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One
of the recent driving factors of
synthesizer prices seems to be the
ability of a synth to pump out solid
bass tones. But what if you are
on a limited budget? |
A
truism in today's synth market is: if
you want a rich bass sound you are going
to pay for it. But what if you don't
have a wad of cash to spend on your
equipment? The purpose of this article
is to shed some light on affordable
synths that can push out bass with the
best of them. I have deliberately focused
on synths that cost under 600 dollars—including
any MIDI to CV devices that may be required
to integrate them into a modern setup;
I have also focused on some of the modern
virtual analog synthesizers, which are
often a safer bet for the budget conscious
musician.
There
are a number of affordable synths that
produce a great bass other than the
expensive, quirky, often unreliable
and difficult to obtain vintage synths.
One of the great difficulties in compiling
a list are the great numbers of awesome
synths that have been put into production
over the last six or seven years since
the pioneering Nord Lead I killed the
"sound-alike" ROMPLER workstation
craze of the late 80's and early 90's.
However, when taking into consideration
flexibility, sound, price, power and
availability I believe that the following
synths represent the best value and
bass sounds in a sub-600 dollar synth:
Novation
Super BassStation
Tons of bass power oozes out of
this tiny, single unit rack that
is reminiscent of the great Roland
analogs such as the SH-101, Jupiter
8 and Juno 60.
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The
Novation Super BassStation is a frightfully
deceptive machine due to its small size;
however, don't let its looks decieve
you—the Super BassStation is capable
of producing killer monophonic bass
sounds with little fuss, muss or trouble.
The great secret to the BassStation
is its all analog design, utilizing
stable DCO's (digitally controlled oscillators);
don't let anyone fool you—DCO's
ARE analog, they sound analog, and quite
frankly can create punchier bass than
a "true" VCO type analog due
to their pitch stability. (Remembering
that VCO's, which tend to drift in pitch,
will often create phase cancellation
that results in a weakening of the fundemental
pitch—tight basslines must
have a solid fundemental pitch in order
to be effective!)
Overall,
the Novation Super BassStation has a
very Roland feel to its oscillators
and filter which is a big plus among
the hordes of Moog/Oberheim wannabe
virtual and real analogs on the modern
market. The squelchy, self-oscillating
filter is very effective indeed for
creating driving sounds and a rich bottom
end. Envelope speed, which is a critical
factor of bass sounds, is rapid and
responsive as it should be. The SuperBass
Station improves upon its predecessor
by including envelopes for both
the filter and the amplifier. Ring modulation,
which is always a good plus in my book,
is also thrown in for additional weirdness.
Other
great features include a total of 200
presets—150 of which are user presets,
dual oscillators PLUS a sub-oscillator
that appears to be modeled after the
SH-101, pulse width modulation by envelope
or manual or LFO, mixable noise is available,
2 pole/12 db and 4 pole/24 db lowpass
filtering, onboard distortion for really
extreme sounds, two low frequency oscillators,
and more! All in all, the Super BassStation
is packed with tons of well implemented
and useful features.
The
only shortcomings of the BassStation
is Novation's fairly sketchy performance
as a manufacturer. If you get a Super
BassStation, make sure to replace the
power supply with something more robust
than what ships with the unit; this
has been linked to a number of failures
and system crashes with the BassStation.
The small size of the unit makes tweaking
on the fly a bit difficult due to the
shared nature of many of the controls.
The Super BassStation is monophonic,
but this isn't very worrying because
of the specialized nature of the unit.
Typically,
a Novation Super BassStation will fetch
between 350 and 400 dollars on the used
market. A palrty sum compared to the
amount of power that this unit will
bring to your music with its muscular
bass.
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Waldorf
Pulse
Killer rack unit that offers a
triple oscillator configuration
and tons of real analog power.
The amazing matrix modulation
of the Pulse makes this a hell
of a deal.
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Unfortunately,
the Waldorf Pulse was recently discontinued
after a highly successful 6 year career,
which alone is noteworthy in the hectic
synthesizer market. However the Pulse
can still be readily found on the open
market, typically costing about 350
dollars on average.
The
Pulse is a monophonic, triple oscillator
design featuring the standard saw/pulse/triangle
configuration, dual oscillators, two
LFO's, a 24db lowpass filter with resonance,
and a good compliment of editing features
as well. Controlability of the Pulse
is very good, and it features modern
MIDI implementation as well as a MIDI
to CV converter and CV outs for controlling
older analog gear; this makes the Waldorf
doubly useful. There are also 100 preset
memories onboard... 49 of which are
dedicated for user programs.
Soundwise
the Pulse is very high quality, like
all Waldorf products. Don't let the
inexpensive price tag fool you either,
the Pulse has been featured by many
professional recording artists (read:
can afford anything they want) such
as Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails,
who used the Pulse successfully for
years side by side to his ARP 2600,
Minimoog and Oberheim Xpander. Overall,
the Pulse sounds very Minimoog-ish,
albeit a little brighter in timbre and
perhaps harsher in nature.
In
fact, if harsh basslines are what you
are after, look no further than the
Pulse. For, unlike many affordable bass
synths, the Pulse has an impressive
amount of modulation available via Waldorf's
matrix modulation system. A single patch
can have as many as four seperate matrix
modulations active at once. If odd,
hard driving sounds are what you are
after the Pulse will deliver.
Studio
Electronics ATC-1
Novel VCO analog synth features
swappable filter cartridges that
faithfully recreate the classic
ARP, tb-303, Moog and Oberheim
SEM sounds.
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Granted,
the price of the ATC-1 pushes the outer
envelope of the sub-600 dollar limit,
even on the used market; however, the
sound quality versus price ratio of
this incredible synth warrants its mention
here.
The
ATC-1 is the brainchild of analog guru's
Studio Electronics and incorporates
much of their technology that was later
put into the SE-1, which is one of the
best bass synths ever made in my opinion.
The ATC-1 features real voltage controlled
oscillators, a real analog filter and
the innovative concept of switchable
filter cartridges that recreate vintage
sounds such as the Moog filter, Oberheim
SEM, Roland tb-303 and ARP 2600. Each
additional filter cartridge costs about
100 dollars.
Internally
the ATC-1 boasts two VCO's with sync,
a noteworthy three envelopes, two low
frequency oscillators, white noise,
and an external audio input to process
sounds via the ATC-1's filter. The LFO's
of the ATC-1 are particularly versatile
and feature triangle, sawtooth, reverse
sawtooth, square, noise, random, as
well as sample and hold waveforms—very
impressive stuff! The ATC-1 also features
full MIDI as well as a CV/Gate. Also
available are an incredible 512 memories
that can be programmed to "remember"
which filter cartridge they utilize.
The
only downsides to the ATC-1 are its
ugly looks and the "alpha wheel"
method of control first introduced by
the Moog Source in 1981. For those of
you that are unfamiliar with this type
of control, it consists of pressing
a parameter button, such as VCF cutoff,
and then manipulating the value with
a centrally located knob. Needless to
say, this cuts down on the "fiddle
and fart" fun factor of real time
control. However, for programming patches
it is less annoying than you may think—and
certainly a better interface than any
menu-driven synth ever was. Another
annoying fact is that only a single
filter cartridge can be slotted at any
time unless you purchase the optional
filter expansion module for another
approximately 150 to 200 dollars from
Studio Electronics.
So
what does the ATC-1 sound like? Classy.
Deep. Rich. Authentic. Of all of the
machines featured in this article the
ATC-1 easily is the best sounding unit.
It is also the most expensive, but worth
every penny if you demand uncompromising
quality analog bass lines.
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Waldorf
Microwave I
Amazingly affordable digital-analog
hybrid that features wavetables,
an analog filter and a deep, grungy
tone that is absolutely unique.
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Strangely
enough, it seems that the used market
has forgotten about this classic start
to a now classic line of synthesizers,
the Microwave I. Designed as the first
mass product by the newly created Waldorf
company which rose from the ashes of
PPG, the original Microwave became,
over time, somewhat of a grassroots
revolution.
If
hardcore, grainy bass sounds are your
thing you need to look no further than
the Microwave I, regardless of your
budget. Remember those dense synth lines
on the classic Lords of Acid album Lust?
That was the original Microwave in all
its glory. In a word, the Microwave
I sounds amazing, and most importantly—it
sounds unlike anything else out there.
Designed
as the "less powerful" version
of the monolithic, intensely expensive
Wave synthesizer, the Microwave is certainly
no slouch either. Featuring 8 voices
of polyphony—plus the ability to
go into unison mode or operate multitimbrally,
a gutsy 4 pole/24db low pass analog
filter, the classic PPG-ish wavetables,
noise, some built-in effects, a ring
modulator, and a programmable arpeggiator.
Also available are 64 memories in which
to store your preset sounds.
Right
now is a good time to hook up with a
Microwave I, if you can find one for
sale. Although a difficult catch, the
Microwave averages about 500 dollars
on the open market these days. For a
MIDI rackmount with 8 voices of polyphony,
multitimbralism and high quality sounds
this is quite reasonable.
Clavia
Micro Modular
Features the sound of the Nord
Lead, the flexibility of a modular
synth and a price tag so cheap
it is impossible to ignore.
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The
Clavia Micro Modular has to be one of
the all-time classic deals in electronic
music. Featuring the power and flexibility
of a modular synthesizer, the sound
of the Nord Lead series, the convenience
of MIDI and presets, and a 450 dollar
price tag, the Micro Modular is a hard
act to follow. Seriously, brand-spanking
new these things cost a measly 450 dollars.
For
starters, the drawbacks: because the
Micro Modular consists of a tiny chassis
with only a few hands-on controls all
programming must be done via software
ran on your computer. However, the software
is elegantly designed and easy to use—certainly
easier than patching a Moog III or Serge
ever was; after all, you will never
run out of patch cables.
However,
one thing that is often overlooked is
that the Micro Modular offers the same
great sounds as found on the Nord Lead
at a fraction of the price. Granted,
the Micro Modular has, at most, 4 voices
of polyphony and no multitimbral capabilities,
but the amount of flexibility is simply
staggering. And one of the things this
flexibility adds is the potential for
driving, strange bass sounds.
With
the ability to harness up to 6 virtual
oscillators, a mind numbing number of
processing options and modules, as many
envelopes as you could conceivably ever
need, the ability to assign real time
controls to the front panel knobs, many
different types of filters, random pattern
generators, 99 user memories... the
list could go on for a very long time.
Needless to say, the Micro Modular is
very well equipped for ANYTHING that
could possibly require analog sounds
or processing and this includes bass
sounds as well.
Simply
put—if you like the sound of the
Nord Lead series but cannot afford the
"big boys", give the Micro
Modular a chance... it may surprise
you as much as it did me. Classic machine.
In
this article I have attempted to cover
the best of the newer, more affordable
synths that produce good bass sounds
as well as have a degree of flexibility.
This is NOT a comprehensive list nor
does it attempt to be—I only covered
the most noteworthy examples that I
have owned or played with and that have
caught my personal attention. Hopefully,
after playing around with one of these
affordable bass monsters, you will realize
that good bass sounds don't have to
be pricey after all.
Until
next time.
James Meeker
