Analysis of S2E03: Mikal – Bassline Approach

This was a shorter, two part video, points out a few techniques to try and some great free plug-ins (Xfer OTT, CamelAudio CamelCrusher, and TAL Filter2). This was from 2014, so Mikal’s techniques may have changed a bit since then.

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Part 1
– Mikal states this is a demonstration of how he distorts bass and uses filters to make them sound more unique.

00:45 – demonstrates with Quadrant’s “Whistle Bass” sample (this was from Season 2 of Sample Genie)
– States he likes the movement, not too many high frequency sounds, and says that lack of highs makes this sample great for running through distortion

01:15 – duplicates the sample to another track, separating each track to create two versions, one for the sub bass, and one for the mid and high bass
– Makes the sub track mono
– Uses an EQ to cut the highs, leaving the sub and low low mids
– The other track he will try distorting, low end and all, before any other processing

03:00 – saturation applied on the mid/high bass
– Also boosts the high band

03:55 – second distortion added for texture & tone
– Uses FabFilter Saturn, a multi-band distortion, applies to band one and adjusts dry/wet

04:40 – Xfer OTT (free) multi-band compressor used to slam all the frequencies, adds fuzz to the sample, but also loses some low end

05:30 – adds an auto-filter, the TAL Filter 2 (free)
– States this is a good tool for twisting up sounds

07:50 – adds an EQ at the end of the mid/high sample’s signal chain, to take out the low end

10:20 – describes making a long note bass with a synth, then doing variations of distortion and filtering, bounce, and then make new variations

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Part 2

11:05 – going through synthesizing a bass, bouncing it out, and the applying the techniques used on the bass sample in part 1

11:55 – likes using simple, long synth basses

12:25 – makes a 2 OSC, detuned square wave bass
– Commix and Icicle style bass from the late 2000’s, but with a bit more distortion
– Some chorus to add width and movement
– Low pass filter with an envelope slowly opening it up

16:15 – now has an audio bounce, duplicates it to have a low end version, and a mid/high version
– Similar approach as in part 1, but tries some different plug-ins: EQ -> CamelAudio CamelCrush (free, but might take some work to find an installer) -> OTT multi-band compressor -> reverb -> filter
– “OTT works really well after a distortion”

19:20 – describes having 3~4 tracks with a bass, and each track has a different variation of TAL Filter2, arranged over 8~16 bars, bass constantly changing

Track 1 [bars 1 & 2] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Track 2 . . . . . . [bars 3 & 4] . . . . . . . . . . . .
Track 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . [bars 5 & 6] . . . . . .
Track 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [bars 7 & 8]

21:00 – retrigger the clip in a sampler at different start points

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THOUGHTS & QUESTIONS