good advice on baselines

[piecemakuh]

Originally Posted by mrfloyd

Raff-
What Catasbeats is saying (I think) is:
-Once you have your sample in a track (lets call this Track 1), copy it to another track (lets call this track 2).
-Mute all of the tracks except for track 2.
-Remove all of the high frequencies from track 2, leaving just the low & mids.
-Play around with the EQs on track 2 trying to emphasize or create MORE bass sounds.
-How about we throw a compressor on track 2 too!
-Maybe some distortion on track 2?? Really create a BASS heavy track out of a sample that originally consisted of a good range of frequencies.
-Now unmute the rest of the tracks....play around with the EQ on track 2 a bit more to calm the bass heavy animal we created.
-BAM!!!!!
-Now we got a bass track that is without a doubt going to be in tune with the original sample!!!

I caught on to this from listening to some of Madlibs stuff. He seems to be a BIG fan of this.

This is kinda like cheating and doesnt work well on every project, but sometimes it really works well!

I feel u on that one... if u have bass in a sample, u don't need to play a bassline at all... I like to use a vst called trilogy, but if u don't have trilogy, all u need to do is get a seven band eq, take out bands 4,5, 6, and 7.... boost the first 3 bands and manipulate it that way till u reach ur desired sound(on a separate track), and for overkill u could even further tweak the sounds by using plugins to enhance the 3 bands u already manipulated... it's very simple when u get used to it, but it won't always apply

[CatasBeats]

i got trilogy the other day its insane.

im still a little iffy tho on my basslines i actually play, cause i dont really understand notes and all that, i just play it to how i think it sounds good and to where it dont make my shoulders cringe lol

[M.A.R.]

The best advice is practice. Practice playing basslines to your beats until you get the perfect tone/note. If you're not sure if the bassline fits, then it probably doesn't. Don't stop until you get the exact note of the sample, and you'll eventually develop an ear for it and it will be easier and easier.

I've spent hours tuning my bass notes to beats on the mpc, but it's definately worth it once you get that nice, full bassline that hits on point.

[DJ Stone 613]

lol it would also really help if u get someone u know who knows music,
or some teacher or something to show u how chords and stuff works basically

[M.A.R.]

Yeah, that's true. I took a few classes in music theory and one of my teachers helped me understand how to recognize notes by ear, which really helped me be a better producer.