Review: MODO BASS from IK Multimedia
IK Multimedia promised one plugin that modeled the crème de le crème of historic basses and it exceeded my hopes and blew away my expectations. When I first opened up the MODO Bass, looking at the interface was like walking into a big candy store!
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Review: MODO BASS from IK Multimedia
MODO BASS seemed too good to be true from the day it was introduced.
We were going to get ONE plugin that modeled the crème de le crème of historic basses, with the ability to control strings, electronics, signal chain, playing style and MIDI control? The answer is YES!
When I got the final version of MODO BASS to review, it didn’t take long to figure out that IK Multimedia has just changed the game when it comes to modeled instruments. MODO BASS is just simply AMAZING in every way!
MODO BASS sells for $149.00 until December 4, 2016 when the price goes up to $299.00 from IK Multimedia
Thoughts
Modeled versus sampled instrument technology is in itself nothing new. There are a handful of really good soft synthesizers, pianos and guitars on the market already. But they don’t do what MODO BASS does, to the level of sophistication where IK Multimedia has taken this instrument. Mind you, the bass guitar has been treated pretty fairly in the plugin and library markets, but there has been nothing truly unique for the bass player like this until now. MODO BASS is truly a revolutionary approach in playability and control for bass instruments. One word of caution when working with MODO BASS – VOLUME! These basses sound very real and the bottom end is truly awesome but you may want to watch your volume settings until you get used to working with it a bit especially if you have a sub in your studio setup.
One word of caution when working with MODO BASS – VOLUME!
When I first opened up the plugin, I found the top bar of the interface (that displays all of the basses) like walking into a big candy store for enthusiasts. I own, or have owned every one of the basses modeled here, so I immediately wanted to go through and check them all out to see if they sounded like playing the real thing.
To start with, I just wanted to do a straight up test – no modifications to the interface or parameter changes. To the initiated, MODO BASS is like a history lesson in vintage bass technology. It contains modeled versions all of the classic Fender Precisions and Jazz models (60’s, 70’s & Modern), Gibson EB-0, Music Man Sting Ray 5, Rickenbacker 4003, Yamaha TRB5, Hofner Violin Bass, Gibson Thunderbird, Ibanez Soundgear and Warwick Streamer. After a quick play-through, I was amazed at the accuracy of the sound of each bass guitar. The sound of each bass is an amazing match to the original in a true organic sense. There was no cold modeling artifacts in the sound. It was truly warm, punchy and solid on the bottom end and tight and crisp playing up the neck.
To the initiated, MODO BASS is like a history lesson in vintage bass technology.
IK Multimedia obviously put a great deal of effort into producing such a high quality modeled end product. There is a detailed description of the process on the main page for MODO BASS at IK Multimedia which I encourage you to read if you are interested in the technical details of their Modal Synthesis process.
Let’s jump right into the MODO BASS interface…
Ik Multimedia‘s MODO BASS interface
MODO BASS has a really nice clean design. Model selection at the very top allows you to quickly locate one of the twelve models that you want to customize and play. The bottom lays out the strings with nut position at far left along with the playable keyboard range below that.
In the main portion of the interface is the bass guitar selected, along with the specifications of the current setup. At a glance you can see, number of strings, string winding, string gauge, string age, neck scale, number of frets, string/neck action, active/passive selection and pickups selected. The image over the bass also displays the playing position, which is adjustable via sliding it side to side.
In the upper left corner, you can also click the dropdown list to choose from presets for Fingered, Picked, Slapped or Xtreme playing configurations. These presets are created using all of the various models in MODO BASS. You can also build your own presets or modify existing presets and save them as your own. Think about MODO BASS as your own personal bass guitar laboratory. You have all of these great models and the ability to model their hardware and playing characteristics at will!
Walking through the interface from left to right, the next tab is Playing Style. This is where you can bend the playability to your own whims. You can choose between Finger, Pick and Slap. Muting I found to be useful on the really low notes of a fingered or picked Fender or Rickenbacker.
The bottom end is realistic and really hits the lower end of the frequency spectrum so volume control and muting and be beneficial until you find exactly what you are looking for in the sound. You can also choose Stroke direction from the Auto setting based on the selected playing style. Change the ring option, open string, detach and slide noises as well. Fingering options allow you to leave the selector at “easy” or choose “nearest” or “first position”. The impact of these options makes an incredible difference on the overall sound and playability of each bass.
In the next tab we have the Strings. This is another customization that I found to be incredible in the way that it alters the sound of whatever bass you have selected.
Yes, in real life this would happen too, but in a virtual instrument this is just amazing. Choose the number of strings (4, 5 or 4 Drop D); String Action can be set standard, high or low. You can also choose the type of strings you want on the bass. Choose from Flat Wound or Round Wound Strings, light, medium or heavy gauge, even new, old or broken-in strings. Changing any or all of these parameters has an immediately noticeable effect on the sound. The string choices and changes may be the one thing about MODO BASS that really blew me away from a technological perspective. The modeling of this is just amazing.
The Electronics tab also includes some really impressive options. You can either make subtle adjustment to your chosen model or make your own Frankenstein. Want to put Rickenbacker pickups on a P-Bass? You can do it! If we look at the interface for what it is, you can either change pickups and choose from almost two dozen models or simply adjust the volume on the ones you have installed. There are separate volume controls for Bridge,
Want to put Rickenbacker pickups on a P-Bass? You can do it! If we look at the interface for what it is, you can either change pickups and choose from almost two dozen models or simply adjust the volume on the ones you have installed. There are separate volume controls for Bridge, Neck and Piezo pickups. You can change the circuit from passive to active and also modify Tone along with bass, mid and treble frequencies.
IK Multimedia had been a groundbreaking name in guitar and bass amplifier and effects modeling for years with Amplitube. The Amp/FX tab provides you with just a taste of that technology. You can choose between a solid state or tube amp, along with seven stomp boxes that can be arranged in the signal chain to your liking. The effects are basic here – octave, distortion, chorus, compressor, delay, envelope filter and graphic EQ. Each effect selected will change the interface allowing you to change the parameters. The section to the farthest right allows you to control input to the master bus and adjust the amount of Amp and DI balance to further enhance the sound. If this section leaves me wanting for anything more, it would be more amp choices for cabinets, heads and for more stomp boxes. Fortunately, that can be easily solved by selecting a clean default for your bass and routing the MODO BASS plugin to AmpliTube to take advantage of all the additional possibilities that it offers between the included models and the Custom Shop gear. Problem solved!
The effects are basic here – octave, distortion, chorus, compressor, delay, envelope filter and graphic EQ. Each effect selected will change the interface allowing you to change the parameters. The section to the farthest right allows you to control input to the master bus and adjust the amount of Amp and DI balance to further enhance the sound. If this section leaves me wanting for anything more, it would be more amp choices for cabinets, heads and for more stomp boxes. Fortunately, that can be easily solved by selecting a clean default for your bass and routing the MODO BASS plugin to AmpliTube to take advantage of all the additional possibilities that it offers between the included models and the Custom Shop gear. Problem solved!
The Control tab provides the ability to change the CC parameters for things like Bend, Slide, Vibrato, Pluck Position and Chord manually or through MIDI learn. You can also use the Keyswitch map to apply more lifelike technique to your playing. I really love MODO BASS but I have a hard time wrapping my head around the keyswitch map here because of the A-1 to B-1 mapping. It just feels like too much for the right hand to do with transposition while playing and keyswitching. Perhaps a design re-work like maybe moving the A-1 through B-1 keys to the right in unused key space and re-mapping them? I guess with time it can become second nature but I find it counter-intuitive.
In a nutshell, that is MODO BASS. There is a lot to explore and a great deal of customization that can be done from a tonal perspective before you even start to work on building your chops. MODO BASS is really well designed and other than the keyswitching in the A1-B-1 region is really intuitive and easy to work with. I really enjoyed playing with it and have come up with some really nice bass parts using the built in stomp boxes which I intent to use for a future project. It is so refreshing to review something like MODO BASS and get lost in playing it and working up parts that make it to a recording for either a current or future project.
What would I like to see in the future? I would really like to see the addition of six and eight string basses. I am also hoping that the technology used for MODO BASS will find its way into a similar instrument for GUITAR and then Synthesizers! Like I said earlier, we have some really nice modeled pianos and synthesizers – even a couple of guitars, but nothing like MODO BASS.
I would really like to see the addition of six and eight string basses and to see the technology extended to a Guitar plugin!
I had high hopes and reasonable expectations waiting for MODO BASS to come out. I am happy to say that it exceeded my hopes and blew away my expectations. IK Multimedia really has delivered a game changing modeled Bass instrument. I am awarding MODO BASS the SampleLibraryReview Gameshaker award! As with all of my reviews, I will say that before making your purchase, please check out the official demos to make sure that this is the right tool for you.
I am awarding MODO BASS the Sample Library Review Gameshaker Award which we designate as important solo achievements in music software development, pushing the envelope in new and unique ways.
As with all of my reviews, I will say that before making your purchase, please check out the official demos to make sure that this is the right tool for you.
Facts
MODO BASS downloads at a mere 117 MB of disk space. IK Multimedia provides and extremely comprehensive technical fact sheet on their website. Instead of restating all of the content of the site here, I will provide you with the link: IK Multimedia
Here are some of the key technical highlights:
• The first physically modeled electric bass virtual instrument
• Groundbreaking real-time modal synthesis technology — no samples used to create sound
• Recreate virtually every electric bass sound imaginable
• 12 iconic bass models that span the history of recorded electric bass
• Models the entire act of playing an electric bass – player, instrument, FX & amp
• Ultra-small memory footprint
• Choose playing style — pluck, slap and pick
• Freely move the playing hand for realistic performance
• Customize string force, fingers used, pick thickness & technique
• Customize string number, scale, tuning, gauge, construction, action, age
• 20 faithfully recreated, interchangeable iconic bass pickups with volume
• Choose active or passive electronics with parametric EQ
• Under-bridge piezo pickup with blend
• 7 bass stomp box effects configurable in 4-slot chain
• 2 iconic bass amps – Solid State and Tube derived from AmpliTube
• FX and amp global bypass for routing
• Optimized resizable interface
• Works as a 64-bit plug-in or standalone instrument for Mac/PC (AU, VST, VST3, AAX)
• Full MIDI control with MIDI learn, Keyswitching
• Full DAW automation control support
MODO BASS sells for $149.00 until December 4, 2016 when the price goes up to $299.00 from IK Multimedia
