SHILO - House/Electro bass on Virus ti?

  • Here is my guide to those gnarly bass sounds that are good for electro/complextro/dubstep using the Virus. A word of warning - this process is highly addictive and almost always yealds results that are highly usable and pleasing. The secret is enriching the higher frequencies of the sound.


    Preparation: let's start with the init patch. You can turn off the analog boost character if you want. Now, totally unlink the filters and set OSC2 to sync with phase init 1 and detune 0. In the filter section prepare for yourself a trapezoid shape, and give the amp envelope a tail that is just a tad shorter than the one you gave the filter envelope. Change the envelope amount and cutoff frequency of filter 2 until you get a pleasing "WOW" sound.


    Step 1: Turn the ENV>OSC2 knob. Hear the difference? You can do it with any wave shape in osc2 - square with varying pulse width, saw, or any of the sonic waveforms. And I'm not getting into oscillator types other than the classic, because then I'll really get lost. Tweak until satisfied and re-tweak the parameters from the previous step to accommodate. Not satisfied yet? Continue to the next step.


    Step 2: Turn the ENV>FM knob. Tweak until satisfied and re-tweak the parameters from the previous steps to accommodate. Not satisfied yet? Continue to the next step.


    Step 3: Try the various effect types in the filter section's saturation module, with varying levels of saturation. You can also modulate the saturation amount (OSC volume) from the filter envelope by using the modulation matrix. Tweak until satisfied and re-tweak the parameters from the previous steps to accommodate. Not satisfied yet? Continue to the next step.


    Step 4: Increase the resonance of filter 1 to somewhere around half-way, and try various cutoff frequencies. Also try the SER6 and analog mode (note that the latter will override step 3). You can also modulate the resonance of filter 1 from the amp envelope with the modulation matrix. Tweak until satisfied and re-tweak the parameters from the previous steps to accommodate. Not satisfied yet? Continue to the next step.


    Step 5: Add distortion from the effects section. Try all of the types with various configurations. Tweak until satisfied and re-tweak the parameters from the previous steps to accommodate.


    There are a few finishing touches you can give the patch, such as reducing the mid range and boosting the high end using the EQ, and making the highs sizzle using one of the chorus types that allow X-OVER (at around 100).


    Happy tweaking!

  • Omg! 1000 thanks i tried with results already! However what do you mean by trapzoid shape? I didnt understand, and also i find it Hard to modulate the filter 2 to get that wow sound is it done by matrix or? Anyway thanks!

  • However what do you mean by trapzoid shape?

    Oops, my mistake, I forgot to mention that I was talking about the filter envelope - it should look like a trapezoid, with some attack, sustain at maximum and sustain slope at 0.

    i find it Hard to modulate the filter 2 to get that wow sound

    Increase the ENV AMT, make sure it is positive (+), and reduce the cutoff (all for filter 2 only).

  • @flabberbob
    i dont know who you are
    but i will find yoy
    and thanks you :D !


    at first i was : wtf? but after while of tweaking you can make a nice bass from that not shilo but yeah sounds impressive .


    eny tip about playing and modulating that in building track proces?

  • Flabberbob, firstly, thankyou for these sound design tips, I couldn't believe how simple it was to make some sounds with these simple steps. I'd like to take the experimenting further with other modulation methods though so could you confirm the following for me please?


    The ENV>OSC2 knob, is this the same as routing the filter envelope to pitch of oscillator 2?
    The ENV>FM knob, this is the same as routing the filter envelope to FM AMT isn't it?


    I'd like to see what results I'd get for a Dubstep approach if I was to route these via an LFO instead!

  • Yes, yes, yes and yes. The ENV___ family of knobs are hardwired modulation destinations for the filter envelope. Being hardwired makes them more computationally efficient ( = more voices) than doing them with the modulation matrix. You can maintain the efficiency by setting filter env decay to 0 and modulating the filter env sustain level from the assignable slot of an LFO. Since the envelope has to go through its attack segment regardless of other factors, it will sound natural only with certain LFO trig phases.
    If you want to be completely free in your control of the sound, you'll have to go the mod matrix route I mentioned above. Other tips are considering MONO and portamento. Since clocked LFO rate is not automateable, I usually use one of the user assignable MIDI CC-s the Virus offers as source for wobble action, and automate/control it from some external source.
    Oh, and thanks for the heartwarming words everyone, it's nice to know I could help.