Tips and Tricks: Making Dub with Live

djwglpuppy · Post by **djwglpuppy** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 8:29 pm

What I like to use is record a Five String Bass with a Line 6 "Bass Pod xt" (set to the Sub Bass Preset)... I will then tweek it out with the VST Effect "BBE Sonic Maximizer"... That gave me the fullest bass sound. Since it is Dub... nothing compares to a REAL bass guitar... A perfect example is Massive Attack's Mezzanine album. After hearing the amazing low tones that came out of that album made me have to buy a Five String.

If you don't play bass then another alternative is check out Spectronics Trilogy... Some great bass tones in that module.

As a personal preference for really full sounds; I tend to stay away from Reason (ie. Subtractor) because they just sound a little too dull to me... Maybe I just used Reason too much over the years but anytime I hear a track, I can pick out whether or not they use that module... Which is both a good thing and a bad thing.

kennerb · Post by **kennerb** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 8:45 pm

I've said it hear before and some of you may already know the trick but I gotta say it again. The ultimate deep bass can be had by putting it through a DOD fx25 filter pedal. You take that and close the filter down essentially making it a lowpass filter. The level of boom you get out of this is deafening. This was a tip a guy here in town gave me which originally came from Bill Laswell <-God

Dr Dub · Post by **Dr Dub** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 10:37 pm

At first: Nice to see some Dubbers out here

Second: Big up to Meef Chaloin, if seen you on some dub related forums and
listened to your stuff at Versionist (great! site), which I really like.

I tried a few DAWs, and in my opinion Live is great for doing it Dubstyleeee, cause you can see it nearest to a real Mixining board.

The Mad Professor says: Good songs make a good Dub, Bad songs make a good Dub, no songs make no good Dub

So the recipe for Dub is:

Take a smoke (leave this out, if you want to)

Build somthing like a song (which can be and relly should be boring as hell and sound like Idon't know)
- Then play with the mute buttons and your sends

if you dont know how, this is a good tutorial:

http://www.wayneandwax.org/lessons/root ... orial.html

it's for fruityloops, but it' really usefull, if you aren't in it.

You have just to got: Some Drums (and EVERYTHING can be used)
Low Tempo (65 - 85, breaking the rules is welcome)
A Bassline with a really low end
the offbeat (skanks), probably with a guitar or piano, organ or anything, just a simple chord

Then just play with the automation and the Effects, (remenber it should sound just boring)

Don' forget to hit rec. everytime

Dr Dub · Post by **Dr Dub** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 10:50 pm

For the sounds:

Bass:
- Instead of buying the next plugin, buy a relly cheap Bass!!! If you are into
the prices of software, it' sooo cheap, for under 150$ you get REAL Hardware,
just try it, it works good just into the mixingboard/interface

-for the modern, Synth Style, Bassline, try every "simple synth", just for example, Arturia Minimoog, Basspresets, Deep sub bass (and try all the others too...)

-no money - ableton factory presets, simpler, low end (or what you like, f.e.
fingerd bass with some tweaking)

-tweak it: eq4, saturator, Guitar rig: Presets, Bass, Deepest Dub Bass (or whatever)
-this should eventually apply to Synthbass also

more to come, excuse my bad English. Questions welcome!

DeadlyKungFu · Post by **DeadlyKungFu** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 11:51 pm

Dr Dub wrote:buy a relly cheap Bass!!! If you are into the prices of software, it' sooo cheap, for under 150$ you get REAL Hardware,

No doubt!! Good point about the price comparison.

I've been borrowing a bass that a friend of a friend of a friend put together from spare parts, it's soooo much fun and really easy to play. Even a simple bass line makes a world of difference with the real thing. You don't have to be a guitar player to pick up bass, just listen while you play it, practice, hit record and pick out the good parts. <Ask bass/guitar players about 'playing boxes.' A 5 string is on the gear list, hopefully this fall.

Dr.Dub - What country/city/planet/interstellar plane do you live on?

Dr Dub · Post by **Dr Dub** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 10:07 pm

While repairing my interstellar Plane, I am in Germany right now,
soon taking off to the Planet of the three-eared.

Same story with the Bass with me, i borrowed a real crappy one of a friend,
have to give it back soon.
It's number two on my Gear-List, just after a bcr2000, wich I really want to have
(unfortunatly there is no money).
Me think the BCR will be awesome to Dub with, just a simple setup:
8 Channels, buttons for speaker on/off and mutes + 4 sends
If I want more Effects, perhaps the three standard ones at the bottom encoders, useing the Encodergroups one to 4 on the top row for more special ones, which means 7 sends (oh yeah) per channel with instant access, 3 available without switching all the time.
I WANT IT !!!!

I'll post my preferred effects later, when the wife is sleeping... what are yours?

Gyro · Post by **Gyro** » Sat Jul 29, 2006 2:30 pm

Dr Dub wrote:While repairing my interstellar
Me think the BCR will be awesome to Dub with, just a simple setup:
8 Channels, buttons for speaker on/off and mutes + 4 sends
If I want more Effects, perhaps the three standard ones at the bottom encoders, useing the Encodergroups one to 4 on the top row for more special ones, which means 7 sends (oh yeah) per channel with instant access, 3 available without switching all the time.
I WANT IT !!!!

I'll post my preferred effects later, when the wife is sleeping... what are yours?

Hehehe funny you should say that. I use a bcr2000, assigning the Slayer vst, and various delat effects to the rotary's and buttons. It's definetly worth saving up for.

Now I'm looking at getting the alesis photon x25 (ahhh I love the look of this thing) and there new drum machine. I hope to use the drum machine to program in percussive effects so that I can use my ear more than quantitization (sp?) in Live. I also like the idea of hitting a drum machine live and it playing a cow bell

Hmmm preferred effects. That's a good question. Someone mentioned ohm boyz Delay, and that is massive, but I'm yet to explore too many other effects. Anyone have any particularly good reverbs out there? They come in handy for getting that spaced out sound.

Well Dr. Dub, it's always good to know that theres a doctor in the house incase my chops fall flat,

Claude Van Mouse

Spikee · Post by **Spikee** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 2:18 pm

subbasshead wrote:you should try a Roland Space Echo!

And if you own Reaktor 5, Try Shiny's Space Echo. It's almost a perfect VST replicate of this device. I did a dub set over the weekend for a bunch of my musician friends and what-not and they were tripping over themselves running up to ask me how I was making it all happen.

cartel00 · Post by **cartel00** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 4:01 am

hey guys what are the most popular types of Dub chord progressions?

I cant ever figure out the chords used. I read somewhere that it comprises nearly all the chords in major and minor. But I was hoping for some progressions... like a Cmajor to a Gmajor or something... please let me know of the progressions used in dub.

Pitch Black · Post by **Pitch Black** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 7:27 am

err.. the same three as used everywhere else?

I IV V (in maj or min, or combinations thereof) is a good place to start - should keep ya going for a few years.

Or the old standard one-chord minor. (hey is like da fonk!)

p

cartel00 · Post by **cartel00** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 10:17 am

Pitch Black wrote:err.. the same three as used everywhere else?

I IV V (in maj or min, or combinations thereof) is a good place to start - should keep ya going for a few years.

Or the old standard one-chord minor. (hey is like da fonk!)

p

by I IV V to you mean a C,F,G chords?

I am using the Chordspace plugin and it too has I VI V however it has many chords within it.

In other words I am confused as to what I IV V translates into. Does that mean, like the chordspace plugin displays, whichever chord that is in category I and that goes with the chords in catoegory IV and that with V. Or do you mean something else.

Pitch Black · Post by **Pitch Black** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 10:29 am

No, you're right. In the key of C - C being the I - the IV is F and the V is G.

Any of those chouds in major or minor should get you going.

cartel00 · Post by **cartel00** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 10:57 am

hey pitchblack do you know how to achieve this in chordspace. Because when I hit the C F G chords it does not sound the same as the chords in chordspace

Pitch Black · Post by **Pitch Black** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 12:25 pm

Sorry I don't know chordspace at all...

Meef Chaloin · Post by **Meef Chaloin** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 1:28 pm

get rid of chordspace & learn it all yourself, its really not hard to understand, its basically just a few formulae. Just spend two days reading as much as you can about theory from the ground up & you will understand how to answer your questions. Seriously, ive been playing guitar for 10 years & have only just learnt music theory. I cant believe how easy it is & just wish id learnt it before. Few days of your time, thats all it will take.

Big up yourself Dr Dub, you got any tunes out?