Famous Electro House Bass

trexmatt · Post by **trexmatt** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 7:53 pm

I just purchased Live 7 (was working with the demo for a long time...)
and I was wondering how to get that famous electro house bass.
Think of Benassi, Global Deejays, Wolfgang Gartner, Swen Weber, Deadmau5, etc
That dark gritty bassline. I know that it's easily possible in Live and I've seen videos on youtube where people have a bass sound like that, I'm just wondering how they created it.
Would a simple plugin like impOSCar do it? I've heard that you should use a sawtooth waveform but is that it? Can someone please give me some tips on what the plugin values should be at? Or better yet an example in a live project?

Any help is much appreciated... I think it's great that there is an online community of musicians that can share knowledge and help each other out..

weeddigger · Post by **weeddigger** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 7:55 pm

The sawtooth is the way...

weeddigger · Post by **weeddigger** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 7:59 pm

Some distortion works too...

trexmatt · Post by **trexmatt** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 9:03 pm

So only a sawtooth? And then some effects? I tried only a sawtooth and it's not really that sick bass sound. I guess it obviously wont be that easy...
Well I'll keep trying thanks...

beats me · Post by **beats me** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 9:42 pm

$2,000+ hardware Moog or Virus. I'm not happy about it either but that's just the way it is.

Idonotlikebroccoli · Post by **Idonotlikebroccoli** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 9:51 pm

Try for example mixing a saw and a square wave. Or have a saw wave play two octaves at the same time c2 and c3 for example. Distortion works very well quite often. Check out the free camelcrusher http://www.camelaudio.com/camelcrusher.php

weeddigger · Post by **weeddigger** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 9:55 pm

This video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgPJ9T-s_Rk might help you out a bit...
It's using Logic's ES2 analog synth, but the info is basic.

Idonotlikebroccoli · Post by **Idonotlikebroccoli** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 10:08 pm

gah, double post

SimonPHC · Post by **SimonPHC** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 11:13 pm

context is everything

a saw on itself isn't very special (although I think it's nice enough sometimes)

what you need is a specific combination of synth programming, EQ, FX and the rest of the track needs to be good too ...

I've personally found that e.g. a slightly distorted saw osc played in the lower octaves with an EQ that cuts the midrange by -8dB and a short and slightly delayed reverb works well for that up front very present saw bass.

[edit] honestly, at first I though you were referring to that quintessential Kevin Saunderson bass, but then I saw you had 'electro' in your title

trexmatt · Post by **trexmatt** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 11:35 pm

Thank you for the links! I will check them all out and see what i can do...
Anyone make the kind of music I'm talking about?

trexmatt · Post by **trexmatt** » Fri Aug 08, 2008 4:20 am

Can I download an Ableton Live 7 project from somebody with a good sounding electro bass?

rob lee · Post by **rob lee** » Fri Aug 08, 2008 6:01 am

Check these out mate:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZUGTPOJ ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0NDA8CJBY8

Khazul · Post by **Khazul** » Fri Aug 08, 2008 11:11 am

beats me wrote:$2,000+ hardware Moog or Virus. I'm not happy about it either but that's just the way it is.

Or an SE Electronics analog synth

Having tried all three for this (and a bunch of others), ended using the virus TI for it mostly. Also running it through an SPL charisma helps too.

Basic ingredients are a fat raw osc sound, LP12 filter and tubey distortion, very little if any reso. I find a mix or saw and square wave at about 65% cycle and use EQ to add presence and soften the high end a little if needed. Also trying dialing in an extra osc at +19 semi tones to add extra harmonics. With SE Synths, then the 303 and LP24 filters are not that useful for it - better with the ARP or SEM filters. The OD models have a useful overdrive in them for this as well. If moog - then you probably want a mini or LP rather than a voyager, or use an external overdrive.

Its probably amount the most basic sounds you can get out of an analog or VA synth + distortion - most of the programming effort goes into getting a good fat character out of it, but the basic sound is a no brainer - it more about how you real time mess with it.

trexmatt · Post by **trexmatt** » Fri Aug 08, 2008 10:14 pm

rob lee wrote:Check these out mate:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZUGTPOJ ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0NDA8CJBY8

Thank you!
The second one really helped. I downloaded that VST (Ritual) and I'm almost getting to that sound I love.
'm just using a sawtooth with full cutoff and no resonance and then I've got a vinyl distortion on top of that...