Pluck and 808 Bass
On paper, it sounds like a really simple bass since it’s just a sine wave, but with a few tweaks and twists, you can turn it into a super strong and powerful bass or even a weapon for the club system. It’s really easy, but super effective, and it fits into almost any track.
Classic Pluck Bass (10:19) #
- Start with a basic bass sound (like a single Saw wave).
- Add some Distortion (like a Soft Clipper).
- Use a Filter Envelope (or any envelope with a fast decay and no sustain) to modulate the synthesizer's main Pitch.
- Set the modulation amount to +12 semitones (one octave).
- Now, when you play a note, you'll get that classic "pew" sound as the pitch quickly drops to your target note. This is a staple in D&B step basslines.
808-Style Sub (12:37) #
- This is all about the Amplitude Envelope.
- Use a simple waveform like a Sine or Triangle wave.
- Set the envelope's Release time to be very long.
- Now when you let go of a key, the bass note will ring out and slowly fade away, just like a classic 808.
- Optional: Add a noise Burst for the attack if you want to have smacky transient
To wrap it all up, you can definitely add distortion or other effects depending on what you need, to get more overtones for the bass or push it in a different direction. This is really just the bare minimum to create a bass sound. But of course, just like with everything else, you can sprinkle on some effects for extra flavor.
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