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Chapter 24 Ultrabeat 397
To give the bass drum more kick by controlling the pitch with an envelope:
1 Ensure that Env 1 is chosen in the Mod menu of Oscillator 1’s Pitch parameter.
2 Set the degree of modulation by moving the blue Mod slider approximately 3 to 4
octaves above the original pitch.
3 Set the attack time in Env 1 to zero by sliding the leftmost of the two junction points
that sit on the x-axis all the way to the left.
4 Experiment with the decay time by moving the rightmost of the two junction points
that sit on the x-axis; you’ll discover that higher decay values (shifting the Bezier handle
to the right) result in sounds similar to synth toms, while shorter decay values (shifting
to the left) provide the kick character.
5 Change the Mod amount (the blue control) of Osc 1 Pitch again (see step 1).
The interaction of this parameter with the envelope’s decay time provides numerous
possibilities for shaping the kick or punch of the bass drum sound.
Note: This simple bass drum sound is called Kick 1 in the Tutorial Kit, at a pitch of C1.
Removing Tonality
One advantage of bass drums based on sine waves is that their sound can be precisely
tuned to match the song. The disadvantage: 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.