Liquid Hoover Bass

Learn how to make a hoover reese bass patch using u-he's Diva. Sometimes an iconic synth patch becomes so embedded in our collective consciousness that we can’t think beyond the references and associations. And today’s subject – the so-called ‘hoover’ – has a LOT of associations. In different guises, it’s been the sound of early 90s rave, the go-to for hard house producers in the 00s, and an EDM staple for the post-2010 generation. It was introduced to the world via a patch on Roland’s 80s digitally-controlled analogue synth, the Alpha Juno. Its author, Eric Persing (later Spectrasonics’ founder), must have known this was not your average patch, as he called it “What the” (the ‘f*ck’ is silent). But what’s often overlooked is the patch’s versatility. Trying not to open the filter and unload both harmonic barrels is like sticking your arse out the tent in the Amazon one night and trying not to scratch it the next day. That is to say… very hard indeed. But this exquisitely-produced track, ‘Break You’ by Former, Sleepnet, and ring noord, inspired us to show you what happens when this searing and iconic patch is tastefully filtered into something more akin to a Reese bass. Except this (not really a) Reese bass has immensely expressive – and tough-to-tame – pitch envelope action happening. Ultimately, though, it all starts with the traditional hoover noise. Take a listen to what we’re going to make together: We’ve included MIDI files, Diva presets, and loops to help you get the best possible final result. We’ve also added the Ableton Live project in case you need any help. Download all the files here to follow along. Step 1 We’re using u-he’s Diva as it lets us build something close to an Alpha Juno. Start with the ‘Init’ initial patch then load Digital envelopes into both slots, the Multimode filter, the HPF | Post filter, and the DCO oscillator type. Then draw in a one-bar-long note on B1. This sound is all about the pitch envelope, so we need a nice long note to judge it precisely. Sounds pretty grim so far, but keep the faith, sisters and brothers. Step 2 Set the main Tuning Transpose to 0, then both the Pulse and Sawtooth waveforms to PWM, and the Suboscillator to the first from bottom. You want a PulseWidth of 46 and a Pulsewidth Mod Depth of 50, oscillator Transpose set to 16 (it’ll show as -12 in the screen above, confusingly), and to set the Env 2 Tune1 Modulation depth to 24. Finally, set the HPF to Boost. Play the sound now to have a listen and you’ll discover… it’s not there yet! Step 3 Now it’s time to bring those envelopes into play, as that’s when the patch starts to come together. Be sure to keep the sound playing in a loop at all times now, so you can hear what effect each setting has. First set the filter Cutoff To about 111, engage the little curve button (labelled c) for both and then apply the following settings: (Digital Env1) Attack 40, Decay 26, Sustain 75, Release 25 and (Digital Env2) Attack 36, Decay 44… annnd… Sustain 64. Ahhhhh! Now that’s the stuff! ENV 2 Sustain is the killer, eh? But before we forget, set Release to 36. Step 4 In the Amplifier section set Volume to 26 and the main Output synth volume to 80 to stop the patch overloading the channel. Finally, we need a little wobble, and for that we’re gonna set LFO 2 (Mod) Rate to 2.7 and the Sync setting to a 1/2 note. And that’s it, the core sound is done. For the classic Juno hoover sound, quickly engage the Chorus1 effect. Now switch it off again – that’s not why we’re here, remember! Step 5 To get our bass sound, we simply pull the Cutoff right down to around 60. Now we’re talking. But for that wobbly vibe we’re going for we need to use some shorter notes and to tailor some key controls for each. To make our lives easier, we’re gonna put each note on its own channel and tweak them individually. Some might call it cheating… I call it ‘programming smart’. So duplicate the channel and Diva instance four times for a total of five channels. Step 6 The timing of the notes is REALLY precise, so load up the five MIDI files , then import the folder of Diva presets and load the corresponding ones for each MIDI file. And while you’re at it, grab the drum loop too, load that up and set your project to 138 BPM. We’re gonna talk about the subtle differences and what they do, but it’s probably easier to start with the right variations for each. And here’s how it’ll sound together… bass without drum loop bass with drum loop And the individual channels sound like this… Hoover Dyson Deep sub 1 Deep sub 2 Step 7 For all of these presets there are a few controls we’ve adjusted, namely, Env 2 Tune1ModDepth, the two Envelopes Attack values, and the Filter Cutoff. The last obviously affects how much harmonic info is coming through while the first three (highlighted in yellow below) all affect the timing and tuning of the pitch curve of the note. So they’re the really key to the whole groove. Plus on some we’ve re-engaged that Chorus1. Step 8 Startin