11th July 2009
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#1 | | Gear interested
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 6
Thread Starter | Anyone know a good synth for making dubstep bass?
I've grown fond of dubstep recently. Especially after hearing it in clubs with really nice soundsystems with great bass. Really my only synths right now are dx200, pro-53, and reason's. I want to make that killer dirty, warbly bass via starky or vex'd, or really any dubstep artist (it may not be diverse, but damn it's good).....wahwahwahwahwaaahwaaahwaaah!! Any suggestions?
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11th July 2009
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#2 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Jan 2007 Location: Dublin
Posts: 742
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Hardware of software ?
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11th July 2009
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#3 | | Gear addict
Joined: Apr 2008 Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Posts: 316
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Lots of dubstep producers use NI Massive.
Its way overused in my opinion though.
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11th July 2009
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#4 | | Gear maniac
Joined: Jul 2008 Location: London, UK
Posts: 202
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Dubstep bass makes me think of distorted vowel sounds...
Waaaourgh! Blooouuuaaargh! Etc, etc...
Didn't someone bring out a softsynth that modelled vowel sounds not so long ago?
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11th July 2009
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#5 | | Gear Head
Joined: Apr 2009 Location: California
Posts: 32
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Anything with good PWM would be good for that.
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11th July 2009
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#6 | | Gear addict
Joined: Apr 2008 Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Posts: 316
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For Dubstep bass I think its really about modulation options on the synth.
Also, it really helps to separate the bass into frequency bands and work with filters, distortion, etc.
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11th July 2009
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#7 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 1,037
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Massive v. popular. A friend uses Blue a lot. (edit: modulation options, as per above post)
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11th July 2009
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#8 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Nov 2007 Location: Niagara
Posts: 3,884
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Korg MS10 or MS20 can do that stuff no probs.
alexP
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11th July 2009
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#9 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 504
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you want a synth that can has at least one lfo with key sync, BPM sync, Phase adjustment and polarity to route to the Filter etc to get properly tight, synced basses.
A dual filter with serial/parallel options can widen the scope
two or more oscillators can be good - one for the sub octave and another for the analogue FM style top end harmonics
these features will give you the tools you need, the rest is just personal preference
BLue, Massive, Predator, softwise - also the new FXpansion synths have a wicked LFO that has a swing function which can do some interesting wobbles
VIrus, Nord G2 can both do proper wobble
just be aware that without the LFO triggering and sync stuff, it becomes a lot harder and more time consuming to produce the bass right.
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12th July 2009
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#11 | | Gear maniac
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 178
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Pulse
Evolver
Mopho
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12th July 2009
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#12 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,513
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Try this... 
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Talk about dongles; I think the MAC PRO is the most expensive dongle ever!  | |
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12th July 2009
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#13 | | 3 + infractions, forum membership suspended.
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,096
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much missed old classic - Syntechno TEEBEE 303, a brutal bass synth
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13th July 2009
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#14 | | Lives for acid
Joined: Dec 2008 Location: Me!bourne, Australia
Posts: 1,924
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Of the ones you already use, you should be able to get something out of Pro-53 and Reason.
__________________ Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan Parsons  I've always been a believer in musical repetition to draw in the listener and make the music hypnotic.
Another thing I believe in is repetition. | | |
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13th July 2009
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#15 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 2,349
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Roland SH series gets pretty wobbly and nasty  | |
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13th July 2009
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#16 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 827
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the pro-one with all the cross mod options nails the sound really well and puts a lot of character in the track.
problem is that it lacks the key syncable LFO which sucks. If you pair it witha some modules then it may be a perfect solution. Because the sound is there.
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13th July 2009
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#17 | | Gear addict
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 322
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Vember audio Surge..beats albino/massive/predator wicked soundquality
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14th July 2009
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#18 | | Gear addict
Joined: Sep 2006 Location: Canada
Posts: 450
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Casiotone -> pitch shift down -> small stone -> pitch shift down -> mix in another small stone -> modulate pitch shifter
Why do it the way everyone else does?
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14th July 2009
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#19 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,469
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I make my wobbles with a Didgeridoo and an orange construction cone.
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14th July 2009
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#20 | | Gear maniac
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 190
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Hey,
Im a dubstep/breakstep producer. (Check out my myspace for tracks) faun2500 on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Videos
I use Rob Papen Blue & Albino, Mini Monsta, Korg Legacy Collection and also Kontakt 3.
Some of the best subs I use come from samples otherwise I mainly use the mini monsta for the sub bass as it is one of the phattest sounding softsynths out there.
For wobble bass, any synth that you can modulate the filter cutoff with an LFO would work.
The other thing to remember is DISTORTION!!! 
If you check out my tracks on myspace you will notice that one of the E.Ps on there is FREE to download.  | |
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14th July 2009
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#21 | | Gear Head
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 35
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plug *cough cough
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14th July 2009
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#22 | | Gear maniac
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 161
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Blofeld has all the necessaries.
Parallel filter routing, heavy filter drive, a very nice sine wave, complex wavetable and FM stuff to go on top, syncable LFOs. etc. etc.
Largo is probably even better with the sub oscs.
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14th July 2009
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#23 | | Gear maniac
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 161
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My favourite kind of dubstep bass is fairly simple though. Deep sine subs and some filtered square wave on top, that kind of thing. Definitely go easy on the distortion, it's about immersion and pressure not constant screeching noise. Well not always.
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14th July 2009
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#24 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Jul 2009 Location: Greece
Posts: 1,065
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Pure sine subs and/or wobbles are dominant.
I think software is the best solution for wobble bass, Albino 3 is awesome for that. Usually the starting point is a full big squares+sines bass and then a lfo with filter cutoff in synch (1/4T 1/8T etc). Distortion always welcome.  | |
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12th February 2010
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#25 | | Gear interested
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 6
Thread Starter | Thanks
Even though it's ancient history, thanks to everyone who replied to this post, I think Predator, Massive, and/or Albino is in my sights. I've grown fond of Thor and Maelstrom in Reason, too. Pro-53 is great but not as suited for fat dubsteppin bass lines.
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13th February 2010
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#26 | | Gear maniac
Joined: Oct 2009 Location: Tarzana, CA
Posts: 261
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Massive is very popular for this. One instrument you might consider which I haven't seen mentioned is Z3ta+. I have it and use it alot. It has extensive cross-modulation and EG control and is a superb sub/warble/bass generator.
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13th February 2010
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#27 | | Lives for gear |
well you need an oscillator, a low pass filter and an lfo
so any synth will do
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13th February 2010
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#28 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 2,991
| Quote:
Originally Posted by alehoe well you need an oscillator, a low pass filter and an lfo
so any synth will do |
Nope   | |
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13th February 2010
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#29 | | Lives for gear | Quote:
Originally Posted by Lrmusic Nope | well you can always automate the cutoff so therefore i win | |
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13th February 2010
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#30 | | Gear Head
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 45
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2 square waves, with a bandpass filter modulated by a sync'd LFO, use a bit on a negative envelope on the filter with some attack to give the sound an initial pop. Can't believe only one person mentioned working on the frequency bands.
Don't sleep on modulating the band pass filter. It's essential for that sound.
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