Dubstepforum.com

EZ

Just a quick question, I'm using Massive for my bass lines but I'll be the first to admit being a synth retard, despite my best efforts... Anyway, I know a lot of Dubstep artists also use Massive, but I can't quite figure out how they get their basses so nasty, yet clean. Bar 9 for example (and I am using this as an example, I don't want to be the next Bar 9 etc etc, that sound is his), the wobbles are incredibly aggressive yet clean as a whistle... I always seem to get a low dirtiness in mine. Hard to explain, it's almost like Bar 9's LFO -> filter cut off is very precise, and an absolute 100% cut, kind of an almost gated feel. Mine by contrast don't seem to have that snap, and although I am aware that this is mostly because I am a noob, I am wondering if I am missing something fundamental?

Any help would be appreciated, I really struggle getting anything decent out of Massive at the moment bar basic wobbles and gritty, shifting reece basslines and I want to improve but not sure the best place to start.

Any help gratefully appreciated!

Sharp wobbles:
LFO to the Filter cutoff is ok, but also drag it to the Oscilators' "Amp" (amplitude) and cut to taste. You will see an immediate difference.

Clean Gritty Bass:
Use the modulation osc on the left. Specifically the phase buttons. For myself, a setting of -12 to to -24 always gets good results.

On insert one, use a bitcrusher, but only slightly. The rest is up to Wavetable selection. Use all 3 oscillators, and set one at 0. One at -12, and one at -24.

You could always try a Square wave for the LFO insted of a Sine wave.

-hk

Or you can use a bandpass instead of a lowpass

are you compressing ?

For a pulsing bass, detune one osc between +3 to +25 and the other equally from -3 to -25. Sawtooth has more harmonics to filter.

Yo check this stuff on youtube could help you out...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZYDmw2pYOk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SK1ocGVD ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0f18uFh ... re=related

Practise.

Make sure your filter is steep, like 24 db or more (4 poles or more).

also in massive you can blend the square and sine lfo, and send that to amp as said, much better.

sublte clever use of distortions
compression
make use of the modulation osc section especially with the phase over ur osc's in massive.

layer of synths sometimes

or summit like : bounce out a very low dirty 16 bars or summit of bass
then twist up the synth into somethin more midrange or hi end
and bounce that
then layer them and distort/filter/compress to taste
can get u some really interesting results

like makin complex reeces in dnb but with wibblez

nixon73 wrote:Yo check this stuff on youtube could help you out...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZYDmw2pYOk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SK1ocGVD ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0f18uFh ... re=related

Last one is very nice, thanks for the link.

Plus the man produces some real fine dubstep imo.