Advanced Growling Bass: Unison, Glide and Phase

Taking the bass sound further

Let’s make the growling bass sound we covered previously even more exciting!
Here is the recipe.

The techniques used here are not limited to bass:
you can apply them to many sounds, including leads and pads.

How to create the sound

Widen the sound

After setting the number of Unisono voices in VOICING,
use Pan Position to spread the sound left and right.

Switch to mono mode

Return to the VOICING tab
and select the following two modes:

• Monorotate: limits polyphony to one note.
• Legato Triller: smoothly connects overlapping MIDI notes.

Apply glide

After setting mono mode,
increase Time in the OSC tab.

This smoothly connects the pitches of overlapping notes, as shown.

Use Phase

Applying Phase makes the sound more dramatic.

Under Phase in the Modulation OSC, select the number of the main oscillator,
then adjust the effect with the Phase knob.

The sound is complete.
You now have a bold, growling bass that cuts through the mix.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What is the difference between a growling bass and a wobble bass?

A growling bass has a thick sound created by layering multiple oscillators, while a wobble bass is characterized by movement produced by modulating a filter’s frequency with an LFO. Both are common in electronic music, but their sound design and effects differ.

Q2. Which DAWs or plug-ins can use this technique?

This article uses Native Instruments KOMPLETE, but you can apply the same approach in major DAWs such as Logic, Ableton Live, and Cubase with any synth that has Unisono, pan, mono, and glide controls.

Q3. What should I watch out for when using glide?

If the glide time is too long, notes can blend together too much and sound muddy. If it is too short, the glide may be hard to hear. Adjust the Time parameter to suit the tempo and genre for a balanced sound.