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2. Adding distortion and filtering effects
1 With processing such as distortion, filtering and modulation, we can take a raw bass sound and transform its character, making it more like the rugged, huge basses you expect in a neurofunk track. Kick off by importing Backing.wav, SerumBass.wav (the bass we made in the previous tutorial) and Growl.wav from Tutorial Files. First, let’s add some heavy saturation to the bass.
2 Insert Soundtoys Decapitator (the demo is available from soundtoys. com) on the SerumBass channel and push the Drive to around 7, adding depth and extra harmonics to the sound. The bottom five buttons switch between saturation styles: we’ve gone for N, with its Neve preamp-style character. After this, turn the Tone dial to 11 o’clock for a darker tone.
3 Let’s now add extra movement to the saturated bass using Soundtoys FilterFreak – load it on the SerumBass channel before turning the Mod control to around 3 o’clock. This modulates the filter cutoff with an envelope follower, exaggerating the modulation present in the bass. Next, set the Filter Shape to band reject ( BRF) and the cutoff to 1700Hz to use the filter’s movement to carve a notch in the higher frequencies.
4 Effects like flanging or chorus can give our bass a tearing sound. Start by adding MeldaProduction’s MFlanger (free from meldaproduction.com) to the SerumBass channel, and push the Phase Difference to 600 to add extra stereo width; after this, change the mode to Tape 2 to emulate the sound of flanging using analogue tape, before backing the Wet/Dry mix off to 40% Wet, blending the dry signal back in.
5 The growl stabs now sound a little weak compared to the processed bass, so let’s use Sugar Bytes WOW2 to add some filter modulation and drive: insert it on the Growl channel, then choose the Init With LFO preset. Assign the LFO to the Filter Cutoff at -25 to add some movement, before modulating the Resonance to +10 – this movement will sound great when processed further.
6 A helping of drive will give our growl some much needed grunt. Pull down the menu above the Drive dial and choose Crush, then set this dial to 3 o’clock to give the sound a lo-fi feel. Finally, we can use the Wobbler to modulate WOW2’s mix blend – just open it at the bottom and set it to modulate Wet/Dry by -50. This’ll add extra movement to the sound, further differentiating it from the other bass.