I have always struggled with the low end of my tracks. Maybe it’s just because I’m more keen to listening to melodies than deep bass lines, but I’ve always really had issues with it. In some of my tracks it’s too weak, in others it’s too strong. In a majority of my tracks, it’s far too static. So, I’ve been on the hunt for tools that’ll help me squash this vice. And, I found a great one.
I’ve been a big fan of BEATSURFING for a while now, having previously had great experiences with their plugins RANDOM Metal and CHEat code. Their tools have always made me feel like a kid on Christmas, with creativity and randomization being driving forces behind everything they do. And now, they’ve taken that ethos and applied it to a bass tool.
LØW is their newest release. Promising sturdy bass, evolving tones via 12 freehand envelopes, and the ability to hand-draw the curves of those envelopes, this tool looks like everything I’ve been wanting in a bass tool and more. Plus, they used the same spirit as RANDOM for it, but hyperfocused on bass.
Considering how much I’ve loved their past work, I needed to check this out. Here are my thoughts.
Editor’s Choice Award
I think this might be BEATSURFING’s magnum opus.
This plugin identifies a problem – basslines are often too uninspired and static. This plugin then fixes that problem in a way only this team could. Are you a tactile learner? Great – you can draw your own envelopes. Do you love chaos? Warp all the envelopes and get crazy sounds instantly. Do you want a simple sub bass? This tool can spit out a really, really good one.
Whether you’re creating simple sounds or out-of-this-world growls, LØW is definitely going to be your next go-to bass plugin. It’s absolutely deserving of an Editor’s Choice Award. Read on to see why.
So Much To Do, So Easy To Understand
Right off the bat, LØW gets bonus points for having a light AND dark mode. Why don’t more companies do this?
This is the entire oscillator section. Here, you can determine what DBA your bass uses and the overall envelope of the sound. In the top left (DNA section) you can choose from a wide variety of “engines” that will create the core sound of your bass, as well as which “seed” to use – basically, which mutation of said engine to use. There are literally thousands of possibilities here BEFORE you even start sculpting.
To the right are the pitch impact and drop sections. Here, you can choose if the sound starts pitched up and heads to its regular pitch after a certain amount of time – great for 808s, for example. The other envelope, pitch drop, will take effect after you let go of your note. You can also play with pitch in the gliding section, which adds portamento and can determine if your envelopes retrigger when you play another note.
Here are the sculptors of your sound, where you can determine how your sound evolves and moves, as well as the sound’s color and sub frequencies. All of the parameters for each modulator are pretty common – attack, release, and rate all work like you’d expect. Drift adds instability to your sound and amount controls the envelope’s effect.
The real cool parts are in the looping and in the drawing of the envelopes. You’ll notice two nodes and red lines on each window – once your sound plays start to finish, it’ll loop back and forth at the moment. This is great for sustained basses that you want to add movement to, like a dirty reese. Want to change the shape of your envelope? Just click and draw, click through the pre-set options in the library, or hit warp and click around to create something fully new. I’m a visual learner and it’s so nice to not only be able to see the pathway my sound takes, but to literally be able to draw it myself with relative ease. You can also mess with every envelope at once with the modifier section at the very top of the plugin (pictured in the very first screenshot in this article).
You can adjust the EQ content of your bass on the back and do the exact same thing with these envelopes as you could with the previous ones. It splits all frequency ranges into impacts and body, so you can really dive deep into the eq and get as technical as you want. Do you want the low end to disappear after the initial impact? Easy. You can also determine what frequencies are actually in each of these ranges by adjusting the knobs on the left of the screen.
Was that a lot? Yes. But it’s also very quick and easy to pick up and learn, and there are also a lot of great presets to help you get started – ranging from nasty growls to quick, techno-style kicks. The real fun in this plugin comes when you start playing with the parameters and get it to spit some otherworldly sounds at you, which is so easy that it should be illegal.
Results
This is the ultimate bass tool. There’s no need to own any others.
An indicator of a really good plugin is if the journey is as fulfilling as the destination. And, while every single engine sounds unbelievable, tinkering with your sound and drawing new paths for it to take is a genuine joy. This is some of the most fun I’ve had with a synth plugin this year – and it’s not just a toy, as the results are legit.
Has anyone else seen that video of Skrillex making sounds for the Transformers movies in real time with this massive grin on his face? That’s exactly how I felt while using LØW – easily creating unbelievable bass tones and having tons of fun while doing so.
Below are a few examples of modified presets from LØW. They range from 808s to techno kicks to reese basses. With that being said, I could see anyone producing any genre getting usage out of this plugin even if they don’t produce a bass-heavy genre. I’m a melodic house producer and even I could see myself using this tool regularly to create subs and other mellow basses. But these sounds definitely wouldn’t fit in my normal music… take a listen below.
All of these didn’t take too long to make, and with the ability to switch the engine or DNA on every single sound you make (completely changing the timbre of your bass in the process), the possibilities are genuinely endless here.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
Great bass for all!
As I mentioned earlier, this tool is versatile. You don’t have to be a bass music producer to enjoy LØW. No matter what you make, you can create your perfect bass with this tool.
Easy to use and highly flexible.
There are a lot of knobs and parameters here, but this is not a super technical plugin. Just play around and have fun – you’ll get something you love. Plus, being able to draw out your own envelopes is such a huge benefit here.
Cons:
Not cheap!
LØW is $150. Now, that’s a $150 well spent if you’re asking me, but I understand a lot of people don’t have that money to throw around.
With that being said… it’s Black Friday season. You can grab it right now for $50, and you can bundle it with one or two of their other awesome plugins. I’ll provide a link to the page right here. You can currently get LØW, RANDOM Metal, and CHEat code (the three plugins of theirs that I’ve reviewed on the site) for $129 – LESS than the original LØW price. Don’t walk, run to the storefront and get that bundle right now. Tell them I sent you.
No undo feature.
BEATSURFING, if you’re reading this… please add an undo feature. I lost a couple of really cool sounds along the way by accidentally warping the envelope or doing something else that was equally silly. It’s not a deal breaker (and I ended up at cooler sounds), but definitely would be nice to see this added in an update.
Conclusion: Should you get it?
Yes.
This is the bass tool to end all bass tools, and BEATSURFING’s finest work yet. Plus, with all of their bundles and sales right now, there is no reason NOT to get it. You’re going to love it.
Buy LØW here.
The post BEATSURFING LØW Review: Perhaps The Best Low End Tool I’ve Ever Used appeared first on Magnetic Magazine.