There is no future that would find me producing music whether with my fingers or through a mixing board. Every one of your videos captivates me with the simple pleasure of seeing an expert share their expertise with clarity, enthusiasm, and a dash of wry perspective.
Thanks Joey! That’s an awesome thing to say! I’m planning a video all about unusual fretless recording techniques which will be based mainly around Mick Karn… there’s a small production issue, but I think it’s going to be really good :)
Anthony Marinelli's channel also gives great insight into creating the famous bass sounds for the many 80s hit he's worked on (e.g. MJ's Thriller). Both his and now this video has given me new recording approaches. Thx
Oh yes, Marinelli’s videos are excellent! He’s a first class sound designer. So many people don’t realise how much work went into the tiniest details on those records. I have had the opportunity to scrutinise the actual ‘Thriller’ multitracks and all the synth bass was bounced to a single track (although electric bass was kept on a separate track). So if it weren’t for Marinelli we would not know how those tracks were layered.
Great insight. I really learned a thing. Now I understand what the 90s synth from Roland each patch has multiple partials. So you can layer/blend sounds together to get different characteristics in one patch. Like blending Scottish whiskey.
Yes, that’s exactly right. This was the way a lot of synths developed in the 90s - sometimes they get called ‘romplers’ because there’s a sample element (in rom) as well as a synthesises element. We had a D-50 in the late 80s though nowadays I find the sound a bit cold. I still have a Korg M1 though which not only has some classic presets but also is incredible if you programme it (it has partials and a really interesting synthesis engine). But for me, blending not only different synths but also different styles of synths is where the sound really takes off :)
Yours is my new favorite RUclips channel. I’ve already watched all the videos a couple times. Thank you. Please keep it up. I love the format. Don’t change a thing
There's a piano doubling the bass guitar on Walking On The Moon. It's quite subtle, but once you hear it, you can't help but notice it every time you hear the song. They do the same thing on several songs from that album, too.
There’s a Van Halen song that is Clavinet or Rhodes piano run through a distorted guitar amp and everyone was always trying to figure out how they got that tone on their guitar and it wasn’t even guitar lol
It launched a thousand quests for "piano tone" on the bass! On vinyl and tape (and especially on AM radio) it was harder to spot than when CDs came along.
@@AnthonyAnthony-tk4ye I remember seeing that on "running with the devil" that whistle sound is one of those goofy party tube sliders you blow into. I can imagine Dave bringing that into the session and goofing around. also car horns on the opening
@@flipnap2112 That dopplered car horn in the intro is genius. I wonder who thought that up, the producer or a band member? Amazes me the things people think up.
Thank-you for this and your other videos, they are ace. I tried this approach today and surprised myself with a sound that has forever changed how I’m going to record and mix bass. 🙏
That’s so fantastic to hear! Sorry for the delay. I’ve been neck deep in editing and I’m very behind. But comments like yours are incredibly inspiring…
Another trick is placing a mic near the bass strings, similar to micing up an acoustic guitar (especially for slap bass). Some really cool tips, great vid
That’s a great technique. I’ve never recorded bass like that but I’ve often done that with electric guitar. You get loads and loads of transient which can really help.
When you said in the video, it was loud', my first thought was, "The neighbors down the street got to enjoy it with you...perhaps, without the laughter". 🤣 @DistortThePreamp
Incredibly important video for me! I'm such a huge fan of Sting's playing on Regatta de Blanc. I waited years to see this video it was a real moment for me. Thank You!!
i'm just getting into the synth bass process and now i'm hooked. i am a bassist. it didn't take me long to realize a lot of music consists of electronic/synth bass. music is very dynamic beast. it changes constantly and if you can't change with it - either willingly or unwillingly, it's too easy to get left behind. another thing is, as a musician, you got to pay attention to the details. there is no way around it. whatever i listen to there is so much going on in the background. michael jackson and stevie wonder are masters of this. and that's just scratching the surface. and yea, as you point out, it goes back to the 80's pop. i started implementing synth bass with a behringer neutron and i couldn't believe the sounds i could get out of it. i soon realized the synth bass on most recordings was a mixture of several tracks or "layered" - consisting of several different sounds and instruments. i'm currently building a euro-rack based synth to expand on it. for me, it's really fascinating.
That’s exactly right! Attention to detail is critical. A lot of modern artists get this wrong - not because they don’t believe in detail, but because they leave it too late and then can’t solve the problems. The trick is to spend time getting really good sounds and then commit them. That’s one of the wonderful thing about working with real instruments versus software instruments - you’re forced into that workflow. Meanwhile, you should *definitley* be doubling *all* of your synth bass with real bass! Just tuck it under the synth bass so you can just hear it. Thank you so much for watching!
@@DistortThePreamp I agree about commitment. In my experience, many "mix" problems are arrangement problems that could have been fixed before hitting Record.
@@unclemick-synths Me too! Two reasons for me: (1) it’s straight up a fantastic synth, but also (2) it was how I prevented myself from falling down a Eurorack hole which was endless and which I would never have been able to afford 😂
@@DistortThePreamp Ha! as I wrote the comment did think that probably your goal is that is not so hidden any longer. Anyway great info and very inspiring too, cheers!
Well my goal is obviously RUclips domination. But somehow I have to achieve that without resorting to thumbnails of me looking surprised pointing at a synth with words like “The Pro’s Don’t Want You To Know This Secret” 😂😂😂
@@DistortThePreamp haha glad you're not doing those annoying click baits thumbnails, that honestly, at least for me, makes me not want to 'click'! Anyway your videos transmit great knowledge and years of investigation that are of great value for anyone that is really interested in this genre of music 🎹
Another great video. Interesting discussion and examples of layering sounds in the studio. Nigel was indeed, one of those breed of producers from an interesting era of progression and experimentalism of new and old techniques.
Very unsung. He should be more famous. Then again, he shouldn’t have quit. Then again he should have been paid a lot more, especially by The Police. The first three albums sold about 22 million copies. It would have been quite normal for him to receive 1-2% for the first album and maybe more for the third. If you do the maths he would have become very rich. But he didn’t, because he didn’t have that kind of deal. It’s really sad as my guess is that’s a large part of why he quit.
Thank you so much for talking about Nigel Gray! I haven't been able to find much information about him, so I'm really grateful for your insights. I absolutely agree with your preference about the sound of the first three Police albums. The bass sound you created is incredible, and the music you composed to showcase it is fantastic. Greetings from Argentina!
I’m so pleased you liked it! I’ve considered dropping the performances because I wasn’t sure if people cared about those bits of the videos, and it’s quite a lot of pressure to write something new and interesting and good every video. But I’m definitely keeping them for now!
Thank you so much! I’ve spend the weekend making some studio updates just so I can (hopefully) increase my output! But I really appreciate you watching and making this comment :)
We really should all thanks Mr Gray. He never really made the money he deserved. Which is why he retired from the industry at the age of 40 (in 1987). If only he’d been paid properly there might be a lot more amazing records…
As a beginner to making synth music I learned more in 20 minutes from this than I don't know how many months prior. Thank you. (And I'm old enough to remember all the songs you mention the first time around too.)
Really enjoy your channel. Very original. Simple Minds - Promised You a Miracle, Derek Forbes’ bass is a huge part of New Gold Dream - a Fender Precision doubled with a Moog synth underpinning this track.
@@rockknezevic2545 I think he’s a very underrated bass player. Very inventive and original. As you say, MASSIVE contribution to New Gold Dream. The songs would have sounded a lot more normal without his strange parts.
Wonderful stuff. I paused your video about 10 mins from the end and sat at my keyboard to try this out. The result is just awesome. I used a harsh synth preset instead of the kick sample, but the result is exactly as you describe - punchy, full, clear and distorted simultaneously. I'll play with the velocity sensitivities next, but it's already brilliant! Thank you for sharing this!
You, sir, are an amazing musician - which I’ll praise you for several times in the future - but equally a brilliant storyteller. Thank you so much for continuing your channel, you’re my favorite creator these days.
Brilliant. I learn a lot from your analysis and suggestions. The photos and microphone text themes are fun, and I’m always looking for them now. Thanks for sharing your craft.
"Funny" how in the past few years all young producers feel so clever and proud of their bass layering techniques when these things were already done over 40 years ago ;)
@@DistortThePreamp thing was, just like everything back in the day, there was a value to producing because there was a cost. everything was measured carefully. Track space was limited so when you bounced you had to be confident. nobody had limitless tracks and plugins. even in film. you didnt have 100TB drives with years of storage. film was expensive and once a set was ripped down it was over.
If this channel takes off, and I mean *really* takes off then I’ve got a plan with a producer friend (whose a properly famous producer) to do a single using tape. Mainly for the workflow because tape is not great. But it would be amazing. I’m already scoping studios. And obviously everything would be videoed. It would be great fun but, as I say, the channel would have to be several leagues bigger because my goal would definitely be for the studio to donate the time and Ampex to provide free tape 😂
Really enjoying your channel - loved how you tell the stories and then those moments of enlightenment. But also how you build a track and take us along for the ride - fabulous- can’t wait to see and hear more from you.
excellent stuff as always, very interesting to hear the kick sample in the bass sound, reminded me that when writing Killer, Adamski had accidentally put a drum machine on the same midi channel and it trigered different drum sounds for each note of the bass line, but it adds a lot of character to it. love the demo tune too, sounded like PSB working with Orbital (particularly The Box).
@@DistortThePreamp I think that you absolutely deserve that cause in my career as a composer and a producer i was engaged to quite many genres from Italo Disco which i still love , House and even classical music, so layering various sounds that serve other frequencies to the listener is a known tip for me but you explain that so simple so this knowledge which is essential for a great production is accessible to anybody from a new composer to a pro one, keep up the great work i always enjoy your content and i am glad that you still use my beloved roland r8 too !
Sorry for the late reply! (So many comments, they all get lost). Fantastic that you’re an R8 fan. I absolutely *love* mine. I had the WaveRex sampling card but didn’t get on with it. When I loaded samples they didn’t sound the same because it turns out the R8 preamps are very coloured. I guess this is why the (insanely overpriced) R8 Cards sound so good - because Roland would have spend ages tuning the samples so they sounded as good as possible out of an R8. And also glad you like Italian Disco. I had planned to make a video showing how Moroder made the bass to ‘I Feel Love’ (the point being that it’s 8th notes with a 16th delay, and the delay is louder so the offbeat is accented, and late so it’s swung, and there’s a second repeat so it flams, etc) but I became convinced that nobody would care. And it might already have been done. And now, if it hasn’t been done, I’ve just given the game away 😂
@@DistortThePreamp It’s so valuable to really understand a mix philosophy and how that can translate across all genres. I was also a huge Police/Sting fan and they/he inspired me to learn the bass. Great learnings, great channel!
Just like the first part and your other videos that I watched so far this was FANTASTIC!!! Absolutely love what you do. The kick drum sample as an additional layer - it makes so much sense and you can actually make it out once you know about it, but I would have never guessed that! Thank you so much for sharing!
What has been so fantastic about these videos is that apparently some people are actually trying this stuff out for themselves. Although I also have a mission to make the videos as entertaining as possible for non-musicians. Thank you so much for all your comments Jan…
This is a fantastic video (as are your others), thank you for sharing your knowledge! I like to layer my SH-101 and Elektron Digitone for bass, but will now experiment with adding some thump too.
I absolutely hear you. There is a huge list of videos planned. I’m currently trying to figure out which to make in a slightly simpler form so I can get more out. Really appreciate the supportive comment!
It will definitely be a mixture - it has to be, really, as the deep ones take an insanely long time. But if there’s a video that’s too shallow for you, don’t lose faith - I’m still working on the deep ones too!
Thank you so much! One of my goals is to make videos that work on a purely entertainment level and can be enjoyed by non musicians. So I really appreciate your kind comment…
The most incredible synth layering album of all time may be “Oh No! it’s DEVO.” It was produced by Roy Thomas Baker, the same producer as Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, who’s an incredible layering texture producer. If anybody hasn’t heard it, give a listen. Not to the songs, but to the synth sounds. Luscious and totally unique.
This is now my favorite TV show. Really appreciate the story telling and the general production of this program. But fear not; i will hold back on compliments this time as it came to my ears that the british get spots from compliments.
This is true. We are bad at taking compliments. But out of the thousands of amazing comments I’ve had so far, you are the first to recognise what I’m actually trying to do: I’m trying to make TV. Thank you for noticing. :) 🙏
Really great tutes. Im a big 80s fan and so your material really helps to make it all so much fun..After kin years of listening to sounds you explain it all effortlessly. Impressive. Thanks
I have the Yamaha V50 and ever since I bought it in 1989 I found how bloody good fm bass is. I have mostly layered bass sounds and love creating phat bass sounds using different synth engines. However time pressures these days frustrate my efforts but your video is like a message in a bottle to return to my old ways haha. Cheers mate for that.
Oh fantastic! I was putting together some music in a hurry yesterday and playing and layering was *so much faster* than laboriously programming. It’s funny - what should take longer is sometimes actually simpler. Really appreciate you watching and taking the time to comment :)
Just a little correction, Sting's upright bass wasn't made by him chopping up his favorite acoustic upright. It's a Z-bass, made by Dutch luthier Henk Van Zalinge. I love your channel.
Aaaaaah the lately bass! I’m using the Arturia DX7 and have imported all the ROM cartridge presets - I trawled the net for everything! The DX7 has a sound that is very malleable and has a unique flexibility that lends itself to additional processing like the distortion etc. We use them for twinkly sounds, basses but also for ambient washed out sounds, which it excels at. Only recently learned how much FM is used in modern electro.
Oh yes! The DX7 can’t quite do Lately because the operators are different, but it can get very close with a patch that from memory is called Solid Bass! People associate FM with bells and glistening pads, but it’s so great at bass too! What I love about FM synths is the articulation you can get from the velocity assuming the patch has been set up in that way…
Great video thanks for this. That bass guitar amp splitting technique is still used today to great effect by Mike Kerr from Royal Blood. He also uses all sorts of other effects such as octave shifters and different lead guitar pedals but its really interesting to hear it started with the prog guys.
It was really Chris Squire from Yes who’s famous for this. His Rickenbacker bass had two outs (one for each pickup) and he routed one into a guitar amp. Amazing sound. But a lot of the prog guys do similar nowadays - Geddy Lee for example (from Rush) uses a very similar setup. Mike Kerr’s rig is a little different but very interesting. He’s a bit coy about it but it’s basically almost like a reverse of Jack White’s setup. Kerr is splitting his bass signal, shifting an octave up and then treating that like a guitar. What really makes a difference to a setup like this is to route it into an entirely different amp. If you try and blend the signal back into a single amp it doesn’t sound nearly as good. Thanks so much for the kind words about the video :) Bey much appreciated :)
Beautiful, just what I needed as I prepare to make the most of my studio while condensing my live set up. I'll be firing up the TX81Z, Bass Station 2 and Kawai K1 for layering up sounds before sampling to my Lo-Fi 12. Excellent video! Cheers.
Oh I am so pleased! It’s comments like this which are what the whole channel is for! It’s really not about recreating sounds from the past, it’s abouy learning forgotten techniques from the past and adding them to today’s bag of tricks :)
My pleasure! Although I suspect it was Stephen Hague the producer… after all it was actually the second time they recorded (and released) ‘West End Girls’ and they definitely didn’t put a kick under the bass with Bobby Orlando’s version 😂
I enjoy all the small references in your videos, am pretty sure I heard a snatch of ‘bizarre love triangle’ followed by a soupçon of ‘reward’. Did not recognize the framed photo this time.
Great video!! Thanks so much for the info on getting a killer bass sound. Also really interesting stuff about Nigel Gray - ALL those tracks you mention are MASTERPIECES!! 🔥🔥🔥
I’m so pleased to hear this! Somebody asked me who the person in the thumbnail was, and I was wondering if I had failed to choose a sufficiently iconic image ;)
What a fantastic channel!!! Being a sound design freak, I love your deep drive into classic sounds. Bass sounds are hard to sort how they were made. I'm still trying to decipher Andy Connel's bass line on Swing out Sisters Break Out. Beautiful channel, thank you sir.
Excellent work, keep going. I'm sure it's hard work and time consuming but I'm really enjoying your videos. In one of the previous ones you made a comment about "chords are cheating". I'd be fascinated to hear more of the thinking behind that comment - I'm guessing you're saying "try using mono synths to make single lines which work together" in the same way that an orchestra would have separate lines from violins, celli, horns etc etc... But I'd love to hear more. Cheers from a fellow 80's pop kid!
Any video on that subject would surely mention Vince Clarke. Since he mostly used an ARP 2600 monosynth on early Depeche and Yazoo tracks, he wrote lots of monophonic melodies that combined brilliantly to create the illusion of chords. In my opinion, the technology is partly why I prefer early synth pop to later examples. Once polysynths and Romplers were affordable, there was too much use of pads and synth musicians kind of forgot how to write/program catchy melodies and counter-melodies that contained the ear candy that attracted me to synth pop in the first place.
@@markf.3617 I am so please! I was a bit worried that the entire viewer base would go ‘What? Real electric bass? Who cares!’ and leave en masse. Thankfully this does not appear to be the case…
Fascinating to hear about Nigel Gray, a mysterious figure who should get more recognition. Zenyatta has become, over the years, my favourite Police album. It disappointed me at the time of release, but now I think of it as the epitome of the Police sound. Nice channel, I'll be tuning in.
I agree. I sort of bounce between Zenyatta and Regatta, and Regatta has some great songs, but I think was Zenyatta is The Police at the height of their powers. And Zenyatta captures that so well. Tracks like ‘Voices Inside My Head’, ‘When The World Is Running Down’, and ‘Driven To Tears’ are stupendous just in terms of the groove. IMO Padgham never managed to capture that ‘groove’ like Gray did.
@@DistortThePreamp Absolutely, Regatta has more “heft” - the Big Songs - but Zenyatta is more all of a piece. I love the soundscape of “Voices”, basically Sting screeching, which Nigel turned into a jungle backdrop. My only gripe is that it should have been called “Zenyatta Mondatta”, as a callback to the previous title track.
I never even considered that the bass might be layered - especially the +1 octave guitar. I just assumed they'd come up with some amazingly fat bass patches for the synths. Listening back and concentrating on the bass line, there it is! And now I know how to do it, too. Thanks for spilling the beans.
yet more excellent content. I've been listening to the police a lot lately, kind of an obsession. they and their production team were doing everything right back then. They were a little too clean by the end, but still fantastic. Hugh Padgham's treatment was also excellent. A track like Spirits in the Material World is stunning. Anyway, yeah, Reggatta is the best. Just want to say that Stewart Copeland's timing and the sound of his kit blow my mind every time I hear it.
I agree. I do like a lot of the Hugh Padgham stuff, and he really captured a vibe on, say, ‘Tea in the Sahara’ but on balance I think Regatta and Zenyatta are probably better. I’m actually a huge fan of Zenyatta. It’s so live sounding. Probably because it was recorded in about two weeks.
That was AMAZINGLY interesting, I really had no idea that this was such a widespread technique. I am fairly new to recording music and I actually ended up doing this intuitively on one of my own tracks, I had two bass sounds that I really liked and accidentally played them together and realised that they were way better combined. Now I know that this is an official studio technique that can be exploited for effect. The examples you gave of The Pet Shop Boys and Siouxie and the Banshees were really intruiging as well. I have learned a lot today
Oh I’m so pleased you liked it! This kind of technique can really make a difference. Don’t treat it as a compulsory rule though - as my old producer mentor is fond of saying, ‘There are no rules!’ Thank you so much for watching, and for your comment…
Absolutely enjoyed this..your explanation’s where on layman’s term’s,kudos to you sir for taking the time to share your experience & helping other musician,s make better music,tip my hat to you sir 👏🏻👏🏻😎
There is no future that would find me producing music whether with my fingers or through a mixing board. Every one of your videos captivates me with the simple pleasure of seeing an expert share their expertise with clarity, enthusiasm, and a dash of wry perspective.
This comment means a lot to me. I am really trying to make videos that appeal not only to producers but also to fans. Thank you so much for watching…
I think the secret to your videos is that your clear joy making sounds and music shines through to the viewers.
@@hedmanm That’s a very nice thing to say! But it’s absolutely true - I absolutely love it :)
For me its the accent 😎
@@DumbBeat haha! Do I have an accent? 😇
I’ve been playing bass for 30+ years. This is great content that deserves more views
Thanks Joey! That’s an awesome thing to say! I’m planning a video all about unusual fretless recording techniques which will be based mainly around Mick Karn… there’s a small production issue, but I think it’s going to be really good :)
Anthony Marinelli's channel also gives great insight into creating the famous bass sounds for the many 80s hit he's worked on (e.g. MJ's Thriller). Both his and now this video has given me new recording approaches. Thx
Oh yes, Marinelli’s videos are excellent! He’s a first class sound designer. So many people don’t realise how much work went into the tiniest details on those records. I have had the opportunity to scrutinise the actual ‘Thriller’ multitracks and all the synth bass was bounced to a single track (although electric bass was kept on a separate track). So if it weren’t for Marinelli we would not know how those tracks were layered.
Great insight. I really learned a thing. Now I understand what the 90s synth from Roland each patch has multiple partials. So you can layer/blend sounds together to get different characteristics in one patch. Like blending Scottish whiskey.
Yes, that’s exactly right. This was the way a lot of synths developed in the 90s - sometimes they get called ‘romplers’ because there’s a sample element (in rom) as well as a synthesises element. We had a D-50 in the late 80s though nowadays I find the sound a bit cold. I still have a Korg M1 though which not only has some classic presets but also is incredible if you programme it (it has partials and a really interesting synthesis engine). But for me, blending not only different synths but also different styles of synths is where the sound really takes off :)
Yours is my new favorite RUclips channel. I’ve already watched all the videos a couple times. Thank you. Please keep it up. I love the format. Don’t change a thing
Agreed.
Thank you so much!!!!
Likewise! This is definitely my new favorite channel!
Same
There's a piano doubling the bass guitar on Walking On The Moon. It's quite subtle, but once you hear it, you can't help but notice it every time you hear the song. They do the same thing on several songs from that album, too.
Yes, absolutely, The Beatles used to add piano under guitar too. People don't do this so much anymore. They really should :-)
There’s a Van Halen song that is Clavinet or Rhodes piano run through a distorted guitar amp and everyone was always trying to figure out how they got that tone on their guitar and it wasn’t even guitar lol
It launched a thousand quests for "piano tone" on the bass! On vinyl and tape (and especially on AM radio) it was harder to spot than when CDs came along.
@@AnthonyAnthony-tk4ye I remember seeing that on "running with the devil" that whistle sound is one of those goofy party tube sliders you blow into. I can imagine Dave bringing that into the session and goofing around. also car horns on the opening
@@flipnap2112 That dopplered car horn in the intro is genius. I wonder who thought that up, the producer or a band member? Amazes me the things people think up.
Thank-you for this and your other videos, they are ace. I tried this approach today and surprised myself with a sound that has forever changed how I’m going to record and mix bass. 🙏
That’s so fantastic to hear! Sorry for the delay. I’ve been neck deep in editing and I’m very behind. But comments like yours are incredibly inspiring…
Another trick is placing a mic near the bass strings, similar to micing up an acoustic guitar (especially for slap bass). Some really cool tips, great vid
That’s a great technique. I’ve never recorded bass like that but I’ve often done that with electric guitar. You get loads and loads of transient which can really help.
Much appreciated. Top quality advice. Loving this 80s synth bass series.
Officially there’s one more to come, but there are at least a couple of other videos that will come before it…
Absolutely brilliant! Couldn't be more thrilled to learn these techniques!
Thank you so much!
That smile (and laugh) of yours', when you strike gold, in the world of "Synth Punch". 😂 Great Channel and Video!
Thank you! It was SO LOUD in the room 😂
When you said in the video, it was loud', my first thought was, "The neighbors down the street got to enjoy it with you...perhaps, without the laughter". 🤣 @DistortThePreamp
😂
Incredibly important video for me! I'm such a huge fan of Sting's playing on Regatta de Blanc. I waited years to see this video it was a real moment for me. Thank You!!
Oh that’s such a kind comment! I’m so pleased you like the video! Thank you :)
i'm just getting into the synth bass process and now i'm hooked. i am a bassist. it didn't take me long to realize a lot of music consists of electronic/synth bass. music is very dynamic beast. it changes constantly and if you can't change with it - either willingly or unwillingly, it's too easy to get left behind.
another thing is, as a musician, you got to pay attention to the details. there is no way around it. whatever i listen to there is so much going on in the background. michael jackson and stevie wonder are masters of this. and that's just scratching the surface. and yea, as you point out, it goes back to the 80's pop.
i started implementing synth bass with a behringer neutron and i couldn't believe the sounds i could get out of it. i soon realized the synth bass on most recordings was a mixture of several tracks or "layered" - consisting of several different sounds and instruments. i'm currently building a euro-rack based synth to expand on it. for me, it's really fascinating.
That’s exactly right! Attention to detail is critical. A lot of modern artists get this wrong - not because they don’t believe in detail, but because they leave it too late and then can’t solve the problems. The trick is to spend time getting really good sounds and then commit them. That’s one of the wonderful thing about working with real instruments versus software instruments - you’re forced into that workflow. Meanwhile, you should *definitley* be doubling *all* of your synth bass with real bass! Just tuck it under the synth bass so you can just hear it. Thank you so much for watching!
@@DistortThePreamp I agree about commitment. In my experience, many "mix" problems are arrangement problems that could have been fixed before hitting Record.
@rushmanphotos I love my Neutron!
@@unclemick-synths Me too! Two reasons for me: (1) it’s straight up a fantastic synth, but also (2) it was how I prevented myself from falling down a Eurorack hole which was endless and which I would never have been able to afford 😂
@@unclemick-synths so do i. it's amazing. and for the price you can't beat it.
This channel is a hidden gem
Thank you so much! Although my ambition is to stop it being quite so hidden 😂
@@DistortThePreamp Ha! as I wrote the comment did think that probably your goal is that is not so hidden any longer. Anyway great info and very inspiring too, cheers!
Well my goal is obviously RUclips domination. But somehow I have to achieve that without resorting to thumbnails of me looking surprised pointing at a synth with words like “The Pro’s Don’t Want You To Know This Secret” 😂😂😂
@@DistortThePreamp haha glad you're not doing those annoying click baits thumbnails, that honestly, at least for me, makes me not want to 'click'! Anyway your videos transmit great knowledge and years of investigation that are of great value for anyone that is really interested in this genre of music 🎹
Another excellent and insightful video. Great stuff! Totally agree about The Police and Siouxie down at Surrey Sound in Leatherhead.
When I was really young my friend's mum worked at Surry Sound and was dating Nigel. This totally passed me by. If only I'd understood...
Another great video. Interesting discussion and examples of layering sounds in the studio. Nigel was indeed, one of those breed of producers from an interesting era of progression and experimentalism of new and old techniques.
Very unsung. He should be more famous. Then again, he shouldn’t have quit. Then again he should have been paid a lot more, especially by The Police. The first three albums sold about 22 million copies. It would have been quite normal for him to receive 1-2% for the first album and maybe more for the third. If you do the maths he would have become very rich. But he didn’t, because he didn’t have that kind of deal. It’s really sad as my guess is that’s a large part of why he quit.
Thank you so much for talking about Nigel Gray! I haven't been able to find much information about him, so I'm really grateful for your insights. I absolutely agree with your preference about the sound of the first three Police albums. The bass sound you created is incredible, and the music you composed to showcase it is fantastic. Greetings from Argentina!
Thank you so much! That's really kind :-)
My new favourite music channel!! Loving the content and the amount I’m learning. Cheers.
Thank you so much! This is amazing!
That track was GROOVING! Thank you for the breakdown
I’m so pleased you liked it! I’ve considered dropping the performances because I wasn’t sure if people cared about those bits of the videos, and it’s quite a lot of pressure to write something new and interesting and good every video. But I’m definitely keeping them for now!
I kept wondering how these beautiful 80's basses where made. Thank you so much!
So pleased you liked the video :)
I hope you keep making videos. Learning a lot. Thank you.
Thank you so much! I’ve spend the weekend making some studio updates just so I can (hopefully) increase my output! But I really appreciate you watching and making this comment :)
And thanks Mr Gray. I loved those early Police albums.
We really should all thanks Mr Gray. He never really made the money he deserved. Which is why he retired from the industry at the age of 40 (in 1987). If only he’d been paid properly there might be a lot more amazing records…
Great content, and you Sir are a master storyteller!
Thank you so much!
As a beginner to making synth music I learned more in 20 minutes from this than I don't know how many months prior. Thank you. (And I'm old enough to remember all the songs you mention the first time around too.)
@@ML-ss4yo fantastic! This makes me very happy!
Really enjoy your channel. Very original.
Simple Minds - Promised You a Miracle,
Derek Forbes’ bass is a huge part of New Gold Dream - a Fender Precision doubled with a Moog synth underpinning this track.
@@rockknezevic2545 I think he’s a very underrated bass player. Very inventive and original. As you say, MASSIVE contribution to New Gold Dream. The songs would have sounded a lot more normal without his strange parts.
Love your attention to detail and in-depth analysis.
Thank you! Very much appreciated :)
You are my new favourite channel. Brilliant content. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much!
Wonderful stuff.
I paused your video about 10 mins from the end and sat at my keyboard to try this out. The result is just awesome. I used a harsh synth preset instead of the kick sample, but the result is exactly as you describe - punchy, full, clear and distorted simultaneously. I'll play with the velocity sensitivities next, but it's already brilliant!
Thank you for sharing this!
Many thanks, sending love!
Thank you! 🙏🙏🙏
You, sir, are an amazing musician - which I’ll praise you for several times in the future - but equally a brilliant storyteller. Thank you so much for continuing your channel, you’re my favorite creator these days.
I’ve probably said this before but thank you so much! I will try to increase the frequency of my output…
Now you explain the construction of a good bass sound, I will look at my go-to sounds as more, building blocks. Keep up the great work.
It’s all a lot of fun :)
Really interesting video. Very unique insights. Thank you.
Thank you very much! Really appreciate you watching, and taking the time to comment :)
Brilliant. I learn a lot from your analysis and suggestions. The photos and microphone text themes are fun, and I’m always looking for them now. Thanks for sharing your craft.
Thanks for noticing the text on the microphone :) Really appreciate you watching and commenting… :)
Fantastic insights on your channel! Thank you so much!
Thank you so much!!!
Awesome ideas and tricks! This is my new favourite channel, cheers!!
Thank you so much!
Very cool. That was a cool song at the end.
Thank you! Originally I did something that sounded more like The Police but abandoned it. The bass sound was huuuuuge in the room!
I really love your videos. They are the best on RUclips, for real! ❤(at least for me)
That’s a fantastic compliment! Thank you so much!
"Funny" how in the past few years all young producers feel so clever and proud of their bass layering techniques when these things were already done over 40 years ago ;)
Exactly, right! Plus I honestly think layering was better 40 years ago 😂
@@DistortThePreamp Shhh. Don't tell anyone. What was better surely was that I was only 13 back then hahahaha ;)
Oh awesome!!!
@@DistortThePreamp thing was, just like everything back in the day, there was a value to producing because there was a cost. everything was measured carefully. Track space was limited so when you bounced you had to be confident. nobody had limitless tracks and plugins. even in film. you didnt have 100TB drives with years of storage. film was expensive and once a set was ripped down it was over.
If this channel takes off, and I mean *really* takes off then I’ve got a plan with a producer friend (whose a properly famous producer) to do a single using tape. Mainly for the workflow because tape is not great. But it would be amazing. I’m already scoping studios. And obviously everything would be videoed. It would be great fun but, as I say, the channel would have to be several leagues bigger because my goal would definitely be for the studio to donate the time and Ampex to provide free tape 😂
Synth-bass college degree right there. This guy is good!
🙏🙏🙏 That’s a very kind thing to say!
Really enjoying your channel - loved how you tell the stories and then those moments of enlightenment. But also how you build a track and take us along for the ride - fabulous- can’t wait to see and hear more from you.
Thank you so much!
excellent stuff as always, very interesting to hear the kick sample in the bass sound, reminded me that when writing Killer, Adamski had accidentally put a drum machine on the same midi channel and it trigered different drum sounds for each note of the bass line, but it adds a lot of character to it. love the demo tune too, sounded like PSB working with Orbital (particularly The Box).
Is that true, about Adamski? That makes perfect sense! That bass line totally slaps! Now I’m gonna look this up…
One of the best if not the best production tips video here all over the net !
That’s extremely kind Panos! Really appreciate you watching, and taking the time to make a comment :)
@@DistortThePreamp I think that you absolutely deserve that cause in my career as a composer and a producer i was engaged to quite many genres from Italo Disco which i still love , House and even classical music, so layering various sounds that serve other frequencies to the listener is a known tip for me but you explain that so simple so this knowledge which is essential for a great production is accessible to anybody from a new composer to a pro one, keep up the great work i always enjoy your content and i am glad that you still use my beloved roland r8 too !
Sorry for the late reply! (So many comments, they all get lost). Fantastic that you’re an R8 fan. I absolutely *love* mine. I had the WaveRex sampling card but didn’t get on with it. When I loaded samples they didn’t sound the same because it turns out the R8 preamps are very coloured. I guess this is why the (insanely overpriced) R8 Cards sound so good - because Roland would have spend ages tuning the samples so they sounded as good as possible out of an R8. And also glad you like Italian Disco. I had planned to make a video showing how Moroder made the bass to ‘I Feel Love’ (the point being that it’s 8th notes with a 16th delay, and the delay is louder so the offbeat is accented, and late so it’s swung, and there’s a second repeat so it flams, etc) but I became convinced that nobody would care. And it might already have been done. And now, if it hasn’t been done, I’ve just given the game away 😂
One of the best mixing tutorials I’ve come across in a long time. 🙏
Thanks Tim! That’s so kind!
@@DistortThePreamp It’s so valuable to really understand a mix philosophy and how that can translate across all genres. I was also a huge Police/Sting fan and they/he inspired me to learn the bass. Great learnings, great channel!
Thanks for this, really enjoyed it, particularly like you style of presentation, enjoyable and informative!
Thank you so much! That's very kind :)
Just like the first part and your other videos that I watched so far this was FANTASTIC!!!
Absolutely love what you do. The kick drum sample as an additional layer - it makes so much sense and you can actually make it out once you know about it, but I would have never guessed that!
Thank you so much for sharing!
What has been so fantastic about these videos is that apparently some people are actually trying this stuff out for themselves. Although I also have a mission to make the videos as entertaining as possible for non-musicians. Thank you so much for all your comments Jan…
How good are these videos ?
Brilliant analysis !
You’re so kind! It’s 01:37 and I’m shattered from editing all day so this is such a nice comment to read 🙏
This is a fantastic video (as are your others), thank you for sharing your knowledge! I like to layer my SH-101 and Elektron Digitone for bass, but will now experiment with adding some thump too.
I beg of you, please share more of your immense knowledge in 80s music production. I want to learn. I so much appreciate your content!
I absolutely hear you. There is a huge list of videos planned. I’m currently trying to figure out which to make in a slightly simpler form so I can get more out. Really appreciate the supportive comment!
@@DistortThePreamp Fantastic! I subscribed immediately. I hope they will still be in depth videos. Looking forward to whatever videos are to come 😊
It will definitely be a mixture - it has to be, really, as the deep ones take an insanely long time. But if there’s a video that’s too shallow for you, don’t lose faith - I’m still working on the deep ones too!
WOW! Just suggested this channel thanks to the RUclips algorithm! Amazing content. Channels like these are truely the best of RUclips!
Thank you so much Andrew! Really appreciate the kind words :)
Your videos are interesting to watch even just for fun, you are a nice person and present the content in a special, smooth way ❤
Thank you so much! One of my goals is to make videos that work on a purely entertainment level and can be enjoyed by non musicians. So I really appreciate your kind comment…
Awesome video with great analysis of this bass sound!
Thank you!
Your videos are so well produced, such a pleasure to watch. Thanks for being an inspiring source of knowledge!
Very kind words :)
Amazing! Thank you for sharing all of this sonic goodness
You are extremely welcome! Thank you for watching, and commenting!
I now know which bass player you were talking about 😁
Great content, great examples, and as usual, you deliver it so well. I’m truly a fan!
Thank you so much for this ;)
The most incredible synth layering album of all time may be “Oh No! it’s DEVO.” It was produced by Roy Thomas Baker, the same producer as Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, who’s an incredible layering texture producer. If anybody hasn’t heard it, give a listen. Not to the songs, but to the synth sounds. Luscious and totally unique.
I love that entire album. The best DEVO by far.
DEVO-Excellent
Thanks for that note. Both Devo and Queen. And of course, love synths.
magicians in the studio. their performance in "Urgh: Amusic war" was top notch
This is now my favorite TV show. Really appreciate the story telling and the general production of this program. But fear not; i will hold back on compliments this time as it came to my ears that the british get spots from compliments.
This is true. We are bad at taking compliments. But out of the thousands of amazing comments I’ve had so far, you are the first to recognise what I’m actually trying to do: I’m trying to make TV. Thank you for noticing. :) 🙏
My mind is blown... Amazing!
Fantastic! So pleased! Thank you so much for watching, and taking the time to comment :)
Really great tutes. Im a big 80s fan and so your material really helps to make it all so much fun..After kin years of listening to sounds you explain it all effortlessly. Impressive. Thanks
So glad you like it! Really appreciate you watching and commenting! I need to get them out faster…
I have the Yamaha V50 and ever since I bought it in 1989 I found how bloody good fm bass is. I have mostly layered bass sounds and love creating phat bass sounds using different synth engines. However time pressures these days frustrate my efforts but your video is like a message in a bottle to return to my old ways haha. Cheers mate for that.
Oh fantastic! I was putting together some music in a hurry yesterday and playing and layering was *so much faster* than laboriously programming. It’s funny - what should take longer is sometimes actually simpler. Really appreciate you watching and taking the time to comment :)
Awesome !! thanks for the learning.
🙏🙏🙏
Thank you, this was just extraordinarily good. Absolutely loved everything about this video.
Thank you so much! Really appreciate your comment, and you watching!
Just a little correction, Sting's upright bass wasn't made by him chopping up his favorite acoustic upright. It's a Z-bass, made by Dutch luthier Henk Van Zalinge.
I love your channel.
Ah, actually the Z came later, and Copeland got one too. Brian was the precursor…
I simply love this channel 😀
Thank you so much!
Aaaaaah the lately bass! I’m using the Arturia DX7 and have imported all the ROM cartridge presets - I trawled the net for everything! The DX7 has a sound that is very malleable and has a unique flexibility that lends itself to additional processing like the distortion etc. We use them for twinkly sounds, basses but also for ambient washed out sounds, which it excels at. Only recently learned how much FM is used in modern electro.
Oh yes! The DX7 can’t quite do Lately because the operators are different, but it can get very close with a patch that from memory is called Solid Bass! People associate FM with bells and glistening pads, but it’s so great at bass too! What I love about FM synths is the articulation you can get from the velocity assuming the patch has been set up in that way…
Great vids. You deserve many more subs. The west end bass line has fascinated me for over 40 years!
That’s a very kind thing to say!
BIG THANKS
You are so welcome!
Great video thanks for this. That bass guitar amp splitting technique is still used today to great effect by Mike Kerr from Royal Blood. He also uses all sorts of other effects such as octave shifters and different lead guitar pedals but its really interesting to hear it started with the prog guys.
It was really Chris Squire from Yes who’s famous for this. His Rickenbacker bass had two outs (one for each pickup) and he routed one into a guitar amp. Amazing sound. But a lot of the prog guys do similar nowadays - Geddy Lee for example (from Rush) uses a very similar setup. Mike Kerr’s rig is a little different but very interesting. He’s a bit coy about it but it’s basically almost like a reverse of Jack White’s setup. Kerr is splitting his bass signal, shifting an octave up and then treating that like a guitar. What really makes a difference to a setup like this is to route it into an entirely different amp. If you try and blend the signal back into a single amp it doesn’t sound nearly as good. Thanks so much for the kind words about the video :) Bey much appreciated :)
Beautiful, just what I needed as I prepare to make the most of my studio while condensing my live set up. I'll be firing up the TX81Z, Bass Station 2 and Kawai K1 for layering up sounds before sampling to my Lo-Fi 12. Excellent video! Cheers.
Oh those sound like amazing layer choices! K1 for the thump?
@@DistortThePreamp oh yes!
Had great fun applying these techniques to my modest set-up. Definitely something I'll be applying in future.
Fantastic! Modest setups are where music happens. Expensive setups are where creativity goes to die ;)
Excellent stuff as always! Thsnks so much!
🙏🙏🙏
You never introduce yourself. However, I find the information is thought provoking, esp the portion on how the West End Girls bass was created.
Thanks for sharing these techniques. I just tested them and the results are amazing.
Oh I am so pleased! It’s comments like this which are what the whole channel is for! It’s really not about recreating sounds from the past, it’s abouy learning forgotten techniques from the past and adding them to today’s bag of tricks :)
More and more impressed with PSB from your videos. Adding a kick over the bass?? Genius. Thank you for bringing this valuable information to light.
My pleasure! Although I suspect it was Stephen Hague the producer… after all it was actually the second time they recorded (and released) ‘West End Girls’ and they definitely didn’t put a kick under the bass with Bobby Orlando’s version 😂
The most greatest video about bass. Thank you so much.
That’s a very kind comment indeed! Thank you so much!
I enjoy all the small references in your videos, am pretty sure I heard a snatch of ‘bizarre love triangle’ followed by a soupçon of ‘reward’. Did not recognize the framed photo this time.
In some sense, you just explained the "So" album. That was a good video. Thanks for making it. It was really helpful. You are a good instructor.
That’s very kind! The So album is a great example. Super modern (for the time) detailed production, but the songs remain emotional.
Thanks a bunch! I'm doing an 80s style song this weekend. Your ideas are exactly what I'm looking for on this track.
Oh that’s so great to hear!
Amazing information! Thank you!
🙏🙏🙏
that's gold. Thanks !
So glad you like it!
Great video!! Thanks so much for the info on getting a killer bass sound. Also really interesting stuff about Nigel Gray - ALL those tracks you mention are MASTERPIECES!! 🔥🔥🔥
Thank you so much David! Really appreciate you watching, and the really nice comment :)
Thanks for the tips! Sting one one of my favorites. I admit that image is what got me to watch the video.
I’m so pleased to hear this! Somebody asked me who the person in the thumbnail was, and I was wondering if I had failed to choose a sufficiently iconic image ;)
What a fantastic channel!!! Being a sound design freak, I love your deep drive into classic sounds. Bass sounds are hard to sort how they were made. I'm still trying to decipher Andy Connel's bass line on Swing out Sisters Break Out. Beautiful channel, thank you sir.
Thank you so much!
Excellent work, keep going. I'm sure it's hard work and time consuming but I'm really enjoying your videos. In one of the previous ones you made a comment about "chords are cheating". I'd be fascinated to hear more of the thinking behind that comment - I'm guessing you're saying "try using mono synths to make single lines which work together" in the same way that an orchestra would have separate lines from violins, celli, horns etc etc... But I'd love to hear more. Cheers from a fellow 80's pop kid!
Thank you! Yes - this one is still at the planning stage, but it will be coming :)
Me too.
Any video on that subject would surely mention Vince Clarke. Since he mostly used an ARP 2600 monosynth on early Depeche and Yazoo tracks, he wrote lots of monophonic melodies that combined brilliantly to create the illusion of chords. In my opinion, the technology is partly why I prefer early synth pop to later examples. Once polysynths and Romplers were affordable, there was too much use of pads and synth musicians kind of forgot how to write/program catchy melodies and counter-melodies that contained the ear candy that attracted me to synth pop in the first place.
Thanks Mr. Preamp, enjoyed that!
@@markf.3617 I am so please! I was a bit worried that the entire viewer base would go ‘What? Real electric bass? Who cares!’ and leave en masse. Thankfully this does not appear to be the case…
Fascinating to hear about Nigel Gray, a mysterious figure who should get more recognition. Zenyatta has become, over the years, my favourite Police album. It disappointed me at the time of release, but now I think of it as the epitome of the Police sound. Nice channel, I'll be tuning in.
I agree. I sort of bounce between Zenyatta and Regatta, and Regatta has some great songs, but I think was Zenyatta is The Police at the height of their powers. And Zenyatta captures that so well. Tracks like ‘Voices Inside My Head’, ‘When The World Is Running Down’, and ‘Driven To Tears’ are stupendous just in terms of the groove. IMO Padgham never managed to capture that ‘groove’ like Gray did.
@@DistortThePreamp Absolutely, Regatta has more “heft” - the Big Songs - but Zenyatta is more all of a piece. I love the soundscape of “Voices”, basically Sting screeching, which Nigel turned into a jungle backdrop. My only gripe is that it should have been called “Zenyatta Mondatta”, as a callback to the previous title track.
Did you know the original title was gonna be ‘Trimondo Blondimina’?
@@DistortThePreamp It rings a bell. I guess that will have to be the title of your mythical sixth album.
I never even considered that the bass might be layered - especially the +1 octave guitar. I just assumed they'd come up with some amazingly fat bass patches for the synths. Listening back and concentrating on the bass line, there it is! And now I know how to do it, too. Thanks for spilling the beans.
It’s surprising, right! But once you’ve heard it you’ll never unhear it :)
Awesome, thanks again
Thanks for watching :)
Best video I’ve seen all year! You rule!!! 😺🤘🏻
@@GekkoBat thank you so much! That’s such an awesome thing to say!
@@DistortThePreamp ❤️❤️❤️❤️👌🏻
@@GekkoBat 🙏🙏🙏
Fabulous! Thanks man!❤👍🏼
🙏🙏
yet more excellent content. I've been listening to the police a lot lately, kind of an obsession. they and their production team were doing everything right back then. They were a little too clean by the end, but still fantastic. Hugh Padgham's treatment was also excellent. A track like Spirits in the Material World is stunning. Anyway, yeah, Reggatta is the best. Just want to say that Stewart Copeland's timing and the sound of his kit blow my mind every time I hear it.
I agree. I do like a lot of the Hugh Padgham stuff, and he really captured a vibe on, say, ‘Tea in the Sahara’ but on balance I think Regatta and Zenyatta are probably better. I’m actually a huge fan of Zenyatta. It’s so live sounding. Probably because it was recorded in about two weeks.
Another great vid. Going to the lab in the morning to make a signature layered bass sound.
Absolutely fantastic!
Thanks for sharing some tricks of the trade.
You are very welcome - thank you for watching :)
Hi friend! I found your channel 3 days ago and I really love the content! Subscribed :)
Thank you so much! Really appreciate you watching and taking the time to comment :)
Brilliant video thanks!!
Thank you! 🙏🙏🙏
sick this the best vid i ever found
Amazing! That’s such an awesome thing to say! 🙏
That was AMAZINGLY interesting, I really had no idea that this was such a widespread technique. I am fairly new to recording music and I actually ended up doing this intuitively on one of my own tracks, I had two bass sounds that I really liked and accidentally played them together and realised that they were way better combined. Now I know that this is an official studio technique that can be exploited for effect. The examples you gave of The Pet Shop Boys and Siouxie and the Banshees were really intruiging as well. I have learned a lot today
Oh I’m so pleased you liked it! This kind of technique can really make a difference. Don’t treat it as a compulsory rule though - as my old producer mentor is fond of saying, ‘There are no rules!’ Thank you so much for watching, and for your comment…
Another absolute banger - many thanks
You’re too kind! And you’re very welcome! Thanks (as ever) for watching :)
Absolutely enjoyed this..your explanation’s where on layman’s term’s,kudos to you sir for taking the time to share your experience & helping other musician,s make better music,tip my hat to you sir 👏🏻👏🏻😎
That’s so kind! That you very much indeed! Really appreciate you watching the video and taking the time to comment :)
Really good lesson! I will explore
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it! Really appreciate you watching and taking the time to comment :)