Samples and presets are all very well, but if you really want to get the best possible bass sounds for your tracks, then nothing beats being able to synthesise them yourself from the ground up. Sure, even a novice can tweak a synth’s factory sounds and come up with something passable, but this sort of ‘luck-based’ approach can waste time rather than save it. With a basic understanding of the fundamentals of synthesis, you can work far more quickly and get much better-sounding results.
Of course, today’s software synths are packed with features, and while this complexity gives them enormous creative potential, it can be a little scary for the newcomer. Even relatively simple synths like u-he’s Diva or NI’s Super 8 have dozens upon dozens of parameters, features and routing options. However, despite their complex interfaces, soft synths are generally easy to use when you understand their basic functionality, and their seemingly endless options quickly go from being intimidating to offering an enticing plethora of creative possibilities.
In these walkthroughs, we’ll show you how easy it is to use a variety of difficult-sounding synthesis techniques (including frequency, ring and pulse width modulation) to conjure up a variety of useful bass sounds, from simple percussive tones to phase modulating hits and huge, rumbling legato monsters. We’ll not only give you step-by-step instructions, but also explain why each stage of the process is important, helping even the most nervous newbie to get their head around the core techniques of bass synthesis. Links are provided to the demo of each synth used in case you don’t have access to the complete version, while Dune CM is included with our awesome Plugins suite which, of course, includes a selection of other great synths to experiment with.