Controls
- OscillatorSub / Saw / Square / 808 — The oscillator: Sub (a sine with a little second harmonic), Saw and Square (band-limited), or 808 (a sine that drops in pitch at every new note, by more as Punch rises).
- Octave−2 to +2 — Shifts the whole bass by -2 to +2 octaves.
- Detune0 to 50 cents — Adds a second oscillator detuned by 0 to 50 cents for a wide, beating sound (a Reese bass at 15 to 30); at 0 there is one oscillator.
- Sub Level0 to 100% — The level of a sine one octave below the note (0 to 100%), for weight on small and large speakers.
- Punch0 to 100% — A short boost at the start of every note (0 to 100%), for attack that cuts through; in 808 mode it also sets how far the pitch drops.
- Drive0 to 100% — Soft clipping after the filter (0 to 100%), from warmth to a hard distorted bass.
- Cutoff30 to 12000 Hz — The cutoff of the 24 dB low-pass filter (30 Hz to 12 kHz).
- Resonance0 to 100% — The filter's resonance (0 to 100%): a peak at the cutoff, up to a squelchy acid whistle.
- Env Amount−100 to +100% — How far the filter envelope opens (positive) or closes (negative) the cutoff at every new note, up to 6 octaves, scaled by the velocity.
- Filter Decay5 to 3000 ms — How long the filter envelope takes to fall back (5 ms to 3 s): short for plucks and acid, long for slow sweeps.
- Attack1 to 2000 ms — The amplitude envelope's attack time (1 ms to 2 s).
- Decay5 to 5000 ms — The time to fall from the peak to the Sustain level (5 ms to 5 s).
- Sustain0 to 100% — The level held while the key is down (0 to 100%); at 0 every note decays away like an 808.
- Release5 to 5000 ms — The time the note takes to fade after the key is released (5 ms to 5 s).
- Glide ModeLegato / Always — Legato: a key pressed while another is held glides to its pitch without a new attack; Always: every note glides from the last pitch and starts again.
- Glide0 to 1000 ms — The glide time (0 to 1000 ms); 0 jumps straight to the new pitch. Phrase slides use at least 60 ms.
- Velocity0 to 100% — How much the velocity changes the level and the filter envelope (0% = every note the same).
- PhraseOff / Eighths / Octaves / Offbeat / Gallop / Funk / Acid / Tresillo / Trap — The phrase the bass plays while a key from C2 up is held, in 16ths at the host's tempo (Eighths, Octaves, Offbeat, Gallop, Funk, Acid, Tresillo, Trap); the keys C1 (Off) to G#1 choose it too. Off plays the keys as they are.
- Volume−24 to +12 dB — The output level (-24 to +12 dB).
Best uses
- Sub and 808 bass lines for trap, hip-hop and pop, with glides between notes
- Squelchy acid lines with resonance, accents and slides
- Wide detuned Reese basses for drum and bass and dubstep
- Instant grooves: hold one key and the phrase player plays a bass line in time with the song
- Switch phrases live with the keys below C2 while the right hand sets the root
Properties
An instrument: MIDI in, stereo out (the same signal on both sides), no samples. One monophonic voice with last-note priority: releasing a key goes back to a key still held. Saw and Square are band-limited (PolyBLEP); the low-pass is two state-variable stages (24 dB per octave), the second one resonant, with an exponential envelope; Drive is a soft clipper after the filter; the amplitude has an ADSR with linear attack and exponential decay and release, so notes start and stop without clicks. Pitch bend covers +-2 semitones. The phrase player follows the host's beat while it plays (from the first key while it is stopped), assumes 4/4 and restarts the bar every 16 steps; the keys from C1 to G#1 (MIDI notes 24 to 32) choose the phrase, the newest key held from C2 (36) up sets its root, and a new root while a note sounds retunes it. All notes off (CC 123/120) releases everything. Sample-accurate and the same in the JSFX, the GFX version and the VST3/CLAP.
Factory presets
Sub Bass · Reese · 808 Boom · 808 Distorted · Acid · Funk Finger · Square Pluck · Disco Octaves · Trap Glide · Rock Gallop · Offbeat House · Tresillo Pop · Eighths Driver · Soft Square · Growl