The wobble bass is an iconic sound in electronic music. This extended bass note treated with various effects produces a vibrating, lurching feel.
Basic LFO modulation technique uses an LFO to manipulate key sound shaping parameters – such as filter cutoff – that impact sound quality and volume/saturation of audio files. You could also use an LFO to change either amplitude or saturation levels of sounds being played back by an audio file.
How to Make a Wobbly Bass
No matter your musical genre of choice, adding wobble bass can add an exciting new layer to your sound. While initially associated with dubstep production styles and genres, wobble basses can now be found across many more genres and production techniques – definitely something worth testing out when creating new mixes! In this Plugin Week 2023 tutorial from Guru Harmless and Love Philter we explore two techniques for producing incredible wobble basses.
The first method entails pairing a low-pass filter with a modulating/swept oscillator to produce an atmospheric and wobbly effect without noise or other issues. You can control its shape and depth to set its intensity of wobble as well as frequency of its cutoff frequency in relation to your filter’s cutoff frequency.
One of the simplest approaches to creating wobbly basslines is using distortion in your mix and then employing filters to achieve your desired frequency and duration of wobbles. A variety of filters exist – simple high-pass to more complex low-pass filters with an octave shape filter (see image for reference) – while bitcrushing or formant oscillators could also help achieve these harsh formant sounds popular among some dubstep subgenres.
As a final touch to any mix, adding some delay or reverb is a great way to give your bass sound some extra presence in the mix and really stand out against other musical components. We used Massive here as it’s designed for producing big bass sounds; and Dimension Fader as its effect to further emphasize our bass sound.
LFO Wobble
Low Frequency Oscillator or LFO for short is a modulation tool commonly found in electronic music to add movement and character to sounds. Perhaps most famously seen in dubstep’s wobbly basslines, but LFOs can be found across many genres and eras – most famously seen modulating pitch, amplitude and filter cutoff parameters.
An LFO’s primary function is to generate oscillations that repeat at a set rate, controlling how often its waveform changes. You can select from various classic shapes like sine wave (smooth value change), triangle wave (sharp peaks and troughs), sawtooth wave (rising or falling), or even random (Sample & Hold).
When using an LFO to create a wobbly bass sound, it is key to use the appropriate Waveform. A Triangle Wave offers subtle wobble, while Square Wave sounds more rugged and synthetic. Also experiment with Rate to see how much modulation suits you; increasing will speed up patterns while decreasing will slow them down.
Once you have chosen a Waveform, it’s time to select which parameter(s) to modulate. For a basic Wobble Bass effect, this could include filter cutoff; other possibilities include pitch or amplitude modulation. When choosing filter cutoff settings it is important to remember that they require high pass filters in order to achieve full effect.
Dropzone Wavetable Synth can create a funky bass by simply sweeping the low end filter with a steep slope while leaving its top open at all times, thereby producing an organic yet natural wobble that can easily be controlled using Mod Wheel.
For a more complex and dynamic wobble bass, use an LFO to modulate the filter cutoff of your synth with an irregular waveform. This technique is often utilized in Chiptune or 8-bit music to give traditional square waves unique sounds; however it can also be applied to other synth voices.
Tremolo Wobbly Bass
Employing a tremolo to create a wobble effect can add depth and texture to bass music, as well as keeping in sync with other elements such as drum tracks.
The tremolo effect is an opto-based device that modulates guitar signals using a sinusoidal low frequency oscillator, producing an effect with easy access controls ranging from slow to full on stuttering speed variations; its RATE control determines its speed; DEPTH control regulates how much modulation there is; while its VOLUME adjusts overall output levels of this effect.
If you want a deeper and more dramatic sound, place the tremolo depth closer to your guitar’s neck position. Tighter tremolo affects more fundamental notes than harmonic ones, lending notes a firmer tone and feel; looser ones allow more string bending flexibility for lighter, airier tone.
Adjust the EQ settings to create different forms of wobbling, for instance by making the EQ curve steeper; this will result in deeper bass dips and thus create more noticeable wobble. You could also use Sat control of your EQ to boost the peak frequency sweep peak – this works particularly well if your LFO features sloped pulse waves as this creates space between top and bottom cycle that forms wobble. Straight pulse waves won’t give the same results.
Alternately, you can achieve wobble with a regular EQ by automating its low pass filter with an extremely steep slope to achieve this effect. Although this approach works fine for creating subtler wobbles that do not sync up perfectly with note timing, its effect may sometimes seem off and out-of-sync; more flexible solutions like DropZone may give more control over frequency, amplitude and duration of wobble effects.
EQ Wobbly Bass
There are various approaches to creating a wobble bass, but using an equalizer (EQ) may be your most efficient and flexible method. An EQ gives you more control over sound quality and allows you to tailor it exactly to fit the song in which you are recording it. To do this, start off by having a bass with high accents (such as sine wave or square wave bass with operator), put an LFO on it, modulate its filter cutoff frequency using an EQ and use an LFO on that, creating that classic dubstep wobble effect!
You can use this technique with other sounds besides basses, though it works best with lower frequencies as their amplitude will be much lower than their cutoff frequency. Try adding distortion or delay/reverb to thicken and enrich the sound further and add texture.
Tremolo effects are another way to create the “wobble effect”, though they don’t work quite as effectively due to only being an amplitude modulation effect. They still offer great movement and excitement to your bass sound though!
Dubstep and DnB music often features a distinctive bass drop – typically an abrupt short pause in the beats – at specific points throughout a track, often used to build tension before an emotional breakdown or moment of upliftment in the track.
Dubstep is one of the most acclaimed genres in electronic music, and its increasing popularity can be easily understood. Its distinct yet aggressive sound has won over audiences around the world, while artists such as Skream, Benga, Rusko and Caspa have contributed greatly towards spreading it worldwide.
Interested in creating a wobble bass in your DAW? There are plenty of tutorials online to teach you the fundamentals. Many are free, enabling you to start producing wobbling basslines without breaking the bank! Once you master these fundamentals, then more advanced features and techniques may come into play – take your pick.