Bassline ALWAYS sounding out of tune

[Wavey Singh]

Coli please help me, I dont know what the fukk is wrong with me when it comes to basslines but I just cant seem to get it sounding on tune with the rest of the song. Granted I have little to no theoretical knowledge on notes and note progression etc, infact I do everything by piano roll, one note at a time, but this doesnt stop me from making ill melodies. For some reason it is ALWAYS the bassline, itll be sounding good until it hits the 3rd or 4th note for example and it sounds all wrong and offset from there. I dunno why this is and ive tried fine tuning every single note but it will always sound fukked.

What is this

 

[str8up]

I've been having the same problem

 

[producingfire]

The frequency of the baselines sometimes have to be tuned to the very cent. First it's important to make sure your in the proper key. When once you are in the proper key, if it still sounds off you the pitch tuner in the channel settings.

 

[DJ Mart-Kos]

I have this problem a lot when i try to recreate the bassline that's in the sample.
First i be making a scale that matches the sample but than when i try to recreate the bassline there are notes that are not in the Scale? anybody know why?

 

[producingfire]

I have this problem a lot when i try to recreate the bassline that's in the sample.
First i be making a scale that matches the sample but than when i try to recreate the bassline there are notes that are not in the Scale? anybody know why?

That may be the sample. A lot of basslines use notes that are not related to the scale or blue notes to give the feeling of a song a different sound texture.

 

[DJ Mart-Kos]

That may be the sample. A lot of basslines use notes that are not related to the scale or blue notes to give the feeling of a song a different sound texture.

might be true but i usually just change my scale up a little bit.
Like instead of using a 7 note Scale, Maybe make it a 8 note Scale. It's mostly done by ear anyway.

 

[Maschine_Man]

Here is a trick I used when making beats with samples.
Copy the exact sample on a new track, then run a lp filter through it.
This will give you a bass line completely on key.







Or look up the actual song sheets and see what notes they used

 

[Wavey Singh]

Imma give this a go, usually if I layer a bassline from a sample I dont tend to have too much issues but those are some decent tricks im gonna give a try.

The problem is usually when im creating a bassline from scratch, it always seems as though whatever scale I use shyt is always out of tune.

 

[Wavey Singh]

Are there any tutorials that can explain this thoroughly?

 

[ibrokemyneck]

My dudes... If you're sampling and that shyt was taken from record, or the recreation was from a record, it's a high probability that it's detuned. Bring an EQ out on your main sample, peep the dominant frequencies and Match them to notes. If it doesn't sound right then they are probably detuned to get into the right pocket of sound. This is a common solution.

 

[ibrokemyneck]

Are there any tutorials that can explain this thoroughly?

It's called low end theory... Search that and your DAW. In ABLEton just duplicate tracks, add the 3-EQ on both. On one turn the volume of the low all the way down. On the other turn the mid and high all the way down

 

[producingfire]

My dudes... If you're sampling and that shyt was taken from record, or the recreation was from a record, it's a high probability that it's detuned. Bring an EQ out on your main sample, peep the dominant frequencies and Match them to notes. If it doesn't sound right then they are probably detuned to get into the right pocket of sound. This is a common solution.

Yep this is it right here everything has to be tuned to the very cent.

 

[DJ Mart-Kos]

I just put a note that sounds closest to the note in the sample. I don't care if it's a little bit dissonant sometimes.

 

[LOST IN THE SAUCE]

I've been having this problem on top of struggling to create from scratch.

I use FL Studio and usually just play out notes on the piano roll until I find a few that sound like they're a close enough match, but that leaves me with simple melodies and not a lot of room for creativity. I want to make basslines like Pete Rock and Kev Brown but I have limited knowledge of music theory.


Anyone have any tips for creating basslines? Or have any good youtube tutorials that you can point me to?

 

[producingfire]

I've been having this problem on top of struggling to create from scratch.

I use FL Studio and usually just play out notes on the piano roll until I find a few that sound like they're a close enough match, but that leaves me with simple melodies and not a lot of room for creativity. I want to make basslines like Pete Rock and Kev Brown but I have limited knowledge of music theory.


Anyone have any tips for creating basslines? Or have any good youtube tutorials that you can point me to?

Find a bassline you like, and then you can change the key of the sound so that all of your tones are in key using just the natural (white keys) then you won't have to worry about playing a note out of tune. From their it's about hearing what you want to play in your mind. If you don't understand that or have anymore questions let me know and I will try to explain it better.