize, compress and tune each note individually?
Do you usually use only one bassnote and equalize it or do you layer two components (e.g. sine wave between 50-100hz and highpassed saw filter somewhere in 80hz...?)
I am using the basic bassline of saw wave with fast opening lowpass filter (in sylenth). Whatever I do the bass notes sound to be out of tune in relation to other content (BPM is 145 btw..) the only way I get them to tune is by slowing down BPM (so that bass note gets more cycles). Any idea how to solve this? Am I just using the wrong synth? =D
Any good tips how to make a good multi note bassline? Is it just hard manual work of sampling every single note separately?
What I find also as a problem is that most synths do not have retrigger or oscillator phase control so it seems that with these synths there isn't really any other choice than to sample individual notes and then to use them or what do you think? I think that a bassline with free running oscillator sounds horrible, that is why I like sylenth so much because you have retrigger and phase controls.
I almost feel like starting to produce dark or progressive because you need just one successful bass note and you can do a whole tune out of it 
 
http://www.soundcloud.com/dreaml4nd
http://www.mixcloud.com/aegonox-peter-pan |
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Nectarios
Martian Arts
Started Topics :
187
Posts :
5292
Posted : Apr 3, 2012 02:59
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Ideally you want to sample something like 2 8ves worth of notes, in order to have the best sound.
Now as far as bassline programming goes, there are no rules, you can do anything you like.
I find the thing that helped me the most to programming basslines, is that besides a drummer, I did play bass in bands when I was young.
So the thing that will help you the most is to understand what consists of a groovy bassline, so that you can make a riff that fits to the style of the track you are making...it can be dark, nagging, funky, transpose the whole chord progression at parts and come back the original...anything really... but in order to think like that, you need to listen and understand what makes a groovy bottom end.
So the process involves putting a kick in, maybe some drums as well and then jamming on top of the kick on the keyboard. I don't jam 16ths, just a riff that I find has a good groove. So I record that and then for a 16th bassline, fill in the adjacent gaps with lower velocity notes, cause they intended to be pauses in the original idea, but a low velocity note does the 16th thing and keeps the accent of the groove going.
That, or have fun on the x0x's sequencer that I much more prefer writing a bassline on, than on Logic's midi editor.
As far as programming synths, this has been talked to death on here.
I do use my Moog Phatty, x0xb0xand have used the SH-101 in tracks and that has no phase re-trigger. The times I did not sample the notes, I just recorded a fair amount of audio in and then simply selected the best sounding notes to make the bassline.
I work this way today with the Phatty and the x0xb0x.
A tune is not made up of a bassline tho, so the stuff that will go over the bassline, is just as important.
Peace out.
http://soundcloud.com/martianarts |
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