Basslines

[Addict]

I'm trying to create a nice fat bassline, I know this can be done by layering different bass sounds but I've got no idea how to create these sounds. Do peolpe just sample basslines? I'd rather not do this as I think its cheating, when I listen to a tune I notice that there's normally a sub bass with a more mid range bass giving the bassline its sound/key am I right I am literaly just starting this.
I'm using Flstudio

[djTequila]

Best way I've found so far is to create your 'deep' bassline, and give it sub with a plug-in bass exciter. This adds harmonics an octave below your original sound to give depth. (The 'albino' S/W synth is good for sub as well.)

Create a middy bassline with a bit more funk and more high-end detail.

Make sure the harmonics don't interfere in nasty ways. Use an EQ to clean things up.

If any bass sounds overlap your BD, use EQ to clean up any harmonic clashing here as well.

Tequila

[Addict]

Que? I havn't got the fogiest what you just said, is this exciter in Fruity?

[baptismo]

i usually create a bass patch on a synth or virtual synth... my fave virtual synth for bass is 'MUON TAU PRO' .. but i reckon the charachter of your bassline highly depends on the processing you do on it... i.e. compression, distortion, eq and stuff...
Have a look for a good distortion unit like 'antares tube' or something..

tequila - albino is the bollox!!! the saw leads are really somethin :D

[baptismo]

also have a look for 'Spectrasonics Trilogy'... this is a really good bass vsti...

[djTequila]

Hunt for the Waves plug-ins. You can use them in Fruity, I think, and one is called 'maxx-bass' I think. This processes your bass sounds...

Muon-Tau is good - very 303 sounding...

Another thing you can use for bass is distortion - Fruity has some sweet distortion units, as far as I remember.

Basically, make two b-lines. One sub, probably on the off-beat. One higher up, which can be more funky.

Or the other way round if your kick drum fits...

Just use your ears to make sure that sounds don't overlap, frequency-wise. Good sounds can turn to mud if you're not careful! If it loses power, re-work it...

Tequila

[Addict]

Your all using a lingo that I don't understand, I ordered those books you suggested though tequila, I really want to make a go of this.

[djTequila]

You may need to get a book on music theory (oh yes!) as well then...

This will be the hardest time for you. It's time to dig out everything you learned in physics lessons! Find out about wave theory. This'll help with synthesis and the engineering side of production. Also, any electronics knowledge you have.

Read your Fruity Loops manual cover to cover. Ask about stuff you don't understand. Then move to the books I recommended.

Keep at it... It's so rewarding when you get there!

Tequila

[Addict]

Do you mean the electronic manual in the HELP menu, if so I started reading this last night and sort of tried things as I went along, I actually learnt quite a bit. Are there tutorials you can download?

[djTequila]

That's what I meant. Good!

:)

Dunno about tutorials. Find projects that people might have put up on the net and examine them.. You can learn that way.

Hmm... Been meaning to get a PC Music Creation introduction tutorial up on my website for a while... Gotta wait til I get broadband though. Make a list of the stuff that you're having trouble with, and the stuff you've learned so far. I'll help you with the stuff you don't know in exchange for info about what you've had trouble up to now!

How's that?

;)

Tequila

[Addict]

Not sure what you mean bruv, what have I got to offer really?

[djTequila]

You're starting from scratch here by the sound of it... And I'm trying to target people in your position. So anything you have trouble with, and things you learn that help you, would be useful...

I guess it would be another idea to write the articles, show them to you, and have you tell me if any of it's going over your head.

...

Tequila

[Addict]

No probs mate sounds good!
Stay in touch!

[DJ Corbzy]

As Jon said, Antares Tube and Albino are must gets, you'll need them for a lot of things you want to do in the future....

Waves Gold or Platinum are the packs you want, come with about 40-50 plug-ins, all very good.

I find if you create a bassline with one synth and overlap it with another from a different sounding synth gives you real good bassline, then distort it with a good distortion unit, add some bass with max bass as Tequila said and then EQ to your liking, it will take a while to get the sound you want but its soooo worth it when you hear it and you can say its yours. :D

Go make some fatass basslines.... :D

[Col]

addict i wrote out some guidelines in my own words from a past future music magazine for programming trance basslines, if your just starting out then use a synth thats user friendly, theres plenty of free synths out there try get hold of triangle from rgc audio or any some other user friendly synth.

1.Detune 2 square waves by + & - 3, then drop filter cut-off so it is nearly closed. Next, raise the reasonance so it begins to self-oscillate then roll back the reasonance control so its just before self-oscillation. Set both the amp & filter envelopes to a zero attack, sustain & release and set the filters attack to around ¾. Finally set the amps decay to around the mid-way point, and then try playing around with both the filter cut-off & the amps decay setting to construct different settings.

2.Start with either a sawtooth or square oscillator. Set the amps envelope to to a zero attack with a fairly short release and a medium decay and sustain. Use these same settings on the filters envelope, and set the reasonance just short of self-oscillation with a low-filter cut-off. Its worthwhile playing around with both cut-off & reasonance, along with the filters envelope to acquire the sound you need.

also if you havent started buying computer music (monthly), get down to the newsagents straight away, and buy a copy, get it every month, a beginners special has just passed order it.

in the magazine theres lots of tutorials, reviews, plenty of features, it also has tutorials for all the best seqencers, and soft studios including fruity loops, theres also a cover cd with every issue, with free software(some of it is very good) there are also demos with only slight restrictions, not to mention a libary of software and samples, every single month.

also try this website its ram packed with tutorials on music production:
www.intermusic.com(look for tutorials)

hope this is some help to you, good luck! :wink: :wink: :wink:

[Col]

sorry ignore the link i provided for intermusic.com, the sites closed down :cry: shame because it was a damn good site.

[djTequila]

Next, raise the reasonance so it begins to self-oscillate then roll back...

He's talking here about the low pass filter - called LP, LPF, VCF, Filter or something similar, depending on your synth. This is a common feature on synths which allows Low Frequencies to Pass through, while eliminating high frequencies.

I could go on for pages here. You might see several different LP filter settings on your synth - like LP 12 or LP 32. This tells you the order of the filter used - how sharp the cut-off is. The 'cut off' point (also called 'Frequency') is the frequency at which the high frequencies start to get cut. Lower this and you start to lose high end detail. Lower it more and you lose the whole character of the sound. Eventually you're left with the most bassy part of the sound - the fudamentals. The higher the order number, the harder the sound you'll get from the filter, put simply. Put in a more complex fashion, it's the characteristics of the cut-off curve measured in dB per octave. Don't worry about this if you don't get it yet! ;)

Resonance (sometimes called 'Q') gives a boost to the frequencies at the cut-off point. Increase this and sweep your cut-off point around. At very high settings you'll get a scream - careful of your ears! This is self-oscillation, if your synth is capable of it (It should be). At lower settings you're simply boosting harmonics and removing others, so you're just changing the character of your sound.

A good bass sound must have a full, deep powerful bass - but also some character given by higher frequencies. You could, for example, use a high resonance and sweep the cut-off point down to the bass region - 100-250Hz ish - and you'd have a big bass sound. However, it would have no higher frequencies - the note information would get lost and it would probably sound out of tune.

It's easier to pick out notes with higher pitched sounds... And other sounds in your mix can kinda pull your bass out of shape with their harmonics.

So, the best way to do this is to use your cut-off with a reasonable res. to 'tune' your bassline to your track. As you sweep the cut-off through the sound, you'll hear certain frequencies stand out... Find the ones which fit the mix and cut through.

Be careful about the sound of the kick drum - this'll be working in the same frequency range, so you'll need to use EQs to make room in each sound for the frequencies of the other to come through.

Or just alternate the kick and the B-line, like most hard trance: kick-whum-kick-whum-kick-whum, etc.

At the same time as sorting out your kick & B-Line harmonics, you can use the EQs (parametric are best for this) to emphasise the parts of the bass (and kick) sound you want to hear. Use it like a less destructive filter - you can make a spike, which is like resonance, and sweep it around to give richer sounds, more attack harmonics, etc. Q, this time, means the width of the spike.

You can also make a dip instead of a spike, and carve away harmonics that sound out of tune, or wrong - or just lower them to change the feel of the sound. Things sound more natural if boosts are made with wide Q settings. Cuts can be pretty clinical without sounding strained... We're making pretty unnatural music, howerver, so do whatever sounds good!

Back to filtering, you can apply an envelope to your filter cut-off. In the same way that the loudness of the sound changes over time with the AMPlitude envelope, the filter cut-off will change with the filter envelope... Read the instructions to find out how to apply the curve of your envelope generator - EG - to your filter. This allows you to add a sweeping growl to your bass with the resonance... Or trun it into a short blip with a fast sweep. Have fun with these sounds! This is how you make your trance leads, pads, etc. as well!

By the way, when you get the 'Effects and processors' book, don't read the chapter on patchbays. And stop reading the chapter on mixing desks when it gets too much. You'll not need that information for a while...

Not until you move over to Logic or Cubase or something. Or start working in an analogue studio. Or get your own desk!

If you can get your hands on Reason, it'll make things easier when you want to try out the techniques outlined in the book.

Finally, in 'Modern Recording Techniques' ignore the bits on tape recording, microphones and the like until you need to use them. Or you just get interested. Pay special attention to the parts of the book that outline how to build your studio... Correct speaker placement and room lay-out is essential!

Let me know if you find this useful, or if any of it is unclear!

Cheers,

Tequila.

[Addict]

Wow your like a human text book! Really appreciate this help Tequila.

[djTequila]

No problem! Just let me know what's useful... And if you don't understand anything.

;)

Tequila

[alpha_unit]

jeese ill like to drain his brain!

basically wheat i do is make 1 b line, normally using junglist , then make another one more subby to gove it bottom end, whack up on diff fx chans and eq then seperate compress eperate and blend them using teh volume till it sounds rite

works nice if u have one of c4 and one on c3 although the one on c4 alone may sound hi and shitty when it blends with teh other gives a warm full soundbasslines is one of themt hings uu can play with all day, when teh osund has merged into n unrecognisable noise, go get a coffee export and get back to

thats the best way imo

[djTequila]

when teh osund has merged into n unrecognisable noise, go get a coffee export and get back to


Always take breaks when producing... Your ears can get tired, without you noticing.

Also, keep A/B-ing everything. When playing with EQ, compression, levels, etc. Keep swapping back to the original sound, to make sure you're not overdoing it... As you get used to the new sound.

Tequila