Frequency Shifter for Risers and Modulation

Tutorial | Dec 13, 2024

In this video, I explored using Bitwig Studio's frequency shifter to create dynamic riser effects and enhance bass sounds by manipulating frequency shifts over various timeframes and phases. I demonstrated how to automate the mix knob for transitioning sections and discussed creative approaches, such as applying modulation effects to bass sounds using root frequencies for added interest. Overall, the frequency shifter proved to be a versatile tool for both riser effects and sound design experimentation, offering new possibilities beyond traditional methods.

You can watch the Video on Youtube

• support me on Patreon

Summary #

Maybe you don't watch the video, here are some important takeaways:

In this video, I'm inviting you back to check out a drum and bass tune I'm working on. Before we dive in, make sure to turn down your volume as the track is quite loud. The setup is a basic drum and bass roller, comprising primarily of drums and bass, with nothing particularly special going on initially. On the master channel, I'm not using Bitwig's default master; instead, I'm utilizing a parent group as my master channel to experiment with and include a frequency shifter.

With the frequency shifter, I'm leveraging the latest update, which offers time-based settings like quarter notes, half notes, and so on. I've chosen the bar setting and input eight bars, allowing us to shift frequencies up or down over eight bars. This feature is enhanced further by incorporating some feedback to amplify the effect. The result is a rise effect as the frequencies shift upwards. Normally, such effects involve filtered noise or a saw lead with pitch modulation, but here, I'm using audio content from the track and filtering it through the frequency shifter.

I don't want the effect to be constant, so I'm automating the mix knob: it goes up to 50% at transition points in the track and then reduces back to zero. Increasing the feedback pushes the effect further, and I also remove some low-end content to refine the sound. The width knob on Bitwig Studio's frequency shifter works uniquely by offsetting phase on the right channel, creating stereo effects when adjusted correctly.

Additionally, I'm utilizing some wet effects, like blur, and experimenting with the delay of the frequency shifter itself. Adjusting the delay time and mix produces varying levels of intensity, which I fine-tune to avoid overpowering the track. The automation sequences between sections help blend the frequency-shifting effect seamlessly.

I also duplicate these automations at different points and experiment with varied bar settings or feedback dynamics to create diverse rising or descending effects, even applying reverses at some points. Adding reverb further enhances the experience.

For bass sounds, applying a frequency shifter usually causes phase issues, but sometimes it yields interesting results. By selecting bar-based or even hertz modulation settings, I can create unique sound textures. Fast or slow modulations, as well as synchronization to root note frequencies, open up numerous possibilities.

For instance, selecting a frequency like E3 or E4 and aligning it with the kilohertz setting in the frequency shifter, allows for rhythmic modulation that's more than just simple frequency shifts; it's akin to a modulation effect. Blending this with some compression or saturation can yield fascinating sound design results, adding richness and complexity.

My main goal in this video was to showcase how frequency shifters aren't just for shifting frequencies. They're versatile tools for creating riser effects and even serve as creative sound design elements, especially within bass sound manipulation. I'm enjoying exploring these possibilities and would love to know your thoughts. If you enjoyed the video, please like and subscribe for more content. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you in the next video!

Transcription #

This is what im talking about in this video. The text is transcribed by AI, so it might not be perfect. If you find any mistakes, please let me know.
You can also click on the timestamps to jump to the right part of the video, which should be helpful.

[00:00:00] yo folks welcome back to another video i was just working on this drum bass tune here in
[00:00:05] the background and before i show it to you please make sure you turn down the volume
[00:00:10] because it's very very loud okay
[00:00:12] so very basic drum bass roller setup just drums bass and uh yeah a mute
[00:00:29] that pet sound nothing special and here on the master channel so i don't use here the master of
[00:00:36] bitwig i just use this parent group kinda on this master channel i want to use the frequency shifter
[00:00:43] plus of course and for the last update we have now here these time-based settings right so quarter
[00:00:50] note half note eight note and so on and i want to use now here bar the bar setting and type in eight
[00:00:57] bars right so now we can shift the frequencies up or down across the time frame of eight bars
[00:01:04] and we probably also have to use the feedback uh then a bit to increase the effect so this is how it
[00:01:11] right you can hear how it shifts up the frequencies and it almost sounds like a riser sound normally for
[00:01:30] these type of effects use some filtered noise or maybe a saw lead and then you pitch it up or
[00:01:35] some kind of weird modulations over time but here you can use the audio content of your track and just
[00:01:44] filter it through this frequency shifter and just shift everything up and up and it sounds yeah like a riser
[00:01:50] um so we don't want to have this effect here all the time so i'm just automating the mix knob
[00:01:56] and say i want to have here 50 percent here at the drop
[00:02:00] well it's not the drop it's actually here the you know when you want to drop to the next section
[00:02:06] so we bring in here the mix knob and then we shift up and then we bring it down to zero percent
[00:02:13] maybe increase the feedback a bit more
[00:02:22] maybe we can also here remove a bit of the low end content
[00:02:30] and then we have this width knob here and it does something different than
[00:02:43] all the other with knobs of bitwig studio
[00:02:45] um it's not like that you can change here the volume of the side channel
[00:02:51] um you actually offset the phase for the frequency shift on the right channel by a certain degree
[00:02:58] um so now then you have a frequency shift or a different frequency shift on the left channel
[00:03:06] than on the right channel right and it sounds like this
[00:03:08] if you do it too much right then you have like a completely opposite uh 90 degree shift on the left
[00:03:20] than on the right right side and it sounds too weird actually but so i just dial in here a few
[00:03:27] two degrees and you're good actually so it sounds more stereo
[00:03:31] we can then use your wet fx and bring in let's say maybe a blur
[00:03:38] maybe we can also use here the delay of this frequency shifter itself
[00:03:54] oh yeah we can also decrease here the delay time
[00:04:04] maybe reduce here the mix a bit more because it becomes very loud here with the feedback
[00:04:20] i just want to slowly mix it in or just underlay everything with this kind of rising effect
[00:04:31] even though 20 is enough maybe
[00:04:34] okay so here we can just duplicate this and put it at the end of this sequence and maybe also this
[00:04:58] here we want to have here and maybe here we do the opposite
[00:05:10] and you can amplify this even more by i don't know maybe you just use four bars which does it a bit faster
[00:05:28] right or you change the feedback here or you change it to shifting down over time
[00:05:36] or you bring a reverb in here
[00:05:57] so very easy to set up you just use time based setting here bar and then you type in the bars you want
[00:06:27] to shift up to shift up or down and then you get this effect pretty easily just by dialing in the feedback here
[00:06:33] yeah very easy in my opinion very fun and you don't need to use filtered noise or any of these type of effects
[00:06:42] if you want to create risers or these kind of fall downs or impact sounds
[00:06:46] also interesting to use this frequency shifter actually on the bass sound itself
[00:06:52] and normally you don't want to do this right because of phase issues and stuff like this but
[00:06:58] it really creates sometimes some interesting effects let me see here that's the bass
[00:07:06] let me disable here the dacca
[00:07:10] let's mute or solo here the bass
[00:07:14] so a bit boring so let's say we put your frequency shifter on that
[00:07:28] and we also can use bar here shifting down one bar
[00:07:36] and it's kind of not like frequency shifter it's more like a modulation effect in a way
[00:07:54] so slow lfo modulations type of thing
[00:07:59] or maybe faster let's say quarter note two quarter notes one quarter note
[00:08:09] so three quarter notes
[00:08:27] or maybe go to hertz here and dial in something alike
[00:08:51] So it can
[00:09:21] make bass sounds sometimes a bit more
[00:09:23] interesting. You can also
[00:09:25] use it in the audio rate
[00:09:27] area, right?
[00:09:29] So not like slow modulations
[00:09:31] like I did here all the time. You can also
[00:09:33] go to kilohertz
[00:09:34] and say here the bass
[00:09:37] is actually, let's say, on E.
[00:09:39] We can take any
[00:09:41] E
[00:09:42] E3 maybe, which
[00:09:45] is
[00:09:46] E3 or
[00:09:49] let's say E
[00:09:51] E4, which is
[00:09:52] 659 hertz. So we have
[00:09:55] kilohertz here. So this is 0.
[00:09:57] 659
[00:10:01] kilohertz.
[00:10:16] E3 is
[00:10:17] E3 is
[00:10:17] 300
[00:10:18] 0.33
[00:10:21] Oh, let's
[00:10:32] take a lower E
[00:10:34] E2
[00:10:34] on 659. So we can
[00:10:46] try to use the frequency
[00:10:49] of the root
[00:10:50] node of the bass sound and then
[00:10:53] see if you get some interesting results
[00:10:55] with the frequency
[00:10:56] shifter. And then you
[00:10:58] use the mix knob and bring it in or out
[00:11:01] at some points, right? So it's not like
[00:11:03] you want to have this all the time.
[00:11:04] Let's go back
[00:11:07] here to
[00:11:07] 66.
[00:11:09] And then maybe put it together
[00:11:30] through some kind of compression or
[00:11:32] saturation effect. I don't know.
[00:11:35] It's just an option. So I'm just
[00:11:38] playing around with this here
[00:11:39] for a while and it's kind of
[00:11:42] interesting what you can do with the
[00:11:44] frequency shifter actually besides
[00:11:46] just shifting frequencies. So it's
[00:11:48] nice for these type of riser
[00:11:50] effects.
[00:11:52] and it's also nice for sound design
[00:11:54] here for the bass even
[00:11:55] in my opinion. So slow modulation
[00:11:58] effects and then also overlaying
[00:12:00] here this
[00:12:01] with the
[00:12:02] root frequency
[00:12:04] and then bring in some overtones
[00:12:06] with this. So
[00:12:08] kind of interesting. Some ideas
[00:12:10] with the frequency shifter and that's
[00:12:12] one
[00:12:12] that's something I want to tell you in
[00:12:14] this video. That's the main topic of
[00:12:16] this video. Okay.
[00:12:16] Let me know what you think. Leave a
[00:12:19] like if you like the video.
[00:12:20] subscribe to the channel, thanks for watching and I'll see you in the next video, bye!