Synth masterclass 

In the second of his new synth series – focussing on the free plugins we give you each month – Dave Gale makes your basses punch

with Dave Gale

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Download the accompanying video and the MIDI/audio files at filesilo.co.uk/computermusic

As anyone making commercial music will cite, using the perfect set of basic sounds can make or break a track. This begins with the essential components of bass and drums, but getting your bass sound to punch through a mix can be a real challenge – and indeed sit well with the kick – especially when the whole mix may be reproduced on eversmaller devices that lack the ability to play low frequencies sufficiently. In this tutorial, then, we will take a close look at how to get a synth bass sound to rumble at the bottom end, while providing plenty of top-end colour, to keep the iPhone generation happy.

Vintage synthesiser hardware is still very much a weapon in the armoury of the commercial producer, with the classic MiniMoog synthesiser, and it’s later affiliated clones or reproductions, continuing to be highly regarded. Beyond this American classic, the 80s-based Japanese machines from Roland continue to provide a stylish sonic sound-set and hierarchy, which we can look to imitate in software form. This will be our sonic template for creating a punchy bass patch from scratch. We’ll employ a sub-oscillator to provide the bottom end, and an envelope controlled filter for some added bite and crispness, as we go all 101 with Zebra CM.