GEAR REVIEW
[ SUBSTANCE BASS SYNTH | Michael Hodge ]
KEY FEATURES
Alternatively you can choose or create
Step Sequence Patterns for unique
5 GB Library
rhythms, or go wild with the Flux
300 Go-To Presets
option.
Ease of Navigation
IN USE: The first thing I noticed about
The talented Hollywood team at Output has
Substance was the attention to detail in
come up with yet another groundbreaking
everything from the GUI to the Presets.
Synth. This one is a Bass instrument called
Substance. I was curious to see what their next
product would be, and it’s just as exciting as
the first three.
OUT OF THE BOX: Output now has a download
manager App called Output Hub. It handles
both downloads and updates for their products.
Once installed it will link to your Output
products and make life very easy. Substance
has about a 5 GB library, requires a minimum
of 4 GB Ram, 8 GB recommended, and runs
in Kontakt free player ver. 5.5.1 or newer. See
https://www.native-instruments.com. There is
an optional offline downloader if you don’t like
to connect your DAW computer to the Internet.
I have used this option for a previous Windows
based DAW for safety.
IF LOOKS COULD KILL: Once opened in Kontakt,
Substance shows up as a dark industrial
and very hip looking instrument. It’s elegantly
minimalistic in design, and user friendly with
300 amazing go-to presets. The beauty here
is the simple layout, ease of navigation, and
minimal learning curve.
SIX PAGES: Substance has six user pages, each
with tabs on the top to quickly go between
them. Directly above them is the Preset Menu
for quickly loading patches, along with Macro
and Arpeggiator Menu buttons.
The heart of the MAIN Page is a cool pieshaped circle divided into three pizza like slices
(Layers) of the Three Layer Engine. Each Engine
Layer is made from a combination of electric
and acoustic basses, full live brass sections,
18
Oftentimes Bass Synths make me feel
huge polysynths, and dirty analog synths.
as though something’s missing, and
There are nine categories of sound sources
getting them to sit in a mix can become an
to choose from. It’s very fast to make custom
exercise of trial and error. As I thumbed through
combinations from the patch starting points.
the Substance Presets, I kept feeling like, Wow!
Outside this Engine circle are four Macro
If only I had these sounds back when I was
Sliders: Filter, Shape, Dirt, and Wet. These
working on this or that project. Each preset
enable you to adjust up to six parameters at
has an associated tag to make searching for
once with a single slider. These can be easily
the perfect sound quick and efficient. I pulled
automated to provide energy and drama inside
up some songs that already had programmed
your DAW or Live rig.
bass from other Synths etc. Some of these I
spent hours on layering and creating the right
The EDIT Page is divided into three sections,
sounds. When the original was switched
one for each sound source. Here you can
out with Substance, it won over the original
access
Spread,
almost every time. Also, when I switched my
Transpose, Tuning, Sample start, and choice of
speakers to mono, the Substance Bass didn’t
Monophonic or Legato modes. The Advanced
fall apart due to phase issues. By combining
button accesses key range, glide time, and
three engines, the Low-end spectrum is really
velocity sensitivity per layer. The EQ Page has
complex, fat, and holds it’s own in a mix. These
a three band EQ for each Patch layer. There
Basses are devastatingly and wonderfully
are also visual graphic boxes that show your
deep, diverse, and musical. Substance has
EQ curves, and a Global EQ to affect all three
everything from vibey smooth analog filtered
Layers together. The FILTER Page shows 10
sounds to extreme Dub Step stuff that would
Filter Types and ADSR settings with access to
be perfect for film or EDM.
ADSR
Envelope,
Pan,
Cutoff, Resonance, and Velocity Sensitivity per
layer. It’s a very powerful page. The FX Page
CONCLUSION: Substance is like the future of
shows a rack of Six Effects for each of the three
Bass. One could say that it’s in a class by
sound sources. They include Distort, Pitch,
itself. It’s a one-stop shop that will inspire and
Delay, Motion, Comp, and Reverb. Each effect
make you sound like a genius whether you’re
has several typical parameters you can choose
a novice or a pro. If you are programming for
from. At the bottom of the FX Page is a Global
live, you will be able to give your FOH engineer
FX button with Distortion, Compression, Delay,
plenty of luscious energetic low end like never
and Convolution Reverb that affects all three
before. I’d give it 5 out of 5 stars.
Layers simultaneously. The RHYTHM Page is
where you can add Modulation per Layer or
Globally. The Mod sources can be controlled
manually, or with a number of waveforms.
Nov Dec 2016
ChristianMusician.com
$199 Retail
www.Output.com