Kanye West - 'Heard em Say' bass

[The Marrvel]

Does anyone know the type of bass or synth used in this song? It's a very gritty and warm bass sound (moogish?) I'm not very good at figuring out what type of sounds come from what particular synth. I've been trying to get something like it in Trilogy, but I haven't been that successful. Perhaps if I knew what original synth it came from then it would help put me in the right direction.

payce!!!
Marrvel

[filterayok]

when i first heard it, i immediately thaught---"nasty bass" off the triton---but i havent really checked on that----there's a "bubbley-wa" thing going on in the kanye song, that they may have modified in the triton---my best guess

[wreck]

Try Arturia minimoog, if you are using software synths. You would be able to duplicate the bass in that. Its a pretty slick program, runs light and easy to use, pretty useful.

[mammath]

He having worked with Jon Brian and even waited to rent a real harpsichord for "Diamonds", I highly doubt a Triton was used on that record. Jon Brian is an amazing producer. He would've used the real thing. I mean, the entire album was recorded and mixed on a Neve console. That's why it sounds the way it does.

If you're familiar with Jon's work, this makes sense. He's an electro-analog kind of dude. At least that explains part of the reason Kanye says he's $600,000 in the hole (in regards to Late Registration). Samples are another matter altogether.

My guess is that a minimoog was used, as well. But a couple other synths could've been used. I also agree that with Arturia's minimoog and Moog Modular, you can achieve this sound. Probably even the Arp2600, if you know what you're doing.

[goldphinga]

Ive definately heard a bass sound on late registration which sounds EXACTLY like the standard default preset from the logicpro ESM bass synth. Maybe its the same one.

[TonyBelmont]

Originally Posted by goldphinga

Ive definately heard a bass sound on late registration which sounds EXACTLY like the standard default preset from the logicpro ESM bass synth. Maybe its the same one.

that would make sense... Read this from Ken Lewis.

logic vs. pro tools?
That’s barely a question. Some say that Logic compliments the individual creative process while Pro Tools lends itself more to commercial studios and engineer types. The fact is that Logic can be used for producing, mixing, editing, live recording, and MIDI programming—basically anything creative and musical you would ever want to do with your computer. One of the best places to hear Logic in action is on Kanye West’s The College Dropout where I relied on Logic to create musical elements for “All Falls Down,” “Last Call,” “Family Business,” and “Never Let Me Down.” I’m also using Logic 7 on Kanye’s forthcoming Late Registration, but that’s top secret, so until I can tell you about it, dig these dirty digital Dropout secrets.

1. confessions Just when you thought the sped-up music in “Never Let Me Down” was a sample, it’s not, it’s me (even the chipmunk vocal). Kanye sampled some obscure record and didn’t know what it was, and he asked me if I could re-create the exact sound of the sample the way he used it—from scratch. I grabbed my weapon of choice, Logic, to accomplish this overwhelming task. The goal was to recreate a ’70s live band and singer, sampled in mono from scratchy vinyl, well enough to make Kanye believe it was real.

2. get low The raw sample arrived in its (very) sped-up form. To bring the speed down and get the pitch of the sample out of helium-huffing range, I decided to use Logic’s Time and Pitch Machine in Classic Mode (which functions like slowing down a record). I had never heard the original song before, and I didn’t even know if it was a male or female singer, but as Logic slowed the sample down, a ’70s soul vibe emerged with a male singer’s voice sitting in the front of the mix. I won’t mention any names, but this guy’s ruined classics like “When a Man Loves a Woman” and “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay.”

3. when it comes to being tuned, at least be tuned in key (sing along now!) Next, I figured out the new tempo and tuning and lined it up in MIDI to the Logic grid, looping the audio file on beat. I had to be very careful when I slowed the sample down to make sure it was on key, because if it was sharp or flat, learning the notes would be very difficult. I listened to the same four bars of music looped over and over for what seemed like eternity. My ears gradually separated each piece of the sonic puzzle—the notes revealing themselves first, which then gave way to the more subtle details of the loop.

[filterayok]

hey ken, why didnt you just sample the loop in any sampler, and use a keyboard to play the various slowed down pitches until you hit something close enough to the original key.... then recreate the sample at THAT speed, re-sample it into the sampler, and hit the higher note??? everyone following?? then you'd know for sure it would be in the right key at the right tempo....seems easier then dicking around in logic.... and i'm gonna be checking into that sound---i pass thru that nasty bass patch at least 3 times every day, and that kanye song REAAALLLLY reminds me of it....

[filterayok]

wait just thaught of something-------my way is only better if there's already vocals to the sped up sample.... cause if he sped it up and it landed in the key of A +15cents, and thats what they sang to, then your gonna have to tune your guitars and keys 15 cents off when you replay it.....but if he just gave you the loop, then i guess you'd want to be able to get rid of the plus 15 cents, so at least you wont have to retune your keys and guitars, and so auto tune would be easier... and i guess you cant get rid of the cents on a keyboard, so okay maaaaaaybe logic would be better for that.... HOWEVER----if your gonna put it in an exact key through a sped up/slow down method, and he's got a drum beat going to it, its gonna be off, in which case its better to use my method, leave it 15 cents off, so the drums stay in time...i think

[Agzilla]

It's called "time and pitch machine"

In reality it should be called pitch and time machine...for this kinda use anyway...

It does work VERY well though in my experience...

[Rotterdam]

that bass sound can very well be made on different synths like eg korg ms2000, but it definetly got that moog sound. Dr Dre used this almost same sound a lot on older songs like whats my name, dre day. stevie wonder also used this sound a lot.

[filterayok]

okay----re-read kens post----sounds as though there were no vocals, or beat, and his main concern was getting it in a key....i guess the logic thing would be better for that...i dont know that program, but i assume the "slow down a record" function tells you exactly how many cents youve moved after you slow it down???