drum&bass, dubstep style bass effects

adube810 · #1 03-25-2008, 12:02 PM

i want to get my bass to get that really boomy fuzzy bass sound. it almost sounds like a synth to me. any ideas?

dannybuoy · #2 03-25-2008, 12:33 PM

Devi Ever Bass Fuzz, MXR Blowtorch perhaps?

Inflin · #3 03-25-2008, 12:36 PM

Octaver for sure, most of it is an octave below bass guitar, and some kind of fuzz would get you there, and check out the EHX bass microsynth for even more dubsteppy sounds.

four2oh · #4 03-25-2008, 02:44 PM

for DnB, i typically run this setup: octave up/down (first setting on whammy IV) > fuzz (devi ever GZ fuzz) > envelope filter (ashdown dual filter)

bassbmx · #5 03-25-2008, 03:24 PM

+1 on the EHX Bass Micro Synth

JohnDavisNYC · #6 03-25-2008, 04:05 PM

for dnb, 2step, dubstep, etc... the core of the sound is an octave pedal with only the octave sound. for me, the only choice is the boss oc2 with oct 1 all the way up, and dry and oct 2 fully off. from there you need to modify it to be more of a square wave sound by using a really heavy fuzz. gated fuzz pedals are particularly great for the synthier textures. i use a zvex woolly mammoth, and it rules for that sound. from there you need to filter it and or modulate it. tons of options there, moog lpf is my fave.

bass sound design is a big world, and tons of fun. it's possible to create some absolutely massive dnb sounds using just a few pedals.

cheers,
john

emjazz · #7 03-25-2008, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnDavisNYC

for dnb, 2step, dubstep, etc... the core of the sound is an octave pedal with only the octave sound. for me, the only choice is the boss oc2 with oct 1 all the way up, and dry and oct 2 fully off. from there you need to modify it to be more of a square wave sound by using a really heavy fuzz. gated fuzz pedals are particularly great for the synthier textures. i use a zvex woolly mammoth, and it rules for that sound. from there you need to filter it and or modulate it. tons of options there, moog lpf is my fave.

bass sound design is a big world, and tons of fun. it's possible to create some absolutely massive dnb sounds using just a few pedals.

cheers,
john

Very, very cool to hear from you on this John. Didn't know you were on here.

adube810, this would be the post to learn from. Check out Jojo Mayer's group that John plays in if you don't know them.

John, have you compared the OC2 to the OC3? If so, why do you prefer the OC2? Thanks.

adube810 · #8 03-25-2008, 08:23 PM

ok... so how does this sound?

Tech21 BDDI sansamp->Demeter comp-1->EHX MicroPOG->MXR blowtorch (or ZVEX mammoth depending on funds)->EHX bassballs nano->Moog M105b bass murf

TaySte_2000 · #9 03-26-2008, 03:26 AM

Don't waste your time on the Bassballs it's not all that synthy and sounds very thin to me,

The Moog low pass is probably the ultimate in this field or a Dod fx25 set really dubby, personally I love the Boomstick Bottom Feeder as it just reacts really well to fuzz. I'd also recommend checking out the Subdecay Flying Tomato for a fuzz it will do mthat cool synthy gated sounds and is cheaper than the Mammoth (Which IMHO sucks)

Hope this helps

rottenramone · #10 03-26-2008, 06:20 AM

hi guys

i'm also in a dnb band, and TB has been a great resource in getting that synth sound!! i'm using an arion octave and a flying tomato fuzz. filterwise its the LPF.

but just to expand on the sound a little, was wondering if getting that classic "Reese Bass" sound was possible at all? its 2 saw waves, and one is detuned. i guess it would be set in a a dual loop, with a freqbox on each loop, then a pitch shifter on one.

Here's how they do it on Reason: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1BI-KVnJuE

Hope that u guys can chip in

TaySte_2000 · #11 03-26-2008, 06:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rottenramone

hi guys

i'm also in a dnb band, and TB has been a great resource in getting that synth sound!! i'm using an arion octave and a flying tomato fuzz. filterwise its the LPF.

but just to expand on the sound a little, was wondering if getting that classic "Reese Bass" sound was possible at all? its 2 saw waves, and one is detuned. i guess it would be set in a a dual loop, with a freqbox on each loop, then a pitch shifter on one.

Here's how they do it on Reason: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1BI-KVnJuE

Hope that u guys can chip in

Cheapest way I can think of is

Tomato into a Boss LS-2 using A and B running Parrallel and in one of those either a chorus or a vibe pedal and that will give half the signal a detuned sound and both sides will have independant volume controls.

The Lurker · #12 03-26-2008, 06:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnDavisNYC

for dnb, 2step, dubstep, etc... the core of the sound is an octave pedal with only the octave sound. for me, the only choice is the boss oc2 with oct 1 all the way up, and dry and oct 2 fully off. from there you need to modify it to be more of a square wave sound by using a really heavy fuzz. gated fuzz pedals are particularly great for the synthier textures. i use a zvex woolly mammoth, and it rules for that sound. from there you need to filter it and or modulate it. tons of options there, moog lpf is my fave.

bass sound design is a big world, and tons of fun. it's possible to create some absolutely massive dnb sounds using just a few pedals.

cheers,
john

+1. I have been experimenting along the same lines lately.

JohnDavisNYC · #13 03-26-2008, 07:07 AM

for 'reese bass' sounds i generally use a short modulated delay, like an overly seasick chorus... i use the line 6 dl4 with the modulated digital delay setting. if the mix is at 100%, it should sound like an oscillator being modulated with a sine wave LFO... dial it back to somewhere around %40 and it sounds pretty fresh. i also have a crappy ibanez soundtank flanger that i found which kinda does the 'reese' thing as well. i also find that some overdrive at the END of the chain can help give it that sound.

as far as the oc2 vs. oc3, i tried the oc3 when a friend got it, but i thought it sounded kinda weak. i tend to hate things that try to cram too many features into one box, and i thought all the multiple inputs, different modes, etc., was too much.

hope that helps.

john

JohnDavisNYC · #14 03-26-2008, 07:09 AM

hey tayste, why don't you like the woolly mammoth? just curious... i love it, and you are pretty much the first person i have heard who doesn't like it. granted, it is a pretty specific sound, and maybe doesn't work with certain basses... i dunno.

anyway, just wondering.

cheers,
john

TaySte_2000 · #15 03-26-2008, 07:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnDavisNYC

hey tayste, why don't you like the woolly mammoth? just curious... i love it, and you are pretty much the first person i have heard who doesn't like it. granted, it is a pretty specific sound, and maybe doesn't work with certain basses... i dunno.

anyway, just wondering.

cheers,
john

Doesn't work with active basses at all, not even a little bit, which I normally accept unless a pedal has been specifically designed for bass which just makes it bad design, but it's also a very overpriced pedal over here in the uk when it's priced around $400+ and the sound to pound ratio (funny eh?) just doesn't work out. I've tried dare I say most fuzz pedals and there are better cheaper, same priced and more expensive ones than the mammoth.

Sounds like I really hate it doesn't it

I'm hoping to retry one soon just to make sure

JohnDavisNYC · #16 03-26-2008, 09:40 AM

hmmm... i seem to remember it worked fine with my fodera... but there were a few boss pedals before it, so maybe the buffers cleared things up? i also may have always been using the fodera in passive mode...

well, if you are in nyc you are more than welcome to come try out my pedal board and see how it works for you! likewise when i make it back to the uk i'd like to do a nerdy bass pedal hang.....

for $400, though, not really worth it... $250 or whatever i paid 4 years ago was a lot... $400 is dumb.

john

manjonning · #17 03-26-2008, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adube810

i want to get my bass to get that really boomy fuzzy bass sound. it almost sounds like a synth to me. any ideas?

The first version of DOD's envelope filter can give you the boomy almost synth sound.. Set the rate to zero so the emvelope doesn't open at all... this really does the trick for some hip hopish or technoish bass tones!

TaySte_2000 · #18 03-26-2008, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnDavisNYC

hmmm... i seem to remember it worked fine with my fodera... but there were a few boss pedals before it, so maybe the buffers cleared things up? i also may have always been using the fodera in passive mode...

well, if you are in nyc you are more than welcome to come try out my pedal board and see how it works for you! likewise when i make it back to the uk i'd like to do a nerdy bass pedal hang.....

for $400, though, not really worth it... $250 or whatever i paid 4 years ago was a lot... $400 is dumb.

john

Hell yeah if you're ever in the UK I got some great stuff for you to try.

This is someone on this board who is less than 10 miles away who has a mammoth

maybe he'll see it in his heart to lend it me so I can confirm I hate it

dubsymmetry · #19 03-26-2008, 09:55 AM

you could try a reamp box before the woolly.. awkward solution though, I did this with an active warwick I sold... I play only passive basses, because I like the sound more.

TaySte_2000 · #20 03-26-2008, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dubsymmetry

you could try a reamp box before the woolly.. awkward solution though, I did this with an active warwick I sold... I play only passive basses, because I like the sound more.

I have an impedance buffer so I can use any fuzz on any bass but I found for me the best fuzz is the Mojohand Huckleberry.

But if I was to have an impedance buffer and a mammoth I'd have spent like $600 on a fuzz pedal, a fuzz pedal which I consider to be average and for that price I can buy a few really decent ones, Neo Fuzz, Flying Tomato etc etc