Growl Bass

Sounds like: A gritty, distorted, mid-heavy bass that growls forward in the mix.

Sound type: bass · Genre: Techno · Style: aggressive, saturated mid-forward techno basslines

A distorted, mid-heavy bass with real aggression — sits forward in a techno mix, driven hard enough to add audible harmonics.

Open this patch in the interactive Patchpad

Digitone II

Exact match: Distorted, mid-heavy bass

SYN page 1

• ALGO: 8
• RATIO C: 1.00
• RATIO A: 2.00
• MIX: -20

SYN page 2 · Operator A

• LEV: 35
• ATK: 0
• DEC: 0
• END: 127

FLTR page 1 · Multi-mode

• FREQ: 76
• RESO: 32
• TYPE: 0 (LP)
• ENV: 25
• ATK: 0
• DEC: 38
• SUS: 64

AMP page

• ATK: 0
• DEC: 30
• SUS: 89
• REL: 25
• MODE: ADSR

FX page

• OVER: 57

ALGO 8 with MIX eased in toward 0 (rather than fully -64) lets a steady low level of Operator A's 2.00-ratio modulation through alongside the plain carrier, adding harmonic density for the FX page's Overdrive to chew on — that Overdrive push, around 45%, is the core of the patch, not the oscillator setup underneath it.

Syntakt

Exact match: Distorted, mid-heavy bass

SYN — SY RAW

• WAV1: Saw
• TUNE: 64
• NLEV: 0
• OVER: 57

FLTR PAGE 1

• FREQ: 76
• RESO: 32
• TYPE: Lowpass
• ENV: 25
• ATK: 0
• DEC: 38
• SUS: 64

AMP PAGE 1

• ATK: 0
• DEC: 30
• SUS: 89
• REL: 25

AMP PAGE 2

• MODE: ADSR

SY RAW's own OVER (overdrive) knob is pushed hard directly on the machine itself, ahead of FLTR PAGE 1 — this kind of saturated, mid-forward bass is a genuine Syntakt strength. AMP PAGE 2's MODE must be set to ADSR (the default for SY machines, but drum machines default to AHD), or AMP PAGE 1's SUS is ignored.

Novation Summit

Exact match: Distorted, mid-heavy bass

OSCILLATOR 1

• WAVE: Sawtooth
• RANGE: 8'

OSCILLATOR 2

• WAVE: Sine
• RANGE: 16'

MIXER

• Osc 1: 100
• Osc 2: 35

FILTER

• SHAPE: LP
• SLOPE: 24dB
• FREQUENCY: 76
• RESONANCE: 32
• OVERDRIVE: 60
• SOURCE: Mod Env 1
• ENV DEPTH: 25

MOD ENVELOPE 1

• ATTACK: 0
• DECAY: 38
• SUSTAIN: 64
• RELEASE: 25

AMP ENVELOPE

• ATTACK: 0
• DECAY: 30
• SUSTAIN: 89
• RELEASE: 25

MODULATION MATRIX

• Slot 1 sA: ModWheel
• Slot 1 Destin: Filt Drv
• Slot 1 Depth: +30

EFFECTS

• DISTORTION LEVEL: 70

FILTER's own pre-filter OVERDRIVE knob plus the EFFECTS page's Distortion LEVEL stack for real aggression; OSC2's low-level sine an octave down adds low-end weight underneath the grit without diluting OSC1's saw. Live control: the Mod Wheel raises the filter Overdrive through Mod Matrix slot 1 (or ride the panel Overdrive knob).

Arturia MiniFreak

Exact match: Distorted, mid-heavy bass

OSCILLATOR

• TYPE: Harmo
• WAVE (Content): 70
• TIMBRE (Sculpting): 60
• SHAPE (Chorus): 50
• VOLUME: 100

ANALOG FILTER

• TYPE: Low Pass
• CUTOFF: 60
• RESONANCE: 25
• ENV/VELO: 20

ENVELOPE

• ATTACK: 0
• DECAY: 25
• SUSTAIN: 55
• RELEASE: 18

DIGITAL EFFECTS · FX1

• TYPE: Distortion
• INTENSITY: 80
• AMOUNT: 70

Macros

• M1: FX1 Amount (Distortion mix), for live-performable aggression

Osc 1 is Harmo, an additive engine: Wave is Content (the harmonic table), Timbre is Sculpting and Shape adds chorus. Macros: M1: FX1 Amount (Distortion mix), for live-performable aggression. Values are on MiniFreak's native 0-100 scale.

Dreadbox Typhon

Exact match: FX1 Hard Clipping for the drive

FRONT PANEL

• WAVE: ~2 o'clock (VCO1 saw, no VCO2 blend)
• CUTOFF: ~2 o'clock (~60%)
• RESON: ~4 o'clock (moderate-high, ~25%)
• EG LEVEL: ~2 o'clock (moderate filter envelope amount)
• FILTER TIME: ~12 o'clock (medium)
• AMP TIME: ~1 o'clock (medium-fast)
• VOLUME: ~12 o'clock (global, not stored in the preset)

FILTER ADSR

• ATTACK: 0
• DECAY: 45
• SUSTAIN: 50
• RELEASE: 30

AMP ADSR

• ATTACK: 0
• DECAY: 30
• SUSTAIN: 70
• RELEASE: 25

FX1

• TYPE: Hard Clipping
• GAIN: 55
• LVL: 50
• MIX: 70

SET

• VCO GLIDE: 0
• VCO LVL: 100
• VCF TRACK: 0
• VCF FFM: 0
• VCA LVL: 100

Compared with other synths: FX1's built-in Hard Clipping, pushed hard on both GAIN and LVL, stands in for a dedicated distortion effect — Typhon's analog path saturates readily on top of it, so RESON doesn't need to be pushed as far as on the purely resonance-driven bass patches in this library.

ASM Hydrasynth Desktop

Exact match: Distorted, mid-heavy bass

OSCILLATOR 1

• MODE: Single
• WAVE: Saw
• SEMI: 0
• CENTS: 0
• KEYTRACK: 100%

FILTER 1

• TYPE: LP Ldr24
• CUTOFF: 76.0
• RESONANCE: 32.0
• ENV 1 AMOUNT: 25
• DRIVE: 60.0
• KEYTRACK: 0%

AMP

• AMP LEVEL: 110.0

ENVELOPE 1

• DELAY: 0 ms
• ATTACK: 0 ms
• HOLD: 0 ms
• DECAY: 150 ms
• SUSTAIN: 64.0
• RELEASE: 100 ms

ENVELOPE 2

• DELAY: 0 ms
• ATTACK: 0 ms
• HOLD: 0 ms
• DECAY: 120 ms
• SUSTAIN: 89.0
• RELEASE: 100 ms

PRE-FX

• TYPE: Distort
• DRIVE: 70
• TONE: 10
• DRY/WET: 60%

Macros

• Macro 1: Pre-FX Distort Drive amount

Filter 1's own DRIVE knob and the Pre-FX Distort slot stack for real aggression — Filter 1's drive saturates the signal going into the resonant lowpass itself, while Pre-FX Distort adds a second, harder-edged stage after it. Macro 1 rides the Pre-FX Drive live for intensity control.

How the synths compare

Distortion amount is deliberately the dominant parameter here — treat the oscillator/filter settings as a canvas for it rather than the main event.

Patchpad is a free reference of drum patterns and synth patches written for real hardware: Digitakt II, Digitone II, Syntakt, Novation Summit, Arturia MiniFreak, Dreadbox Typhon and ASM Hydrasynth Desktop.