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Serum Tutorial: Super Growl Bass in Ableton Live

by | Aug 29, 2024 | Blog

serum tutorial super growl bass in ableton live

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

What’s up everyone? Sub Terrranean here!

Ever wondered how to create that monstrous dubstep growl made famous by artists like Skrillex? You’re in the right place. Today, I’m going to walk you through each step of creating this killer bass sound using Serum and Ableton Live. We’ll start by initializing Serum, tweak oscillators, apply filters, and finish with some external effects. So, let’s dive in!

Table of contents

Initializing Serum and Custom Wavetable

We’ll begin by initializing Serum’s patch:

  1. Initialize Serum Patch: Go to the menu and click on “Initialize Preset”.
  2. Remove External Effects: Disable external effects for now; we’ll use them much later.

With a fresh instance of Serum ready, let’s move on to our first oscillator.

Custom Wavetable: Gutter Growls

I’ve created a custom wavetable named “Gutter Growls.” You can download it from the link in the description box along with installation instructions.

Setting Up the First Oscillator

  1. Load Custom Wavetable: Load “Gutter Growls” into oscillator A.
  2. Wavetable Position: Play around with the wavetable position until it sounds good. I set it to around 110.
  3. Warp Menu: Set the warp mode to “Bend +/-” and adjust the value to 6.
  4. LFO 1:
    • Drag LFO 1 to the warp modulator and tweak modulation to around 41.
    • Apply similar changes to the wavetable position, setting it around 27.

Setting Up the Second Oscillator

Next, let’s configure the second oscillator:

  1. Select Wavetable: Choose “Monster 6” from the spectral category.
  2. Wavetable Position: Adjust this to about 124.
  3. Warp Mode: Apply “Bend +/-” with a value of 47.
  4. LFO 1: Tweak modulation on warp and wavetable positions to around 19 and 38 respectively.
  5. Volume Adjust: Lower oscillator B’s volume to around 39% since it serves as a filler sound.

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Serum Tutorial: Super Growl Bass In Ableton Live | music production | sound design | make dubstep

Optimizing LFO Pattern

The default LFO pattern sounds bland, so let’s spice it up:

  1. Load Custom LFO Pattern: I have a custom LFO pattern available in my user folder.
  2. LFO Rate: Set it to 1/2.
  3. Trigger Mode: Set the LFO mode to “Trigger.”

Applying Filters and Fine-Tuning

Next, we’ll turn on the filter.

  1. Filter Type: Choose “High Notch 12” from the multi-category and send both A and B oscillators through it.
  2. LFO 1: Apply LFO 1 to the cutoff and tweak modulation down to around 70.
  3. Cutoff and Resonance: Adjust the cutoff to 141 Hz, increase resonance to 49, and frequency to 84.
  4. Reverse LFO: Apply LFO 1 to the frequency knob with reverse modulation set to -74.

Pitch Bend Settings

Heavy pitch modulation is essential for dubstep growls:

  1. Pitch Bend Range: Set the bend range up and down to 12 semitones each for a full octave modulation.

Adding Serum Effects

Let’s start adding Serum’s internal effects:

Filter

  1. Filter Position: Move it above hyper/dimension in the effects chain.
  2. Type: Choose “Formant 1” from the miscellaneous category.
  3. Cutoff and Resonance: Adjust to around 363 Hz and 33 respectively.
  4. LFO 1: Apply to formant modulation and set it to around 33.
  5. Mix: Lower the mix to 40%.

Hyper/Dimension

  1. Hyper Mix: Set the mix to 16.
  2. Dimension Mix: Adjust this to 17.
  3. Size: Set size to around 6.

Distortion

  1. Type: Choose “Diode 2”.
  2. Drive: Lower it to 20 to balance heaviness without excessive distortion.

Flanger, Phaser, and Compressor

  1. Flanger:
    • Turn the rate down.
    • Set depth to 30 and tweak modulation to 38.
    • Feedback at 64.
  2. Phaser:
    • Set rate and depth low for more control.
    • Adjust frequency to around 360 Hz.
    • Tweak LFO modulation and set mix to 48.
  3. Compressor:
    • Use multiband mode.
    • Set gain to 6.2 and threshold to -15.2 dB.

Master Volume Adjust

Turn down the master volume to avoid clipping when adding external effects:

  • Set master volume to around 51%.

External Effects

We’ll now add effects outside of Serum.

Vocoder

  1. Carrier: Change from noise to modulator.
  2. Bands: Increase to 40.
  3. Range: Set to 18 kHz.
  4. Release: Adjust to 35.6 ms.

Pitch and Formant Modulation

  • Use MIDI pitch bend for modulation.
  • Draw curves in your MIDI clip for advanced control.

Phaser Effect

  1. Poles: Increase to 8.
  2. Color: Set to 0.
  3. Feedback: Set to 80.
  4. Frequency Modulation: Draw random curves for dynamic modulation.

Camel Crusher

  1. Preset: Start with “Two Warm” and turn off the filter.
  2. Distortion: Adjust tube and mech settings for desired grit.

Multiband Dynamics and Reverb

  1. Multiband Dynamics: Apply a custom OTT preset.
  2. Reverb:
    • Set low cut on, high cut on with more emphasis on highs.
    • Set decay time to 1.2 seconds.
    • Adjust dry/wet to around 19%.

EQ Eight

Apply EQ to clean up muddy frequencies:

  1. Band 1: Low cut at 153 Hz.
  2. Band 2: Set to 110 Hz with gain at -15 dB.
  3. Band 4: Set to 501 Hz.
  4. Band 5: Set to 915 Hz with high reduction.
  5. Band 6 and 8: Adjust to remove unwanted frequencies.

Clip Shifter

Apply a free plugin for additional grit:

  1. In Gain: Set to about 4.94 dB.

Final Result

1 serum tutorial super growl bass in ableton live

” for visual aid. Tweak individual band settings liberally until it fits your sound.

And there you have it! Your very own monstrous dubstep growl bass.

“Heavy pitch modulation like this is essential for dubstep growls. Some people might prefer to use LFO patterns, but I prefer using MIDI pitch bend for more control.” – Sub Terrranean

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this serum tutorial on creating a super growl bass in Ableton Live. Don’t forget to download the presets and project files provided in the description. If you found this helpful, please like the video, leave a comment, and subscribe to our channel for more awesome tutorials!

Happy producing!

FAQs

How do I start creating the growl bass in Serum?

To start, initialize Serum by selecting “Initialize Preset” from the menu and disabling any external effects. Then, load the custom wavetable “Gutter Growls” into Oscillator A and tweak the wavetable position and warp mode to begin shaping the sound.

How do I set up the second oscillator in Serum?

For the second oscillator, choose “Monster 6” from the spectral category, adjust its wavetable position to 124, and apply the “Bend +/-” warp mode. Lower its volume to around 39%, as it’s intended to serve as a filler sound.

What LFO settings should I use for this growl bass?

To optimize the LFO, use a custom LFO pattern, set the rate to 1/2, and change the trigger mode to “Trigger.” You’ll apply LFO modulation to both oscillators and filters for dynamic growl shaping.

What external effects should I add to enhance the growl bass?

Apply effects like a vocoder, Camel Crusher, phaser, and multiband dynamics. Use pitch and formant modulation for movement, and finalize with EQ to clean up muddy frequencies and add grit with the Clip Shifter plugin.

How can I control pitch modulation for the growl bass?

Set the pitch bend range to 12 semitones up and down for full octave modulation. Use MIDI pitch bend to manually draw curves, providing advanced control over the pitch for more expressive growl variations.

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