(Funky Bass) Glow Worm

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strangers
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Posts: 793
Joined: 06 Mar 2017
Location: NJ

19 Jun 2022

The recent May Madness sale made me realize I have a lot of REs I never use. Why not change that and put them to use? Here's the aftermath of scrolling through and fiddling with a bunch of REs I've totally neglected. One exception was Parsec2. It manages to find its way into most songs.

RE's used in this song:

Layers
Monotone
Zero
Saw1
Klang
Expanse
Go2
Parsec

As usual, open to any comments, likes, dislikes, etc.



https://officialstrangers.bandcamp.com/track/glow-worm

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TheGodOfRainbows
Posts: 640
Joined: 31 Mar 2015

19 Jun 2022

Friggin great stuff. Drums are hot. I wish it went on for longer though.

strangers
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Posts: 793
Joined: 06 Mar 2017
Location: NJ

21 Jun 2022

TheGodOfRainbows wrote:
19 Jun 2022
Friggin great stuff. Drums are hot. I wish it went on for longer though.
Glad you liked it. I tend to over-write when I'm coming up with songs and have a longer initial skeleton. Once I get a bunch of ideas and the general structure down I then get rid of a lot things that I don't like or don't feel fit the overall picture. Next thing I know, 3-4 minutes is now down to 2-3, if I'm lucky. This worm was cut and didn't manage to grow again.

Drums were fun to come up with. I didn't originally plan to keep them more on the acoustic side and ended up liking how they fit in with everything else. I only ended up layering an additional kick and clap. That gave just enough umph to be where I wanted.

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moofi
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Location: hear

21 Jun 2022

Like especially the rhythmic side of things here :-)

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moofi
Posts: 1024
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21 Jun 2022

In terms of the synth I could imagine experimenting a bit with its sound/timbre, possibly less "picky" with a slightly fuller body and possibly a little more filtermodulated. Thinking typical 303 style in terms of filter variations going into bubbly + resonated sound e.g.
Could aswell be a screaching MS-20 style sound or a combination of both or anyhting in that regard :-).

strangers
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Posts: 793
Joined: 06 Mar 2017
Location: NJ

23 Jun 2022

moofi wrote:
21 Jun 2022
Like especially the rhythmic side of things here :-)
moofi wrote:
21 Jun 2022
In terms of the synth I could imagine experimenting a bit with its sound/timbre, possibly less "picky" with a slightly fuller body and possibly a little more filtermodulated. Thinking typical 303 style in terms of filter variations going into bubbly + resonated sound e.g.
Could aswell be a screaching MS-20 style sound or a combination of both or anyhting in that regard :-).
Rhythm was my focus with this one so I'm glad to see it was noticed. I like your ideas for possible synth sounds, especially the resonated route. I have a lot of fun playing around with squelchy bass sounds although I haven't fit them into songs yet. That's on my agenda for sure.

What do you mean by a 'picky' sound? Do you mean like plucks and similar sounds? If so, I do gravitate to them for an unknown reason. I'm thinking because there's a lot you can do with them especially when it comes to layering... not that I really have a clue :lol: I mess with things until it sounds good to me. Take this song for example, I couldn't even guess what genre it would be classified as. It happened to be what popped up in my head and translated through my fingers. When it came time to make this thread 'funky bass' was about the extent of my feeble attempt to even guess a genre.

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Chizmata
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24 Jun 2022

strangers wrote:
19 Jun 2022

One exception was Parsec2. It manages to find its way into most songs.
out of curiosity, what did you find to stand out in parsec? i've centered my last 3 tracks around it as well and i find that its a good synth with lots of possibilities to make complex sounds and phrases. but i couldnt really find a way to make its unique way of synthesis (constructing everything from hundreds of sine waves, like reversed FFT) clearly shine through. there was barely anything where i thought "only parsec can achieve this sound", it mainly imitates classic techniques with different means. lets say aside from a handful of the bottom effects, which are still subtle and also very cumbersome to use.

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moofi
Posts: 1024
Joined: 19 Jan 2015
Location: hear

24 Jun 2022

Sounds like free way compositions :-)

Regarding, "picky" I ment "tickiditicki", I know it sounds sort of silly, yet I at least assume it describes it well. Thought of writing plucky, yet plucky is too pocky, hence picky :-D

strangers wrote:
23 Jun 2022
moofi wrote:
21 Jun 2022
Like especially the rhythmic side of things here :-)
moofi wrote:
21 Jun 2022
In terms of the synth I could imagine experimenting a bit with its sound/timbre, possibly less "picky" with a slightly fuller body and possibly a little more filtermodulated. Thinking typical 303 style in terms of filter variations going into bubbly + resonated sound e.g.
Could aswell be a screaching MS-20 style sound or a combination of both or anyhting in that regard :-).
Rhythm was my focus with this one so I'm glad to see it was noticed. I like your ideas for possible synth sounds, especially the resonated route. I have a lot of fun playing around with squelchy bass sounds although I haven't fit them into songs yet. That's on my agenda for sure.

What do you mean by a 'picky' sound? Do you mean like plucks and similar sounds? If so, I do gravitate to them for an unknown reason. I'm thinking because there's a lot you can do with them especially when it comes to layering... not that I really have a clue :lol: I mess with things until it sounds good to me. Take this song for example, I couldn't even guess what genre it would be classified as. It happened to be what popped up in my head and translated through my fingers. When it came time to make this thread 'funky bass' was about the extent of my feeble attempt to even guess a genre.

PhillipOrdonez
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Location: Norway
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24 Jun 2022

Nice.

Popey
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Joined: 04 Jul 2018

25 Jun 2022

very cool. great production that bass is so tight.

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Uman's
Posts: 316
Joined: 17 Jun 2015
Location: France

26 Jun 2022

I just have to summarize: wow !


I like the realistic of the bass and the kick sound.

However, why the track is it cut off? is it a demo? :cry:
- Former member of the disappeared forum "Reason France" -

strangers
Competition Winner
Posts: 793
Joined: 06 Mar 2017
Location: NJ

27 Jun 2022

Chizmata wrote:
24 Jun 2022
strangers wrote:
19 Jun 2022

One exception was Parsec2. It manages to find its way into most songs.
out of curiosity, what did you find to stand out in parsec? i've centered my last 3 tracks around it as well and i find that its a good synth with lots of possibilities to make complex sounds and phrases. but i couldnt really find a way to make its unique way of synthesis (constructing everything from hundreds of sine waves, like reversed FFT) clearly shine through. there was barely anything where i thought "only parsec can achieve this sound", it mainly imitates classic techniques with different means. lets say aside from a handful of the bottom effects, which are still subtle and also very cumbersome to use.
I like Parsec2 because it's a really straightforward synth to use and automate. I use it often because I find it's great for layering sounds. Using this song as an example, the bass is comprised of four layers. If I remember correctly, I was using Parsec2's bass guitar patch since it's very consistent and provides the right low end and low-mids that I needed. I run into the same scenario with pads, leads, plucks, etc. Parsec2 typically delivers for the building blocks I need. The bass on this track was a mix of Expanse, Monotone and Parsec2.
moofi wrote:
24 Jun 2022
Sounds like free way compositions :-)

Regarding, "picky" I ment "tickiditicki", I know it sounds sort of silly, yet I at least assume it describes it well. Thought of writing plucky, yet plucky is too pocky, hence picky :-D
Now I see what you mean. I like the combo of words. I feel like I should reach out to you for genre names when I have no clue what to classify something as. I'm pretty sure you'll deliver :lol:
PhillipOrdonez wrote:
24 Jun 2022
Nice.
:thumbs_up:
Popey wrote:
25 Jun 2022
very cool. great production that bass is so tight.
Thanks Popey. I put a lot of focus into getting the bass sound I wanted for this song. Glad to hear what I had in mind worked out. Since I layered the bass I was able to really put detail into how the bass interacted with each section. I've never really done that before so this was something new for me.
Uman's wrote:
26 Jun 2022
I just have to summarize: wow !


I like the realistic of the bass and the kick sound.

However, why the track is it cut off? is it a demo? :cry:
Thanks Uman's! I was expecting the "too short" comments since this one clocks in just shy of 2 minutes. The original structure was extended. Ultimately, I cut things down. It's really easy to get carried away and have a song that's tooooo long. Didn't want anyone to lose interest. I figured if it's good then why not listen to it twice? That way the fun never ends.

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Chizmata
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28 Jun 2022

strangers wrote:
27 Jun 2022
Chizmata wrote:
24 Jun 2022


out of curiosity, what did you find to stand out in parsec? i've centered my last 3 tracks around it as well and i find that its a good synth with lots of possibilities to make complex sounds and phrases. but i couldnt really find a way to make its unique way of synthesis (constructing everything from hundreds of sine waves, like reversed FFT) clearly shine through. there was barely anything where i thought "only parsec can achieve this sound", it mainly imitates classic techniques with different means. lets say aside from a handful of the bottom effects, which are still subtle and also very cumbersome to use.
I like Parsec2 because it's a really straightforward synth to use and automate. I use it often because I find it's great for layering sounds. Using this song as an example, the bass is comprised of four layers. If I remember correctly, I was using Parsec2's bass guitar patch since it's very consistent and provides the right low end and low-mids that I needed. I run into the same scenario with pads, leads, plucks, etc. Parsec2 typically delivers for the building blocks I need. The bass on this track was a mix of Expanse, Monotone and Parsec2.
alright, thx for your input :thumbup:

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TheGodOfRainbows
Posts: 640
Joined: 31 Mar 2015

01 Jul 2022

strangers wrote:
21 Jun 2022
TheGodOfRainbows wrote:
19 Jun 2022
Friggin great stuff. Drums are hot. I wish it went on for longer though.
Glad you liked it. I tend to over-write when I'm coming up with songs and have a longer initial skeleton. Once I get a bunch of ideas and the general structure down I then get rid of a lot things that I don't like or don't feel fit the overall picture. Next thing I know, 3-4 minutes is now down to 2-3, if I'm lucky. This worm was cut and didn't manage to grow again.

Drums were fun to come up with. I didn't originally plan to keep them more on the acoustic side and ended up liking how they fit in with everything else. I only ended up layering an additional kick and clap. That gave just enough umph to be where I wanted.
I definitely tend to over write too. I appreciate your restraint here. And holy shit you 'came up with' the drums?! You programmed all that?! Holy shit I thought for sure those were drum loops. Once again, I really like this track.

strangers
Competition Winner
Posts: 793
Joined: 06 Mar 2017
Location: NJ

05 Jul 2022

TheGodOfRainbows wrote:
01 Jul 2022
strangers wrote:
21 Jun 2022


Glad you liked it. I tend to over-write when I'm coming up with songs and have a longer initial skeleton. Once I get a bunch of ideas and the general structure down I then get rid of a lot things that I don't like or don't feel fit the overall picture. Next thing I know, 3-4 minutes is now down to 2-3, if I'm lucky. This worm was cut and didn't manage to grow again.

Drums were fun to come up with. I didn't originally plan to keep them more on the acoustic side and ended up liking how they fit in with everything else. I only ended up layering an additional kick and clap. That gave just enough umph to be where I wanted.
I definitely tend to over write too. I appreciate your restraint here. And holy shit you 'came up with' the drums?! You programmed all that?! Holy shit I thought for sure those were drum loops. Once again, I really like this track.
Over-writing was probably an understatement. I've got an insane amount of Reason song files that consist of nearly completed songs and partially completed songs that I'll most likely never get to. So many that I recently moved them all to an external drive to have a totally clean slate with the goal to focus on completing things. It worked for the first month or two and then I was right back to building a new pile of nearly finished songs get nice and dusty because I've already moved on to other ideas.

Drum programming has been a major focus of mine for a few years which is kind of funny for me to say since my primary instrument has always been guitar. I've always been really curious and eager to learn what other artists do when I know they program drums rather than use a real drummer. That gives me the extra drive to attempt the same level of detail even if it means re-recording or re-writing other instruments to make sure everything is cohesive. I also finger drum way too often without realizing it which maybe helps at the price of completely annoying others on a regular basis.

Drum loops can be a great source of inspiration or even work really well for others. I've tried messing with them in the past and felt too boxed in. I guess the OCD in me doesn't like that I couldn't simply tap in extra hits or remove them on the fly. There's probably a way to do it but never felt inspired enough to dive into that area.

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TheGodOfRainbows
Posts: 640
Joined: 31 Mar 2015

10 Jul 2022

strangers wrote:
05 Jul 2022
TheGodOfRainbows wrote:
01 Jul 2022

I definitely tend to over write too. I appreciate your restraint here. And holy shit you 'came up with' the drums?! You programmed all that?! Holy shit I thought for sure those were drum loops. Once again, I really like this track.
Over-writing was probably an understatement. I've got an insane amount of Reason song files that consist of nearly completed songs and partially completed songs that I'll most likely never get to. So many that I recently moved them all to an external drive to have a totally clean slate with the goal to focus on completing things. It worked for the first month or two and then I was right back to building a new pile of nearly finished songs get nice and dusty because I've already moved on to other ideas.

Drum programming has been a major focus of mine for a few years which is kind of funny for me to say since my primary instrument has always been guitar. I've always been really curious and eager to learn what other artists do when I know they program drums rather than use a real drummer. That gives me the extra drive to attempt the same level of detail even if it means re-recording or re-writing other instruments to make sure everything is cohesive. I also finger drum way too often without realizing it which maybe helps at the price of completely annoying others on a regular basis.

Drum loops can be a great source of inspiration or even work really well for others. I've tried messing with them in the past and felt too boxed in. I guess the OCD in me doesn't like that I couldn't simply tap in extra hits or remove them on the fly. There's probably a way to do it but never felt inspired enough to dive into that area.
Well, I've probably said this before, you have inspired me to really think more about what's possible with programmed drums. I also like TritoneAddiction's drum work. The detail, all the fills and rolling toms and stuff going on is so good in this track. It seems so painstaking, but the end result is awesome. I usually go about drum programming by making the main beat, then making several variations of it, them making some fills. But your drums seem to have fills BETWEEN the fills (if that makes any sense! lol), and like its all just happening live and by a real drummer.

strangers
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Posts: 793
Joined: 06 Mar 2017
Location: NJ

10 Jul 2022

TheGodOfRainbows wrote:
10 Jul 2022
Well, I've probably said this before, you have inspired me to really think more about what's possible with programmed drums. I also like TritoneAddiction's drum work. The detail, all the fills and rolling toms and stuff going on is so good in this track. It seems so painstaking, but the end result is awesome. I usually go about drum programming by making the main beat, then making several variations of it, them making some fills. But your drums seem to have fills BETWEEN the fills (if that makes any sense! lol), and like its all just happening live and by a real drummer.
I appreciate the kind words. I used to dread programming drums and then along the way found ways to be more efficient about it. I'll play (finger drum) the basic structure or even just an entire section, make some tweaks within the sequencer and then edit and add from there. I try not to get too detailed too soon because I sometimes end up completely scrapping the drums if I get a different feel for the song or section.

I've always appreciated drummers that stay in the pocket AND manage to throw in fills without going overboard. That's what I aim to do although it's really easy to go overboard when programming rather than physically sitting behind a kit because you can keep going back and making changes without anyone watching the process.

You can definitely pull this kind of stuff off. Keep at it even if it gets frustrating. Once you break that wall, you'll find your own tricks and ways to go about it. From there, it'll be less daunting. I'm also open to chipping in or helping in anyway if you want to bounce ideas off each other.

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Uman's
Posts: 316
Joined: 17 Jun 2015
Location: France

16 Jul 2022

I want to hear the whole song ! Nahhhhh ! :puf_bigsmile:
(I stamp my feet like a child ! :lol: )
- Former member of the disappeared forum "Reason France" -

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moofi
Posts: 1024
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Location: hear

17 Jul 2022

Much better with the less picky lead synth :-) :thumbs_up:

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TheGodOfRainbows
Posts: 640
Joined: 31 Mar 2015

30 Jul 2022

strangers wrote:
10 Jul 2022
I appreciate the kind words. I used to dread programming drums and then along the way found ways to be more efficient about it. I'll play (finger drum) the basic structure or even just an entire section, make some tweaks within the sequencer and then edit and add from there. I try not to get too detailed too soon because I sometimes end up completely scrapping the drums if I get a different feel for the song or section.

I've always appreciated drummers that stay in the pocket AND manage to throw in fills without going overboard. That's what I aim to do although it's really easy to go overboard when programming rather than physically sitting behind a kit because you can keep going back and making changes without anyone watching the process.

You can definitely pull this kind of stuff off. Keep at it even if it gets frustrating. Once you break that wall, you'll find your own tricks and ways to go about it. From there, it'll be less daunting. I'm also open to chipping in or helping in anyway if you want to bounce ideas off each other.
I'm very sorry for forgetting to respond. Thank you for the insight into your process. It's encouraging. I will keep trying to "break that wall".

I'm curious to know what type of controller, keyboard or pads, you use. I've never been able to make good use of the Korg nanopad. The sensitivity curve is really weird or something. I've tried and wanted for years the Machine Mikro and it's vastly better. Using keyboard is actually better in terms of it responding better to velocity than the nanopad, but i always feel like i'm going to wear out the keys, plus I cant really do any quick double taps on the same key (if that makes sense).

strangers
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Posts: 793
Joined: 06 Mar 2017
Location: NJ

02 Aug 2022

Uman's wrote:
16 Jul 2022
I want to hear the whole song ! Nahhhhh ! :puf_bigsmile:
(I stamp my feet like a child ! :lol: )
I'm waiting for the full version, too! Oh wait, I wrote this one :lol: I'm more of a set it and forget it kind of guy when it comes to music. There's not much hope for me revisiting a song. I'm already really bad at completing songs even when they're 90%+ finished. There's no looking back once I slap that export to .wav and .mp3 button.
moofi wrote:
17 Jul 2022
Much better with the less picky lead synth :-) :thumbs_up:
Some sort of wizardry must have happened. I haven't changed anything. Or did I?

Nope. No changes from this guy unless I got a little taller, which would be a whole different story.
TheGodOfRainbows wrote:
30 Jul 2022
I'm very sorry for forgetting to respond. Thank you for the insight into your process. It's encouraging. I will keep trying to "break that wall".

I'm curious to know what type of controller, keyboard or pads, you use. I've never been able to make good use of the Korg nanopad. The sensitivity curve is really weird or something. I've tried and wanted for years the Machine Mikro and it's vastly better. Using keyboard is actually better in terms of it responding better to velocity than the nanopad, but i always feel like i'm going to wear out the keys, plus I cant really do any quick double taps on the same key (if that makes sense).
No worries. Definitely keep on chipping away at that wall. It's worth it for sure. I used to dread working on drums and now it's one of my favorite parts although I tend to go a little overboard with fine tuning.

I use two different hardware controllers. I've got an M-Audio Axiom midi controller and a small Akai MPD218. I tend to use the Akai more often for drums since it's easier to tap things out on the pads compared to keys. The Axiom controller does have 8 pads but I tend to forget they're there. The Akai is pretty decent when it comes to sensitivity. It also has a button to enable/disable full velocity for those moments when you want a caps lock equivalent. I do run into one issue with the Akai that seems to be fairly common with their pads. Ghost notes sometimes creep in and/or notes double up. It doesn't happen all that often but enough to notice. Luckily, that's an easy fix within the sequencer to delete the added note(s).

I know what you mean about using the keys instead. I can make them work in most scenarios. The tricky part is fast sequences using the same key. The only way I've found around that is assigning multiple keys to the same drum or jump into the sequencer to pencil them in. I like getting the skeleton tapped out on either controller. From there I typically edit within the sequencer and/or punch in wherever I want to update/add more drum lines. Getting the skeleton down is still my top priority before getting too detailed since I change, add and remove parts and instruments a lot. Easier to get the core down, add in the other elements and then go back for edits or new takes to lock in with other instruments. I've made the mistake one too many times of getting drums detailed too early only to later find myself scrapping the entire section.

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moofi
Posts: 1024
Joined: 19 Jan 2015
Location: hear

02 Aug 2022

:-D Well I had the feeling like the transient were harder, at least that was what I was looking for :-D
Thinking about it and listening once again it´s been the brightness I was referring to. :-)
moofi wrote:
17 Jul 2022
Much better with the less picky lead synth :-) :thumbs_up:
Some sort of wizardry must have happened. I haven't changed anything. Or did I?

Nope. No changes from this guy unless I got a little taller, which would be a whole different story.

[/quote]

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