The LOW BASS early-root line
sub · dark · 120 BPM (108–128) · C minor · 4 bars · 64 steps
LOW BASS1.13Four strikes a bar, and the last one is the next chord’s root, an eighth early
The technique
Four strikes a bar: the root on the one, the octave on the "and" of two, the fifth on three, and on the "and" of four the root of the chord that comes next. That last note is the figure. The bass arrives an eighth before the chord does.
Bar one, the i: the root, the octave above it, the fifth, then up a semitone to the VI’s root. Bar two, the VI: its root, the octave, the fifth, then that fifth an octave down, which is the III’s root. Bar three, the III: its root, the octave, the fifth, then down a minor third to the V’s root. Bar four, the V: its root, the octave, the fifth, then down a ninth to the key’s root, which is where the pass starts again.
The bar head is the loud one. Lean on the "and" of four as well, a little under the bar head, so the early root is heard as an arrival and the bar head that follows it as confirmation.
Hold every note to the next strike. The line is legato at the bottom, and the early root runs straight into the bar head, which restrikes the same pitch.
The V is major. Its third is the raised seventh of the key, so never play the key’s own seventh while it is sounding; that note belongs to the III bar and nowhere else.
Keep the whole line where it is written, from the low root up to the VI’s octave at the top. Nothing here needs to be higher, and a sub that climbs stops being one.
The chords
4 chords over 4 bars, in C minor.
| Degree | Chord | Notes | Bars | Under the figure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| i | Cm | C · Eb · G | 1–1 | ● |
| VI | Ab | Ab · C · Eb | 2–2 | ● |
| III | Eb | Eb · G · Bb | 3–3 | ● |
| V | G | G · B · D | 4–4 | ● |
The figure is played over these chords; supply them separately if your rig allows.
The rules
- Over V, never the 7th — the G chord is major, and Bb against its B natural is a smear at this depth.
The notes
4 bars in C minor. Each note is in force across the steps shown.
- steps 1–6·over i Cm·C2·degree 1·MIDI 36
- steps 7–8·over i Cm·C3·degree 1·MIDI 48
- steps 9–14·over i Cm·G2·degree 5·MIDI 43
- steps 15–16·over i Cm·Ab2·degree 6·MIDI 44
- steps 17–22·over VI Ab·Ab2·degree 6·MIDI 44
- steps 23–24·over VI Ab·Ab3·degree 6·MIDI 56
- steps 25–30·over VI Ab·Eb3·degree 3·MIDI 51
- steps 31–32·over VI Ab·Eb2·degree 3·MIDI 39
- steps 33–38·over III Eb·Eb2·degree 3·MIDI 39
- steps 39–40·over III Eb·Eb3·degree 3·MIDI 51
- steps 41–46·over III Eb·Bb2·degree 7·MIDI 46
- steps 47–48·over III Eb·G2·degree 5·MIDI 43
- steps 49–54·over V G·G2·degree 5·MIDI 43
- steps 55–56·over V G·G3·degree 5·MIDI 55
- steps 57–62·over V G·D3·degree 2·MIDI 50
- steps 63–64·over V G·C2·degree 1·MIDI 36
The grid
Every step below strikes the note in force at that point. The grid is where the figure is played.
- —1 (vel 118), 15 (vel 108), 17 (vel 118), 31 (vel 108), 33 (vel 118), 47 (vel 108), 49 (vel 118), 63 (vel 108)
- —7, 23, 39, 55
- —9, 25, 41, 57
On the Moog Subsequent 37
Subsequent 37 · Voice
Settings for this voice
Settings for a sub · dark voice on this box, written here. They are not the preset’s own values: load the preset to hear it as it ships.
Settings
- SWING50%(0…100 %)
50 is straight; it swings the onboard arpeggiator and sequencer, nothing played from elsewhere
PRESET EDIT, ARPEGGIATOR, SWING
GLIDE
- ONOFF
Must be lit for any glide at all
OSCILLATORS
- OSC 1 · OCTAVE16'
- OSC 1 · WAVETRIANGLE
The knob is continuous; these are its four named points
- OSC 2 · OCTAVE16'
- OSC 2 · WAVETRIANGLE
The knob is continuous; these are its four named points
- OSC · HARD SYNCOFF
Keep OSC 2 at or above OSC 1 or it barely sounds
- OSC · KB RESETOFF
A defined leading edge, at the cost of a click on hard attacks
- OSC · DUO MODEOFF
Off: one note at a time, both oscillators on the same key
- OSC · KB CTRLHI
Inert while DUO MODE is off; set so FREQUENCY keeps its semitone scale
- OSC 2 · FREQUENCY0st(-7…7 st)
Centre is unison with OSC 1; fully clockwise is a fifth
- OSC 2 · BEAT FREQ0Hz(-3.5…3.5 Hz)
A constant beat rate at every pitch, unlike FREQUENCY
MIXER
- OSC 14.5(0…10)
- SUB 19(0…10)
Always a square, always an octave below OSC 1
- OSC 20(0…10)
- NOISE0(0…10)
Pink, not white
- FDBK / EXT IN0(0…10)
With nothing in EXT IN this feeds the mixer output back into itself
FILTER
- CUTOFF150Hz(20…20000 Hz)
Fully down closes the filter completely
- RESONANCE1(0…10)
Above 7 the filter sings by itself
- MULTIDRIVE0(0…10)
Tube-like warmth at the bottom, hard clipping at the top
- SLOPE24
dB per octave: one, two, three or four poles
- EG AMT1(-5…5)
Bipolar: below centre the envelope pulls the cutoff down
- KB TRACK0(0…2)
1.0 is 1:1 tracking centred on C3; 2.0 is 2:1
ENVELOPE GENERATORS
- ENV · KNOB SHIFTOFF
Unlit, or the eight knobs below are DELAY, HOLD, VEL AMT and KB TRACK instead
- FILTER EG · ATTACK3ms(0.1…10000 ms)
- FILTER EG · DECAY250ms(0.1…10000 ms)
- FILTER EG · SUSTAIN2(0…10)
0 to 100%, calibrated 1 to 10
- FILTER EG · RELEASE200ms(0.1…10000 ms)
- FILTER EG · LOOPOFF
On, the envelope repeats for as long as a note is held — a multistage LFO
- AMP EG · ATTACK3ms(0.1…10000 ms)
- AMP EG · DECAY800ms(0.1…10000 ms)
- AMP EG · SUSTAIN8(0…10)
0 to 100%, calibrated 1 to 10
- AMP EG · RELEASE200ms(0.1…10000 ms)
- AMP EG · MULTI TRIGOFF
On, every note re-attacks even when you play legato
- AMP EG · LOOPOFF
Off on everything but a bed: looping the amplitude re-articulates a held note
MOD 1
- SOURCETriangle
- HI RANGEOFF
On, the LFO runs ten times faster
- SYNCOFF
Off, so RATE is in hertz rather than clock divisions
- LFO RATE2Hz(0.1…100 Hz)
- KB RESETOFF
On, the LFO restarts at zero on every note
- PITCH AMT0(-5…5)
- OSCBOTH
Which oscillator PITCH AMT reaches
- FILTER AMT0(-5…5)
- DESTVCA LEVEL
- MOD AMT0(-5…5)
This block draws on the Subsequent 37 User's Manual, pp.21-61; its values are starting points.