FM8 Gritty Bass Tutorial

Some people like more phasing and harmonics in their neuro bass, some like this kind of grittiness in their electro basslines. No matter what kind of music you create, you can probably think of some great uses for a sound similar to this one. It may only take a couple of minutes in the studio to transform this one into the next perfect fit for your current project. Or it could shed some light on how to make similar sounds using FM synthesis. Either way, this FM8 gritty bass tutorial is worth watching and following along with.

It starts out with setting up the routing in the FM Matrix. You can see that this sound is really fairly simple at its core. Only three operators are used and only one is being used to modulate by others. It’s actually the waveform selection that creates the initial complexity of sound. So a pretty basic sound to get things started.

Using the Grouping feature in Ableton Live allows you to use a Macro control to manipulate many parameters at once, both within the synth itself as well as other plugin effects you choose. This makes things much easier when designing sounds like this because a modern plugin effect can be a more efficient way of producing the sounds you want, not to mention that some things are only achieved through the application of processing tools outside of FM8 anyway. So this FM8 gritty bass tutorial is also a lesson in workflows within Ableton.

A Phaser and a Flanger are added as effects inside of FM8 to spread out the sound a bit and add soem movement. Both of these effects have been added to the Macro control inside Ableton. Just about everything else takes place outside of FM8 from here on out. If you are into making neurofunk then you will probably recognize the plugins he uses. If you are an Ableton user, I suggest trying to utilize the Macro feature often when working with FM8, as it can make the transition from more mainstream subtractive synths easier. And if you are a NI Massive user, which many FM8 users are, then you already understand the ideas behind Macro controls and find then essential in your sound design sessions.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheers,
OhmLab