Sweet Berta

A deep, round bass: a triangle an octave down with a quiet square under it, the ladder low and barely moving. Sits under a mix without taking the mids. Macros: Bright, Release, Glide. Macro 8, Master, is the output level.

A resonant, squelchy saw bass with a fast envelope and glide only between overlapping notes (LEGATO GLIDE): play legato to slide, detached to jump. Macros: Cutoff, Squelch, Decay. Macro 8, Master, is the output level.

A short, punchy square-and-saw bass with LOW note priority, as on classic bass monosynths: holding a low note and tapping higher ones keeps the low one sounding. Macros: Bright, Bite, Decay. Macro 8, Master, is the output level.

A talking growl: the mixer runs through the HPF into the ladder, a band-pass that the LFO swings open and shut, fast at the start of each note and slowing as the envelope falls, like a mouth yawning. Hold notes of a beat or two. Macros: Rate, Mouth, Cutoff. Macro 8, Master, is the output level.

The wobble bass, in time with the song: an Undertow in the Case does nothing but swing, its LFO jack on the cutoff in eighth notes from the host's tempo, into a dark, driven amp. The Pedalboard splits it at 120 Hz, so the amp drives only the wobble above and the sub under it stays clean and steady. Hold long notes and let the beat do the work. Macros: Depth, Cutoff, Grind. Macro 8, Master, is the output level.

EURO OUT patched back into EXT IN: the finished voice runs round through the mixer's own saturation, so the bass grinds and thickens from inside rather than through a pedal. Play held notes and push Grind for more. Macros: Grind, Cutoff, Decay. Macro 8, Master, is the output level.

A fuzz on a battery running flat: Puzz gates and spits on the tail of every note, but only above 150 Hz: the Pedalboard splits the bass, and the low band holds clean underneath while the top breaks up. Play short, chunky notes and let them break up; Battery cleans it as it rises. Macros: Battery, Fuzz, Cutoff. Macro 8, Master, is the output level.

A struck digital-style FM bass, built in the patch bay: osc 1 runs through the ladder into osc 2's LIN FM IN, so the filter envelope sets how hard osc 2 is modulated. Osc 2 is heard unfiltered: bright on the strike, a clean triangle as it holds, Earth keeping that triangle heard on small speakers. Velocity hits harder. Macros: Strike, Decay, Floor. Macro 8, Master, is the output level.

Osc 1 frequency-modulates osc 2 at the same pitch through the ATTENUATOR: a round triangle given a rubbery, saw-like edge, then plucked by the ladder, Earth's harmonics carrying it onto small speakers. FM sets how much edge. Play bouncy lines in the bottom two octaves. Macros: FM, Cutoff, Decay. Macro 8, Master, is the output level.

An inharmonic FM bass: the modulator is pushed off its octave by the ATTENUATOR, so each note strikes with a metallic clank before the ladder closes it down to a dull, tuned thud. Play short, percussive notes; Clank shifts the ratio. Macros: Clank, Cutoff, Decay. Macro 8, Master, is the output level.

A square an octave below modulates the triangle you hear, its width turning slowly on the LFO: the note sinks an octave into a churning, growling sub that never sits still, Earth's harmonics keeping it heard on a phone. Hold low notes. Macros: Rate, Cutoff, Body. Macro 8, Master, is the output level.

Osc 1's saw is heard and also modulates osc 2, set a little sharp: the sidebands beat against each other, so a held note throbs and shimmers. Play long notes and slow lines; Beat speeds the throb up. Macros: Beat, Cutoff, Decay. Macro 8, Master, is the output level.

Osc 2 hard-synced to osc 1, the envelope sweeping it down an octave on every note through the ATTENUATOR: a hard, vocal bark on the attack over a solid body. Play punchy eighths; Sweep sets how far it tears. Macros: Sweep, Cutoff, Decay. Macro 8, Master, is the output level.

Both oscillators and a little noise near full in the mixer, which drives the mixer stage well into its soft clip: thick, compressed, warm even-harmonic grit before the ladder. Bring the levels down to 0.5 to hear it clean. Macros: Bright, Bite, Noise. Macro 8, Master, is the output level.

A synced square a few semitones up, torn down by the envelope on every note and driven into a dark amp: a nasty, snarling rock bass. Play driving eighths and hold the last note to hear it settle. Macros: Gain, Cutoff, Decay. Macro 8, Master, is the output level.

A slow LFO rolls the synced osc 2's pitch, restarted on every note, so each held note's tone climbs and turns over like a wave, with a light chorus spreading it. Hold notes of a bar or more. Macros: Rate, Cutoff, Chorus. Macro 8, Master, is the output level.

How hard you play sets how high the synced osc 2 sits: soft notes are round and plain, hard ones tear and bark, with a little envelope sweep on top. Play with dynamics, ghost notes soft and accents hard. Macros: Cutoff, Decay, Body. Macro 8, Master, is the output level.

Two saws, one an octave under, into a tiny amp turned all the way up in its dark voice: a huge, woolly wall of bass, the EQ clearing the mud beneath it. Hold roots and power through; the low notes rumble. Macros: Cutoff, Sub, Air. Macro 8, Master, is the output level.

The amp before the filter: Crank sits in the Case between the mixer and the ladder, so a fully driven square and saw are plucked by the filter envelope. Every note bites, then closes down to a dark, chewy growl. Play tight, syncopated lines. Macros: Gain, Cutoff, Decay. Macro 8, Master, is the output level.

A picked rock bass with grind: a square and a saw, a bright pick on the attack, through a compressor's Dirt side for a gritty, even growl that sits in a band. Play driving eighths with a pick's evenness; harder notes click brighter. Macros: Dirt, Cutoff, Squeeze. Macro 8, Master, is the output level.

KB VEL OUT into ENV AMT IN: harder notes add up to three more octaves of envelope sweep, so playing dynamics bright and soft notes dark. Velocity has no routing of its own on the voice; this patch gives it one. Macros: Cutoff, Bite, Decay. Macro 8, Master, is the output level.

Classic acid: play overlapping notes to slide, hit harder to accent; ride the cutoff and resonance. Macros: Cutoff, Squelch, Decay, Drive, Slide, Space and Master.

A round, sub-heavy triangle with a quiet square underneath for a little grit, and a light envelope-to-pitch thump on every note. Play it low and let the kick sit on top. Macros: Cutoff, Squelch, Decay. Macro 8, Master, is the output level.

The classic saw-and-square house pluck, lightly detuned for width, over a solid 16' sub with a touch of pitch-drop bite. Play it short and staccato; hold one to feel the sub carry the room. Macros: Bright, Bite, Decay. Macro 8, Master, is the output level.