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Table Of Contents
Chapter 23 Ultrabeat 345
More Contour…
In our example, all four envelopes are being used. Take some time to play with the
shapes of the envelopes, while maintaining the Attack and Decay settings. Experiment
with the junction points of the Decay phase in the different envelopes to familiarize
yourself with the sound shaping options available. Start with the Decay phase of Env 4
(which controls the volume of Oscillator 1 as well as filter resonance) and observe how
reshaping the “belly of the envelope can change the character of the sound from crisp
and short to round and voluminous.
The Ultrabeat Kick
Let’s move on to bass drums that are uniquely “Ultrabeat”, rather than analog models.
Try modulating pitch with an LFO, rather than an envelope, for example.
An appropriate LFO setting could look something like this:
1 Start with the Default Tutorial sound at a pitch of A#0 (Osc 1 Pitch), and choose LFO 1 as
the Mod source in the Osc 1 Pitch section.
2 Set the degree of modulation by moving the blue Mod control to a value of A3.
3 LFO 1 should be set to a low number of Cycles (25 to 35), a high Rate (starting with
70 Hz and higher) and a medium value for Decay (Ramp rotary knob at about 190).
4 Experiment with the LFO waveform and you’ll discover that you can attain different
nuances in the character of the bass drum attack.
5 Now modulate the Asym (Asymmetry) parameter with the same LFO, and also vary the
Slope and Saturation values. 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 called “Kick 3” in the tutorial set 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 skys 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 under the name
“Kick 4” in the tutorial set, at a pitch of D#1.