How To Create Instant 808 Bass Lines Using The Chord Track In Studio One 4
First off, let me start off by saying that I’m a huge fan of MUSIC. And to me it doesn’t matter what the genre is, because I’ll listen to anything as long as it has some substance or something that moves me in a certain way. Now having said that, I’ll also add that my taste’s are constantly evolving, and I think that’s a good thing.
Over the last 2 years or so, I’ve spent a great deal of time showing my son lot’s of different types of music, and as you would imagine - he does the same with me. Now just to add a bit of context here, my son is 13 years old, and needless to say is pretty heavy into trap music, so I find that a lot of our long car rides are spent with him showing me music that (to be completely honest) I would have never heard had it not been for him. For this, I’m grateful because I will always love being shown a cool new track regardless of the genre.
Well, even though this may have not always been the case, it turns out that now I really like certain elements of trap. Furthermore, it would also seem that this is apparent for the rest of the world as the fusion of Top 40 charts meshes with certain stylistic elements in trap as well. Just listen to some of the current tracks that are sitting on the charts and I’m sure you’d agree. Case in point - the 808 Bass Line.
First off - full disclaimer here, I am not (nor would I consider myself) a “beat-maker” or someone who specializes in this specific genre by any means…
(**Side-note - If you are interested in those genres, and you work in Studio One, you should definetly check out a couple of my good friends channels Craftmaster Productions & KsndDEF.)
But what I will say is that as a producer - I love pulling elements from different genres into my productions. I will also say that as someone who is very much set in my ways (which can limit you as a producer) - I find it both inspiring and refreshing to see the younger generation of beat-makers and producers working. It reminds me that I still have much to learn in terms of keeping a fresh perspective on things.
So now back to the point..
I was working with my son this past weekend and we were fleshing out a track, and he pulled up a nice 808 sample and loaded it into Sample One XT - and asked me what’s the best approach to use when adding in an 808 Bass Line? My answer to him, was something along the lines of: “Well, there’s really no “best approach” BUT - if you’re just trying to get something down quickly to keep a session moving, you can copy the kick drum MIDI (Note Data in Studio One terminology) over to your 808 track then edit a Bass Line by keeping the same basic rhythmic pattern & editing the midi notes”
His answer was “Hmmmm, I’d rather just play it in” and to be honest, I agree that this is the best overall approach. But going back to a point I make over and over, and what I said to him was: “well that’s true but - sometimes you might not have a controller! And you should be able to both perform & edit the MIDI in your DAW. Because both workflow’s are useful”
Needless to say, that experience was the source of inspiration behind today’s video. So I basically thought to myself, that there must be SOME type of way to streamline that work-flow - and the short answer is yes! There is! By using The Chord Track in Studio One 4.
In this video I demonstrate a workflow that can be used to generate instant 808 Bass Lines (Borrowed from The Kick Track's MIDI) using The Chord Track in Studio One Version 4.
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Cheers, Marcus
