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BASSYNTH Manual 1.0

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Contents
Installation & Activation .............................................................................................................. 4
Step 1 - Installation:................................................................................................................ 4
Step 2 - Activation: ................................................................................................................. 4
Batch Re-Save ....................................................................................................................... 5
System Requirements ................................................................................................................ 5
Welcome to BASSYNTH ............................................................................................................ 6
Introduction................................................................................................................................. 7
Perform Page - Overview........................................................................................................... 8
Perform Page - Instrument Header ........................................................................................... 9
Preset Browser......................................................................................................................... 10
Perform Page – Sound Source Browser ................................................................................. 11
Sound Sources – Brief Overview ......................................................................................... 11
Loading Sound Sources ....................................................................................................... 12
Tags ...................................................................................................................................... 12
Perform Page – Macro Overview............................................................................................. 13
Perform Page – XY Pad........................................................................................................... 14
Controlling Macros with the XY pad ..................................................................................... 14
Automation & Performance .................................................................................................. 15
Design Page - Overview .......................................................................................................... 16
Design Page – Sound Source Browser ................................................................................... 17
Favouriting Sound Sources .................................................................................................. 17
Design Page – Voice Tabs ...................................................................................................... 18
Sample Manipulation ............................................................................................................ 19
Voice Controls ...................................................................................................................... 20
Filter Section ......................................................................................................................... 22
Amp Envelope ...................................................................................................................... 24
Modulation System................................................................................................................... 25
Modulation Sources.............................................................................................................. 25
Assigning Modulation ........................................................................................................... 28
Effects Section ......................................................................................................................... 30
Effects List ............................................................................................................................ 30
Insert Effects......................................................................................................................... 32
Master Effects....................................................................................................................... 32
Send Effects ......................................................................................................................... 32
Loading Effects ..................................................................................................................... 33
Mix Page .................................................................................................................................. 35
Tone Page ................................................................................................................................ 37

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Macros ...................................................................................................................................... 39
Macro Assignment................................................................................................................ 39
Macro Editor ......................................................................................................................... 40
Using Wavetables .................................................................................................................... 42
Loading Wavetables ............................................................................................................. 42
Wavetable Controls Popup .................................................................................................. 43
Motion Designer Page ............................................................................................................. 45
Pattern Preset Browser ........................................................................................................ 47
Adjusting the Rate, Length and Smooth .............................................................................. 48
BASSYNTH Sound Source Guide ........................................................................................... 50
Loading Presets Using Snapshot System ............................................................................... 53
NKS Integration ........................................................................................................................ 54
Native Map ........................................................................................................................... 54
Key Command Reference........................................................................................................ 56
Troubleshooting ....................................................................................................................... 57
Credits ...................................................................................................................................... 59

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Installation & Activation

There are two main steps to getting started with BASSYNTH:

Step 1 - Installation:
1. Download all 6 BASSYNTH Zip files from your account. Ensure all 6 Zip files are
100% downloaded before moving on to point 2 below.

2. Unpack the Zip files together using 7-Zip (if on PC) or Keka If on Mac.

3. After successfully unpacking the Zip files you should now see a single folder named
‘BASSYNTH’, which should be around 10.9 GB (or slightly larger) in size. Take note
of where this folder is located because you will reference this location in the next step.
It is very important that the file structure is maintained within the ‘BASSYNTH’ folder.
If you do not own Kontakt 6, you will need to install the free Native Instruments Kontakt 6
Player which you can download here - Kontakt Player Download Link

Step 2 - Activation:
1. Open Kontakt or Kontakt Free Player and navigate to the ‘Libraries’ tab in the top left
corner of Kontakt. Now click the ‘Manage Libraries’ button directly underneath this
and click the ‘Launch Native Access’ button from within the window that pops up.

2. Once logged in to Native Access, click the ‘Add a serial’ header at the top left of the
menu. You will now be prompted to enter your BASSYNTH serial number. Copy and
paste your BASSYNTH serial into this box and then click the ‘+ Add Serial’ button.
(Your serial number will be sent to your e-mail address automatically after purchasing BASSYNTH. It is also
available in your account on our website)

3. After entering your serial number, you will now be prompted to browse to the
‘BASSYNTH’ folder. Simply click the ‘Browse’ button on this page and navigate to the
‘BASSYNTH’ folder that you have previously unpacked (see Step 1 – Installation
above). It is important that you select the ‘BASSYNTH’ folder itself and not any of the
folders’ subfolders. Now click ‘Open’ or ‘Select Folder’ (if on PC).

4. Once you have followed these steps, BASSYNTH should now be installed correctly in
Kontakt’s ‘Libraries’ tab. To make sure it appears as a pane in the libraries tab, you
may need to refresh the tab in Kontakt by clicking the refresh icon to the left of the
‘Manage Libraries’ button.
Please note: We highly recommend updating to the latest version of Kontakt / Kontakt
Player from within Native Access before activating BASSYNTH.

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Batch Re-Save
Running a batch re-save after installing BASSYNTH is highly recommended to speed up
load times:
1. With BASSYNTH NOT loaded into Kontakt, click the ‘Disk / File’ Icon at the top of
Kontakt itself.

2. Select ‘Batch re-save’

3. Confirm the warning message by pressing ‘Yes’

4. Navigate and Select the main ‘BASSYNTH’ folder. Be sure to choose the same
‘BASSYNTH’ folder you referenced before when adding BASSYNTH as a library within
Kontakt.

5. Done. You should now see faster loading times.

System Requirements
Minimum System Requirements
• Kontakt Player 6.1.0 or Kontakt 6.1.0
• Mac OS 10.12, 10.13 or 10.14 (or newer), i5
• Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 10, Intel Core i5 or equivalent CPU
• 2 GB RAM

Recommended System Requirements

• Kontakt Player 6.1.0 or Kontakt 6.1.0
• Mac OS 10.12, 10.13 or 10.14 (or newer), i7
• Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 10, Intel Core i5 or equivalent CPU
• 8 GB RAM

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Welcome to BASSYNTH
Welcome to BASSYNTH - an entirely new kind of Bass Engine for the creation of
organic, modern, ground-breaking bass tones.
BASSYNTH is an extremely powerful hybrid bass instrument driven by a diverse and
creative library of lovingly recorded multi-sampled Sound Sources, Oscillators and
Wavetables. These include filthy analogue synths and gritty modular systems, designed
bass guitars, epic live brass sections, scannable wavetables, the deepest 808s and
subs, organic layering tools, foley, noise and transients, and much more.
All of BASSYNTH’s sound sources were recorded using a range of unique techniques,
involving the use of amps, speakers, tape and various huge studio spaces, as well as
multi-miking, layering, and processing through a variety of high-end outboard gear.
The resulting sound library has been deployed in a forward-thinking modern interface
that offers both focus and minimalism for a fast workflow, and deep sound design
capabilities when you want to go further.

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Introduction
Here you’ll find documentation for everything needed to get started with BASSYNTH.
BASSYNTH features three main pages (Perform Page, Design Page & Motion Page), along
with dynamic pages accessed from within these pages for Preset Browser, Sound Source
Browser, Modulation, Effects and more.
These three main pages are the core of BASSYNTH’s powerful engine - They host intuitive
controls, parameters and functions for designing, performing, blending, and morphing
unique bass sounds (and much more!)

Watch our BASSYNTH Introduction overview video HERE

"Bass plays a very important role in modern music production, and our goal with BASSYNTH
was to create something that inspires and sparks creativity, while at the same time
delivering a very organic sound - something we feel is missing in other software instruments.
With BASSYNTH, not only do you get access the most diverse and high-quality bass sounds
ever committed to tape, but you also get to manipulate, sequence and perform with them
like never before. How many synths do you know of that allow you to easily layer, for
example, a huge live epic brass section with a modular synth, dirty 808 sub and amped vinyl
noise, and all in one patch?"
Dan Byers – Founder / Wave Alchemy

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Perform Page - Overview

BASSYNTH: Perform Page

Easy to use, yet incredibly powerful, BASSYNTH’s Perform Page is where you’ll be able
to make quick and often drastic global changes to the sound and timbre of any Preset.
When you want to explore Presets, perform with Macros, or quickly morph your sound
into something totally different and unique, this is the place to be.
It features the following areas which we’ll discuss in detail overleaf:
• Instrument Header
• Preset Browser
• Sound Source Browser
• Macros
• XY Pad

Watch our Perform Page overview video HERE

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Perform Page - Instrument Header

BASSYNTH: Instrument Header

The Instrument Header section is one of two global sections (along with the Macros) that are
visible on every page in BASSYNTH.

Perform Button

Clicking this button will take you to BASSYNTH’s Perform Page. See Perform Page section.

Design Button

Clicking this button will take you to BASSYNTH’s Design Page. See Design Page section.

Motion Button

Clicking this button will take you to BASSYNTH’s Motion Page. See Motion Page section.

Preset Browser Button

Clicking the Preset Name (or downward arrow) will open BASSYNTH’s dynamic Preset
Browser. Clicking the left / right arrows will change presets without the need to open the
Preset Browser. See Preset Browser section.

Output Meter

BASSYNTH’s Output Meter displays a real-time visual representation of the instrument’s

master output volume. Drag the triangular slider left or right to decrease and increase the
master volume respectively.

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Preset Browser

BASSYNTH: Preset Browser

BASSYNTH boasts 290 inspiring factory presets - designed by world-class sound designers.
BASSYNTH’s custom Preset Browser is opened by
pressing the Preset Browser navigation button, located at
the centre of the Instrument Header on every page within the instrument.
Opening the Preset Browser gives access to BASSYNTH’s powerful library of 290 factory
presets, as well as those you’ve made yourself (User Presets). Scroll up and down through the
presets in the right-hand pane, and filter sounds down by instrument type and style using the
Tags to the left. Click the heart icon next to a preset to add it to the Favourites filter.

You can also step through presets using the Previous and Next Patch buttons in the Browser
itself or to either side of the Preset Name field as indicated on the previous page.

Tags
Filter presets by characteristic. Simply select a tag (or tags) to narrow down the presets
displayed in the right pane. Click the ‘Reset Filter’ button to remove any applied tags.

Saving User Presets

Simply enter a name for your preset in the ‘Preset Name’ pane at the bottom of the
Preset Browser. Now click the Save icon to the right of the name. User saved presets
will show in the ‘User’ tab to the left of the Preset Browser (under the Source header).

Favourite Presets
Click the heart icon to the right of any Preset Name to favourite it. Favourited presets
will show in the ‘Favourites’ list which is accessed at the top right of the Preset Browser.

Scan Presets
This button will allow us to add new preset expansions to BASSYNTH in the future.

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Perform Page – Sound Source Browser

BASSYNTH: Sound Source Browser

A single instance of BASSYNTH comprises of up to four unique Sound

Sources (or Voices), and on the Perform Page, these are presented in
the four corners of the interface, where they can each be turned on
and off, and mixed using their volume sliders.
Clicking the name of a Source in one of the four corners reveals the Sound Source
Browser. Here, you can load any of BASSYNTH’s 800+ beautifully crafted multi-
sampled Sources, Oscillators or Wavetables into any of the four Voices.

Sound Sources – Brief Overview

BASSYNTH gives you instant access to over 800 ground-breaking sound sources.
Everything from the deepest 808s & subs, filthy synths and epic live brass sections, to
designed bass guitars and acoustic instruments, tortured percussion, oscillators, over 200
scannable wavetables, organic layers and much more…
Each Sound Source has been a true labour of love, created from the ground up, carefully
designed, processed and recorded using a huge array of electronic and acoustic
instruments and creative sound design techniques.
See Sound Source Guide to view the full Sound Source list for BASSYNTH and find out
exactly what we recorded.

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Loading Sound Sources

BASSYNTH: Patch List

BASSYNTH’s Sound Source Patches are revealed in the right-hand pane of the
Browser (underneath the Patch header). Three levels of unique Tag filtering to the left -
Source, Type and Character allow you to narrow down the Patch results and make
finding the sound you’re after quick and easy. Simply click on a Patch name to load that
Patch into the selected Voice. Done!

Tags
The Source tags (left pane) allow you to filter the Patch list by 8 main categories:
Synths, Oscillators, Wavetables, Sub & 808, Bass Guitar, Acoustic, Noise, and
Transients. There is also an ‘All’ category at the top, which when clicked will display All
of BASSYNTH’s Sound Source Patches in the Patch List pane.
In all cases, the Sound Source Patch list results can be narrowed down even
further by two more levels of tagging (Type & Character). The Type tags are
unique, and dynamically change based on the Source tag, whereas the
Character tags are fixed. This allows you to quickly find the type (or style) of
sound you are looking for.

Favourite Sound Sources

Like presets, sound sources can be added to a Favourites list, too. Simply click the
heart icon to the right of any Patch Name to favourite it. Favourited Patches will show in
the ‘Favourites’ list which is accessed at the top right of the Sound Source Browser

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Perform Page – Macro Overview

BASSYNTH: Macro Controls

BASSYNTH features a powerful Macro System that allows you to freely assign multiple
parameters to 8 Macro Knobs for performance, sound design, morphing or Motion
Sequencing.
Each one of BASSYNTH’s factory presets has a well-thought-out set of dynamic Macros
pre-assigned - which are completely unique and tailored specifically for each factory
preset.
The 8 Macro Sliders are always visible on every page within the
instrument, allowing you to completely morph a sound into something
totally new, or simply make quick edits to important parameters.
We’ll discuss the Macro System in detail later in the Manual (see Macro System
section), but for now, all you need to know is that whilst on the Perform Page, the
Macros can also be modulated and morphed by BASSYNTH’s central XY Pad
(explained overleaf).

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Perform Page – XY Pad

BASSYNTH: XY Pad

BASSYNTH’s creative XY Pad gives you quick and powerful control over multiple
Macros. Think of it as a master Macro control. A modulation source that can control and
morph all of BASSYNTH’s 8 Macros together, as a group.
To give an idea of just how powerful this is, imagine assigning 8 unique synth
parameters to 8 unique Macros (64 unique parameters), and then modulating all of
these parameters at varying amounts of intensity via a single XY Pad curser.
This allows for some very creative modulation possibilities, ranging from subtle timbral
and dynamic changes, to morphing sounds into something enormous, complex and
unidentifiable from the original source.

Controlling Macros with the XY pad

You can assign any / or all of BASSYNTH’s 8 Macros to the XY Pad for Modulation. You
can also set the Modulation amount (or depth) – meaning you can choose exactly how
much the XY Pad will modulate each individual Macro.
This is done via a button called ‘XY MOD’ at the bottom of the Perform Page:

XY Mod Button

Click the XY Mod button, and you’ll now see that the 8 Macro Sliders at the bottom of
the UI are replaced by 8 similar looking sliders, with the letters ‘X’ and ‘Y’ displayed to
the left / right of each slider:

XY Mod Sliders

These sliders are bipolar, and turning an XY Mod Slider to the left will determine the
depth of Modulation that will be controlled by the XY Pad’s X Axis. Turning an XY Mod

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Slider to the right will determine the depth of Modulation that will be controlled by the XY
Pad’s Y Axis.
Let’s give a very simple example and imagine that Filter Freq (cut-off) is assigned to
Macro 1, and Filter Resonance is assigned to Macro 2. We now want to control these
two Macros from the XY pad:
1. On the Perform Page we would firstly click the XY Mod button.
2. We may now like to turn the first XY Mod Slider (linked to Macro 1) fully left.
3. We may now like to turn the second XY Mod Slider (linked to macro 2) fully right.
Now, moving the big XY Pad curser on the X Axis (left - right) will control the
Filter Freq (Macro 1), and Moving the XY curser on the Y Axis (up – down) will
control Filter Resonance (Macro 2). Or, you can of course utilize a combination
of the two by moving the XY Pad curser in any desired direction.

Automation & Performance

The XY Pad can easily be used as a powerful performance tool. The XY curser is
exposed for Host Automation both in your DAW, and via NKS Keyboards,
The XY Pad is also pre-assigned to the Mod Wheel, which when turned on any MIDI
keyboard (or via MIDI automation, will sweep the XY Pad from bottom left to top right.
All factory presets are set up to make good use of this feature!

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Design Page - Overview

BASSYNTH: Design Page

A sound designer’s dream. The Design Page is the heart of BASSYNTH’s powerful
synthesis and sound sculpting engine. It allows you to deeply edit, design and mix each
of BASSYNTH’s 4 Sound Voices.
The Design page is made up of 3 sub-pages: Engine, Tone, Mix, and these pages are
accessed by clicking the respective buttons located at the top of the page.

When you want to shape your sound in more depth than the preset Macros and XY Pad
allow, this is the place to be. Here, you can customise the factory presets to your liking,
and more importantly, create your own unique and creative patches from scratch!
It features the following areas which we will discuss in detail overleaf:
• Sound Source Browser
• Voice Tabs
• Modulation System
• Effects Section
• Mix Page
• Tone Page
• Macros
• Using Wavetables

Watch our Design Page overview video HERE

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Design Page – Sound Source Browser

BASSYNTH: Sound Source Browser – Design Page

As with the Perform Page, the Design Page also gives you access to BASSYNTH’s
dynamic Sound Source Browser (See Sound Source Browser section).
On the Design Page, BASSYNTH’s Sound Source Browser is accessed by
clicking the Magnifying Glass Icon located at the top of each of the 4 Voice
Tabs. Clicking the Magnifying Glass Icon on any of the 4 Voices will reveal
the Sound Source Browser for the respective Voice Tab.
Once opened, you can navigate between each of the 4 Voices from directly within the
browser, allowing you to choose and load Sound Sources for each of the 4 Voices
without needing to exit and re-open the Browser. To do this, simply click the 4 Tabs
located at the top of the Browser. Doing this will reveal the Browser for the selected
Voice and selecting a Sound Source in the Patch List will load that Source into the
selected Voice.

BASSYNTH: Navigating Tabs in Browser

Favouriting Sound Sources

Click the heart icon to the right of any Patch Name to favourite it. Favourited Patches
will show in the ‘Favourites’ list for easy access, which is located at the top right of
the Sound Source Browser.

BASSYNTH: Sound Source Favourites List

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Design Page – Voice Tabs

BASSYNTH: Voice Tabs

Located on the Engine sub-page, the Voice Tabs are home to BASSYNTH’s
most important sound editing tools and parameters, such a Filters, Amp
Envelopes, Voice Settings, Volume, Tuning and much more – per Voice.
Each of the 4 Sound Sources are housed in their own colour-coded Voice Tab, and the
three buttons at the top right of each Voice are used to turn them on and off, link them
for adjustment of filter and envelope controls, and randomise the sound sources:

Randomizing Sound Sources

To randomize a Sound Source, simply hit the Dice Icon on your chosen Voice Tab.
Randomizing is affected by the currently selected tags within the Sound Source
Browser. For example, if you have selected the ‘Bass Guitars’ tag within the Browser,
randomizing will randomly select and load only Bass Guitar Sound Source Patches. To
randomize all Sound Sources, simply select ‘All’ as the tag within the Browser.

Turning Off Voices

Turning off voices allows you to keep the UI tidy, whilst also saving CPU for those
Voices you may not be using. To turn off a voice, simply click the Power Icon on your
chosen Voice. You will know a voice is turned off when you see the following visuals:
To turn the Voice back on, simply click the large
Power Icon in the centre of the Voice Tab.

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Linking Parameters
Clicking the Link Icons will link important parameters across the Voice’s you choose to
engage for linking. For example, engaging the Link Icon on Voice 1 and 4, will link
important controls for those two voices. The parameters that will be linked are:
• Filter Frequency (Cut-off)
• Filter Resonance
• Amp Attack
• Amp Decay
• Amp Sustain
• Amp Release
When linked, this means that turning any of these parameters on a linked Voice will also
control the mirroring parameter of any other Voices with Link engaged.

Voice Volume & Solo / Mute

The Volume of each of the 4 Voices can be controlled by the Voice Volume Slider, located
towards the top of each Voice Tab.
Similarly, Voices can be independently soloed and muted using the Solo / Mute buttons to
the right of the Volume Slider.

Voice Tuning
The Tune parameter applies up to two octaves and 50 cents of detune up or
down, per Voice. Simply drag the first number (on the left) up or down to tune by
semi tone / octave or drag the second number (to the right) up or down to tune
by cents.

Sample Manipulation
When a Sampled Sound Source is loaded into a Voice (i.e not a Wavetable), two unique
parameters appear to the right of the Tune control:
Start - The Start (or Sample Start) knob shifts the playback start point into the Sound
Source by up to 250ms. This is great for finding sweet spots within a Sound Source,
or simply removing the attack portion of a sound.
Stretch - The Stretch control brings a touch of old-school digital grit into play by
switching from multi-sample playback mode when moved away from the Off
position (fully left), to instead taking the selected note and pitch-shifting it across
the whole keyboard. You’ll visually see the pitch-shifted note when turning the knob up and
away from the ‘off’ position.
The Start and Stretch controls are substituted for ‘Wavetable Position’ and ‘Wavetable
Warp’ controls when a Wavetable Source is selected for the Voice, which we’ll return to
later in the Manual. See Using Wavetables section.

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Voice Controls

BASSYNTH: Voice Controls Popup

BASSYNTH features a powerful Voicing System, with all Voice controls being available
on a per Voice / Sound Source level. This means that each of BASSYNTH’s 4 Voices
can have its own unique Glide amount, Unison control, Voice settings and more.
To access the Voice Controls, simply click the Bird Icon located on the Voice
Tab. This will load a popup with all of the selected Voice’s Voice Controls. (Note:
This icon visually changes to a Wavetable Icon if a Wavetable Source is loaded)

Legato Mode
Selecting this mode engages Legato Mode for the selected Voice.
Additionally, a ‘Glide’ knob appears to the right which sets the amount of
time it takes to ‘glide’ between Legato notes, from 1 – 500ms.
Mono Mode
Selecting this mode forces the selected Voice into Mono Mode
Poly Mode
Selecting this mode engages Polyphonic Mode, allowing you to play chords, or
have notes overlap. Additionally, a ‘Voices’ knob appears to the right which sets
the amount of polyphony, from 2 – 64 voices.

Analog Mode
In Mono and Poly modes only, the ‘Analog’ slider is used to employ up to
eight round-robin samples, per Voice! Simply turn the Analog slider to the
right to introduce between 2 and 8 round robin variations. When engaged,
each key press will trigger a slightly different variation of the same sound, which in turn
delivers a very ‘analog’ and organic sound.

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Unison

BASSYNTH: Voice Controls Popup / Unison

The Unison Section is available separately on each of BASSYNTH’s 4 Voices, allowing

for deep sound design and creative layering.
BASSYNTH’s carefully tuned Unison Section introduces up to eight Unison Voices for
huge, rich tones, and enables detuning and stereo widening of the stacked voices, and
overall control of their volume via the Blend knob:
Unison – Sets the number of Unison Voices, from 1 (off), to 8 Voices.
Detune – Sets the detune amount of the Unison Voices, from 0%, to 100%.
Spread – Sets the stereo spread of the Unison Voices, from 0% (mono), to 100%
(stereo).
Blend – Sets the volume and blend of the Unison Voices. At 0%, no Unison will be
heard. At 50%, the Unison Voices will be at the same perceived volume as the dry
signal. At 100%, you’ll hear only the Unison Voices. 50% is the best starting point.
Quick Tip: If you want to add enormous stereo width to your Unison, head over to the
Mix page and experiment with the ‘Stereo’ Width knob.

Slop Controls

BASSYNTH: Voice Controls Popup / Slop

The Slop control sets the global amount of per-note random variation applied to the
tuning, panning, volume and sample start point. The four adjacent knobs offset each of
those parameters individually, relative to the global amount. Through editing of the
Analog, Unison and Slop controls, BASSYNTH can be made to sound and feel
amazingly organic:
Slop - Sets the overall global intensity of the Slop effect.
Tune - Sets the amount of Random Tuning applied on each key press.
Pan - Sets the amount of Random Pan applied on each key press.
Volume - Sets the amount of Random Volume applied on each key press
Start - Sets the amount of Random Sample Start point applied on each key press.

Quick Tip: Use Random Tune / Start together with Unison to create very organic /
moving Unison effects. Or try using Random Start on Oscillators or Noise Sources.

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Filter Section

BASSYNTH: Filter Section

BASSYNTH boasts two unique filters per voice, along with a wide range of selectable
filter character types, modes and slopes.
Each Voice feeds into its own unique resonant filter, the cut-off and
resonance of which are governed by the Freq and Reso knobs.
Freq - Adjusts the Cutoff Frequency for the corresponding Voice.
Reso - Adjusts the Cutoff Resonance for the corresponding Voice.

Clicking the Filter Icon to the right of these knobs opens the Filter Popup, where
you can choose one of six colourful filter types, set the response between low-
pass, high-pass or band-pass, and much more!
After clicking the Filter Icon, the Filter Popup will appear on screen:

BASSYNTH: Filter Popup

Continued on next page…

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Filter Types

Filter Types are broken down into three sub-types: Synth, Clean and FX, and clicking
any of the Filter Type names will engage that filter. BASSYNTH delivers 6 Filter Types
per Voice:
Daft – Korg Inspired Filter, very brutal with lots of bite.
Ladder – Moog inspired Filter, very creamy and warm.
State – State Variable Filter, changing in response curve as the cut-off point is raised /
lowered.
Adaptive - Adaptive modulates the resonance with the cut-off position to keep it
transparent and under control.
Vowel – Formant Filter, great for sound design and modulation.
Phaser – Phasing Filter, great for phaser type effects filtering and more.

Filter Styles

The Filter Styles Icons allow you to set the response between low-pass, high-pass or
band-pass, and set the roll-off slope to 12 or 24dB/octave.
Low-Pass
High-Pass
Band-Pass

High-Pass Filter

A secondary and totally unique High-Pass Filter at the bottom of the Filter Popup is
useful for layering multiple voices, when you’ll often want to clear space in the low
frequencies in one voice to make room for another.

Filter Drive

When either Daft or Ladder Filters are engaged, a Drive knob allows you to dial in up to
12dB of analog-style Filter Overdrive – great for delivering some extra bite.

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Amp Envelope

BASSYNTH: Amp Envelope

At the bottom of each Voice Tab you’ll find a dedicated ADSR Amp Envelope, a basic but
important set of controls to shape the dynamic profile of the Voices. The Attack, Decay and
Release stages can be set in milliseconds and seconds, or quantised to regular, dotted or
triple note values using the Sync Popup for perfectly musical timing.
Attack - Sets the Amp Attack Time for the selected Voice, from 0ms, to 15 seconds.
Decay - Sets the Amp Decay Time for the selected Voice, from 0ms, to 25 seconds.
Sustain - Sets the Amp Sustain Level for the selected Voice, from - infinite, to 0dB.
Release – Sets the Amp Release Time for the selected Voice, from 0ms, to 25 seconds.

Amp Envelope Sync

To Sync the Amp Envelope to your Host Tempo, simply click the Quaver Icon to the
right of the ADSR knobs to load the Sync Popup.

BASSYNTH: Amp Envelope Sync Popup

The Amp Envelope Sync Popup allows the Amp Envelope controls to be set in
milliseconds (default), or quantised to regular, dotted or triplet note values (the latter
three synced to your Host) for perfect musical timing.

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Modulation System

BASSYNTH: Modulation System

BASSYNTH’s comprehensive Modulation System is exceptionally easy to use. A well-

stocked rack of Modulation Sources comprises three ADSR envelopes and four LFOs,
as well as Velocity, Key-tracking, Aftertouch and Pitch-bend Modulation.
To display the Modulation Tab, simply click the ‘Modulation’ button on the
Design Page, under the Voice Tabs.

Watch our Modulation System overview video HERE

Modulation Sources

BASSYNTH: Modulation Sources

At the top of the Modulation Tab, you will see 11 Modulation Sources listed from left to
right:
• Env1
• Env2
• Env3
• LFO1
• LFO2
• LFO3
• LFO4
• Vel
• Key
• Touch
• Bend

Selecting a Modulation Source highlights your selection, and the available parameters for
the selected Modulation Source appear in the left-hand panel of the Modulation Tab,

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Modulation Envelopes

BASSYNTH’s Modulation System boasts three unique ADSR envelopes: Env1, Env2,
and Env3. Simply click the Env1. Env2, or Env3 buttons at the top of the Modulation
Tab to display the corresponding ADSR controls in the left panel.
Additionally, The Modulation Envelope Sync Popup allows the ADSR controls to be
set in milliseconds (default), or quantised to regular, dotted or triplet note values (the
latter three synced to your Host) for perfect musical timing.

LFOs

4 unique LFOs are at your disposal in BASSYNTH’s Modulation System. The LFOs
feature dual waveforms, mixed together using the Blend knob for an endless variety of
possible shapes. When set to Retrigger mode, the fade in time and phase offset are
adjustable. LFO Rate and Fade in time can be set freely or synced to host, the latter
option including triplet and dotted values.

Waveform Selectors - Located to the left and right of the

Blend knob, simply click and drag the Waveform Icons up
or down to change the LFO waveforms
Blend - The Blend knob blends between the two selected LFO waveforms.
Turning this knob fully left or fully right will set the shape to that which is selected
in the respective Waveform Selector. Moving the knob anywhere between fully
left / right will mix the shapes to create a new shape.
Rate - Sets the LFO Rate. Clicking the Quaver Icon to the right of the Rate knob
will open a Sync Popup, and here you can choose between ‘Free’ running
(default setting), or one of three Host Sync Modes: Regular, Triplet, Dotted.

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Retrigger - When enabled the LFO will retrigger with every key press – important
when musical modulation and consistency is required. When Retrigger is enabled,
LFO Phase and LFO Fade in Knobs are also adjustable.
Phase - Adjusts the position within a cycle at which the LFO will start its waveform
when triggered. A value of 0 will equal to 0 degrees, and a value of 100% will equal
360 degrees.

Fade - Sets the Fade in time for the LFO. If a value greater than 0 is set, the
LFO will not be introduced straight away upon key press, and instead will
gradually and smoothly fade in over the time set by the Fade knob. Like the
Rate knob, this control can also be synced to Host tempo by clicking the Quaver icon to
the right of the knob.

Velocity Modulation
Velocity Modulation is accessed by clicking the ‘Vel’ button at the top of the
Modulation Tab. Unlike Envelopes and LFOs, Velocity is controlled by MIDI – hence
you’ll see no additional controls in the left panel. When selected, the Modulation Sliders
below simply allow you to set how much influence Velocity has over each Modulation
Destination, per Voice.

Key-tracking Modulation
Keytracking is accessed by clicking the ‘Key’ button at the top of the Modulation
Tab. When selected, the Modulation Sliders below simply allow you to set how much
influence the Key Position will have over any Modulation Destinations you may have
assigned. For example, if you turn up the Filter ‘Cutoff’ Modulation destination slider by
a positive amount, the Filter will open up and become brighter as you move up the
keyboard and play higher notes. Assigning a negative amount will do the opposite.

Aftertouch Modulation
Aftertouch is accessed by clicking the ‘Touch’ button at the top of the
Modulation Tab. When selected, the Modulation Sliders below allow you to set how
much influence Aftertouch will have over any Modulation Destinations you may have
assigned.

Pitch-bend Modulation
Pitch-bend is accessed by clicking the ‘Bend’ button at the top of the Modulation
Tab. When selected, the sliders below allow you to set how much influence Pitch-bend
will have over any of BASSYNTH’s Modulation Destinations. This makes it easy to route
any Modulation Destination to pitch-bend on your MIDI controller, per Voice, by your
chosen amount.

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Assigning Modulation

BASSYNTH: Assigning Modulation

All assignments are hardwired and simultaneously accessible for all 4 Voices via the
colour-coded Modulation sliders on each Modulation Source Tab. To dial in modulation,
select the tabbed page for the Modulation Source in question (i.e Env1), and move the
Modulation Slider in any Voice column for the parameter you want to modulate.

Modulation Destinations

BASSYNTH features 6 hardwired Modulation Destinations:

Wt Pos (Wavetable Position) - This lane of Modulation Sliders only appears when
loading a Wavetable Source into a Voice. The respective Modulation Slider/s to the right
will determine the amount of modulation (from the selected Modulation Source) applied
to Wavetable Position.
Wt Form (Wavetable Warp) - As with Wt Pos, this lane of Modulation Sliders only
appears when loading a Wavetable Source into a Voice. The respective Modulation
Slider/s to the right will determine the amount of modulation applied to Wavetable Warp.
Cutoff - The respective Modulation Sliders to the right will determine how much
modulation is applied to Filter Freq (cut-off)
Pitch - The respective Modulation Sliders to the right will determine how much
modulation is applied to Pitch.
Volume - The respective Modulation Sliders to the right will determine how much
modulation is applied to Volume.
Pan - The respective Modulation Sliders to the right will determine how much
modulation is applied to Pan.
Effects

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Modulation Linking
By default, the sliders are linked across all four Voices. I.e if you turn a Modulation Slider for
Voice 1 (red slider), it will automatically control the mirroring sliders to the right, for Voice 2,
3 and 4. This makes it quick and easy to dial in the exact same Modulation Amount across
all 4 Voices at the same time.
However, when you want to go deeper, clicking the line to the left of any slider unlinks that
slider for independent control:
In the below example image, you can see that the small line to the left of each slider is
highlighted white. This means these Sliders are linked, and as such moving either Slider will
move both Sliders together, by the same amount:

Hovering over the small line to the left of any Modulation Slider will display a Unlink
Icon, which when pressed will unlink the selected Modulation Slider. Now, the line will
turn to a dark grey colour, indicating that it is no longer linked, allowing you to move the
selected Modulation Slider independently of the other Sliders:

Modulation Sliders

BASSYNTH: Modulation Sliders

As previously discussed, BASSYNTH features 11 Modulation Sources (Env1, Env2, Env3,

LFO1 etc), and it worth noting that the Modulation Sliders that appear below each
Modulation Source are totally unique. This means that the same Modulation Destination (i.e
Filter Cutoff) can be modulated independently by each Modulation Source, by differing
amounts.
All Modulation Sliders are bi-polar, meaning turning them to the right will introduce positive
modulation, and to the left will introduce negative modulation. A Modulation Slider is Off
when at its centre position. CTRL+ Clicking on PC (or Command + Clicking on Mac) a slider
will return it to its Off position.
As also touched on previously, it is worth noting that Modulation Sliders are available
completely independently per Voice. This is very powerful. A quick example could be that all
4 Voices in a Patch are each using a different independent Filter type. We can now easily
set up different Modulation Envelopes and LFOs for each unique Filter independently, each
with unique Modulation settings and Modulation Amounts!

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Effects Section

BASSYNTH: Effects Section

BASSYNTH’s dynamic Effects Section boasts 6 modular Insert Effects per Voice, alongside
6 Master Effects, and 2 Send Effects.
Each Insert and Master Effect slot can be loaded with any one of 20 effects Modules
(many featuring multiple FX sub-types within them). The Modules take in EQ and
filtering; four types of algorithmic reverb and nine impulse responses; six delay types
with three modes; five distortion types; transient shaping; compression; chorus,
phasing, flanging, and more…
To display the Effects Tab, simply click the ‘Effects’ button on the Design Page,
located to the right of the previously discussed Modulation Tab.
The ENTIRE Effects Section can be turned off / on by clicking the Global Power Icon to
the left of the Effects button.

Watch our Effects Section overview video HERE

Effects List
Effect Type Available Sub-types

EQ No sub-type

Filter Low-pass 2-pole

Low-pass 4-pole
High-pass 2-pole
High-pass 4-pole
Wah-Wah No subtype

Bit Crusher No subtype

Tape Saturation No subtype

Distortion Cat (guitar distortion pedal emulation)

DS (guitar distortion pedal emulation)
Distort
Skreamer
Shaper

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Transient Shaper No sub-type

Compressor Bus Comp

Feedback Comp

Limiter No sub-type

Delay Modern
Tape
Vintage
Diffuse
Analog
Digital

Reverb Room
Hall
Plate
Digital

IR (Impulse Response Reverb) Studio A

Studio B
Studio C
Spring A
Spring B
Spring C
Digital A
Digital B
Lofi

Copper (Guitar Amp Emulation) No sub-type

Silver (Guitar Amp Emulation) No sub-type

Gold (Guitar Amp Emulation) No sub-type

Speaker (Guitar Cab Simulation) WR Horn

WR Axis
UK Far
UK Axis
Tweed Far
Tweed Axis
V30 Back
V30 Axis
Brit 60s
Chorus No sub-type

Phaser No sub-type

Flanger No sub-type

Rotator No sub-type

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Insert Effects
BASSYNTH boasts 6 Insert Effects per Voice, allowing each of BASSYNTH’s 4 Voices
to have its own, totally unique effects chain.

BASSYNTH: Insert Effects Tabs

BASSYNTH’s Insert Effects are revealed by clicking any of the four Tabs named: 1, 2, 3
and 4 at the top of the Effects Section. The four Tabs are both numbered and coloured-
coded to show you which Voice the Insert Effects belong to. In the above image, we can
see that we are viewing Voice 1’s Insert Effects.

Master Effects
Additionally, BASSYNTH boasts 6 powerful Master Effects. Unlike the Insert Effects
which can process each Voice independently, the Master Effects process the Master
Output of the instrument (all 4 Voices together).

BASSYNTH: Master Effects Tab

BASSYNTH’s Master Effects are revealed by clicking the Tab named ‘Master’ and the
top of the Effects Section.

Send Effects
Finally, 2 additional Send Effects allow you to select from Reverb, Delay, Chorus, Phaser
and Flanger. Send Effects are a great way of saving CPU, since you’ll be able to choose
how much signal you send to the Send Effect/s from each individual Voice. The Send Level
for each Voice is found on the Mix Page, which we’ll visit later in the manual. See Mix Page
section.

BASSYNTH: Send Effects Tab

BASSYNTH’s Send Effects are revealed by clicking the Tab named ‘Sends’ at the top of
the Effects Section.

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Loading Effects

BASSYNTH: Loading Effects

On an INIT Preset (or if no Effects are loaded), clicking any of the Tabs discussed in the
previous section (Inserts, Sends or Master) will display an empty Effects Screen as
shown in the image above (since no effect/s are yet loaded).
In the above example, you can see that we are viewing Voice 1’s (red) Insert Effects.
You’ll see 6 Effects Slots at the bottom of this Screen, and this is where you can load,
remove, mute, and reorder Effects:

BASSYNTH: Effects Slots

Click the FX Load Icon above your chosen Effects Slot to browse and load an Effect
into the selected Slot.
You’ll now be presented with the Effects Load Screen:

BASSYNTH: Effects Load Screen

Now, simply click on any of the 20 Effects Names to load that Effect into the Slot.
In the above example, you can see we are about to select Reverb. Once we click on the
Reverb, we have now loaded a Reverb Effect, and can immediately see the Reverb
Parameters on screen:

You’ll see from the above image that Reverb has been loaded into Slot 1 (note the Slot
has been renamed to ‘Reverb’, and the parameters available for this Effect are shown
above in the Effects Screen, ready for tweaking!

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Muting Effects
You can mute any Effect by clicking the Power Icon located directly above the
respective Effects Slot.

Removing Effects
You can remove any Effect from any Effects Slot by simply clicking the X Icon located
to the right of the Power Icon.

Reordering Effects

When Effects are loaded into multiple Effects Slots, you can easily reorder them by
simply dragging the Effects Slot Left / Right to your chosen position. This is a very
powerful feature that can completely change the sound and behaviour of an Effects
chain.

Effects Sub-types
Touched on briefly earlier, some of BASSYNTH’s Effects have multiple sub-types
available, and these can be accessed directly from the respective Effect, to the far right
of their main parameters.
Using Reverb as an example, this has 4 sub-types (or algorithms), selectable between
Room, Hall, Plate and Digital:

For any that has these sub-types available, simply click the sub-type Names to change
the Effect.

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Mix Page

BASSYNTH: Mix Page

Located on the Mix sub-page, BASSYNTH’s colourful Mix Page hosts a

Volume Fader and Pan Controls per Voice, as well as the Send knobs for
BASSYNTH’s two Send Effects. Additionally, a Stereo Width control is
available for expanding the Voices out to the sides, collapsing it all the way down to
mono, or setting it anywhere in between.

Watch our Mix Page overview video HERE

Volume Slider

A colourful and visual Volume Slider / Meter is available for each of the 4 Voices.
Simply turn the triangular Slider up / down to increase / reduce the volume of the
selected Voice.

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Send A and Send B

The Send Knobs control the amount of signal from the selected Voice that will be sent to
BASSYNTH’s 2 Send Effects in the Effects Section. If no Send Effects are loaded in the
Effects Section, nothing will be heard when turning these two knobs.
If a Send Effect is loaded into the Effects Section, the ‘Send A’ and ‘Send B’ labels on the
Mix Page will dynamically change to show the Send Effect name, as seen below:

Stereo Width

The Stereo Width knob widens or narrows the stereo field, and is available per Voice.. At
centre position, the Voice is played back in its original state - completely neutral and
untouched. Positive values expand the stereo field, and negative values collapse it, all the
way down to Mono at its left-most knob position.
Stereo Width is Post our Effects Section, meaning you can use it, for example, to drastically
widen reverbs, delays or chorus effects, or simply use it to widen or collapse a stereo Sound
Source. It works incredibly well with Unison too, capable of giving Unison Voices an
enormous width and depth.

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Tone Page

BASSYNTH: Tone Page

Located on the Tone sub-page, BASSYNTH’s Tone Page houses several

immediately tweakable, powerful sound-shaping controls.
When you want to make quick tonal changes, introduce analog-style distortion, Lo-Fi
effects or change subtle EQ curves, this is the place to be!

Watch our Tone Page overview video HERE

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Lo-Fi Controls

The large ‘Lofi’ knob is a Macro for the Bit Depth, Sample Rate and Noise parameters to
the left, which range from one to 16-bit and 44.1kHz to 5-Hz, and mix in white noise,
respectively. The Lofi knob controls the overall Lo-Fi effect, as governed by the small
knobs to the left. With Bit Depth turned off, BASSYNTH operates at 24-bit.

Drive

The Drive knob, meanwhile, applies crunchy analogue-style distortion, ranging from
subtle saturation to heavily distorted tones.

Smart EQ

The innovative Smart EQ simplifies frequency sculpting by morphing between four

visually represented EQ response curves. Move the Dot to left to boost the bass and cut
the high frequencies, or right to boost the highs frequencies and attenuate the low; and
push up to boost the mids by up to 6dB or down to attenuate them.
The Smart EQ will automatically engage once the Dot is touched or moved.
To turn the Smart EQ off, simply hit the Power Icon directly above the Smart EQ
window. Additionally, and as with all parameters within BASSYNTH, CTRL + Clicking
on PC (or Command + Clicking on Mac), will return the Dot to its central / off position.

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Macros

BASSYNTH: Macro System

BASSYNTH’s powerful drag / drop Macro System enables multiple parameters from
throughout the entire instrument to be freely assigned to the eight horizontal Macro
Sliders at the bottom of the interface, visible on every page within the instrument.
Each Macro can simultaneously control up to eight parameters, and assignments are
made by dragging the crosshairs from a Macro to your chosen destination control,
whereupon the Macro Editor Popup appears. This shows all the assignments for that
Macro and enables detailed Macro editing, renaming and more.
Macros can be manipulated directly using the mouse or your MIDI controller, or
automated in the host DAW. BASSYNTH is NKS-compatible, so the eight Macros are
automatically assigned to the first bank of knobs on Native Instruments’ Komplete
Kontrol Keyboards and Maschine.
Watch our Macro System overview video HERE

Macro Assignment

All parameters and knobs immediately visible on the Design / Engine, Tone, and Mix
Pages (including all Effects parameters and Modulation Sliders) can be easily assigned
to a any of BASSYNTH’s 8 Macros, with each Macro allowing up to 8 unique parameter
assignments. This allows a single Macro Slider to morph and control multiple
parameters for powerful sound design, performance, or Motion Sequencing.
To make an assignment, simply drag the Crosshair (located to the right of each
Macro Name) to a parameter of your choice on the interface.
In the below example, we have dragged Macro 1’s Crosshair and we are about to drop it
onto Voice 1’s Filter Freq knob:

As soon as the Crosshair is dropped onto your chosen parameter, this parameter
immediately becomes assigned to that Macro, and the Macro Editor will now
automatically display on screen to allow you to edit the Macro in more detail. The Macro
Editor is disused in more detail overleaf.

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Macro Editor

BASSYNTH: Macro Editor

BASSYNTH’s Macro Editor will immediately and automatically display on screen after
making any new Macro Assignment, as discussed on the previous page. As you can
see above, we have assigned Voice 1’s Filter Freq to Macro 1.
You can also open the Macro Editor for each of BASSYNTH’s 8
Macros at any time by simply clicking the respective Macro Name
from the Macro System at the bottom of any page within the
instrument. See image to the right. Clicking here in this case would
open the Macro Editor for Macro 1.

Setting the range of a Macro Assignment

In the Macro Editor, moving the knob for an assignment sets the unmodified (or
start) position of the assigned control when the respective Macro slider is at zero.

Dragging up and down on the vertical arrows to the left of the knob (see image on
right) adjusts the depth of modulation, either by a positive or negative amount. The
depth of modulation is visually displayed by the Modulation Ring above the knob, as
shown in the image below:

Finally, the small white dot within the Modulation Ring shows the actual current
Macro-modified value of the assigned parameter.

Deleting Macro Assignments

To delete a Macro assignment, simply click the small X Icon, located underneath the up
/ down arrows in the Macro Editor.

Continued overleaf…

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Renaming Macros
It’s possible to rename Macros to any name of your choice, thus making it easier to see
what each Macro is controlling.
To rename a Macro, simply open the respective Macro Editor for the Macro you want to
rename, and then double click its name at the top of the Popup:

The Macro Name will now have a white overlay and allow you to simply type in your
chosen name for the Macro.

Quickly switch between Macros

From within the Macro Editor itself, you can also easily switch between BASSYNTH’s 8
Macros. This speeds up workflow, since you won’t need to close and reopen a different
Macro Editor to make an edit to a different Macro.
To switch between Macros from within the Macro Editor, simply click the numbers at the
top left of the Macro Editor:

Macro Sliders

As you know by now, the Macro Sliders are visible at the bottom of every page within
the instrument.
Turning the big Macro Slider controls all of the parameters assigned to the respective
Macro, as set up in the Macro Editor previously discussed.
A small white dot above the Macro Sliders visually displays the true position
of the Macro Slider. If Macros are not being modulated by either the XY Pad on the
Perform Page, or the Motion Sequencer, the small white dot will of course mirror the
Macro Slider itself.
When modulated by the XY Pad or Motion Sequencer, the white dot displays the current
position of the Macro Slider, in real-time.

See how to use BASSYNTH’s Macros in our video HERE

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Using Wavetables

BASSYNTH: Using Wavetables

Alongside its incredible and powerful library of multi-sampled content, BASSYNTH also
boasts over 200 custom designed Wavetables. Each Wavetable has up to 256
animated tables, allowing you to scan and modulate Wavetable Position via the
Modulation System or Motion Sequencer.

Loading Wavetables
Loading a Wavetable into a Voice is done in the exact same way as loading any other
Sound Source into a Voice, as discussed in the Sound Source Browser section earlier.
From the Sound Source Browser, simply select ‘Wavetables’
from the Sou, narrow the results down with any tagging you
may want to apply, and then simply Click any of the resulting
Wavetable Patches from the Patch List on the right to load
one into the selected Voice.

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When a Wavetable is loaded into a Voice, the Start and Stretch knobs on the respective
Voice Tab are replaced by ‘Pos’ and ‘Warp’ knobs:

BASSYNTH: Wavetable Pos and Warp knobs

Pos - This sets the Wavetable Position of the Wavetable. As you turn this knob, you’ll
hear the tone of the Wavetable changing as it cycles through its tables. Wavetable
Position (Pos) can be Modulation by any of BASSYNTH’s modulation Sources in the
Modulation Section.
Holding the Shift key whilst turning the ‘Pos’ knob reveals a huge graphical
representation of the Wavetable in the bottom half of the instrument.
Warp - BASSYNTH’s Wavetable Engine features 14 waveshaping and distortion
shaping algorithms (Warp Modes), accessed via the Wavetable Popup which we’ll
discuss below. When any Warp Mode other than Linear is selected, the Warp knob
on the Voice Tab sets the amount of Wavetable Warping.

Wavetable Controls Popup

BASSYNTH: Wavetable Controls Popup

The other thing you will notice when a Wavetable is loaded into a Voice, is that the
Bird Icon on the Voice Tab is replaced by a Wavetable Icon. To access the
Wavetable Controls Popup, simply click the Wavetable Icon located on the Voice Tab.

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Once opened, you’ll notice that the Wavetable Controls Popup includes all of the Voice
controls (Voice Mode, Unison, Slop) - as previously discussed earlier in the Voice Tabs
section of the manual – along with 2 panes of additional controls to the right, unique to
Wavetable Voices:

Warp Mode

BASSYNTH: Wavetable Warp Modes

BASSYNTH’s Warp Mode section allows you to select one of 14 types of wave shaping
that can be applied to the Wavetable’s phase. This fundamentally changes the way the
wavetable is read out, therefore bending and warping the resulting waveform.
The Warp knob on the Voice Tab Adjusts the amount of wave shaping applied to the
Wavetable. Note: If the Warp Mode is set to Linear, this means that Warp Mode is Off,
and as such the Warp knob will have no effect.

Wavetable Quality

Selects one of three types of interpolation applied to the Wavetable (LoFi, Medium,
High). Medium will suffice the majority of the time, although using the LoFi setting can
yield some interesting and gritty results!

Wavetable Random Phase

The Random Phase Slider randomises the start phase of the Wavetable with every key
press - particularly effective when used in conjunction with Unison for creating a smooth
and analog-style Unison effect.

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Motion Designer Page

BASSYNTH: Motion Sequencer Page

BASSYNTH’s Poly Step Motion Designer take modulation even further, providing
powerful Step Sequencing of all eight Macros, from basic sweeps to incredibly complex
polyrhythmic progressions. The Motion Designer does not have a Play button, and
instead it is engaged simply by holding down a note on your keyboard (or drawing in a
note via MIDI)

Watch our Motion Designer overview video HERE

The Motion Page is accessed by clicking the Motion button located at the top
of BASSYNTH’s Instrument Header.
To turn the Motion Designer on / off, simply click the Power Icon directly to the left of
the Motion button.

Each Macro has its own lane in the Motion Designer, and each
lane features several controls / icons to the left of its Sequence
Lane, which we’ll explain below:

Activates and deactivates the respective Sequencer Lane.

Randomises all Steps for the respective Sequencer Lane.

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Copies / Pastes the respective Sequencer Lane Pattern. Once clicked, the Icon will
highlight to notify you that the Pattern has been copied. To paste the Pattern to another
Sequencer Lane, simply click the equivalent Icon in any Lane of your choice.

Clears the Steps in the respective Sequencer Lane.

Loads the Motion Designers’ Pattern Preset Browser. We’ll discuss this in more detail
on the next page.

Zooms in on the respective Sequencer Lane for easier Step editing. When the Focus
Icon is pressed, you’ll see a full-page view of the selected Sequencer Lane, allowing
you to draw in precise values. See image below:

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Pattern Preset Browser

As previously mentioned, clicking the Preset Browser Icon to the left of any Sequencer
Lane will load it’ respective Pattern Preset Browser.
Two buttons at the bottom-right of the page let you select
between Factory and User Pattern Presets.
In Factory Presets mode, you’ll find 36 pre-designed Factory Sequence Presets.
Simply scroll through and click to load one into the respective Sequencer Lane. Click
the Preset Browser Icon again to close the Pattern Preset Browser.
In User Presets mode, you’ll find 36 empty slots which
allow you to click the ‘Edit Preset’ button and then hit
the ‘Paste Preset’ button to paste / save the current
Sequence Pattern for safe-keeping.

Drawing in Sequencer Steps

For those who want to draw their own patterns, simply click, drag or alter the Bipolar
sequencer steps up or down. You can also CTRL+ Click (Command + Click on Mac) a
step to return it to its default (off) position, or Right-Click and drag to create perfect
lines.

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Adjusting the Rate, Length and Smooth

BASSYNTH’s Motion Designer is polyrhythmic, meaning each Sequencer Lane can

have its own unique Length, Rate and Smoothing amount.
The Length, Rate, Smooth and Link buttons at the bottom of the interface relate directly
to the Tabs located to the far right of each Sequencer Lane, as seen below:

Clicking the Length button will display the length of the respective Pattern (in Steps) in
the Tab at right of each Sequencer Lane. Simply drag the number up / down to increase
or decrease the length of the respective Pattern.
Likewise, clicking the Rate button will display the Rate of the respective Pattern, with
options for 1/1, 1/2, 1/2T, 1/4., 1/4, 1/4T, 1/8., 1/8, 1/8T, 1/16, 1/16T, 1/32, 1/32T

Clicking the Smooth Icon calls up a Smooth button on each lane: when activated, these
interpolate parameter movement between steps for smoothly flowing, rather than
discretely stepped modulation.

Engaging the Link button causes changes made in any lane to affect all other lanes, too.

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Motion Intensity

At the very bottom of the Motion Designer Page, the Intensity slider governs the global
depth of modulation. This is, the global amount by which the Sequencer will modulate
the Macros. Lower it to reduce the Motion Designer’s overall effect or bring it up for
more overall intensity.

Sequencer Retrigger

With the Retrigger function disabled, the Motion Designer will only restart from step 1
when all notes are released, and a new note is played. When the button is active, the
sequencer restarts with every overlapping note.

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BASSYNTH Sound Source Guide

A list of some of the Sound Sources we recorded, and Processing used to create
BASSYNTH’s ground-breaking Sound Library:

Synth / Electronic Sources

• ARP 2600 Modular
• Roland Jupiter 8
• EMS VCS3 (The Putney)
• Sequential Circuits Prophet 5
• Sequential Circuits Pro One
• Sequential Prophet 6
• Sequential OB-6
• DSI Pro 2
• DSI Prophet 12
• Roland TB-303
• Fully stacked Eurorack Modular System (Make Noise, Cwejman, Intellijel, Plan B etc)
• TR-808
• TR-909
• Mutable Instruments Ambika
• Korg MS-20
• Acidlab Miami
• Acidlab Drumatix
• Serge Modular System
• Pearl Syncussion
• ARP Odyssey
• Moog Memorymoog
• Moog Minimoog
• Moog Taurus Bass Pedals MK1
• Moog Sub 37
• Moog CP-251 & Moogerfoogers
• Roland System 100 Modular
• Roland System 100, 101
• Roland SH-101
• Roland Jupiter 6
• Metasonix D-1000
• Roland Juno 106
• Roland Juno 6
• Yamaha TX81Z
• Yamaha TX802
• Re-amped Synths (amped through classic guitar and bass amps)
• Synths Played through live spaces and rooms
• Synths re-pitched on analogue tape

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Bass Guitars
• 60s Fender Jazz Bass
• Custom Shop Fender Jazz Bass
• 60s Rickenbacker Bass
• Danelectro Bass
• Fender Japan Jaguar Bass
• Fender Japan Mustang Bass
• 60s Hofner Viola Bass
• Fender Precision Bass (Flatwound Strings)
• Custom built fretless bass
• Custom built Bass Veena (one of a kind instrument)
• Gibson Thunderbird
• Ukulele

Acoustic Instruments
• Ensemble Brass Sections
• Mixed & Processed Low Brass
• Upright Bass
• Trombone
• Tuba
• Bass Saxophone
• Baritone Saxophone
• Bass Clarinet
• Baritone Violin
• Tuned Timpani
• Tuned Gongs
• Marimba
• Vibraphone
• Marching Drums
• Combo Organ
• Grand Piano
• Electric Piano
• A vast collection of beautifully recorded Found Sounds, Foley and unconventional
Percussion - making use of bowing, smashing, dropping, hitting, re-amping, layering,
creative mic techniques, re-pitching to analogue tape, processing and experimenting

Noise & Transients

• Analogue Electronics Noise
• Amp Hum
• Noise played through speakers, cabs, huge spaces & rooms
• Tape & Cassette Noise
• Synthetic Noise
• Processed Foley & found sound
• Environmental Noise (City noise, rain, water, wind etc)
• Vinyl Crackles / Dust
• Noise Atmospheres

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• Processed Acoustic & Electronic drum transients

• Clicks and Sticks
• Synthetic Pulses
• Finger Snaps
• Kick Transients – both from acoustic kits and analog drum machines

Processing Kit List

• Custom 80 Series Neve Console
• SSL 4056 G Series Console
• Fairchild 660 vintage Compressor
• Empirical Labs Distressor & Fatso
• Studer A80 Analogue Tape Machine
• Ampex ATR-102 Analogue Tape Machine
• Thermionic Culture Vulture Mastering
• Neve 1073 Pre-amps
• Neve 1073 EQ
• API 5500, 550b, 527 & 525, 512C & 2500
• Ampex ATR-102 Tape Machine
• Pultec EQP-1A EQ
• TubeTech CL1A
• DBX 160
• A-Designs EM-PEQ
• Elysia Karacter, Mpressor, Nvelope
• Eventide H8000
• Eventide DSP-7000
• Lexicon 480L
• AKG BS20 Spring Reverb
• Orban Spring Reverb
• Manley Massive Passive
• SSL G Series EQs and Compressors
• Schippmann Ebbe und Flut
• Spectra Sonics 610
• Valley People 610
• Universal Audio vintage 1176 & LA-2A
• Overstayer M-A-S & NT-02A
• ADR Compex
• Oto Machines Biscuit
• A selection of high-end guitar amps
• Various guitar pedals
• Symbolic Sound Kyma
• Apogee Symphony MK2 Converters

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Loading Presets Using Snapshot System

BASSYNTH: Loading Presets Using Snapshot System

The most convenient way of loading presets within BASSYNTH is using the in-built dynamic
Preset Browser, as discussed HERE. However, you can also load and save presets using
Kontakt’s Snapshot Syetm if you prefer.

To load a Snapshot in BASSYNTH:

1. Ensure that the ‘Camera’ icon is selected in the Header of Kontakt.

2. Click the downward arrow at the left of Kontakt’s Header,

and simply select a Preset from the drop-down menu.

To save a Preset in BASSYNTH:

1. Click the ‘Save’ icon and enter a name for the Preset / Snapshot.
2. User Presets can be recalled and loaded at any time from the drop-down
Snapshot menu.

After saving a Snapshot, it will be saved to the following location on your computer:
On Mac OSX:
Macintosh HD/Users/Your Name/Documents/Native Instruments/User Content/BASSYNTH
On Windows:
C:\Users/Your Name/My Documents/Native Instruments/User Content/BASSYNTH

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NKS Integration

Photo © Native Instruments

Native Kontrol Standard (NKS) is Native Instruments’ extended plug-in format for all virtual
instrument developers. NKS allows for intuitive and seamless interaction between plug-in
instruments and KOMPLETE KONTROL and MASCHINE hardware. BASSYNTH features a
well thought out integration for the NKS plug-in format, including Native Map, Integrated
Browser and Snapshot Previews.

Native Map

BASSYNTH: Native Map: Macros

The Native Map integration for BASSYNTH features an efficient mapping layout to control
the most relevant controls of the instrument.

Macro Page
• Controls BASSYNTH’s 8 powerful Macros. These can also be used for recording and live
sequencing. The 8 knob labels will automatically update depending on the preset loaded.
Likewise, renaming a Macro in BASSYNTH’s Macro Editor will also update the knob
labels on Native Map.

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XY Mod Page

BASSYNTH: Native Map: XY Mod

• Controls BASSYNTH’s 8 XY Mod Sliders.

Master Page

BASSYNTH: Native Map: Master

• X Intensity - Sets the position of the X Axis on BASSYNTH’s XY Pad.

• Y Intensity - Sets the position of the Y Axis on BASSYNTH’s XY Pad
• Motion - Selects the Motion Designer’s Intensity Level.
• InstVlm - Sets the Master Volume of BASSYNTH.

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Key Command Reference

Command + Click (Mac) | (Alt + Click (PC) = Return any knob or parameter to its default.
position.
Shift + Click - Wavetable Position Knob = Displays 3D Wavetable Visualizer.
Control + Click (Mac) | Right-Click (PC) - Sequencer Lanes = Line Tool enabled for drawing
straight lines within Motion Designer Sequencer.
Shift = Hold down the Shift key whilst turning any knob or parameter on the instrument for
finer mouse sensitivity.

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Troubleshooting
Below you will find answers to frequently asked questions regarding install process and
troubleshooting:

1. BASSYNTH is stuck on the ‘LOADING’ screen?

This screen may appear when opening the instrument or switching through presets. This is
normal. However, if the screen appears to get stuck on the Loading screen, this can indicate
that Kontakt cannot initialize or start-up. Commonly this can be the case if your DAW or host
has not completed its start-up sequence. Some of the common ways this can happen in
different DAWS are as follows
1. The audio driver is not enabled or has been set to an inactive audio device. This can
happen with some audio devices, such as the UA Apollo, when it is selected but not
physically connected.
2. The DAW has entered a power safe mode. This will happen with Logic Pro when used
with a MacBook that has been left idle on battery power.
3. The power button or audio device enable button has been set to off on your DAW.

2. Upon loading BASSYNTH, Kontakt displays a message that files are missing.
This Suggests that the Zip files did not extract properly, or the files did not 100% download /
complete before extracting.
Please ensure that all 6 Zip files are fully downloaded to the same location on your computer
before extracting them. Please ensure that each Zip file is the following size:
Part 001 should be: 2GB
Part 002 should be: 2GB
Part 003 should be: 2GB
Part 004 should be: 2GB
Part 005 should be: 2GB
Part 006 should be: 900MB (or slightly larger)

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3. I am having troubles extracting the Zip Files.

We used a format called 7-Zip for compressing the files. Please firstly follow the previous
point and ensure all Zip files are the correct sizes and downloaded to the same location on
your computer / hard drive.
If using a Windows system, please use ‘7-Zip’ to extract the Zip files. 7-Zip can be
downloaded for free HERE
If using Mac, please use ‘Keka’ to extract the Zip files. Keka can be downloaded for free
HERE
After extraction, the final ‘BASSYNTH’ folder should be around 10.9GB (or slightly larger) in
size.

4. BASSYNTH disappears from Kontakt’s Library Tab?

• Download and install the latest version of Kontakt, which is available via Native Access.
• Close Native Access, open it again and log in. During the launch process Native Access
will update the database of your products automatically in the background.
• Start Kontakt standalone. BASSYNTH should be available again.

5. I have activated BASSYNTH, but I’m not seeing it in Kontakt.

• In Kontakt click the Cog Icon to go to the Settings menu

• Navigate to the ‘Libraries’ tab
• Tick the box next to BASSYNTH

6. I am seeing high CPU usage

This can be normal if loading presets that include many Effects, Motion Sequencing and
Unison per Voice. Simply turn off BASSYNTH’s Effects Section, try turning down the number
of Unison Voices, or increase the Latency Buffer Size on your Audio interface.

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Credits
Product Concept: Dan Byers & Matthew Fudge.
Lead Sound Designer: Dan Byers.
Lead Product Designer: Matthew Fudge
Lead Scripter & Programming: Davide Magni
Additional Scripting: Alex Gamble
UI Design & UX Concept: Resonant Design (Fabian Ruf & Simon Martin)
Additional Sound Design: Alex Cummings, Matthew Fudge.
Audio Editing: Alex Boss, Matthew Fudge
Audio Engineering: Alex Gamble, Dan Byers
Presets: Dan Byers, Alex Cummings, Bit Funk, Matthew Fudge.
Video Production & Editing: James Humby
Additional Video Production: Jason Cipparrone, Ronan Macdonald
Audio Demos: Herag Sanbalian, Dan Byers
Initial UI Layout & Typography: Omer Frank
Logo Design: Luis Burdallo
Product Manual: Dan Byers

With special thanks to:

Revolution Recording Studios, Octagon Studios, Miloco Studios, Justin Gray, Drew Jurecka,
Mike Duffield, Tom Richards, Robbie Grunwald, Native Instruments

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