SLIDE between notes; sustain and release

Getting "real" bass articulations from a sampler/synth can be tricky. A lot will depend on the bass part, the style, and so on.

One of the most important factors is the length of the notes. Subtle variations in length can make a huge difference.

Re: pitch bends. The easiest way to do this is with the pitchwheel. (If your pitchwheel is glitchy, you're not gonna have a lot of fun.)

When I've done this in the past, I would usually separate the notes from the bends.

Say you want to slide from A to D, from one quarter note to the next. Record the A and the D where they should be. Then separately overdub the pitchwheel. Exactly how fast you move it, and when it should start, will be depend on the context. But it's likely to be fairly fast, and fairly late. It may not be necessary to go all the way down. Release it instantly. The entire pwl data stream will be short, sometimes as few as 5 data points steps. Also, just because you're 'sliding' from an A to a D doesn't mean you have to produce those pitches. It's an illusion you're creating. (Real bass slides don't hit all the intermediate notes either.)

Once you have a clip that contains nothing but the pwl values, you should copy it, and then trim everything in it but the single value at the 'return' or 'zero' position. Trim the clip so that it starts right at the event, but let it extend a beat or two beyond it. Nothing should be in that clip but the flat pitchwheel. You can now preposition copies of this clip in places where you want your "slide" to be fully complete. Then when you record other slides, in other clips, you only have to worry about articulating the down movement, and not the return to zero, which your zero-clip will make instantaneous.

You also want to use the mod wheel in places. On certain notes, you want to throw the mod all the way up to make the note bend and rattle a bit. It will make the part more dynamic, and hopefully more 'real' and bass like. The goal though isn't necessarily to sound real and fool anyone, but to have your low end function as it's supposed to, no matter how it's produced.

Fake is OK, as long as it does what it has to.

Someone's bound to jump in an tell you get a real bass, which isn't bad advice. I got one last year, and couldn't be happier. But it IS possible to get effective bass out of a virtual instrument. But it takes some effort. You have to be in a bass-player head when you do it.

HTH