I need BASS!!!

[unio mystica]

I was also thinking how to make the best out of the virus chorus. I?ve tried a lot of different settings but only a few of them on some sounds have an effect i?d like them to have. Does it work well with the unison turned on? How do I make my sounds fatter with only chorus, not using unison at all? It should be possible.

I have never really liked virus effects. Don?t get me wrong, they sound good (exspecially reverb/delay and analog boost) but they are so hard to handle. My MS2000 has a simple delay processor (which can do basic stereodelay and L to R delay) with only time and depth controls
(+ something in the menu) but in a way it?s far better than virus delay, because there?s no functions you can mess with too much and make your sound useless. It makes my trance leads Rock! In it?s most simplest way.

Anything on the bass department?

[Timo]

Originally Posted by hatembr

yes that is correct!! Setting them to 0 will only make the raw sound louder and thicker....

Might also drive the overdrive/distortion and saturation processors harder too.

[hatembr]

hmmm chorus on the bass? i don't think it is a good idea, it will bring the bass sound to the front and i guess it will sound weird and detached from the kick imho.

[AvS]

I agree,

I've been experimenting with music for many years now and come to the conclusion that bass sounds has to be simple. Using chorus and unison does not make your bass stand out, it just makes the sound more diffuse and makes it blend in with other sounds you have in a track. You also have the problem with phasing out the low freqs wich is bad when it comes to bass because the lowend has to stable/constant and play at the right places. I almost only use 1 osc for bass but not from the Virus wich I hate for bass. It just doesnt work with simple sound but kicks ass at complex stuff. Anyway remember that a bad bass sequence makes a good bass patch sound bad. I think your problem might be your midi programming instead of the synth programming.
Infected Mushroom uses mostly ultra simple 1 osc bass sounds (I dont think they use the Bassstation though but they use a Juno106 and Nordlead all the time for bass, and sometimes Jupiter 6) they are just very good a programming midi sequences. Using very short notes the right places can really ad life to a bassline.
Try naming some Infected Mushroom tracks where you like the bass.

[Onkel Dunkel]

Originally Posted by Timo

Might also drive the overdrive/distortion and saturation processors harder too.

Not the saturation stage since it?s the filter creating that and i?m so not sure about distortion either. Isn?t unison the last point of the chain? Then there would only be the output that could distorts because of to high levels but i?m not sure that that would sound very nice. Hmm, don?t know
As for doubling identical tracks; wouldn?t that just be the same as to turn up the volume? I mean it would only make the amplitude higher...

[hatembr]

As for doubling identical tracks; wouldn?t that just be the same as to turn up the volume? I mean it would only make the amplitude higher...

hmmmmmm not sure, or may be yes! actually i don't know! as far as my tiny experience go, when i use twin unison or even triple it, it makes the bass sound punchier, thicker and louder and doesn't sound the same as when doubling the audio track or pushing the levels up, which eventually may lead to the same result if one uses adequate compression with it.
Can you try it Onkel? i am curious to know if i am hallucinating or if it really sound the same......

[Onkel Dunkel]

Hmmm, i tried to make a recording with:

1. No unison, no track layering.
2. No unison, 3 identical tracks layered.
3. Unison mode 4, detune = 0, panspread = 0, no track layering.

Then i balanced the volume level of the tracks and compared them. All 3 options sounded different but i found that nr. 3 was sounding best. Maybe it has something to do with the output of the Virus. Maybe some kind of limiter is built in to the output to prevent it from distorting. I have to throw the towel in the ring and say you?r right. I just can?t explain why Wierd

[AvS]

About doubling midi tracks. Remember that midi timing is not rock stady plus you get twise the noise when your record the same seq twice and mix them. The virus has no limiter. I have no probs clipping the outs.

You should use a preamp to record your synths at a high enough level.

[Onkel Dunkel]

That still dosn?t explain why there?s difference in the sound (apart from higher volume) when using unison with detune and panspread set to 0. That was what i found wird. I can understand that you might get some diffenrence when doubling tracks...

[hatembr]

Originally Posted by Onkel Dunkel

I have to throw the towel in the ring and say you?r right. I just can?t explain why

cool, now i'm sure i stopped taking lsd !!

seriously, i thought about it, i think the difference between layering and using 0-detune and panspread is the following:
- when u double the tracks it is like having two sounds out of 2 different boxes with 2 different filters, 2 different fx..... which gives a certain sound.
- when using unison with n voices, they all go through the same amp env, filters, fx..... which logically makes it sound different then two layered sounds.
i think it is as simple as this.... ?