Milo Burke
New member
Also, don't let fear of choosing the wrong bass patch freeze you up. You can always change it. I sometimes switch presets entirely after the song has developed, and I almost always tweak the synth settings to modify the sound.
More than half the time, I add additional bass layers too. Usually I have one layer for the deep fundamental, and one layer for the character, grit, and high frequency content. Sometimes I even have a third layer for wackiness or additional slap/punch for the attack, or some zany reason.
When I create these additional layers, I just duplicate my instrument track with the bass performance on it, then jump through presets until I find something close to the new sound that I want. It's easy to do, and you can re-use your same notes, your same recording. Though sometimes you need to bump them up or down an octave to sound right.
Remember, not all bass layers need to play all the time for the entire song. You can use fewer layers here or there. Switch it up, based on the section. You can even change the balance: maybe have less of the fundamental layer and more of the character layer during your verse, but have less of the character layer and more of the fundamental layer during your chorus (when you really want it to slam, and other synths are probably masking the bass's character).
Sidechain compression, depending on how intense it is, could happen during the sound design phase, or it could wait until the mix phase. EQ and compression can certainly wait until the mix phase. Yes, there is a lot to do, but most of it can be done later after you developed a track. Don't let the size of the to-do list keep you from starting on the first task.
I can't wait to hear your tracks!
More than half the time, I add additional bass layers too. Usually I have one layer for the deep fundamental, and one layer for the character, grit, and high frequency content. Sometimes I even have a third layer for wackiness or additional slap/punch for the attack, or some zany reason.
When I create these additional layers, I just duplicate my instrument track with the bass performance on it, then jump through presets until I find something close to the new sound that I want. It's easy to do, and you can re-use your same notes, your same recording. Though sometimes you need to bump them up or down an octave to sound right.
Remember, not all bass layers need to play all the time for the entire song. You can use fewer layers here or there. Switch it up, based on the section. You can even change the balance: maybe have less of the fundamental layer and more of the character layer during your verse, but have less of the character layer and more of the fundamental layer during your chorus (when you really want it to slam, and other synths are probably masking the bass's character).
Sidechain compression, depending on how intense it is, could happen during the sound design phase, or it could wait until the mix phase. EQ and compression can certainly wait until the mix phase. Yes, there is a lot to do, but most of it can be done later after you developed a track. Don't let the size of the to-do list keep you from starting on the first task.
I can't wait to hear your tracks!