.999 Sample: Monobass 6 & 7 (Korg Monotron)

Here are the last few Monotron samples I'm going to post for a while, a couple of additional bass sounds. Unlike the other Monotron samples I've posted, today's a much longer samples, bass sounds that are almost comically deep. These aren't likely to replace a baseline in a dance song, but might be useful for a hip hop track.

• Monobass 6 ( WAV File )
  
• Monobass 7 ( WAV File )
  

.998 Sample: Monoblip 1 (Korg Monotron)

The other day I mentioned that the Korg Monotron was perfectly capable of creating higher-pitched sounds, so today's sample is a break from the "monobasses" I've been posting: a quick, sharp blip I'm going to call a "monoblip."

• Monoblip 1 ( WAV File )
  

.997 Sample: Monobass 4 & 5 (Korg Monotron)

Here are a couple of additional bass samples put together using the Korg Monotron.

• Monobass 4 ( WAV File )
  
• Monobass 5 ( WAV File )
  

.996 Malstrom Bass: Depot

I've written a little about this before, but sometimes, no matter how much time you spend with a patch, it just doesn't come into focus. Today's patch, a buzzing, deep Malstrom bass, was waiting patiently on my desktop for a couple of weeks now, close to being done, but never quite reaching a stage where I felt it was finished. Now, weeks after starting it, I'm still not sure it is truly done, but I'm tired of looking at it.

Depot doesn't really have much personality or any features that could be called unique. It is deep, solid, and loud. If that's what you need, its perfect, but if you're looking for a sound that stands out, you'll need to look elsewhere.

• Depot ( Malstrom Patch )
  

.995 Sample: Monobass 3 (Korg Monotron)

The Monotron wasn't created with bass patches or sounds in mind and its quite capable of doing higher pitched sounds, but something about its tone makes me gravitate towards the lower octaves. Here's another bass tone.

Like yesterday, my Monotron's headphone output was significantly noisy and required some EQ to remove some of the hiss, after I recorded it and downloaded it into my computer.

• Monobass 3 ( WAV File )
  

.994 Sample: Monobass 2 (Korg Monotron)

A month and a half ago I posted a couple of bass samples I created using my (then) new Korg Monotron. While trying to clean up my office, I stumbled across the Monotron and thought, "Why aren't I using this more?" So, today's sample is another bass tone created using Korg's pocket-sized "analogue ribbon synthesizer."

As I think I said when I first got it, the Monotron is a blast to use. The little knobs feel cheap, but are smooth, and the ribbon keyboard is pretty uninspired, but its limitations are outweighed by the near giddiness you feel messing around with it. It is, at it's heart, a toy, but it's a fun toy. And, with a little creativity and patience, a toy that could work in a more "professional" setting. Unfortunately, it is also shockingly noisy.

In recording today's sample, I used a short 3.5mm cable, plugging the Monotron's headphone out into my Microtrack II. The result was almost impossible to hear or record, unless I cranked the Korg's volume slider up to maximum, which generated a substantial amount of hiss. So, today's sample, which I cut down using Recycle, has been EQed a bit to remove that hiss.

• Monobass 2 ( WAV File )
  

.993 Kong: Roasted - Kick 3

It's funny how different something sounds when you're creating a new patch and when you're actually using it. Taking advantage of one of those rare moments of free time, I decided to work on a new song, and when I reached for my new set of Roasted drums I found my original bass drum to be a little too long and a little too hard. Tweaking it, I came up with another variation on that original bass drum.

• Roasted - Kick 3 ( Kong Patch )
  

.992 Kong: Roasted - HiHat 2

And, here's another hihat patch. This one is slightly more open than the previous hihat patch, but not enough that you'd necessarily call it a "open hihat."

• Roasted - HiHat 2 ( Kong Patch )
  

.991 Kong: Roasted - Kick 2

I wanted to make another Kick patch for the Roasted series. So, after tweaking the original bass drum slightly, I came up with today's patch.

• Roasted - Kick 2 ( Kong Patch )
  

.990 Kong: Roasted - HiHat 1

I've been ignoring Kong's Synth Hi-Hat module, so today's patch is a hihat patch using it and Kong's Rattler effect. I've added a little reverb to it, using Kong's Room Reverb, but kept the effect light to keep the hihat sharp and responsive. Today's patch certainly fits the kit better than the 55 Gallon Drum patches, but its also a bit less distinctive.

• Roasted - HiHat 1 ( Kong Patch )
  

.989 Kong: Roasted - 55 Gallon Drum 2

Here's a variation on yesterday's weird 55 Gallon Drum patch.

• Roasted - 55 Gallon Drum 2 ( Kong Patch )
  

.988 Kong: Roasted - 55 Gallon Drum 1

I've posted in the past about the unique challenges offered by trying to create drum patches. As I've mentioned, when you assign a name to a group of them, essentially creating a full kit of patches, you have a responsibility to create something a little more cohesive. It's not about creating interesting or useful sounds, but instead becomes creating a broad group of sounds that compliment and match each other, while remaining complete and versatile on their own.

When I started the Roasted series a couple of days ago I thought I had an idea of where I was going to take the kit, but then tonight, I veered off in a strange direction. Today's patch, which I'm calling 55 Gallon Drum, doesn't fit at all with yesterday's kick or the previous snares, but the sound was interesting enough I had to include it nonetheless.

The "secret," if there is one, is that the cranked Res and Size knobs in the Overdrive effect provide a reverb-like effect, making the tinny Tom sound cavernous and deep. I suppose if you added your own reverb to the effect, it might sound even more spacey, but the basic patch provided today gives just a hint of it.

• Roasted - 55 Gallon Drum 1 ( Kong Patch )
  

.987 Kong: Roasted - Kick 1

The first kind of patch I usually create when I open up an empty Kong is a simple, deep bass drum sound, so after the snares I put together the last few days, it seemed obvious that I should sculpt something a little more driving. The result is today's kick drum patch.

• Roasted - Kick 1 ( Kong Patch )
  

.986 Kong: Roasted - Snare 2

I thought I'd tweak yesterday's snare patch a bit to give it a little more snap.

• Roasted - Snare 2 ( Kong Patch )
  

.985 Kong: Roasted - Snare 1

Sometimes it's a little difficult to work up the energy or enthusiasm needed for creating a new patch for the day. It's not that Reason feels boring or limited to me, but more that I sometimes get a little tired of working with the Subtractor, Malstrom or Thor synths. The good news is that there's so much more available within Reason's virtual racks. Kong, although limited in its own way, offers a nice sonic palette cleanser when you're feeling a little bored with the more traditional synths on offer.

Today's patch, a Snare, was inspired by the recent Propellerheads video "How to make drum sounds your own with Kong." The video, which concentrates on using Kong's Tone and Noise generators, immediately made me think of creating custom, tweaked versions of my trusty and dusty Yamaha drum machines, but before I started loading up those samples, I started creating something new instead. Today's patch, following the advice given by Mattias Häggström Gerdt, uses Kong's Tone and Noise generations on their own to create an artificial snare hit.

• Roasted - Snare 1 ( Kong Patch )
  

.984 Thor Bass: Screed

I've been a little short on extra time these last few weeks, so my descriptions for patches have been pretty short. Tonight won't be any different.

Screed is a buzzing, electronic sounding bass tone, perfect for several dance sub-genres.

• Screed ( Thor Patch )
  

.983 Scream Patch: Stigmata

I'm not quite old enough to have have been a fan of the first industrial music movement in the 70s, but when it came back into style in the late 80s with bands like Ministry, Skinny Puppy, and to a lesser extent Moev and Wire, which weren't nearly as hard-edged, I found a lot to like. Decades later the genre seems to be on life-support, with just NIN still exploring some of those dark, distortion-fueled areas, but I continue to find the genre fun to experiment with when I grow tired of my usual musical detours.

Today's patch is a Scream unit named after one of my favorite songs from the late 80s.

• Stigmata ( Scream )
  

.982 Malstrom Synth: Breadcrumbs

I've been fixated on creating synth patches the last few days and so today I'm presenting another one, the more classic sounded Breadcrumbs.

• Breadcrumbs ( Malstrom Patch )
  

.981 Subtractor Synth: Cinnamon

And here's another odd, little synth, this time created using Reason's Subtractor. Make sure you tweak it with the Mod Wheel as you play. The Subtractor's default settings for the Mod Wheel do a great job manipulating the sound and giving it some interesting life.

• Cinnamon ( Subtractor Patch )
  

.980 Malstrom Synth: Boxed Set

Here's a strange, possibly even obnoxious, Malstrom synth.

• Boxed Set ( Malstrom Patch )
  

.979 Thor Synth: Early Retirement

The Reason Patch A Day worldwide headquarters is located in Denver, Colorado, which is currently anticipating a historic winter storm. The ticker running across the bottom of the television literally just said, "It has started to snow" and then started listing schools that were closing for the rest of the week. With any luck Mother Nature will force me to stay home and work on music tomorrow, but knowing my luck, the storm will just make my commute stink.

In the meantime, here's today's patch, a Thor synth that uses plenty of Thor's built-in delay and chorus effects. The result is something that sounds a bit like early Orbital and seems to need just a little reverb to really shine.

• Early Retirement ( Thor Patch )
  

.978 Malstrom Bass: Pretty Lie

Tonight's patch just didn't want to come together. I went through three different, failed bass patches, before I came up with something I liked. And, if I'm being completely honest, I'm not 100% happy with tonight's patch either. Still, playing with the Mod Wheel seems to help, so you might find a use for today's Malstrom patch.

• Pretty Lie ( Malstrom Patch )