Moog Music Forum

I am new to both this forum and the LP Stage II, I am a bass player that also plays keyboard/synth bass in a dance cover band. I recently purchased an LP Stage II for bass synth sounds as I was not happy with bass synth pedals for bass guitar or with patches from sound modules. I am trying to get that 80's synth/keyboard bass sound such as the Michael Jackson keyboard bass in songs like "Thriller", "Bad", "Shake Your Body Down", etc, as well as the bass funk sounds. Playing around with the LP II control knobs, I just can't seem to find the right bass synth sound I am looking for. Any help with programming these bass synth sounds would surely be appreciated or any links to settings on the LP II for bass synth sounds. I spoke with Moog tech support and got some basic ideas but I still can not get that "Thriller" type bass sound.

I use this kind of bass all the time, from memory here's how my LP's set up :

Osc 1 Sawtooth 8'
Osc 2 Square 8' very slightly detuned, volume at 40% or so
Cutoff at 60-70%
Resonance at 40%
EGR amount at 70%
Volume Attack 0%
Decay 70%
Sustain 10-20%
Release 0%
Filter Attack 0%
Decay 40%
Sustain 0%
Release 0%

Slightly compressed and chorused, that should do it.

Thanks for the settings. I tried these settings with several of the LP Stage 2's bass preset patches but it didn't seem to sound right. Which patch(s) did you progam with these settings?

The "Thriller" bass sound is most likely a Yamaha DX7. That's what it sounds like to me, and Michael Jackson used it a lot during that time period. It uses FM synthesis, while the Moog LP uses traditional subtractive synthesis, so it may be difficult to get the sound as close as you would like to.

If I weren't in the middle of remodeling my studio, I'd try to program a starter patch for you. But all of my equipment is put away for the next couple of weeks. Maybe someone else will take on the challenge.

Thanks for the info. Actually, I believe that for the Thriller album Greg Phillinganes used two Richie Walbourn modified Mini Moogs for the bass synth parts. And Alex Al (bassist) was going to use a Model D Mini Moog, Mini Moog Voyager, and Studio Electronics SE-1X for the "This Is It Tour". I was hoping to get that simuliar synth bass sound with my LP Stage II.

Edit: You're probably right about the synth. I just looked up the release dates and it seems the DX7 wasn't released until the year after Thriller came out. So, unless MJ had a prototype...

Embryo wrote:I use this kind of bass all the time, from memory here's how my LP's set up :

Osc 1 Sawtooth 8'
Osc 2 Square 8' very slightly detuned, volume at 40% or so
Cutoff at 60-70%
Resonance at 40%
EGR amount at 70%
Volume Attack 0%
Decay 70%
Sustain 10-20%
Release 0%
Filter Attack 0%
Decay 40%
Sustain 0%
Release 0%

Slightly compressed and chorused, that should do it.

Very cool sound. Thanks. Looking forward to hearing how this sits in the mix in my current project.

I don’t own a Phatty.

I usually start out on 16 for Bass patches, with a relatively fast but not instant envelope controlling the filter to close, the filter slightly resonated to simulate a plucked string.

I usually lean more towards SAW on this type because to me that is the best sounding, but a triangle might get you more towards subsonics.

Here is a keyboard Mag article about all of those Jackson Hits, it was a Model D on THriller that you are hearing.

http://www.keyboardmag.com/article.aspx?id=99883

notice the matching Voyager D on the Tour. What a station!




Eric

Thanks much for the info. I did see the Keyboard magazine as well as the Bass Player magazine article on Michael Jackson's bass players. Being a bass player myself and also playing synth bass I am a big fan of Alex Al. I was hoping to get a simuliar sound on my LP as he did with the Moog D. I have programed a patch that is close but I am still playing around with the LP. I am planning to also give the Studio Electronics SE-1X a try. Two of these were also used by Alex on some of the Jackson tour material. The SE-1 (and SE-1X) is reportedly killer with bass synth sounds.

Stingray wrote:The SE-1 (and SE-1X) is reportedly killer with bass synth sounds.

They are for sure, but if your going to go that route you might as well get a Voyager RME, since the SE-1 is basically just a minimoog clone.

I usually use my Roland Axe-Synth with my band to do the bass synth parts. It actually has some decent on-board bass patches. The SE-1X may be good with either the Ax-Synth or LP as controllers.

Embryo wrote:I use this kind of bass all the time, from memory here's how my LP's set up :

Osc 1 Sawtooth 8'
Osc 2 Square 8' very slightly detuned, volume at 40% or so
Cutoff at 60-70%
Resonance at 40%
EGR amount at 70%
Volume Attack 0%
Decay 70%
Sustain 10-20%
Release 0%
Filter Attack 0%
Decay 40%
Sustain 0%
Release 0%

Slightly compressed and chorused, that should do it.

Oh Snap, Crackle & Pop! I've just done it BIG THANKS, man!!!!! and I can also do as they did on This Is It (the change from THRILLER to Threatened). WHOOOOOOOOOH!

I've been following this thread for a while now, but I've only just gotten round to trying out that patch and it's awesome! Perfect 80's Dance synth bass. Thanks!

Here's a great thread about the whole Thriller album and what synths were used. If you read all of it, Bill Wolfer, one of the synth session players for the album, tells what he knows about the making of Thriller.

http://www.vintagesynth.com/forum/viewt ... =1&t=33273

heres a funk bass sound I made.
Modulation: Amount up 3 lights, LFO rate where needed, select pitch destination and triangle wave source.
Oscillators: Osc 1 wave Square, Osc level all the way, Glide where needed, OSC 2 freq tuned, Osc 2 wave sawtooth, Osc 2 lvl all the way up.
Filter: Cutoff one knotch to the left of twelve o clock, Resonance 2 knotches to the right of twelve o clock, KB amount all the way up, EGR amount 2 knotches short of all the way up, Overload all the way down.
Envelope generators (volume): Attack 9 o clock, Decay 2 knotches to the right of twelve o clock, Sustain all the way up, Release all the way down.
EG (filter): Attack 3 knotches to the left of twelve o clock, Decay 1 knotch to the right of twelve o clock, Sustain one knotch up from all the way down, Release all the way down.
The buttons I leave active are LFO Rate, Osc 2 freq, Resonance, and Attack of the filter. This is 4 poles in the advanced preset, and Legato on. I happen to have a stage 1 not 2 so idk if the parameters are more sensitive etc.
Hope this helps,
Derek