Hi there Philip, welcome to the forum.
Matt's got you covered on most aspects here, the only thing I'll add is that if you use the Piano Roll (PRV) to create a bassline, it doesn't have to be too tedious.
Providing there are parts of the bass line that repeat at various points throughout your song, you can convert the various patterns you wish to use into 'Groove Clip Loops'. There's also good old copy and paste for larger passages (such as verses or choruses) - even if you want subtle variations in these throughout the song, as Matt says, you can use the PRV to make small adjustments.
The copy/paste technique is pretty simple - I'd first make certain you have your 'Snap To Grid' turned on and set at the correct resolution; for instance in regular 4|4 time, most basslines can be broken down into one measure (bar) parts so the resolution can be set to 'Whole' - in any case, it is always best to set a resolution of some sort so that the split points and the paste points can be aligned exactly.
A Groove Clip Loop avoids the need for the copy/paste method in some circumstances. For example, create a one or two measure bass part in the PRV. When you switch back to Track View, you'll see the part you've just created in the MIDI track of your bass lane. Right click on the clip you've just created and and select
Groove Clip Looping from the options.
If you now hover your cursor over the right hand edge of the clip, the pointer will change to a rectangle/arrow - holding down the left mouse button you will now be able to drag the pattern across your project to the right. As long as you keep dragging, GTP4 will keep automatically copying your loop!
In the meantime, there are some screenshots relating to entering and editing MIDI data I did in this thread that might help, just click on
THIS LINK to go straight there.
There's also some great info specific to Studio Instruments Bass in
THIS VIDEO by Cakewalk's Robin Kelly.
If there's anything else you need to know Philip, or a better explanation, just fire away.
Steve
post edited by SteveStrummerUK - 2011/01/22 10:03:43