VST Instruments:Novation Bass Station
Make it funk-ay! Remember “Groove Is In The Heart” by Deee-lite?…
That song had a mean bassline,with a riff reminiscent of the James Brown era. Theres just something about that big bottom, the finger picking, and a funky drum rhythm that has made the world dance since 1956. James Brown released “Please Please Please” and although bands at the time used the upright bass often, this was our humble introduction to funk. Take a listen to the snippets and hear the bass babies of an era important to Hip Hop.
James Browns “Please Please Please”
James Browns “Get Up Offa That Thing”
The bassline is one of my favorite elements of jazz, blues, classic soul,funk, and Hip Hop. It helps drive a songs rhythmic movement, defining the heartbeat of a melodies musical scale. Back in the day this was achieved by the bassists thump thumping on an upright, and later went to the electric bass, or lower scale of the keyboard. As music progressed, synths were introduced and basslines got deeper and digitized through sound design and effects.
If I could own all the vintage equipment that helped the world be funk-aaay.. I’d have to move..lol. There are several possibilities for mimicking the basslines of the funk movement. One way: ..hire a great bass player to play riffs and “stink” up your tracks or 2.. VST instruments. My favorite is the Novation Bass Station.
The heavy bottom and endless amount of bass options make this a bass lovers dream. Born from the vintage hardware piece of the same name, with a few twist of the knobs I was able to get funky in under 5 minutes. Check out a little history of the origional hardware:Vintage Novation Bass Station Rack.
Here are the specs from KVR Audio
- Two Oscillators that have been carefully modeled to preserve the precise tonal character of the classic sawtooth and square waveforms of the original instruments.
- 12/24 dB Low-pass filter with all the warmth and resonance often lacking in today’s modern digital synthesis methods.
- Intuitive ADSR envelopes.
- Low Frequency Oscillation which can directly control the harmonic content of the sound by pulse width modulation or filter cut-off.
- Oscillator Sync for the most complex and expressive timbres.
- Enhanced Classic panel for greater tweaking:
The original front panel has been 3D modelled and additional controls have been added for ease of use. The Filter envelope has its own set of ADSR controls and OSC1 and OSC2 have their own section for pitch modulation and PWM control. - All controls receive MIDI controller numbers for the recording and replay of tweaks during a performance.
- Monophonic!
- 100 “Stunning” Sounds carefully crafted from the Novation factory.
The Bass Station Plug-In is shipped with the classic originals along with many more totaling 100 sounds for immediate gratification. The patches cover a huge sonic range from screaming leads to phatt funky basses. - Sounds created in original Bass Stations can be uploaded into Plug In or vice-versa.
- On screen dynamic velocity responsive keyboard. (Mouse position determines velocity).
If you don’t have a vst instrument host there are several free ones online. I found this one today:
from Hermannseib.com. Need a lil guidance making that perfect bassline? Head on over to StudyBass.ComTheres tons of lessons on bass and theory…..aighty so ga head and make it funk-aaay…and remember to put some “stink ” on it :-)..
Update: I added Bass Station to the store…
Pz Til Later and Happy Beat Makin…
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The Bass station is essential stuff ! I still think that the instrument sounds a little better than the plug-in. However i must admit that full automation with the plug-in goes a long way to fill that gap. Then you can add effects directly..
Yes I agree, I’ve started learning electric guitar and will move to bass soon..I will definitely try the automation,…Thanks for taking time to comment…pz til later