This time around we will make an analog funky synth bass using Reveal Sound Spire. It will sound similar to one of those iconic Moog style synth basses.
1) Initialize a blank patch of Reveal Sound Spire. There is a top button written INIT which let’s you initialize Reveal Sound Spire.
2) The waveform of OSC1 is going to be a sawtooth. By default Reveal Sound Spire allocates the sawtooth waveform to all oscillators.
Next increase the volume of OSC1 all the way to 100% and transpose OSC1 down by -1 octave. You can also bring down the detune knob to zero. The number of unison voices should be set to 1 voice.
3) Turn on OSC2 of Reveal Sound Spire by moving the OSC2 volume knob to about 50%. The waveform of OSC2 is going to be a simple triangle waveform.
To do that click on the WAVE menu and select the “Tri” wavetable and dial the WT MIX knob 100% to the right. The pitch of OSC2 should be -2 octaves for that analog funky synth bass sound.
Set the number of unison voices to 1 voice and that’s about it for OSC2.
4) Change the play mode to MONO 3 and choose the number of voice to only 1 voice. This will make Reveal Sound Spire monophonic and only play note at a time.
In addition with Spire set to MONO3 this means the pitch glides up to the selected note. Instead of starting immediately on the pressed note. (Portamento).
5) In Reveal Sound Spire ENV1 contols the AMP VCA by default. Set the ADSR of ENV1 as follows attack at 5% and release time at around 35%.
6) Adjust the Glide knob to 16%. Basically in Reveal Sound Spire the Glide knob determines the time it takes for the pitch to glide to its destination.
Filter Section of Analog Funky Synth Bass
7) Now for the filter section we are going to use the Perfecto LP4 in Reveal Sound Spire. Set Filter1 Cutoff to 7% and adjust the Resonance to 35%.
8) To control the Filter we will use ENV3 as the Filter Envelope. Move the Attack time fader to 20%, Decay time to 47%, Sustain level at 16% and finally the Release time to 25%.
The Envelope Amount for ENV3 set that to 80% by moving the AMT knob to the right. Reveal Sound Spire let’s you fine tune knobs by holding down SHIFT and dragging the knob. So that’s something which is handy for precise settings.
9) To add extra movement to the Filter Cutoff we could use note Velocity as a source to modulate the Filter Cutoff. This will open up the Filter Cutoff a little further combined with ENV3.
Emulating Analog Synth Sounds
10) Analog synthesizers are known to have a sense of pitch drift. To achieve that you can use an LFO routed to the oscillators pitch. But the modulation amount should be set very low to avoid obvious modulation.
Effects Section of Analog Funky Synth Bass
11) The first effect we are going to use is the Shaper which comes with Reveal Sound Spire. This effect will give the analog funky synth bass more character to itself.
12) The second effect is going to be the Chorus effect which adds extra vibe. The Chorus can also add width and a sense of dimension to the sound depending on the settings.
