This is a video demo of IK Multimedia’s GrooveMaker Electro – a beatmaking app for the iPhone.

via ikmultimedia:

Hear the sounds of the new GrooveMaker Electro: mechanical and aggressive uptempo beats, weird and chemically altered sounds. A huge collection of phreaked out bass lines and alien noises. Includes 4 songs, plus 1 FREE song by registering, and a total of 315 loops in 85-98-100-120-135 BPM ranges for 215 MB of samples.

SoundsAndGear takes a look at Native Instruments‘ new Scarbee Pre-Bass:

Taking a look at this amazing sampled bass instrument from Native Instruments and Scarbee. Very well programmed to allow you to get some amazing sounds, yet it’s easy to use. Based on the Fender Precision bass. Watch the video and find out more.

Recorded with round-wound strings to get a fat and dirty sound, SCARBEE PRE-BASS also features a vast and incredibly intuitive set of playing techniques. The level of expression makes for a truly authentic and fun playing experience, and lends itself to a wide range of styles, from reggae, to pop, rock, hip-hop, R&B and much more.

SCARBEE PRE-BASS is fully playable in real time, with almost all articulations (including mutes, harmonics, hammer-ons, pull-offs, grace notes and more) available without key switches. What’s more, SCARBEE PREBASS makes exceptional use of the KONTAKT interface, displaying a fretboard overview with articulations dynamically updated as you play. With over 4,000 samples covering all four strings, nine velocity layers, and advanced scripting that makes playing both highly intuitive and stunningly authentic, it’s easy to see why the pros choose SCARBEE PRE-BASS.

This is a demo of Subsonic Labs’ Low Frequency Entity, a “real-time multi-touch interface to a visualized low frequency sound”:

The various touch configurations control different parameters of the synthesized bass, including filter modulation rate, bit crush, sample and hold, feedback, oscillator phase and fm synthesis.

Subsonic Labs is the creative work of Christian Bannister, a musician & developer based out of Portland, Oregon.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Bannister explains:

I am not analyzing the audio here at all. I am only using the settings on the bass synth to drive the visuals. I broke out certain “effective” parameters from the NI Massive bass patch and worked with those to define the visual characteristics of the entity.

I am looking at an lfo modulation of the filter here, a bitcrush effect, a sample and hold effect, feedback, an oscillator phase parameter, and an fm synthesis control. This gives me a huge palette to work with. I should say I am also sending midi note information to Processing and having that vibrate the form as well.

Once the visual starts making sense then I can begin interacting with it and finding musical ways to engage it or play it like an instrument.

Check out the Bannister’s site for more details.

Industrial Radio has announced the MIDI Bass, a hybrid bass guitar and MIDI controller able to connect to and control synthesizers and samplers via MIDI.

Both bass guitar and MIDI controller, the Industrial Radio Midi Bass gives you the ability to control hardware and software synths and samplers direct from the bass. With low latency MIDI tracking capabilities, the MIDI Bass gives bassists the opportunity to use their preferred instrument to access the world of audio synthesis and sampling.

The Industrial Radio Midi Bass is built to order and sold direct to the customer by Industrial Radio, with prices starting at $3,995 USD.

MIDI Bass Package

When you purchase an Industrial Radio Midi Bass you will receive the following:

• Midi Bass
• Midi Bass Module
• Midi Bass Cable
• Power Supply (shipped seperately) – 12VAC 500mA power pack with appropriate mains connector and voltage – depending on your location
• Quality Hardshell Case
• Printed Manual
• Midi Bass Toolkit
• Fret cleaning fluid and wipes

MIDI Bass Details

• Colours: 3-Tone Sunburst, Olympic White, Black, Charcoal Frost, Ice Blue Metallic, Candy Apple Red, Ocean Turquoise, Teal Green
• Body: Agathis (Similar to Alder in density & tone)
• Neck: Maple neck, Graphite-reinforced, Gloss finish headstock, Satin finish on back of neck
• Fingerboard: Indian Rosewood, 7.25″ Radius with printed Lexan overlay
• Nut: Corian
• Frets: 21
• Pickups: Nordstrand ‘Big Splits’
• Bridge: Chrome with Graph Tech Ghost Series piezo saddle pickups (string frontload)
• Machine Heads: Schaller chrome
• Hardware: Chrome
• Pickguard: Tortoiseshell, Black, or White
• Scale: 34″
• Width at Nut: 37.5mm
• Controls: Volume, Balance, Passive Tone, MIDI Volume, MIDI switch
• Two connectors: 1/4″ audio jack & 8-pin DIN connector (connects to Midi Bass Module)
• Display: 2 line, backlit Liquid Crystal Display

via rekkerd

This video demonstrates how to make the distorted bass that French producers Justice use in many of their songs.

via luckydatevideos:

The song I remade was Phantom Part II check out http://www.djluckydate.com for more!

Check out this official demo video of the Boss SYB-5 Bass Synthesizer.

Description:

The SYB-5 reproduces the fat and sharp sound characteristic of classic analog synthesizers.

The 11 internal synth sounds are based on combinations of three oscillator waves (Saw, Square, Pulse) and filters that fluctuate according to the envelope and LFO changes. The external pedal input means that bassists can put their foot into the performance by connecting an EV-5 Expression Pedal to control the filter and LFO rate.

If you’ve used the Boss SYB-5 Bass Synthesizer, leave a comment with your thoughts/ratings!

In volume 5 of Electro-Harmonix Effectology, Bill Ruppert recreates the song Autobahn by the band Kraftwerk.

No keyboards,samplers or midi pickups were used.

EHX Pedals featured: MicroSynth, HOG, Blackfinger, Stereo Memory Man, Big Muff, Holiest Grail.

via Effectology:

For more information on these pedals and actual settings please vist the Electro- Harmonix Forum: WWW.ehx.com

This video, via HomeStudioCorner, looks at processing bass by duplicating the track.

Sunday Synth Jam: This Berlin school style synth jam, by retrosound, features Moog Minimoog + Roland JD-800 + TR-606.

You can tell it’s smokin’ by the flames at the end…..

via retrosound72:

vintage synth demo by RetroSound

pads und brass sounds: Roland JD-800
bassline: Lintronics Minimoog with Midi, sequenced by the MFB Step64 step sequencer and transposed by the Yamaha DX7 II FD
drums: Roland TR-606
FX: reverb and delay

“There is so much low-end content in music being made today,” said Adam Cohen, Director of Business Development, Akai Professional, “we felt that a studio monitor specifically designed for extended low frequency playback would appeal to the people who already use our MPCs and production controllers.”

RPM8 studio monitors are sold individually and will be available from professional audio and musical instrument retailers Q4, 2009. Pricing is TBA.

Description:

RPM8 studio monitors are two-way, active, bi-amplified, nearfield loudspeakers. The two-way monitors each feature an eight-inch woven-kevlar low-frequency driver with 80W RMS of continuous amplification for full bass all the way down to 39 Hz. The monitors’ high-frequency system consists of a one-inch silk-dome tweeter with 40W RMS of continuous amplification, mounted on a custom, functionally optimized waveguide for excellent control of directivity and reduction of unwanted early reflections.

RPM8 studio monitors contain active, fourth-order crossovers for outstanding separation and optimal power management. Their cabinet is constructed of industry-standard MDF for low resonance, and is dually ported on the front baffle for bass extension in any setting including soffit-mounted installations. The bi-amplification, ported cabinet design and overall acoustical efficiency combine to produce a speaker that can deliver up to powerful 113 dB SPL and with accurate frequency response from 39 Hz to 20 kHz. Producers will appreciate the RPM8s’ bicolor LED clip indicator, which assists them in avoiding damage to their system. Engineers can connect their professional studio systems to the RPM8s’ combination XLR-balanced 1/4″ TRS inputs for compatibility with a wide variety of source equipment.

Jack Conte put together this very nice demo video for the Electro-Harmonix Riddle, an effects pedal that brings synth-sculpting filtering goodness to the guitar.

Riddle Features:

• 80 Hz to 5 kHz frequency response tailored for guitar
• Optional expression pedal control
• Switch selectable analog distortion designed for guitar
• Start and Stop sweep control
• Low Pass, Band Pass, High Pass filter select
• Start and Stop for filter sweep and Q control
• Separate Dry and Effect outputs
• 9.6VDC 200mA power supply included

via EHX:

The Electro-Harmonix Riddle is a powerful and precise envelope filter fine-tuned for guitar frequency response.

Sculpt your envelope to reveal a truly expressive tone, with a defined and unique signature. Riddle will deliver tight and smooth control over the complete 80 Hz to 5 kHz range, with a consistent and even sweetness

.Need some edge? Engage Riddle’s analog distortion and dial in anything from subtle bite to dominating crush.

This is a brief overview of the Roland GR-33B Analog Bass Synthesizer, played with the futuristic Roland G-77 bass guitar.

There are several more guitar synth demos at Wayne Jones YouTube page.

via WayneJoness

This is a video demo of the JoMoX MBase 11 Analog Kick Drum Module – a boutique synth module devoted to making kick drum sounds.

Note that this is not a drum machine, but an analog drum synth.

via bigcitymusic:

Just when you thought that a Jomox kick couldn’t have more attack the MBase 11 comes along!

This beast features a cool new metal noise parameter which can add a great little ping to the attack of the kick. The new version also adds a potentiometer dedicated for adjusting the kick’s sound-shaping parameters, making your tweaking faster and more convenient. The MBase 11 has all of the standard MBase features like user-savable preset slots, midi control of pitch for killer kick bass lines, built in LFO for modulation and more.

Welcome to the House of JoMox! No the screen doesn’t flash like this all the time. Just a video thing.

In this episode of Electro-Harmonix’s “Effectology” series, Bill Ruppert, Professor of Effectology, recreates the sound of Pink Floyd’s On the Run from Dark Side of the Moon with effects pedals.

Pedals used:

• Micro Synthesizer
• Stereo Memory Man with Hazarai
• Frequency Analyzer
• Big Muff Pi
• Stereo Pulsar

For more details on pedals and settings, see the EHX site.

Rekkerd checks out Rob Papen’s SubBoomBass virtual instrument. He sums up his impressions like this:

SubBoomBass has surprised me in a positive way. Since the sound engine is based on the one in Predator (which I already have) I wasn’t sure this new synth would have that much more to offer. But as a dedicated bass instrument, SubBoomBass includes a number of features that go beyond Predator.

With a strong focus on low end bass sounds, it features an improved sub-bass generator and sub-bass boost effects. The included presets showcase some amazing deep and phat bass sounds (the video doesn’t do them justice really), great for Hip Hop, R&B, Drum & Bass, or any electronic music genre.

See the full review at Rekkerd’s site.

This is a demo of the Bassonic SYB-5 bass synth pedal, an effect pedal which lets bassists have almost as much fun as synth players.

via ColBassonic:

playing funky licks on 5-string fretless bass with SYB-5 bass synth pedal

The Singing Minimoog And The Memory Man

via retrosound72:

vintage synth demo by RetroSound

“The Singing Minimoog”

Minimoog VCF-FM demo + EHX Memory Man Deluxe Analog Delay
drums: Roland TR-808

more info: http://www.retrosound.de and
http://www.myspace.com/retrosound72

DirecBass 2.0 FREE is a reduced version of the Mid+Neck Patch 16Bit 44Khz with one articulation ( Hammer-ons ). It has the same features of the full version .

Key Features

• Low notes B-C-D
• 24bit 96Khz,
• Direct recorded for amp simulators,
• Full sustain,
• Natural decay (no loops),
• 5 velocity layers,
• Round robin for alternate picking

Pettinhouse has a bunch of other free virtual instruments available for Kontakt. Like DirectBass 2.0, they are “teaser” versions of their commercial products.

This video shows the new updates in Chordica 1.2, NeuMET1K and iNSTRUMENTS.

With NeuMET1K, you can now have beats sounding like a drum machine. iNSTRUMENTS give you the option to select different sounds for your bass and harmony.

The video includes two sample songs, “Don’t Stop Believing” and “I’m Yours” demonstrating the new features with a walkthrough.

Not a very dynamic demo video – but it does give a decent overview of the new features.

via ChordicaRevolution:

This is a video overview of Spectrasonics Trilian from MusikMesse 2009, via soundonsoundvideo.

Spectrasonics’ Trilian is the successor to their bass software instrument Trilogy.Trilian takes the sounds from Trilogy and enhances them with Spectrasonics’ “Steam” engine.

Trilian will be available free of charge for anyone who bought Trilogy in 2009 (although shipping charges will apply). It is due to start shipping on the 29th June 2009, at a cost of $299. Upgrades for Trilogy users who purchased before 2009 will cost $99.