STEINBERG VIRTUALBASSIST Details
Virtual Bassist - Your Virtual Bass Guitar Player
With the benefit of Virtual Bassist, you can enrich your projects with professional-caliber bass lines - without having to call on a bass player or endure interminable takes to capture a good performance. Steinberg’s Virtual Bassist is an accomplished player who has mastered 30 styles. It always plays with perfect timing, and adapts to suit virtually every musical taste. Every style comprises phrases in varying levels of complexity and suitable fills, all of which were tracked by professional studio musicians. And for your further processing pleasure, you have an array of high-quality virtual stomp-boxes and a special amp section at your disposal.
Utterly authentic-sounding bass parts derived from the actual performances of professional studio bass players
Lines are quickly and easily played on every MIDI keyboard
30 different styles with numerous variations and fills
Excellent sound-sculpting tools (Bass Model, Attack, Damping, and Pickup Position)
Real-time control over vital parameters
Groove Match technology for adapting bass lines to other MIDI grooves
Amp section featuring amp type, speaker/mic and EQ selection options
High-quality virtual stomp-box effects (also employable as a VST effect plug-in)
Compatible with VST, DXi, AU and ReWire host applications for Mac (OSX) and PC (Windows XP)
The next puzzle piece in Steinberg’s virtual band, Virtual Bassist is the perfect match for the other band members. Owners of Groove Agent and Virtual Guitarist are sure to be delighted with its excellent grooves. If you’re looking for a bass that locks in with these instruments to forge a rhythm section as sharp as steel and tight as a vice, you have found that instrument in Virtual Bassist.
What Is Virtual Bassist?
Developed by the makers of the successful VST instruments Virtual Guitarist and Groove Agent, Virtual Bassist offers a vast array of bass phrases, sounds and styles.
Simply select the desired style of music and determine the chord or root note via MIDI and your trusty Virtual Bassist will come up with a fitting bass line. You are free to adjust the sound and phrasing of the instrument in real time.
The 13 parts and six fills per style offer all the variation options you could wish for. 30 different styles are at your disposal to cover almost every contemporary musical genre, including rock, pop, reggae, metal and hip-hop.
How Does Virtual Bassist Work?
As anyone who has ever attempted to play a bass part on a MIDI keyboard knows, the results can sound disappointingly artificial. This is why Virtual Bassist does not rely on samples of individual notes or sound synthesis. Instead, it taps into a vast library of audio tracks played by real bass players. What you get is utterly convincing bass phrases, all but indistinguishable from the lines played by a flesh-and-blood musician. As soon you change a chord or any other parameter, Virtual Bassist selects the right recordings from the collection in real time. The bass lines have been tweaked to play flawlessly at any tempo so that Virtual Bassist even handles tempo changes with assurance.
How Do You Play Virtual Bassist?
The brain-trust that came up with Virtual Bassist put a lot of painstaking effort into creating an instrument that handles and plays with utmost ease. Any MIDI keyboard will do to make the most of its sonic powers. The keyboard is split into two functional zones. In the Pitch region, the keys control the pitch of the played parts. If you strike the keys hard, your setup will render an accent (an eighth or quarter note, depending on style). The Remote region serves to select the bass pattern and afford you remote control over vital functions. Simply strike these keys to trigger parts, fills, single note mode, stop and end, as well as other useful functions. You may modify key assignments at any time.
Virtual Bassist offers two options for playing patterns - Chord and Note mode. This option determines whether a part renders a full-fledged melodic bass line or merely root notes in response to whatever notes you strike in the Pitch region or chords you chose to play. And if you wish to conjure bass lines of your own, you can always opt for Single Note mode.
Chord Recognition
Virtual Bassist recognizes incoming chords sent from a MIDI keyboard or host application, and always plays a matching bass line. The acknowledged chord is indicated in a small window. Incoming MIDI data may comprise entire chords or individual notes. Best of all, there is no need to fuss with special settings because Virtual Bassist always “knows” what to do.
Play Parameters and Sound Settings
Virtual Bassist offers an array of parameters that lets you shape the sound and phrasing of the bass with even greater flexibility and accuracy.
Knobs on the Bass
On the virtual bass guitar, you’ll find four knobs that let you shape the instrument sound directly: Volume (determines output level), tone (attenuates higher frequencies), Attack (determines the force at which strings are struck – that is, the velocity of the fingers or pick) and Damp (shortens sustain as if dampening strings with the heel of the hand). What’s more, you can vary the position of the pickup.
Selecting the Bass Model
Virtual Bassist lets you modify the fundamental sound of the selected bass guitar “seamlessly.” You can choose the sound of a modern bass equipped with active tone controls, a classic model from the ‘70s as used in the rock and pop tunes of the day, or a vintage bass with flat-wound strings that conjures that legendary Motown sound. In addition, you can opt for a bass with four or five strings, the latter offering the subsonic thump of a low B string.
Authentic Incidentals (Fret Buzz/Fret Noise)
Fret buzz and string noise are natural incidental sounds attributable to instruments’ setup and players’ technique and style. Virtual Bassist lets you determine how much of this noise is audible. Dial in the right setting for Fret Buzz, and your bass tracks will sound more natural. The sound of fingers brushing strings is called fretting noise. Although this noise is a vital factor in the overall sound, many of the more spartan bass emulations do not factor it into the sonic equation. Not so with Virtual Bassist. It lets you adjust the level of fretting noise as you see fit.
Timing
You can vary your virtual bass player’s timing to taste using the three Swing, Variance and Early/Late controls. Swing shifts the off-beat accents ever so slightly back or forwards in a bar to conjure a swing feel. The Variance parameter creates "human" timing flaws for even more natural-sounding bass lines. Early/Late controls Virtual Bassist’s timing in relationship to the other instruments in the project. You can “tell” Virtual Bassist to anticipate the beat or play behind it, depending on whether you’re aiming for a driving groove or a more laid-back feel.
Play Parameters
Virtual Bassist automatically follows the song tempo, tracking all tempo changes on the fly. The Tempo parameter lets you adjust the tempo on demand – anything from half-time to double-time of the project’s tempo is yours for the choosing. When Latch mode is activated, parts are repeated until you press the stop button. When Retrigger is activated, a given part is repeated every time you strike a key, irrespective of the current bar position.
Groove Match
You may edit parts and fills’ rhythmic structure in the Groove Match panel. In the Macro panel, you can mute individual notes or shift their position by up to an eighth note. The Modifier lets you create different variations of the grooves with a single mouse click. To this end, you have various presets available that let you do things like tell Virtual Bassist to play only on the off-beats or the root notes of a part.
Adjust the timing and feel in the Micro panel as you see fit. When the From MIDI function is enabled, Virtual Bassist analyzes incoming MIDI data and adjusts the phrase’s micro-timing accordingly. This function is great for locking Virtual Bassist into the drummer’s groove.
Amp and Effects
The Amp and Effect section is one of Virtual Bassist’s highlight features. The Amplifier offers amazingly authentic-sounding Solid State and Tube modes, and the Stomp Box collection contains every device a bass player needs to shape hip tones on stage and in the studio. The six included virtual stomp-boxes - WahWah, Octaver, Overdrive, Chorus/Flanger, Tremolo and Compressor - are tailored specifically to sound sweet with electric bass sounds.
What’s more, you can opt to record via a DI box or microphone, and even select among various microphone types/placements as well as six speaker cabinets. Obviously, the amplifier and effects play a vital role in shaping electric bass tones, which is why Virtual Bassist’s Multi-effect Board is integrated right into the instrument. The Multi-effect Board may also be used as an effects plug-in in the host application.
Minimum System Requirements
The minimum system requirements state the minimal specification your computer must have to be able to use the software. A more powerful system may be required for certain tasks or larger projects.
Mac OS X v10.4
Power Mac G4 1 GHz Minimum (PowerPC only)
512 MB RAM
DVD drive required for installation
CoreAudio compatible audio hardware is required
Steinberg Key (copy protection device) and USB port required*
Internet connection required for license activation
For usage as plug-in, a VST (VST 2.3 or higher) or AU compatible host is required (AU hosting is compatible with Logic 7.1.1 or Digital Performer 4.6). For usage as Rewire slave device, a Rewire compatible host is required.
Windows XP Home or XP Professional
Intel / AMD Prozessor 1.4 GHz minimum
512 MB RAM
DVD drive required for installation
Windows MME compatible audio hardware is required (ASIO compatible audio hardware required for low latency operation).
Steinberg Key (copy protection device) and USB port required*
Internet connection required for license activation
For usage as plug-in, a VST (VST 2.3 or higher) or DXi2 compatible host is required. For usage as Rewire slave device, a Rewire compatible host is required.
*The Steinberg Key (USB copy protection device) required to run this product is not included. Customers who do not own a Steinberg Key must purchase one separately. The same Steinberg Key copy protection device is then used for all Steinberg products that require it.
Steinberg Virtual Bassist
