dirty dub step bass lines

  • so i figured it out makeing dubstep bass quite eazy



    os1 - grain sample index 63 SIne


    lfo 1 sine wave


    os2 - hypersaw density 3.7 local detune 64


    lfo 2 - sine wave 1/8



    matrix -


    amp envelope +14 lfo2>cutoff2




    small reverb - boost a lil mids boost sub osc max osc volume


    50% osc balance


    light phaser and light chorse low distortion -




    i got the wobble not too powerful but its almost there sounds a little oragn like still needs more beef ..... any tips?


    wa wa wa waoooble

  • You haven't mentioned what filter your using or what lfo 1's rate is except sine?
    If you want some advice - stop making wobbles if your just starting to make dubstep. Why sound like all the other 15 year old kids using a cracked versions of massive? Especially when you have something as mean as the virus, you can make soe pretty fresh sounds if you mess about enough.
    Here's some tips - have filter 1 as a hi-pass (yes hi-pass) set it low and have it in series going to filter 2 which will be a low pass or band pass filter. Filter 1 will basically remove any sub frequencies (below 100hz) allowing you to sit a sine wave sub underneath, fits better into the mix too.
    Try using a triangle lfo to modulate filter 2. I like this shape because you can go from ramp down to ramp up shapes using the contour control of the lfo.
    Have lfo 3 set to a square shape @ 1/2 or 1/1 modulating the lfo contour of the triangle lfo (probably lfo 2 as filter cut-off it's hard-wired to this lfo) this will make the filter's mod shape crossfade via the square lfo between 2 different lfo contours making it a little more interesting. You can also do the same with lfo 3 as a square shape to crossfade between 2 different lfo speeds on filter 2 if you have lfo 1 doing say a 1/8 and lfo 2 doing a 1/16th to the filter cut off of filter 2 for example.

  • Also if you adding phaser/chorus/reverb to your bass i would strongly recommend you look at getting a plug in to make anything below around 250hz mono. I use brainworx's bx control for this but most daws will have a stereo spread plug in and i know ozone 4 has a tab in it for this kinda thing.
    Chewie

  • Slightlyevovled thanks for the point in the right direction, I've been working on this myself I'll try to post my findings although I'm still in the learning stage.


    Chewie- it is obvious that you know what your talking about, which is great, but you don't have to criticize others music styles! Why even make a comment like that if you just end up helping?


    The point of these forums is to band together and help each other, not to judge


    Respectfully,

  • no thank you chewie i understand,u just cant not make that massive vst type of wooble :( but ya chewie is so right... fuck those lil 15 year old kids seriously im sick of it.


    nice track man thats some REAL dub step - i had no idea who i was talking to wow.. cheers thanks for the advice im still trying to get it working what was ur first osc settings how much are u detuning osc 1 and ect
    do u resample ur b-lines?


    thanks for example i love the muisc

  • For the oscillators it really depends on what type of sound your going for. Some examples would be say for that excision/noisia style bass it's all about osc 1 + 2 as square waves , synced , pulse width modulation by lfo1 , pitched at -12 for osc 1 and + 19 for osc 2. oscillator 3 as a triangle and the sub oscillator half way up at 64. Then into a bandpass filter with lfo 2 controlling filter cut off frequency on filter 2, or the mod wheel if you want to make some edits in your daw yourself. If your using the filters in series and using a high pass as the first one to remove sub frequencies then into the bandpass on filter 2 make sure you have cut off and filter link off on the filter tab. Also have unison on to beef it up 7 - 8 and bring down the detune so it sounds big but not too rinsed. You also might need to bring the pan spread down a bit cos it's usually way too wide.


    Another example would be getting a real beefy sounding bassline using square or wavetable osc on 1 and a saw on osc 2 1 octave above not synced into high pass to low pass combo with lfo controlling filter 2's cut off. same deal with the unison ( or not , depends what your kinda sound you want from it).Also once you have the bass line running with modulation you can flick through all the different type of wavetables to get an idea how they sound whilst changing the wavetable index.


    Another way to get a real beefy sounding bass is to have a filter combination of low pass into band pass with the cutoff link on and filter link off, the idea here is having the low pass set with a good bit of resonance (up to 12 o'clock on the resonance - again depends) so you catch a nice sweet spot in the 200 to 300hz ish are with out it being too muddy ( 300 to 500 hz area) then into bandpass at around the same cut off area ( i'm talking somewhere between 30 to 60 on the filter no.) with less resonance say 9 oclock on the res dial of filter 2. Then have some moduation to the cut off frequency, probably lfo 2 on both filter cut off frequencies again (50% modulation). Add unison and bobs your uncle, fannys your aunt ;)

  • Oh yeah and in terms of resampling i'm not a big fan of multiband splitting and then adding different effects onto the mid/high sections it's good for adding distortion and such but usually sounds awful if not done with restraint. I do render the basslines into audio and then chop the shit out of them though :)

  • Chewie, you are a gentleman and a scholar.


    Thanks for the tips. I was about to head out for a beer but I might stay in tonight ;)

  • Chewie & Zeno: I'm sure I'm not alone, but I'd love it if you guys would drop some more patch design knowledge. Those tips are $$$. More please!


    Also, how do you set up LFO 3 to crossfade between LFO 1 & LFO 2's rates? I assume you do this via the Mod Matrix, but I can't figure it out.


    Cheers.

  • yeah so have the filter balance all the way to the left and have lfo modulating filter balance in the matrix, also have it double modulated(same mod twice) so x2 lfo 3 modulating filter balance so it makes it all the way to the right side/filter 2.
    This should work so long as filter 1 and 2 are doing different speeds say lfo 1 modulating filter 1 cut off by 1/8 and lfo 2 modulating filter 2 cut off by 1/4 or whatevs.
    Me, Zeno and antiserum are talking about sorting out some banks for the TI so watch out for that ;)

  • having aftertouch modulating lfo 3's depth for vibrato and at the same time increasing the filter cut off
    personal favourite of mine atm it's real basic but brings a killer distorted bassline to life

  • Vibes all!


    Killa thread!


    Thanks for sharing!!!


    I suck big time at sound design, there are so many options, you have explained allot in a way that is easily digested buy the novice mind!


    you guys seriously rule, dope beats and sharing your wealth of knowledge too, wicked!


    that talky kind of vibe you guys got on the bass, what you automating?


    I hope I can make my virus talk like you can one day!


    much love and respect!


    Peace

  • Wow that Chewie & Zeno track has me impressed! I gave up on Dubstep, after all I heard was the Massive wobble wobble everywhere, sounded so stale.


    Anymore stuff like this out there? :love: What still confuses me is, where's the dub in dubstep? lol. :D

  • Cheers guys! Glad your feeling the "on point" riddim
    We've just finished a new one the other week that's been nearly a year in making and another one that i'm just waiting on zeno for hint hint ;)
    @ bhco3 the talking kinda bass if i'm thinking of the right one is a good dose of distortion using a band pass filter on filter 2. The way the virus works it's sometimes better to have the 1st filter doing nothing but driving the signal with the saturation/ distortion and then manipulating the harmonics with the 2nd filter.
    Mind you i think zeno made that patch so he'll probably tell me i'm completely wrong lol
    Current favourites for starting oscillators is the hypersaw but with the sub osc level on full so you get some mean as fuck detuned square wave for a rough start , add lots of unison to make it even more epic.
    Another one i've been messing around with recently is just 1 plain square wave from the classic oscillators but then have the waveshaper at around 30ish at the filter section and add some more in the distortion effects section this increases the harmonics and makes some real nice cutting style bass, don't overdo it mind ;)
    Last thing - the eq section. Very handy. Try and accent the tasty frequencies so for bass i'd bring up the low @ say 200-300 6 to 9db gain , mid section 1.5 to 2.5 khz 6 to 9 db gain, hi section 3.5 to 5khz 6ish gain. Again it all depends on what fits with the particular bass your making. Try not to make it too muddy ( 200 to 800hz area is a real mixdown mush area as alot of instruments, drums hell most things try and fit in this spot). Then in your daw go to work on cutting out the low end to fit a sub underneath ( usually a 12db curve hi pass filter rolling off @ 180 to 200hz) Also a notch @ 500 if it's too muddy works wonders.
    Rant over :)
    Oh and don't forget compression, LA2A is king for bass
    and the uad fatso aswell