Adding presence to a bassline without distortion

[djaeke]

I want my wobbles and basses (well...synths in general, but my wobbles need it especially) to have a bit more presence, a little more high end definition, without too much distortion. I've been using ohmicide to try to bring out the high end, and I'll probably continue to use it because I like the sound, but by the time I push it to the point where I'm getting any presence I've distorted it into unrecognizable shit, even when I layer it with the original. Is there a way to bring out the high end and keep the character of the synth? what do you guys do?

I'm thinking harmonic exciters may be the way to go, if so, which do you recommend. Keep in mind I'm on a budget

[Climax]

saturation, lighter distortion but more instances, duplicate and pan, multiband FX/compression

[OfficialDAPT]

Try layering it with the same sound except an octave or two high, then EQ the low out of the higher octive and the sounds should fit well together. Also layer The same sound with itself, except on the copied version, add a chorus, stereo widener and then the whole sound should sound bigger.

[nowaysj]

Start at the beginning with the oscs you use. Try brighter oscs with more harmonics. Also use an osc in the frequency range your are interested in augmenting. Don't lp filter too much, or use a shallower filter, like a 12db filter.

After that, consider removing fx from the sound. The clearer and cleaner the sound, the more present it will be. A compressor will also help bring the sound forward.

And finally, of course, eq. Once you've got everything set, consider a bump (yes, additive, oh my word!) in the freq range that you feel is lacking or helps the sound stand out. Just make a bump and sweep it around until the sound becomes more noticable in the mix.

Consider diminishing this same freq from other sounds in the mix.

[djaeke]

thank you guys! there are some things here I would have never thought of! this was VERY helpful

[oxith_lo]

how exactly do you layer a sound on top of the other like u guys recommended. is it literally just making 2 patterns of the same thing?

[nowaysj]

Yes, or having two things triggered by the same pattern.

[djaeke]

how exactly do you layer a sound on top of the other like u guys recommended. is it literally just making 2 patterns of the same thing?

I usually just make the whole bassline throughout the song, when I'm sure I'm about done, I duplicate it and do all my fx on that layer.

[akyu]

First of all, you have to be careful with ohmicide. Those distortion knobs go up to +60dB... Thats an insane amount and will make everything sound like shit. Try pulling back the knobs a little to make it lighter.


Second you can always try layering with another wave form that has more harmonic content in the upper range. If you mix it correctly they will sound like one instrument.

[hasezwei]

fabfilter saturn or camelspace's exciter

[sketchyderek]

Dry/wet that shit!

Distortion works wonders, but I only ever have it in the 30-50% area. By default ohmicide is at 100% and that's far too aggressive.

[eldoogle]

Distortions good. What you could do is throw an eq on there and boost around 15khz, maybe a couple or few db.