Bass techniques
From DNBWiki
Posted by: D-Bridge
quote:Originally posted by Neogenesis so what synth was the choice bass synth for bad company back then?
virus?
We Never used Synth's everything was done in the Emu, the one thing we used to do with the bass was pass it through Guitar Pedals, something I learned from Nico (No U Turn) I remember we got him in to mix down a track for Future Forces Inc I think it was "Tanhausers Gate" (only came out on an Amercian Label if memory serves me correctly) I learned a lot of mixing tips from that guy, absolute sick head. Near enough all our basses were treated with guitar pedals. another thing we did was to split the bass on to two channels, sub on one and mid-highs on the other with the guitar pedal over the mid-high, hope that helps you guys in your quest for bassdom.
[edit] Processing
As standard, most drum and bass producers will apply processing such as distortion using two layers; one being a highpassed, processed layer, and the second being the original bass sound. Bass frequencies can easily be lost by phase-inversion caused by the effects device, or distortion of the sine wave. This technique of 'clean-layering' preserves the ever-so important bass frenquencies needed for drum and bass.
loads of phat bass sounds come by detuning of saw waves or square wavs...when applying a phase difference between 2 wave forms add harmonics can be acheieved and then sculpted into rhythmic soundscapes by the advanced use of filters and envelopes as well as frequency modulation....take notice of the effects of distorting sounds before filtering takes place, as opposed to after...slight variations in levels and input gains can create wicked sounds also. this is also a point where sidechaining and ducking become quite effective tools if used properly. over compressing bass with a sidechain compressor...and using a kick to trigger compression can give quite a bitey sound...don`t forget about sending your trigger kick to a new channel and overcompressing that with a wave form running to the sidechain input for maximum movements.
