Ninajirachi’s bass trick: less OTT, more Redux and FM warps
You know that OTT-on-bass habit that leaves a metallic mess? Ninajirachi’s approach swaps some of it for Redux and then goes somewhere unexpected with a square wave’s FM amount. The rest of the issue keeps that energy going—a bassline method that builds from one note per beat, a snare-roll trick you’ll use tonight, and a few free tools that earn their place.
▶ Ninajirachi’s bass patch: OTT, Redux, and an FM warping trick
Replace heavy OTT with bitcrushing to shave off mud, then modulate FM amount on a square wave for a screechy glitch tone that moves. Also covered: shaping white noise into a one-shot glitch bass with a short envelope and resonant filter.
◢ learn
▶ Rolling basslines for minimal house: one note per beat, then shift
Instead of overcomplicating your bassline, start with a note on every quarter-note kick, then slide a few hits to the offbeat and add call-and-response variations. A 50 ms glide keeps the transitions smooth without getting muddy.
▶ The snare roll trick that accents every three 16th notes
Take a 16th-note roll, drop all velocities, then accent every third hit—the pattern instantly gets a shuffling, wood-block feel. Variation via ABAC keeps it from sounding like a looped machine gun.
◢ free & gear
88emu resurrects the Roland Sound Canvas for free(free)
Emulates SC-55, SC-55mkII, and SC-88 Pro. If you’re after that chunky ’90s MIDI soundtrack character—famous patches like RDPiano, RRV-10, Jade—this is your route; you supply the ROM file.
ConvertWithMoss 20.3 now reads Prophet X and E-mu formats
Sequence Prophet X, E-mu Emulator, Emax, and Emax II libraries can now be converted for use in modern samplers. Also reads SP-404MK2 projects and FL DirectWave programs—all free, all offline.
◢ the word
Sidechain compression, from de-essing to the French Touch pump
A quick primer that traces the technique back to 1930s film de-essing, then lands on the Daft Punk breathing effect: low threshold, high ratio, fast attack, and then dial the release until the track exhales.
Octabam adds new effects and MIDI to the Elektron Octatrack
An unofficial firmware mod for MKI and MKII on OS 1.40C. Extra sound-design tools and expanded MIDI functionality, for Octatrack users who aren’t afraid to back up their machine and try something custom.
Daft Punk — Da Funk
the 303 bassline ducking under the kick as it breaks down into a filtered groove · the sidechain primer traces the lineage from de-essing to this exact French Touch pump
- 1. Create a MIDI clip and draw a G minor 7 chord (G, Bb, D, F).
- 2. Select the F (the 7th) and transpose it down one octave (Shift+Down Arrow in Ableton).
- 3. Draw an E flat major 7 chord (Eb, G, Bb, D) and leave it as is.
- 4. Repeat the G minor 7 with the dropped 7th for the next bar; optionally duplicate and vary.
🔮 Producer Horoscope (for fun) — Your snare roll will be so groovy your DAW will try to quantize it. Resist.
Now go make the bassline that makes people move.
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covered in this issue: convertwithmoss