Designing a Super Funky FM8 Bass Tutorial

With so many things happening in the FM Matrix to get this sound started, the picture below kind of speaks for itself. Every operator is in action and all of the modulators are receiving plenty of their own modulation. This is at the heart of the funky delivery of sound, along with the variations in pitch and envelope curves. Two of the three main operators are panned slightly in opposite directions to give a little extra width to this FM8 bass. And right down the middle of the stereo field are the last main operators and Operator Z, the filter, which has all of three os the main sounds routed to it via Operator X, the noise and saturator oscillator.

The envelopes are fairly similar, but each does have its own curve. Try experimenting with different options to find the right match for your project!

In the Master window, the entire synth has been taken down one octave, and the unison voices have been increased to a total of four. The voices have been spread out a bit with the Detune knob and some Analog Quality has been added for some added character.

Some very subtle, yet important, tweaks have been made here on the Easy/Morph window.

A short visit to the Effects window will finish up the shaping of this funky FM8 bass. The Overdrive and Tube Amp provide a rough edge and a bump in energy. The Shelving EQ and Peak EQ accent and attenuate the necessary frequencies to clean the sound up a bit and add a little extra punch. The the Phaser gives the synth a slight motion in suspended notes.

The last step in this process was to set up a quick sequence in the Arpeggiator to set this FM8 bass in motion and show it off a bit. I used the Funky Bass Man preset to save some time.

Below is a small audio sample of the bassline along side some drums to give you a better idea of what it sounds like in a mix.

If you have tutorials requests, or would like to share one of your own, shoot us a message before you depart. Thanks for stopping by!

Cheers,
OhmLab