fatten up bassline plugin

[hydrogen]

I've heard these lower end chords before... I havn't heard them work very well in the club... specifically... those tracks where its just a kick and a lower triad thats kind of humming over the top, with an additional key in there that is on the lower end. I find those to just resonate so much that the feeling of bass isn't there. I'd much rather hear/feel a bassline than an extension of the chord that doesn't exactly fit cause its a mess down there as AK describes it.

But mainly i believe this has to do with how the system is tuned. So depending on where you are this approach will work or it won't.

Anyways, if your doing this try cut out the low end in the chord and throw in a single sub bass sine/square/pulse to help you rock out the groove underneath. Rather than trying to fit bass specifically into the chord. you'll be able to time it a bit better with the kick and get those to working with each other.

As far as plugins go... take the recommendations and start with good source and then tuck it in the mix nicely. Bass isn't just about the notes... its about the expression and length of those notes too. A little changes in using Velocity parameters attached to filter can go a long way in a bassline and how the perceived fattness it is.

I'm not sure if the SH101 supports that... but the Vermona does if you enable the CC for velocity and its quite changed my approach. you can get those low end notes in there without the distracting highs on every note. and it can eliminate the need for an additional sub bass to carry along the groove.

Also, experiment with different pulse width settings if you are using a pulse width osc. I find different notes on different pulse width settings can be pretty cool and can help you get into the phattest part of the sound in the key and in relation to the rest of the music in your piece.

[Rein]

the sh101 has a sub osc which volume you can set from 0 to 100%... and a slider that enables you to tune it 1 or 2 octaves down

[NoAffiliation]

layer multiple bass sounds. have only the deep sub mono and widen the higher layers + sending to parallel distortion. if you use ableton you could probably do it in one synth and then make a rack to split up the frequencies and widen the upper range

[Kleig]

Create a slightly saturated sub-bass sinewave that is mono and completely dry, then create a higher layer synth with whatever texture you like that accents the bass. Run the higher line through a stereo widener and slight reverb. Make sure the sine is played exactly in the note that creates the biggest emphasis within the track and that the higher notes aren't having an argument with it. Leave space for the bass to shine in the mix.