Synth for great bass

[ejlif]

I'm getting set up in my studio again. My gear consists of Juno 106, Waldorf Q, V synth, Virus Ti2 and Live 9 with quite a few plugs. My question is. Should I try a synth like a Moog maybe for bass? Something that would give me just a good thick solid bass sound or do I have the bases cover with what I already have? I'm not making techno music really but I find myself using quite a bit of bass synth and I'm just wondering if something like a Moog or whatever makes a real difference.

[Andy_X69]

The Waldorf Q and Virus TI2 can both create totally respectable bass (the Virus especially), but you may be interested in getting an analog bass synth (analog basses always sound thicker and heavier). Your Juno 106 is analog, but from what I know its more suited for pads than basses.

You don't need a Moog. You can make FANTASTIC synth bass without Moog. The Moog filter may be classic, but Moog's synths are always expensive and limited somewhat in what you can do.

The Waldorf Pulse 2 may be a great starting point. Its very thick and heavy-sounding... a sonic sledgehammer I assure you. Its very flexible too, with a powerful modulation matrix. Its small and relatively inexpensive, and it can sound more 'organic' than my other suggestion..

The Novation Bass Station 2 is a bit bigger (it has a keyboard)... and it sounds very bassy and quite smooth (although like the Pulse 2 its very flexible). That said, it has a rather 'techno-y' sound (i.e. "it sounds like it was made by a synthesizer"), and it is a great synth for techno/acid/house/synthpop but if you don't make highly-synthetic-sounding music it may clash with your stylistic preference.

Both allow you to filter external audio too.

I'd lean towards suggesting the Pulse 2 since its cheaper and more 'organic' sounding... I think it sounds a bit more solid but the Novation is HARDLY a lightweight... and it also is more compact and convenient.

[commodorejohn]

The Moog is rightfully a classic, but yeah, it's not like there's only that one instrument that can do good bass sounds. There's very few I've encountered that can't do at least a halfway decent bass (*cough*Casio*cough*.) Apparently the Juno-106 has a hidden unison mode (press Poly-I and Poly-II simultaneously,) and that's always a good way to get punchy, fat basses, so maybe play around with that and see what you can come up with...

[GuyaGuy]

All of those produce good bass sounds. (Well, I have no experience with the Virus to be honest...) Really, it depends on what bass sounds you want. Nasal bass can be just as effective as a big bottom bass. Just depends on the song and the sound you're going for...

[ejlif]

I can't say that I've explored or anywhere near the limit of what my current gear can do but I do have quite a few bass lines in some of the new music I'm working on and I'm thinking I wonder if there is a synth out there that would just make a better sound right off the get go that is solid and cuts through well. The Juno certainly can produce some deep bass but it's not exactly what I'm thinking of. I've had the Juno for 25 years and I'm pretty tapped out on what it can do but I'll never get rid of it.

[commodorejohn]

Well, I'll say that for "solid and cuts through well," it's pretty hard to beat a good Yamaha FM synth...

[pmh]

Not done much bass sound wise, but my YouTube put an Arturia Microbrute demo up as a "recommended for you".

Perhaps you should check this out, along with the Minibrute?

Kind regards,



Phil

[phesago]

join the dark side: buy a moog

[ejlif]

join the dark side: buy a moog

Which one ?

[phesago]

Phatty, taurus, or voyager. Theyre all really good. You can easily make taurus sounds with a voyager, and much more. But it costs more. If you shop around and wait for the good deal a rackmount votager can be fairly cheap(15-17ish). I have two of them and that pretty much suits most of my needs

[ejlif]

Ok thanks for the advice. I'm gonna give the slim phatty a try.

[phesago]

h**l yeah. you wont be disappointed. Just know that the mod wheel amount can be accessed by toggling, or holding the amount button in the lfo section. Useful if you dont have a keyboard connected to it, but still want to use the lfo mods.

[Automatic Gainsay]

I also suggest MicroBrute. Any synth with a resonant high pass is going to give you some serious bass. In addition to that, the MicroBrute is, hands down, the least expensive, most powerful, and best-sounding analog synth.

[phesago]

I thought the microbrute was a VA?

[Automatic Gainsay]

I thought the microbrute was a VA?

Nope!

Quoth Arturia: "MicroBrute is pure analog sonic powerhouse of a synth."