Danny's Howell bassline workshop

[Danny Stewart]

Hello everyone, and welcome to Danny Stewart's workshop on recreating the Peter Howell Doctor Who bassline. I'm posting this mainly for Rat Souffle's benefit, but rather than contact him privately and share these with him, I figured that there may be more people than just him that could benefit from knowledge of the inner workings of the Howell bassline, so here goes.

The Howell bassline, like any good bassline (i.e. the Derbyshire bassline), is made up of two parts. I have come to refer to them as the "first layer" and the "second layer," and so have most of my friends. In the original Derbyshire theme, the first layer is the most familiar and recognizable. This is the one that goes "dum-de-dum, dum-de-dum, dum-de-dum." The second layer is behind it, and sadly, most people do not even know of its existence. This is the more square wave like sound that starts just before each "dum-de-dum" (or what have you) in the first layer, and leads into it by bending up from two semitones below (usually but not always) to the root note of the bassline's first layer.

For Peter Howell's version of the theme, the second layer is much more powerful and pronounced, but, like the original, still fills out the sound of the bassline when combined with the first layer. Additionally, the first layer has a new layer of complexity added in the Howell theme. Peter Howell decided to play the first layer using so-called "bass notes." This provides a steady pulse behind the main "dum-de-dums" an octave down, in addition to actually providing the final "dum" sound itself. I may not be explaining this well enough to a first-time reader -- it makes sense to me, but it's possible that it only does because I am already familiar with the material. For that reason, I have included several demonstration files, which I have outlined below.

Demonstration Files
layer1a.mp3 -- This file shows the bass notes contained within the first layer of the Howell bassline.
layer1b.mp3 -- This file shows the main notes contained within the first layer of the Howell bassline, an octave above the bass notes.
layer1.mp3 -- This file shows a complete first layer of the Howell bassline, with layers 1a and 1b combined.
layer2.mp3 -- This file shows the second layer of the Howell bassline.
fullbassline.mp3 -- This file shows a final mix of my complete Howell bassline with both layers, sans effects.

I hope this has been helpful. Feel free to provide feedback or ask questions within this thread.

References

1. Common sense
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDxFqw36KQ0

[Dalek104]

Wow. Thanks for the information!

That video is amazing.

[Josef Kenny]

Great, Danny! I did already know most of this, but what I was thinking about was the way that Peter Howell did it to begin with (a lot more time consuming) which was to record the main bassline (constantly 1/4 bass notes and the top part) and then flip the tape over so it played backwards, and then add in the bending notes, but playing them backwards (which I tried yesterday and failed miserably; getting the timing right when you're listening to something backwards is harder than it sounds!) which gives a smoother feel. Then all that you need to do to complete the 'rhythm' track is to (keeping the bassline going backwards) add some soft white noise bursts in some parts(quite sharp attack, 350ms release), mix them in so that they can only be heard slightly, and then flip the tape the other way round again.

The part that I find the hardest is actually recreating the raw bassline sound. I have had the CS-80v for a few months now(I didn't buy it, way to expensive; if I had enough money to buy a synth plugin for over £100 then I'd buy a real CS-80, only about £7000-£8000 you know), but I find it quite hard to program (harder than a real DX-7, which was incredibly tedious), mainly because it is so complex. To be honest, I'm more used to the layout of a Mini Moog, glide, mono and tuning on one side, oscillators and waveforms in the middle, and ADSR and filter on the right.

Also, on FL Studio (read as Fruityloops) my CS-80v gets all mucked up and all of the buttons go out of alignment, so when you click on one, it moves the one slightly above it. (see picture below)

[Danny Stewart]

Originally Posted by Rat Souffle

Great, Danny! I did already know most of this, but what I was thinking about was the way that Peter Howell did it to begin with (a lot more time consuming) which was to record the main bassline (constantly 1/4 bass notes and the top part) and then flip the tape over so it played backwards, and then add in the bending notes, but playing them backwards (which I tried yesterday and failed miserably; getting the timing right when you're listening to something backwards is harder than it sounds!) which gives a smoother feel. Then all that you need to do to complete the 'rhythm' track is to (keeping the bassline going backwards) add some soft white noise bursts in some parts(quite sharp attack, 350ms release), mix them in so that they can only be heard slightly, and then flip the tape the other way round again.

I know what you're getting at here. What Peter Howell did to the final recorded bassline tape is reverse it and then add some reverb, then reverse it again to get that subtle reverse reverb pre-echo effect. There must be some white noise on the bassline sound itself, which is amplified into a "wisp" like sound with the reverse reverb, and I think that's what you're hearing. (Amazingly, on the original full-length recording, it actually serves as quite a good substitute for the original Derbyshire hissing!)

Originally Posted by Rat Souffle

The part that I find the hardest is actually recreating the raw bassline sound. I have had the CS-80v for a few months now(I didn't buy it, way to expensive; if I had enough money to buy a synth plugin for over £100 then I'd buy a real CS-80, only about £7000-£8000 you know), but I find it quite hard to program (harder than a real DX-7, which was incredibly tedious), mainly because it is so complex. To be honest, I'm more used to the layout of a Mini Moog, glide, mono and tuning on one side, oscillators and waveforms in the middle, and ADSR and filter on the right.

Tell me about it. I've been living with the CS-80V for over a year now and originally I was crap at it too (for quite a long time, actually). Now, though, I was able to produce both the bassline and second layer sounds you heard above in just a few hours. It's just something you have to live and work with... it really does get easier with time! Since I'm nice though, I'll give you some advice to get you started on a generic Howell bassline sound. This was the very beginning point of my bassline creation. (You will have to work with it a lot from here, but it's as good a starting point as any.)

1. Open up the Square wave preset (under Templates > Waveform I believe).
2. On the CS-80V internal preset buttons (the two rows of 1-12 above the keyboard), select 10 on the top row and 5 on the bottom row.
3. Adjust the Mix slider to the right of the preset buttons (the one that controls the oscillator mix) to around 0, or halfway.

Originally Posted by Rat Souffle

Also, on FL Studio (read as Fruityloops) my CS-80v gets all mucked up and all of the buttons go out of alignment, so when you click on one, it moves the one slightly above it.

This is a known problem with the latest versions of every Arturia synth (CS-80V and Minimoog V I know for sure) in FL Studio. There is a fix, but it sucks. It's called "go back to CS-80V v1.5." I wouldn't recommend that, though... v1.6 is a significant step up from v1.5.

What I'd recommend instead is getting Sony ACID Pro 6.0. I used FL Studio myself for a very long time, but I simply outgrew it after a while. I have a feeling you might be ready to do the same (or nearly ready). This bug here was what made me finally stop using FL Studio altogether. I'd say it's worth it, if you're ready to move up a bit in terms of music creation. Good luck with it, if you decide to do it. (I don't know if you've heard my Fool's Gold mix, but that was made using ACID.)

Let me know if you need any more help with any of this! You know I'm more than happy to do it!

[Josef Kenny]

Yeah perhaps I will get ACID Pro. All the software I've been getting in the last few months has been Sony (sound forge, Vegas etc) and I seem to be getting used to their layout conventions and stuff. And that will bring to a close my 'FL Studio' era... *dream wipe*

Order Of Software Transitions
1. Cubasis VST(Disgusting UI, and had like a 2 second sound lag when playing things in over MIDI)
2. FL Studio 6.0(A lot better than Cubasis, it seems to be more suited to dance type music than a lot of the stuff I seem to be doing)
3. Sony ACID Pro(Sounds better!)
4. I dunno. Something daunting like .. one of those over-complicated pieces of software with names that sound like cold war missiles.

[Danny Stewart]

I definitely sympathize. In my opinion, Sony produces some of the best audio software on the PC market, so I say go for it. I'll be here to help you with anything you may need!

Although if you really want to go pro, buy a Mac and use Logic like Dom and Murray.

[Josef Kenny]

Yep I do have a bit of experience with Macs, but I don't have one as I was caught up in Micro$oft's monopoly and couldn't escape. The only problem is, that I don't have enough space in my house for another computer, unless its a laptop, so it's PowerBooks that I'm looking at mostly. As for Logic, I've had a few bad experiences with rip-off Windows Logic 'lite' versions and I'm still quite scared of it, even more so than Cubase.

[Danny Stewart]

I now use Logic for all my music, and coming from a former experienced FL Studio and ACID user, I love it.

I made this with it: http://www.dannystewart.com/music/fgclosing.mp3

See? It rocks, and so do I.

Also, get a MacBook Pro. That's what I'm saving up for.

[Josef Kenny]

It does rock! I'll bear that in mind.

[Josef Kenny]

I've just been on the CS-80, and This is what I've got so far. I'd appreciate it if you could give me some tips. Thanks.

[Danny Stewart]

403 Forbidden. I do not have access to The Story So Far. Damn censorship.

[Josef Kenny]

It's probably by web host being annoying again. I'm sure they have been randomly turning their servers off to annoy me recently.

I'll just upload it as an attachment here.

The Story So Far.mp3

I seem to be having a bit of trouble with the second layer, don't you think?

[Danny Stewart]

Originally Posted by Rat Souffle

It's probably by web host being annoying again. I'm sure they have been randomly turning their servers off to annoy me recently.

I'll just upload it as an attachment here.

Attachment 314

I seem to be having a bit of trouble with the second layer, don't you think?

Mmmmmm...

To be honest, the problem lies more with your notation than your sound. The notation is laid out more like the Glynn theme than the Howell theme.

Example 1: You have wildly flailing and alternating diddly-dums and dum-de-dums. Only the very first one should be a diddly-dum; all the rest should be dum-de-dums.

Example 2: Your second layer goes Glynn style: F#, E F#, E F#, E A. Should go Howell (and Derbyshire) style: F#, E F#, E F#, G# A.

[Josef Kenny]

Answer 1. Sorry 'bout that. I tend to do that for some reason which I am not entirely sure about.

Answer 2. I'm also not sure why I did that also. I must subconciously like the Glynn theme

Edit: When I wrote this, I was in a bit of a hurry, as you can see

[Dalek104]

Originally Posted by Rat Souffle

Answer 2. I'm also not sure why I did that also. I must subconciously like the Glynn theme

Don't you consciously like the Glynn theme?

[Danny Stewart]

Originally Posted by Rat Souffle

Answer 1. Sorry 'bout that. I tend to do that for some reason which I am not entirely sure about.

Answer 2. I'm also not sure why I did that also. I must subconciously like the Glynn theme

No problem. As long as it's fixed.

As far as the sound, you're off to a good starting point. Make sure the velocities on the first second layer note each time is stronger than the second note, and adjust the initial brilliance controls on the CS-80V to make the brilliance stronger with higher velocites. Should sound like "BA-rum, BA-rum..."

Here's an example clip of an isolated section of the Howell bassline with the second layer boosted slightly to hopefully give you a better idea of what it's supposed to sound like: http://www.dannystewart.com/music/hwlbassclip.mp3

Originally Posted by Dalek104

Don't you consciously like the Glynn theme?

LOL. Touche!

[Josef Kenny]

Don't you consciously like the Glynn theme?

I like all of the themes. I've only just become aware that I subconsciously like some of them as well

To me the (I'm sticking to Derbyshire key for this) F# that bends into G always reminds me of the Delaware theme (Which I love consciously, but seem to dislike subconsciously). For some reason I always do it as

LAYER1|EEEE--|E-EE--|E-EE--|G-GG--| etc.
LAYER2|E--- D|E-- D|E--- D|G--- D| etc.

instead of the usual

LAYER1|EEEE--|E-EE--|E-EE--|G-GG--| etc.
LAYER2|E--- D|E-- D|E--- F#|G--- D| etc.
(sorry about my weird notation)

I suppose it will be like one of those things, like when I used to think
that the first note in the melody was an E, not a B. Fortunately I seemed to have
missed the stage of where you think that the wee-wah-woo chords are the same as the oo-ee-oo ones (Em, Bm) and not Em, G, Bm.

As for the sound and the velocities, as far as I can see, the CS-80v seems to completely ignore most of the velocity data on the sequence, and instead selects random velocities of random amounts of cutoff with random amounts of volume and brilliance for each note. The only way I was able to do that at all was with about 4 or 5 tracks of CS-80v for each required tone. And doing that is only a few steps away fromMusique concrète!

As for the Howell bass sample, thanks for that. It's very interesting, and since it's an original, Unfiltered Theme Component(R) I treat it as a little bit of gold.

[Danny Stewart]

Originally Posted by Rat Souffle

I like all of the themes. I've only just become aware that I subconsciously like some of them as well

To me the (I'm sticking to Derbyshire key for this) F# that bends into G always reminds me of the Delaware theme (Which I love consciously, but seem to dislike subconsciously). For some reason I always do it as

LAYER1|EEEE--|E-EE--|E-EE--|G-GG--| etc.
LAYER2|E--- D|E-- D|E--- D|G--- D| etc.

instead of the usual

LAYER1|EEEE--|E-EE--|E-EE--|G-GG--| etc.
LAYER2|E--- D|E-- D|E--- F#|G--- D| etc.
(sorry about my weird notation)

I suppose it will be like one of those things, like when I used to think
that the first note in the melody was an E, not a B. Fortunately I seemed to have
missed the stage of where you think that the wee-wah-woo chords are the same as the oo-ee-oo ones (Em, Bm) and not Em, G, Bm.

It's alright -- I'm here to help.

You're actually doing very well with what you have. You're pretty much in the same place I was a year or so ago. Things will only get better from here, as long as you stick to my path exactly and do exactly as I say.

Originally Posted by Rat Souffle

As for the sound and the velocities, as far as I can see, the CS-80v seems to completely ignore most of the velocity data on the sequence, and instead selects random velocities of random amounts of cutoff with random amounts of volume and brilliance for each note. The only way I was able to do that at all was with about 4 or 5 tracks of CS-80v for each required tone. And doing that is only a few steps away fromMusique concrète!

I sense that someone copied "Musique concrète" from another source, judging by the lack of space and the capital M.

Anyway, it sounds to me as though you're having trouble programming the CS-80V as well as you could be. It should be paying attention to velocities if you've configured it correctly. Perhaps the top panel is open? I still haven't mastered that top panel yet... all I know is that if I leave it open if often breaks my sound in some way.

I might be able to send you my Howell bassline preset simply so you can learn from it (or maybe not). Like I said before, I just do Presets > Waveform > Square, then presets 10 and 5, balance out the oscillator mix, and work from there.

Originally Posted by Rat Souffle

As for the Howell bass sample, thanks for that. It's very interesting, and since it's an original, Unfiltered Theme Component(R) I treat it as a little bit of gold.

Gold, yes. Murray Gold, no. Not enough bash boom wallop for him.

And you're welcome!

[Josef Kenny]

I sense that someone copied "Musique concrète" from another source, judging by the lack of space and the capital M.

Yeah, I'm not sure how it is with a US keyboard but where I am, you can press the right alt (aka Alt Gr) and a letter, so I can get é without having to go into character map (and ú and ó and stuff), but theres no clear way to get an e with the accent the other way round. And also I wanted to get the spelling of musique right.

I think the top panel is to do with the voices. Like if you want to, say, make the second note in a chord panned slightly to the left or something. I've never really understood it much and it always seems to be more of an annoyance.

[Danny Stewart]

Originally Posted by Rat Souffle

Yeah, I'm not sure how it is with a US keyboard but where I am, you can press the right alt (aka Alt Gr) and a letter, so I can get é without having to go into character map (and ú and ó and stuff), but theres no clear way to get an e with the accent the other way round. And also I wanted to get the spelling of musique right.

We don't have an "Alt Gr" key... just "Alt" and "Alt," same on both sides. I don't use this particular feature (character map ftw), but I believe it's common here to have to type in a code to get a special character, like Alt+0193 to get an "é" or similar.

Originally Posted by Rat Souffle

I think the top panel is to do with the voices. Like if you want to, say, make the second note in a chord panned slightly to the left or something.

Yeah, I have some idea what it's meant to do, but as you say, 99% of the time I find it more of a hindrance than a help.