> Step by step

5. Big, dirty bass with unison and ring modulation in Dune CM

1 > When you want to create a big, full frequency-range bass sound, you’ll need to employ more advanced synthesis tricks. Ring modulation and unison detune are great tools for getting big bass tones, and Dune CM is capable of both. Launch your DAW and put Dune CM on a MIDI track.

2 > Click the Bank B button to get an initialised patch. Set Oscillator 1’s waveform to square, and turn the Ring Mod knob in the Osc Common panel up to 100%. This causes Oscillator 2 to act as a ring modulation source for Oscillator 1, changing the timbre of its output. Set Oscillator 2’s waveform to square, too. (Audio: 2 Ring mod)

3 > This gives us a really bold, full-sounding timbre. Turn Oscillator 2’s Semi(tone) knob down to -12. This tunes the oscillator down an octave. We can’t hear its output directly, but we can hear how it affects Oscillator 1 – it now sounds lower and beefier. (Audio: 3. Semi tuning)

4 > Now it’s time for some unison detune. In the Unison panel, set the number of Voices to 8. All these voices boost the output level and cause the channel to clip, so set the Volume knob in the Output panel to 25%. (Audio: 4. Unison detune)

5 > Set the Spread knob to 100%, which pans half of the voices hard left and the rest hard right, giving us a wide stereo sound. This isn’t ideal for all bass sounds (particularly not subs, which work best in the centre of a mix), but for bass elements that occupy the mid frequencies it can work well. It also has the side effect of making room for mono elements such as beats and sub in the centre of the mix.

6 > Turn the Detune knob up until you get the right level of buzzy intensity – we’re going for 12% here. Activate the Mono button in the Output panel to make the patch monophonic, and you can also try turning up the Glide time for a bendy portamento effect. (Audio: 6. Detune and glide)