Bass Beats with Bthelick: The Tech House Groove

Bthelick welcomes us into his sonic realm with infectious enthusiasm, hinting at the journey ahead – crafting the ultimate Tech House bass sound that’s turning heads right now. He sets the stage for a wild ride by outlining the holy trinity of bass construction: generating the sound, integrating it into a bassline, and mastering the art of getting it club-ready. This ain’t just about pushing buttons; it’s about making the kind of bass that gets under your skin and sticks in your head.

In a classic Bthelick fashion, he keeps it real when discussing the underwhelming nature of this now-iconic bass – it’s just a filtered sub bass, right? However, the devil’s in the details, and he’s here to spill the beans. He takes us on a journey through sound synthesis starting with a saw wave from some free Echo Soundworks pack. This isn’t your ordinary saw wave off a dusty synth; it’s got the warmth of a vintage Jupiter with a twist, perfect for lifting that sound out of mediocrity. You want that envelope to add some percussive bounce, not just a humdrum drone. It’s a game where just the right amount of subtle tweaking makes all the difference.

Then it’s time to bring out the big guns—a steep low-pass filter to polish those harmonics just so. Imagine walking a tightrope where your filter choices make or break the bounce. Bthelick explains how to play around with those frequencies, setting them just below 43 Hz in harmony with the key of your track. It’s these little tricks that bring a casual tone to the table but reveal a treasure chest of sound-shaping jewels. This isn’t for the faint of heart, but a musical maker with a taste for grooves.

Now, hold onto your headphones because Bthelick gets into the nitty-gritty of oscillator tuning. You’ve got to get everything in its place with the right harmonics, and he does just that with a secondary Synthisaw from Moog. This guy knows a thing or two about building a bass that doesn’t just thud; it sings! By meticulously combining waveforms and paying attention to phase locking, Bthelick ensures that nothing gets lost in translation when you’re dropping beats hard and fast.

The groove is all about balance—enhancing that first harmonic with another sine wave octave up, then laying down the subtle foundations with a waveform that’s creamy rather than clunky. This is where artistry meets technical know-how. He uses tricks like turning off phase randomization to keep the bass consistent, because ain’t nobody got time for random phase shifts when you’re hitting the club waves hard.

But what seals the deal is that touch of mid EQ and prick of saturation, like a chef seasoning his stew to perfection. It’s a masterclass in rhythmic subtlety, with Bthelick walking you through it with the ease of a jazz improv session.