Mesh Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 I mainly play guitar (audio side) and would really like to know how you guys use soft synths to get good bass lines. I've been using XO (Addictive Drums) for the drums as a starting point, but when it comes to getting a synth bass to sync/mesh with the drums, I don't quite get the results I want. My goal is to get some good backing tracks (the ones that keep your head bopping lol) for my guitar work. Any type of tips, links, or a tutorial on this would be fantastic and greatly appreciated. Cheers, Mesh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vernon Barnes Posted November 3, 2020 Share Posted November 3, 2020 Do you want to use a synth to emulate a bass guitar or do you want synth bass? For bass guitar you really want something that emulates different articulations (sustain, mute, hammer on, slide etc) and work them into the part. With synth bass getting variation is a big help. Opening the filter on accented notes can help as can using a combination of legato and staccato notes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abacab Posted November 4, 2020 Share Posted November 4, 2020 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mesh Posted November 4, 2020 Author Share Posted November 4, 2020 3 hours ago, Vernon Barnes said: Do you want to use a synth to emulate a bass guitar or do you want synth bass? For bass guitar you really want something that emulates different articulations (sustain, mute, hammer on, slide etc) and work them into the part. With synth bass getting variation is a big help. Opening the filter on accented notes can help as can using a combination of legato and staccato notes. I'm looking to use a soft synth for the bass lines (I'm dwelling into the dance genre) and do like those deep bass tones that have some movement/variation. It's a bit of uncharted territory for me in how to do this. I do have EZ Bass & some UJAM basses for the rock side of things (thanks Abacab for the vid). I generally play a beat and try different soft synths out to see what works. I haven't gone into the piano roll world in creating music (only playing it on my keyboard, but I'm limited in that dept. to say the least...lol). I suppose I'm looking for some techniques/different ways to build a good bass line . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abacab Posted November 4, 2020 Share Posted November 4, 2020 18 minutes ago, Mesh said: I'm looking to use a soft synth for the bass lines (I'm dwelling into the dance genre) I would imagine that all you need is a "4 on the floor" beat and a synth sound that makes your head bop! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mesh Posted November 4, 2020 Author Share Posted November 4, 2020 10 hours ago, abacab said: I would imagine that all you need is a "4 on the floor" beat and a synth sound that makes your head bop! Funny you said that as I did write that and then (for better or worse) deleted it from my previous post. BTW, I do like 4 on the floor stuff. Besides playing the bass line, are there some other (creative) ways to generate it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZincT Posted November 4, 2020 Share Posted November 4, 2020 (edited) @Mesh I don't know which of these you have but in addition to the above options I have used the plugins listed below to make some good synth bass lines or in some cases starting points. Each will require different amount of user input and techniques to make something useful. - Chordpulse - Orb Producer (Bass or Melody plugin) - Captain Plugins (Bass or Melody plugin) - Riffer - Scaler 2 - Instachord / Instascale - Evabeat Melody Sauce - Band in a Box (mainly MIDI but also audio) There are others I have probably forgotten about. You might need to look up YouTube tutorials for each of these as some of these can go quite deep (no pun intended 🤪 ). There's also the option of singing something into your DAW and getting Melodyne to convert it to MIDI or using a Synth Bass sample library (or maybe the MIDI from one). EDIT: ChordPotion and Chordprism are two more that can be used like this. Edited November 4, 2020 by ZincT 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mesh Posted November 4, 2020 Author Share Posted November 4, 2020 Thanks ZT!! I do have some of those plugins AND (confession time), been lazy to dwell deep into using them properly. You know, us guitarists just like instant gratification...plug it in, turn it up, and play. OK, I'm going to give one of those plugins a good shot and spend some time learning them. Just FYI: Melodyne is a fantastic piece of software, but there's just no way it can tackle my singing . Actually, I can sing in key, but that's going to be an extreme last resort. Cheers! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abacab Posted November 4, 2020 Share Posted November 4, 2020 (edited) 4 hours ago, Mesh said: Besides playing the bass line, are there some other (creative) ways to generate it? Check out the MIDI Pattern Generator in Tracktion Waveform! It can create bass lines (as well as chords, melodies, arpeggios) according to the chord and progression that you pick. There are over 70 bass pattern presets available. Just plugin your favorite synth or bass instrument and jam! Here I plugged Waves Element 2 with a bass preset, inserted a MIDI clip, added the bass line pattern generator, and selected the "Deadmau5 Pluck" bass pattern. Took less than 5 minutes. The progression is [vi (Am)-V(GM)-iii(Em)-vi(Am)]. Edited November 4, 2020 by abacab 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mesh Posted November 4, 2020 Author Share Posted November 4, 2020 14 minutes ago, abacab said: Just plugin your favorite synth or bass instrument and jam! Now we're talking lol! Checking out Tracktion Waveform! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZincT Posted November 4, 2020 Share Posted November 4, 2020 4 hours ago, Mesh said: Thanks ZT!! I do have some of those plugins AND (confession time), been lazy to dwell deep into using them properly. You know, us guitarists just like instant gratification...plug it in, turn it up, and play. OK, I'm going to give one of those plugins a good shot and spend some time learning them. Just FYI: Melodyne is a fantastic piece of software, but there's just no way it can tackle my singing . Actually, I can sing in key, but that's going to be an extreme last resort. Cheers! Sounds a bit too familiar Mesh Instant gratification is something that takes time 🤔 😵 I like the look of this as well, especially if you can sing ... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abacab Posted November 4, 2020 Share Posted November 4, 2020 (edited) 8 minutes ago, Mesh said: Now we're talking lol! Checking out Tracktion Waveform! Quick clip exported from the Waveform project... Deadmau5 plucks Export 1.mp3 Edited November 4, 2020 by abacab 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZincT Posted November 4, 2020 Share Posted November 4, 2020 Ah, also forgot MIDI guitar...an excellent way to get guitar into MIDI format for making bass synth noises (or other stuff) with the added advantage that you are already a mean guitar player Mesh! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mesh Posted November 4, 2020 Author Share Posted November 4, 2020 Thanks Zinc for the reminder, had completely forgot about MIDI Guitar. Don't know about mean guitar player....usually, this is the reaction I get: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZincT Posted November 4, 2020 Share Posted November 4, 2020 Lol! Here's a quick demo made with Captain Plugins in about 2 minutes (chords, beat and bass)... The bass pattern is one of hundreds and it is editable of course. It does have some excellent bass patterns. CC Demo.mp3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abacab Posted November 4, 2020 Share Posted November 4, 2020 Choices...choices... 😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitflipper Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 As a guitar player, you might try playing them on your 6-string and then converting that into MIDI to drive whatever synth you like. I know guitarists who prefer this method, but know that slides don't convert well, and IMO a bass part without slides is like playing Snakes 'n Ladders without Snakes. Don't be afraid to hand-plant bass parts in the PRV. With the exception of pads, nothing works better with mouse-inserted notes in the PRV than bass. It takes practice like anything else, but you can get excellent results, even with expressive acoustic basses. Synth bass lines in EDM are the easiest of all. My go-to for synth bass is Uhe's Zebra2. But then, I like more traditional and/or subtle bass sounds. For modern dance music there are gobs of options, including Cakewalk's own Z3ta+ and Rapture. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starship Krupa Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 On 11/8/2020 at 9:24 AM, bitflipper said: you might try playing them on your 6-string and then converting that into MIDI to drive whatever synth you like This is a great idea I hadn't thought of! Yes, Cakewalk should be able to handle this just fine with the help of Melodyne. Then you can go into PRV and pitch the notes down an octave. Another possibility not mentioned is to use loops. There are some included with Cakewalk by BandLab, and you can find many more free (and pay) sample packs at places like W.A. Production. W.A. Production's kits usually come with bass line loops. Right now their monthly giveaway is "Savage Bass House Bundle," and all you need do to qualify for it is download one of their free plug-ins like Combear. Cakewalk handles loops like a champ. Pitch 'em, stretch 'em, whatever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abacab Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 On 11/3/2020 at 9:45 PM, Mesh said: I'm looking to use a soft synth for the bass lines (I'm dwelling into the dance genre) and do like those deep bass tones that have some movement/variation. It's a bit of uncharted territory for me in how to do this. I do have EZ Bass & some UJAM basses for the rock side of things Had any success yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mesh Posted November 11, 2020 Author Share Posted November 11, 2020 4 hours ago, abacab said: Had any success yet? Not successful yet, but definitely inspired. I'm working on a few ideas and looking into all the tips you guys gave (Dave's suggestion is high on that list as it's easier to play the guitar than keys). Also checking out some of Captain's plugins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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