9

Ultrabeat Tutorial: Reducing Tonality
One advantage of bass drums based on sine waves is that their sound can be precisely
tuned to match the song. The disadvantage is that a recognizable pitch is not always
desirable. Ultrabeat offers several methods to reduce the tonality of the sound. A very
effective tool is the 2 Band EQ.
To reduce tonality using the 2 Band EQ
1 For band 1, select the Shelving mode at a frequency of about 80 Hz, a high Q value, and
a negative Gain value.
2 For band 2, select the Peak mode at a frequency of around 180 Hz, a medium Q value,
and also a negative Gain value.
On the EQ graph, notice how the frequencies around 80 Hz are boosted, while the
surrounding frequencies are reduced.
3 Vary the frequency of band 2 (easily recognizable in the blue part of the EQ graph) to
influence the extent of bass drum tonality.
A further method for reducing the tonality of a drum sound that is rich with overtones
is to use a lowpass filter. In the following example you will control the cutoff frequency
of the filter with an envelope.
To reduce tonality using a lowpass filter
1 Reload the Standard Tutorial sound, choose A#0 as the basic pitch in Oscillator 1, and
modulate it with Env 1.
2 Increase the Saturation parameter value to enhance the overtones of the drum sound.
Note that the output of Osc 1 is directed to the filter, as the filter bypass button (the arrow
between Osc 1 and the filter) is activated.
3 Set Filter type to LP 24.
4 Set Cutoff value to 0.10.
5 Set Mod Source for Cut to Env 3.
305Chapter 11 Ultrabeat