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This method enables you to create very different bass drum sounds with a single oscillator,
one LFO, and one envelope (for volume). The character of the sounds can range from
soft to punchy, and the degree of tonality in the sound can be adjusted to taste.
Note: The bass drum sound described is listed as Kick 3 in the Tutorial Kit, at a pitch of
D1.
Use the second oscillator (with similar settings or with a sample), or use the filter and the
ring modulator—the sky’s the limit as far as your imagination is concerned, so get on
with it and create that next “gotta have it” drum sound.
Note: You can find an “emulation” of the legendary 808 bass drum in Kick 4 in the Tutorial
Kit, at a pitch of D#1.
Ultrabeat Tutorial: Creating Snare Drums
The sound of an acoustic snare drum consists primarily of two sound components: the
sound of the drum itself and the buzzing of the snare springs. Try to approximate this
combination in Ultrabeat with a single oscillator and the noise generator.
To create a basic snare drum
1 Load the Standard Tutorial setting. Deactivate Oscillator 1, and switch Oscillator 2 on (in
phase oscillator mode).
2 Choose LFO 1 in the Mod menu of Osc 2 Pitch.
3 Set the pitch value for Osc 2 to around G#2 and set the Mod amount (the blue Mod
control) to about 3 to 4 octaves higher.
You have modulated Osc 2 Pitch with a rapidly vibrating LFO with a medium Ramp Decay
value. This eliminates the sine wave—which is not especially desirable for a snare sound,
in contrast to the bass drum.
4 Set LFO 1 to a high Rate. Choose a value of 20 for Cycles and −20 for Ramp. Set the LFO
Waveform parameter to a value of about 0.58, which is a square wave.
5 Use Env 1 to control the volume of Oscillator 2 by setting Vol to the lowest possible value
(−60 dB), choosing Env 1 in the Mod pop-up menu, and adjusting the modulation intensity
to a point just below its maximum value.
308 Chapter 11 Ultrabeat