Virtual Bassist SLAP | User Guide

We hope you will enjoy Virtual Bassist SLAP, a powerful addition to your musical palette, and we thank you for being a part of the UJAM community of music creators!

About the Virtual Bassist series

The original Virtual Bassist, successor of the Virtual Guitarist series, was a best-selling virtual instrument developed by Wizoo and distributed by Steinberg. It was discontinued in 2007.

Since then, thousands of musicians around the world had been asking for a new Virtual Bassist.

In 2013, the core team behind the original Virtual Guitarist and Virtual Bassist gathered again and launched Virtual Guitarist IRON – specialized on Power Chords – in December 2015, and consequently AMBER, SPARKLE, and SILK – a whole new generation of Virtual Guitarists.

With an all-new concept and technology Virtual Guitarists offered vastly expanded realism, musical and sonic capabilities with the same ease and speed of use the legacy instruments were so famous for.

No wonder our Virtual Guitarist users have been asking for a matching Virtual Bassist ever since, and even more so since we launched the Virtual Drummer series in 2017. The Virtual Bassist series complements the drummers and guitarists and – if you own a bundle – will allow you to build a complete rhythm section.

Like the Guitarists, the Bassists are a whole new development with newer technology. They are designed to offer lots of improvements over the original while being even easier to use and sounding even better.

Since their launch in late 2018 they’ve been one of our most successful product series, and we hope to make them even more fun and productive for you.

You and Us

Virtual Bassist SLAP was built by musicians for musicians. We at UJAM are a pretty diverse bunch – from DJ to bassist to weekend producer to Oscar-awarded Hollywood composer. We build every product for ourselves, and, like you, we’re all users of Virtual Bassist too.

That means that before we even start developing, a lot of thought and discussion goes into finding out what you, the user, will expect from the product, what problem it solves, which controls we can remove to make the product more inviting and simpler, which hurdles we can move out of the way between you and a perfect track.

Every Virtual Bassist is optimized for one clear, powerful purpose: To produce great-sounding bass tracks without distracting you from the complex endeavor that producing a song is.

We hope that Virtual Bassist transpires that philosophy in everything you do with it.

Naturally, we’re always open to new ideas and critique, and you are always encouraged and welcome to talk to us:

Send us a message: www.ujam.com/contact–us/
Visit our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ujaminstruments
Watch our Youtube channel: www.youtube.com/ujaminstruments
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Looking for quick help?

If you’re just looking to figure out something quick, there are three ways to get there:

The Quick Reference has super-short explanations for every control.
The Walkthrough is a guided tour where you’ll try every control on the Virtual Bassist SLAP screen once – the quickest hands-on experience possible.
If you’re looking for in-depth explanations of all functions and controls, head straight for the Reference Guide further down.

Quick Reference

*Area*	*Parameter*	*Explanation*
Menu Bar	Preset	Click name to open menu for browsing and loading a new Virtual Bassist SLAP preset
	Save	When editing a user preset, click to save your preset, replacing the previous version.
	Save as…	Click to save your preset under a different name and – optionally – assign a category.
	Notifications	Will illuminate for notifications such as product updates.
	Info Icon	Opens the About Page with information about licensing status and links to other services such as website, this manual or product support.
Mode Selector	Player / Instrument	Selects whether SLAP performs like a professional session player or a bass instrument that you can record note by note.
PLAYER Mode	Key	This parameter is important in Melodic Mode to ensure that Virtual Bassist SLAP always plays musically correct note passages and melodies.
	Timing Parameter Menu	Only in Player mode, this menu opens a selection of parameters adjusting the timing of the bass player.
	Latch	When active, Virtual Bassist SLAP will keep playing independently of keys held, until you deactivate Latch or press the Stop Key.
	Style	Loads a Style (collection of 11 phrases, accessible via the style phrases section of the keyboard).
	Melodic	When on, the player will play melodic figures (depending on the style). When off, the player only provides the rhythm, and will play the notes you hold on the keyboard. Melodic Mode works closely together with the KEY parameter – make sure to set the right key for always musically correct phrases.
Interactive Keyboard	Common Phrases	Keys in this area select “always useful” phrases that can be combined with style phrases. Several black keys labeled “intros” and “fills” trigger one-shot special phrases.
	Finger / Slap	Selects whether the Common Phrases are played with a finger or slap technique.
	Style Phrases	Keys in this area select phrases of the currently selected Style. Black keys trigger one-shot intros or fills, white keys play repetitive phrases. The playing technique (finger or slap) depends on the selected key of the respective style phrase.
	Chords	Keys in this area will tell Virtual Bassist SLAP what to play – featuring built-in chord detection. The detected chord will be displayed above the interactive keyboard.
	Drag’nDrop Tabs	In Player Mode, click and drag the top part of any phrase key and drop the phrase into your DAW track.
Timing Parameters	Speed	Lets you switch the player’s relative tempo to half, normal or double time.
	Feel	Set to left of center for a “push” feel, to the right for a laid-back (“dragging”) feel.
	Swing	Continuously adjusts syncopation – often also called Shuffle. Move to the right to syncopate off-beats.
	Timing	In center position, the player will provide a natural playing feel, like a professional human bassist. To the left, the timing becomes gradually tighter (more quantized), whereas to the right the “inaccuracies” get more pronounced for a loose, rather slack playing feel.
Bass	Fuzz	Dials in a transistor distortion effect before the amp for extra saturation, bite and nastiness. Play with combinations of Fuzz and Drive.
	Character	Selects one of four basic characters, affecting the dynamic range as well as the sound character of the bass instrument.
	Drop D	Tunes the lowest E string down by two semitones, extending the low range of the bass guitar from E to D.
Amp	Amp	Selects one of three bass amplifier setups or a direct output option.
Amp	Drive	Controls the level of overdrive in the preamp of the bass amplifiers.
Finisher	Mode Select	Select one of the 30 Modes using the arrows or the dropdown menu.
	Finisher Knob	Adjust the Finisher Effect by turning or automating this knob.
Mixer Channel	Compressor	Dials in the bass-optimized compressor. At maximum value, a transient shaper is added.
	Equalizer	A three-band parametric equalizer offering continuous morphing between various bass-optimized EQ characteristics.
	Octaver	Adds a bass-optimized octaver effect.
	Volume	Controls the master output volume.
Wheels	Pitchbend Wheel	Force (Player Mode): Realtime-controls the dynamic level of the Player’s performance. Bend (Instrument Mode): Bends the overall pitch by ±2 semitones.
Wheels	Modulation Wheel	Gradually morphs towards palm-muting as you turn up the wheel.

What is Virtual Bassist SLAP?

SLAP is the wild child among our bassists. A modern, sophisticated and off the wall virtuoso. Forget about cheesy slap sounds à la Seinfeld! Driving your song with character and soul, this is the ever energetic creative live wire. In parallel there’s all the reliable professionalism you expect: SLAP shows up on time and lays down incredibly realistic basslines. Best of both worlds! With SLAP you will compose impressive bass performances easily.

If you’ve ever used one of our Virtual Bassists, there is almost no learning curve – you’ll feel right at home. There is one novelty though: Just like a real bass player, Virtual Bassist SLAP allows you to use more than one playing technique. Of course, as the name suggests, this plugin has been made to slap, but you can also use the standard fingerpicking technique. When slapping the bass guitar in real life, the thumb is used to hit the low strings, which produces a kind of a punchy sound. In addition to that, accents are set by pulling on the high strings with the index or middle finger, like for example an octave above the previously slapped note. If you prefer to record your own phrases (or even bass solos!), the Instrument Mode gives you complete access to all articulations. This means you can use your MIDI controller to play exactly as you want with maximum creative expression (including adding dead notes, full stops and even slides!).

You can forget about all that – it’s done for you the way a real bass would work – and concentrate on your music.

Virtual Bassist vs. A Real Bass Player

If we denied the huge differences between a software and a real musician, you shouldn’t trust us.

If you have all the money, time and patience in the world plus a recording studio and a professional bass player available, by all means go for it!

But for most people, most of the time, that’s not the case:

Maybe you have no access to a (professional) session player.
Maybe you are traveling and need to work on a song only with a laptop and maybe a mini keyboard.
Maybe you like to work out ideas totally by yourself, taking the time, playing with ideas.
Maybe you’re a bass player but you want to quickly lay down a track without the hassle of tuning your bass and setting up a recording session.
Maybe you want to use MIDI-controlled bass tracks as source material for electronic manipulation.

In these and many other scenarios, Virtual Bassist SLAP is a great alternative to the real thing.

How Does Virtual Bassist Make You Sound Real?

You may wonder whether and how Virtual Bassist creates bass tracks that even a bass player can’t distinguish from the real thing, while you have no idea of how a bass guitar or the musical techniques behind good basslines work – from playing figures and riffs to shifting, positions and using techniques typical for a real bass, plus all those characteristic noises – slides, stops, dead notes, hammer-ons, pull-offs.

The answer is: In every Virtual Bassist there are mechanisms that we didn’t give fancy names like “AI Real Bass Engine” or “AI Musical Bass Intelligence” because that’s exactly what the name Virtual Bassist already stands for. These mechanisms automatically translate simple note or chord input into the correct response on a real bass and “play the bass” accordingly.

In Player Mode, these mechanisms consider your song’s key and chord input to always stay in scale, know when to go from one string to another, when to slide between two notes or when to play a stop noise.

This is why when you play Virtual Bassist on a MIDI Keyboard in Instrument Mode, it doesn’t feel like you’re triggering samples, but like your keyboard were hooked up to a fancy mechanism pulling the strings and pressing the frets of a real bass. And in Player Mode, chances are it teaches you a lick or two.

What is Virtual Bassist SLAP about?

Virtual Bassist SLAP is a modern take on the slap bass genre - edgy, rocky, unpolished - a clear detour from the clean and artificial cliché of the 80s. Within the series, Virtual Bassist SLAP is your first-call when you need an electric bass that stands out and makes a statement. The sound can get mean and dirty and gives you the “who cares” attitude you are looking for.

Like any virtual musician by UJAM, Virtual Bassist SLAP lets you produce professional tracks in no time, with minimal effort. It combines the virtues of a musically highly trained professional bass player with a custom premium-quality electric bass, perfectly tuned, with fresh strings, selected vintage amp/cabinet combinations, and the most important sound shaping tools as used in recording studios, to design the bass performance and sound exactly as you need it.

Why so few controls?

We are all musicians and we know that the time for learning a user interface is better spent making music.

Therefore, the user interface of Virtual Bassist SLAP is designed for maximum ease of use and minimum distraction.

It is also fail-proof in that no matter how you set up the controls of Virtual Bassist SLAP, the result will never be musically or technically wrong – without sacrificing your creative freedom.

You can trust in the fact that tracks produced with Virtual Bassist SLAP are realistic, professionally produced bass tracks.

Trial and Authorization

We have designed the entire process of downloading, activating and authorizing Virtual Bassist SLAP with a strong focus on simplicity. It’s important to us to make it as easy as possible for you to get your hands on Virtual Bassist SLAP – and make it your own if you like it.

Trying, Buying, Authorizing

We only want you to spend money if you’re absolutely happy with Virtual Bassist SLAP. Therefore, we grant you a 7-day trial period, during which the plugin will run without any limitation.

When opening Virtual Bassist SLAP during the trial period (or when clicking the Authorize button in the menu bar), you will see this overlay which

displays information about your trial status,
provides a link to the Virtual Bassist website where you can purchase a permanent Virtual Bassist SLAP license after or during the trial period,
allows you to enter your credentials and authorize Virtual Bassist SLAP once you’ve purchased it.

Trial Screen

Where to put the Content

The actual bass goodness of Virtual Bassist SLAP – the audio content – is packed into a so-called blob file named VB-SLAP.blob which is about 8 GB big.

You can keep the blob file anywhere you like (e.g. on a separate content drive).

During standard installation, it will be put into the following locations on your system drive:

OS X

/Library/Application Support/UJAM/VB-SLAP

Windows

C:\ProgramData\UJAM\VB-SLAP

(assuming your system drive is C)

Installing to a Different Drive on macOS

If you wish to install the blob files to a custom folder on your local drive, you can set a different content installation folder in the installer.

Open the installer and follow the procedure to step “Installation Type”
Click the “VB SLAP” folder next to Package Name ‘Blob’ to select it – as shown in the image below – and follow the instructions in the installer.

macOS Installer – Change Content Location

Installing to a Different Drive on Windows

The Windows installer will ask you if you want to install the content to a different directory.

On Windows, you can also set a different location for the plug–in, however we recommend leaving this untouched unless you have a good reason.

Windows Installer – Change Content Location

Changing the Content Location After Installation

You can always change the content location after installation by just moving the VB-SLAP_part1.blob and VB-SLAP_part2.blob files

Move both files to the desired location (different folder or different drive)
Launch your DAW and open Virtual Bassist SLAP. It will present you with a dialog asking for the file location. Simply point to the new location of the files – and you’re done.

Blob file relocation dialog

Controller hardware for Virtual Bassist SLAP

Virtual Bassist SLAP requires MIDI note input for playing and recording musical performances, and optionally Pitchbend, Modulation and Sustain Pedal data for added real-time variation.

If you have a MIDI controller (keyboard), this will be the easiest and most straightforward MIDI input method and it’s most fun as this way you control your bass player in real-time.

Of course, you can also control Virtual Bassist SLAP by using MIDI step sequencers or by entering MIDI notes manually into MIDI tracks.

For getting to know Virtual Bassist SLAP and for testing purposes, you can also use the interactive keyboard in the top half of the Virtual Bassist SLAP window. This works best with the Latch function enabled.

Please note that whatever you play on this keyboard won’t leave Virtual Bassist and therefore won’t be recorded in your DAW.

Start Playing!

Before we look at things in more depth, let’s first explore how to play Virtual Bassist SLAP, as that may be all you need for now.

The top half of the Virtual Bassist SLAP window is dedicated to the musical performance – in other words: what is played.

By default, Virtual Bassist is set to Player Mode and the interactive keyboard reflects that.

The basic principle is simple:

When you press keys from C3* upwards, Virtual Bassist SLAP will start playing a phrase with the chord determined by the notes you play. When you release the key(s), playback will stop.
MIDI notes below C3 don’t represent musical keys but select the phrases of your player in real-time. This is a powerful way of making your performance interesting and dynamic.
By turning the Pitchwheel, you can gradually adjust the force your player exerts on the string, in other words: play softer or harder.
By switching to instrument mode using the top-center switch on the user interface, you turn Virtual Bassist into a Virtual Bass, i.e. you can play it like an instrument, note for note. The interactive keyboard will adjust accordingly. Try it!

If you know these things and can switch presets, you know all you need to start producing with Virtual Bassist SLAP.

*C3 is middle C. The MIDI note number is 60. Some DAWs refer to it as C4.

Walkthrough

Note: Keywords printed italic refer to parameter or section names you will also find elsewhere in this manual.

If you’re pressed for time or if you already know the basic concepts behind Virtual Bassist, then this Walkthrough may be all you need for now, and you can come back later to look up deeper explanations as you need them.

We will take a quick tour across all controls of Virtual Bassist SLAP. After this you will have a good basic understanding of the instrument and how to use it.

We assume you have Virtual Bassist SLAP opened in your DAW. Ideally you have a MIDI controller connected, otherwise use the interactive keyboard.

Make A Sound And Learn About Chords

Play C3 or a higher note. Your bassist will start playing. It will display the current chord above the interactive keyboard in the right half of the Virtual Bassist SLAP window.

The interactive keyboard also doubles as a display for the MIDI notes Virtual Bassist SLAP is receiving. The keyboard is divided and properly labeled with the functions of the corresponding note ranges.

By playing more than one note, you activate Virtual Bassist SLAP chord recognition. Depending on the selected style and phrase, melodic figures will match the current chord. Play C-G-B for example to play a Cmaj7 chord, or C-F for a Csus4. The current chord is always visible in the CHORD display above the keyboard.
If you just want the rhythmic phrasing of a real player but play the actual notes yourself, switch off Melodic mode using the selector in the top right area.
Click the menu icon in the top right corner to open a menu that lets you adjust various timing aspects of the player’s performance!

Try The Presets

At the very top of the Virtual Bassist SLAP window you can load presets. A preset is always a complete setting of Virtual Bassist SLAP, i.e. it will change the performance as well as the guitar and effects.

The Preset will note change between Player mode and Instrument mode, simply because that’s really not what you’d want. Also, Latch is not saved or changed with Presets.

At this point, just go through different presets to get an impression of the musical and sonic palette of Virtual Bassist SLAP.
Optionally, while in Player Mode, try different style phrases by additionally selecting keys in the C♯2– B♭2 range.

Tell Your Player What You Want

In Player mode, activate the latch button on the far left above the interactive keyboard. Now Virtual Bassist SLAP will keep playing even if you don’t hold a note. Let it keep playing.
Now play a note in the correspondingly labeled style phrases range of the keyboard, C2 – Bb2. Go from C2 upwards and notice how the phrasing gets more intense. These are the phrases you can exchange by loading different Styles. Let’s do just that now:
Load different styles by clicking a Style name or the arrows above the interactive keyboard. You will notice that your bass player masters a vast range of playing techniques and musical genres.
Now try keys in the C♯0 – B1 range, labeled Common Phrases. These phrases will always be there no matter which style you’ve loaded, and can be freely combined with the Style Phrases.
Interrupt your player temporarily by holding the silence key (C0). Playing will continue when you play another note. Now stop your player by pressing or clicking the stop key (B2).

You can use the Silence key in Latch off mode too to mute your phrase but keep it running. This is different from lifting the key and playing it again as that will restart the phrase.

Staying In KEY

Let’s try out the musical intelligence in Virtual Bassist SLAP.

Play a simple C chord by holding the note C (optionally E and G). Choose a style and select the style phrase on the key A2. You’ll hear a melodic figure involving several passage notes that are part of the C scale.
Open the KEY menu by clicking the Clef icon in the top left corner. Go through the choices there and notice how the melodic figure changes depending on the KEY you’ve selected.

When relying on Melodic Mode and encountering a clash between the bass and your other tracks, always make sure to use the KEY parameter to even things out. If the key of your song changes underway, you can automate the KEY parameter to follow suit!

More Performance Tweaking Fun

Have Virtual Bassist SLAP keep playing. Open the timing menu by clicking the menu icon in the top right corner.
The speed switch lets you set Virtual Bassist SLAP to half time or double time – this comes in extremely handy when you like a particular style that plays half- or double-time relative to your existing arrangement.
Now experiment with the Feel slider right next to the Swing control. It makes subtle changes to the timing, creating a rushed or relaxed feel. Maybe play a drum loop along for better comparison.
Slowly turn up the Swing control right next to the interactive keyboard. As you will notice, this will delay the off-beats until the phrasing resembles a ternary feel that is common in Swing music (hence the name), often also called Shuffle or Groove depending on your DAW.
Activate the Drop D button in the lower left. It tunes the low E string of the bass (not your actual notes played) down by two semitones, making notes on that string sound slightly different and extending the note range of the bass to D3.

Play The Bass Yourself

If you’re a prolific keyboard player, you might as well play the entire bass yourself:

Switch Virtual Bassist to Instrument mode – close the timing menu first if still open – using the top center switch.
Note how the Interactive Keyboard reflects the new mode – here, all keys from C1 upwards play notes, while the octave below lets you use key switches and play dead notes, full stops and slides (hold a slide key and play notes) and switch legato mode on and off.

Find Your Bass Sound

Let’s look at the bottom half of the Virtual Bassist SLAP window. Here you set up the bass and the amp, and you can shape the sound character using controls you’d typically find in a mixer channel.

Activate Player mode and Latch and keep playing while you tweak controls.
First, play with the FUZZ knob. Notice how it changes the character of the bass sound by adding a fat, crisp transistor distortion.
Now experiment with the CHARACTER rotary switch. It does exactly what the name says: Changing the overall character of the bass sound and response.
The AMP knob lets you choose three different combinations of bass amps and speakers, each with its distinct sound character, plus a direct setting if you want to use external amplification gear or plug-ins.
The DRIVE knob finally lets you overdrive the amps for a crunchier sound – therefore it only works for the three AMP settings.
Play with different combinations of the PICKUP, CHARACTER, AMP and DRIVE controls. This way you get a good impression of the sonic range of Virtual Bassist SLAP before we even look at the mixer channel options.

Add Effects

In the Finisher section at the bottom center, select various Modes by clicking the little Arrows or the names of the Modes.
In every Mode, play with the Finisher knob. You’re encouraged to not just set this knob to a certain value, but play with it during a performance to add interestingness!

Mixing Fun

Virtual Bassist SLAP comes with a built-in mixer channel, so while you’re certainly free to use them, you won’t require any external plugins or gear to create a mix-ready bass sound. Let’s try a few controls:

Turn up the Compressor knob and notice how the sound becomes punchier, and more attack-y towards the maximum position.

The Equalizer offers a range of EQ curves optimized for bass. In the leftmost position, the EQ adds a lot of low-end and attenuates the treble range, in the rightmost position it’s exactly the opposite.
The Octaver is an effect adding an audio signal one octave above the bass. It can create some really powerful sounds, particularly in combination with amp drive, and when used with care, you can use it to bring out the melodic aspect of higher bass notes without turning up the volume.

Reference Guide

In the following part of this user guide, every feature of Virtual Bassist SLAP will be explained in depth.

Menu Bar

The top bar of the Virtual Bassist SLAP interface lets you load and save presets. It also contains important management functions from checking your trial status to contacting support.

Menu Bar

Loading Presets

Preset Browser

A preset in Virtual Bassist SLAP is a complete setting of the entire plug-in including Style selection and all control values. Here’s how you can switch presets:

Advance to the next preset by clicking one of the arrows left and right of the PRESET name.
Click on the name of the current preset in the PRESET menu to open the Preset Browser (see image above).

As you can see, the Preset Browser is a clean, organized list of presets, categorized by simple musical terms.

Virtual Bassist SLAP ships with over 100 Factory Presets. Take your time exploring them, as this is the quickest way of getting an overview of what Virtual Bassist SLAP can do!

If you have freshly installed Virtual Bassist SLAP, there will only be Factory Presets. User Presets will appear once you have saved your first own preset.

Save and Save as …

You can of course save your own Virtual Bassist SLAP presets. You can name them and assign a category too.

“Save as …” Dialog

The difference between the Save and Save as … buttons:

Save replaces the preset with the changes you just made.
Save as … lets you assign a name and a category, so does not replace the current preset.

Factory Presets can only be saved using Save as …, they cannot be replaced.

Moving, renaming and deleting presets

You can move, rename or delete Presets directly in your operating system. You will find Virtual Bassist SLAP Presets in these folders (replace “USERNAME” by your actual username):

OS X	Factory Presets	/Library/Application Support/UJAM/VB-SLAP/Presets
OS X	User Presets	/Users/USERNAME/Library/Application Support/UJAM/VB-SLAP/Presets
Windows	Factory Presets	C:\ProgramData\UJAM\VB-SLAP\Presets
Windows	User Presets	C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\UJAM\VB-SLAP\Presets
	(assuming your system drive is C)

Notifications

Notification Icon (inactive)

When you launch Virtual Bassist SLAP, it will automatically check for updates. If an update is available, the notification icon will be activated.

Clicking it will open a dialog that lets you choose whether you want to download the update now or later.

We built this mechanism to save you the pain of manually checking for updates in order to keep up with the latest improvements of Virtual Bassist SLAP.

Info Icon – About Page

About Page

The About Page is the place for information about your version and licensing status of Virtual Bassist SLAP. It is also a portal to other services:

Visit Product Site – takes you to our website with regularly updated news, videos, tutorials and other helpful stuff.
Contact Support – lets you report problems and ask questions.
Read User Manual – opens this document.
Acknowledgments – the people behind Virtual Bassist SLAP.
License Agreement – legalese for gourmets.

Player and Instrument Mode

Player/Instrument Switch

Virtual Bassist SLAP can perform either as a bass player or as a bass instrument, and you can switch between those two at any time.

The Player Mode features some brilliant technology we’ve pioneered to bring ultra-realistic bass performances into your music – even if you don’t play the bass or keyboards. More than 350 masterfully played phrases in 30 different musical styles that can be easily and seamlessly strung together to create the perfect performance for your song. These aren’t just boring MIDI loops, mind you. SLAP automatically follows the key and chord you play and intelligently selects the most musical articulations to make your tracks shine. The result is a fantastic bass delivered quickly and without drama.
If you prefer to record your own phrases (or even bass solos!), the Instrument Mode gives you complete access to all articulations. This means you can use your MIDI controller to play exactly as you want with maximum creative expression (including adding dead notes, full stops and even slides).

Note that the Interactive Keyboard and its MIDI note assignments are very different in INSTRUMENT and PLAYER mode. Also, certain parameters such as Latch, Key, Timing Parameters and Melodic Mode are only needed in PLAYER Mode and therefore hidden in INSTRUMENT mode to avoid clutter and confusion.

Which mode for what?

Player Mode, Melodic On: Use this mode when you want to enjoy the super-realistic performance of a real bass player with very simple input from yourself. Here, you control Virtual Bassist SLAP using chords – e.g. from a piano track or by just holding chords, and you create a vivid, real performance switching phrases in the Common or Style areas of the Interactive Keyboard. Virtual Bassist SLAP will create a bass performance with melodic riffs and hits (depending on style) always matching the input chord.
Player Mode, Melodic Off: Use this mode if you want to enjoy the super-realistic phrasing of Virtual Bassist SLAP but control the notes yourself, e.g. because you have particular melodic lines in mind.
Instrument Mode: This mode is perfect if you are a prolific keyboard player and want to play the bass live, or if you just want to throw in a riff or note here and there.

Interactive Keyboard

The Interactive Keyboard is both a display of received MIDI notes and an actually functional on-screen keyboard – with the only exception that notes you play on the Interactive Keyboard are not recorded into your DAW.

The layout and functionality of the Interactive Keyboard changes between PLAYER and INSTRUMENT modes as shown below.

Interactive Keyboard in PLAYER Mode

Interactive Keyboard in INSTRUMENT Mode

Player Mode

Timing Parameters

This icon opens the Timing Menu

Timing Menu

Only in Player Mode, you will find a menu icon in the top right corner of the user interface. Click it to open a selection of Timing parameters that you can use to adjust your Virtual Bassist SLAP’s performance to your song.

DAW Sync

Player Sync

You can quantize the player to match the playback of you host – this setting can be found in the Micro Timing overlay. Quantize to the current grid, 1/4, 1/8, or 1/16 notes. This new feature keeps the Virtual Bassist always in sync with the DAW timing position to make sure you have the phrase in time and on the right beat. Give it a try!

Speed

The Speed switch lets you halve (0.5x) or double (2x) Virtual Bassist SLAP’s tempo relative to the song tempo.

Swing

This function, often also called “Shuffle”, delays the off-beats. Virtual Bassist SLAP will automatically switch the Swing resolution to 8th or 16th note depending on the selected Style.

At maximum position, the off-beat will have the same timing as the last note of a triplet.

Use this control to match the timing of Virtual Bassist SLAP to a shuffled or triplet-based song.

Not all phrases contain 8th or 16th note off-beats. In these cases, the Swing control has no effect.

Feel

You can tweak the feel of your bass player’s performance either towards relaxed or rushed using this control:

As you move the slider to the left, the player will play off-beats slightly earlier, leading to a rushed or driving feel.
In the opposite direction, off-beats will be slightly delayed, creating a laid-back or relaxed feel.

Feel has a stronger effect when listened to against other tracks. If you’re not sure what it does, try playing a drum loop along with Virtual Bassist SLAP and tweak the control. You will notice that the off-beats will play earlier or later than the off-beat drums (usually hi-hats or snares) as you turn the control.

Timing

Like a real human, your session player in Virtual Bassist SLAP plays ever so slightly around the quantized note grid. You can vary how “human” you want those phrases to be played:

In the center position of the Timing slider, phrases are played with their original timing. If you’re unsure, leave the slider there.
Towards the left or “tight” position, the phrases will get more and more quantized, until they match the quantize grid exactly. Use this setting for example when using Virtual Bassist SLAP along with drum machines or generally in sequenced, electronic music.
Moving the slider towards the right or “Loose” position intensifies the timing variations – the bass performance sounds intentionally human.

Latch

Latch

When Latch is activated, once you press a key in the Chord range, Virtual Bassist SLAP will keep playing until you press the Stop key.

When Latch is off, Virtual Bassist SLAP only plays as long as you hold at least one key in the Chord range. Latch is convenient when testing or setting up sounds, and is more practical if you build a track by manually entering notes into your MIDI track.

You can use an optional Sustain Pedal as a temporary Latch. Lifting the sustain pedal unlatches any notes that are no longer held, even if the Latch switch is still on.

Style

Here you choose a STYLE – the selection of phrases accessible via the Style Phrases range on the keyboard.

Style Selector

A STYLE in Virtual Bassist SLAP is like a collection of particular phrases that you ask your bass player to play. Styles are the “rhythmic vocabulary” of Virtual Bassist SLAP, which is why we have included 30 sets.

You can select styles by either clicking the arrows of the Style Selector to skip to the previous/next style, or by clicking the name of the current Style to bring up the full list.

Style List

Every Style is a set of seven looping phrases, two intros and three fills. You can trigger them from the Style Phrases area of the Interactive or MIDI keyboard.

In most Styles, Phrases are ordered by intensity/density from left to right.

Play Range

Play Range on the Interactive Keyboard

The right section of the keyboard is the one that actually starts and stops the bass performance and determines the notes or melodies your bass player will play.

Instead of playing actual notes, you just select the root note or chord the bass player will perform as a phrase.

Virtual Bassist SLAP features a built-in chord recognition. The following paragraph will tell you exactly which chords are supported and how to play them.

Naturally, Virtual Bassist SLAP does not play any chords of course. The chord recognition is only relevant in Melodic mode (see below), where it considers the chord you press for matching melodic figures, licks and riffs to the current chord. This is also useful when you use the MIDI track of a Virtual Guitarist to control your Virtual Bassist.

Melodic Mode

Melodic Mode Switch

Melodic Mode, which you select using the switch above the right edge of the Interactive Keyboard, is only available in PLAYER mode. The switch defines whether Virtual Bassist SLAP will play melodic figures or just follow the notes you play on the keyboard:

If you’re a good keyboard player and/or know exactly which notes you want Virtual Bassist SLAP to play, switch melodic mode off and play those notes yourself, while the PLAYER provides the phrasing.
Turn Melodic Mode on and just hold chords or root notes to enjoy the built-in melodic functionality – individually for every phrase. Make sure to read about the KEY functionality in context with chords!

Insight: Key and chord recognition

The Player mode in Virtual Bassist is designed to play realistic, musical bass lines matching the current chords and key of the song, including typical diatonic and pentatonic riffs and figures resulting from the playing technique. There is a lot of intelligence behind this that you are not required to understand in order to make full use of it. If you’re interested, this paragraph provides a little basic insight into the harmonic and melodic workings of Virtual Bassist SLAP.

If you have used one of our Virtual Guitarists, you will notice differences in Virtual Bassist:

Virtual Guitarists play only notes that are part of the current chord
Virtual Bassists may play notes that are not part of the current chord, maybe not even of the current scale. These can be melody or passage notes that are essential for musically interesting bass performances.
Therefore, the Key selector has a different logic than you will be used to from the Virtual Guitarists: While it is a “chord selection filter” in the Virtual Guitarists, it can even extend the range of chords and notes, and help improving melodic figures and passage notes in Virtual Bassist. It can even be automated.

True to our ease-of-use and failure-free paradigms, usually you won’t have to think about the inner workings of how a UJAM Virtual Musician does their job.
If you’re not inclined to bother about music theory (or if you feel like you don’t understand it enough), a simple approach can be:

Play Virtual Bassist just like you would play your Virtual Guitarist, even in Melodic Mode.
In case the style you’ve chosen plays melodic figures and you experience a harmonic clash, additionally set the KEY parameter to your song’s key and the problem should be gone!

Key

Key Icon with current key displayed

Key Menu

This parameter is only relevant in Melodic mode. It is essential in ensuring that melodic passages played by Virtual Bassist SLAP always work well with the rest of your musical context.

Even without the Key being set, Virtual Bassist will automatically match melodic figures to the current root note or chord you’re playing.

However, unlike in the Virtual Guitarists, melodic figures played by Virtual Bassist SLAP may use notes outside the actual chord, and these can clash with the musical context if not played in the right Key. This is what this parameter is meant for.

Click the clef icon to open the KEY menu. When closed, the currently selected key is always displayed next to the clef.
Open the KEY menu and set your song’s key. Virtual Bassist SLAP’s player will choose melodic and passage notes correctly from the combination of the recognized chord and the set key.

If your song modulates or changes to a different key, you can automate the key parameter to follow, or use MIDI Learn to assign it to a MIDI Controller and control it in real-time!

Chord Recognition

The chord recognition scheme of Virtual Bassist SLAP is pretty straightforward and intuitive – it basically plays the chord you play (even if you’re just holding one note) or the next possible chord if that’s not available.

The following chords are recognized:

Chord displayed (based on C)	Notes
C (5th)	C, G
Cmaj	C, E, G
C6th	C, E, G, A
C7th	C, E, G, Bb
Cmaj7	C, E, G, B
Cb5	C, E, F#
Caug	C, E, G#
Cmin	C, Eb, G
Cmin6	C, Eb, G, A
Cmin7	C, Eb, G, Bb
CmMaj7	C, Eb, G, B
Cm7b5	C, Eb, F#, Bb
Cdim	C, Eb, F#
Csus2	C, D, G
Csus4	C, F, G

As described above, the chord recognition also considers the KEY if you have set one. Chord recognition and KEY are only relevant in Melodic mode!

Common Phrases

Common Phrases

The lower left of the MIDI keyboard (C♯0 – B1) is reserved for a collection of so-called Common Phrases. These phrases are “hard-wired” and won’t change with the STYLE selection. You can use the Finger/Slap toggle switch to switch between a fingered or a slapped playing technique, which drastically changes the sound. Common Phrases complement the Style Phrases by patterns that are more generic and applicable to multiple contexts.

Note that “black” keys of the right Common Phrase octave (C1-B1) trigger Intros and Fills – unlike the other phrases, those will play only once and then revert to the previously selected phrase.

Phrases are what you make of them. Virtual Bassist SLAP lets you switch phrases in real-time without interrupting the performance. That’s a great way to create dynamic and interesting phrasings of your own. The lowest key of the Common Phrase range (C1) is the Silent key – it will keep playback running, just with an empty phrase. Use it to create temporary gaps without restarting phrases.

Reference of Common Phrases

#	Group	MIDI Note	Description	Bars
1	Long & Short Notes	C♯0	Long 1/2 Notes	2
2		D0	Long 1/4 Notes	2
3		D♯0	Short 1/4 Notes	2
4		E0	Long 1/8 Notes	2
5		F0	Short 1/8 Notes	2
6		F♯0	Short 1/8+1/16 Notes	2
7	Basic Rhythms	G0	Basic 1/8 Note 1	2
8		G♯0	Basic 1/8 Note 2	2
9		A0	Basic Syncopated 1	2
10		A♯0	Basic Syncopated 2	2
11		B0	Basic 1/16 Note 1	2
12		C1	Basic 1/16 Note 2	2
13		C♯1	Fill 1/8 Note	1
14		D1	Basic 1/16 Note Short	2
15		D♯1	Fill 1/16 Note 1	1
16	Latin & Disco	E1	Samba	2
17		F1	Samba 1+5	2
18		F♯1	Fill 1/16 Note 2	1
19		G1	Disco 1/8 Notes	2
20		G♯1	Fill 1/16 Note 3	1
21		A1	Disco Samba	2
22		A♯1	Fill 1/16 Note 4	1
23		B1	Salsa	2

Style Phrases

Style Phrases

Keys in the C2-Bb2 range play phrases of the currently selected Style. While the phrases are mostly slapped, some phrases consist of a mixture of both fingered and slapped phrases. You will easily hear the difference, as the fingered samples sound rather muffled in comparison to the slapped samples. For example, listen to the style ‘This Is My Girlfried‘ and switch between F2 and G2.

White keys play regular cyclic phrases, while black keys trigger Intros (C# and D#) as well as Fills (F#, G#, A#).

Press black keys once to trigger the respective Intro or Fill.
Sometimes, these will start a little later in the bar. They will play once and then automatically fall back to the previous cyclic phrase.

Style phrases start with the lowest density/intensity on C2 and get more agitated as you move towards B♭3.

Know you always have these Style Phrases plus the Common Phrases at your immediate disposal.

The highest key of the Style Range – B3 – is the Stop key. In Latch mode, pressing this key will stop playback.

MIDI Drag and Drop

In Player Mode, the keys of the on–screen keyboard are horizontally divided into two sections. The top section looks like a tab.

Click onto a tab and drag into the Virtual Bassist track of your DAW, then let go to drop the phrase into your track as a MIDI File.

Any phrases can be dragged and dropped: Common phrases and Style phrases. This opens up a slew of creative options:

Tweak phrases to your liking by changing velocities or adding and replacing notes
Combine phrases from multiple styles

If you play and hold a key or chord before or while you drag, the dropped MIDI phrase will be in that key or chord. Use this to build entire songs: Hold a chord, drag phrase, hold next chord – you get it!

Realtime Controls in Player Mode

In Player Mode, the two wheels have distinct functions to let you create a more dynamic performance:

The Pitchwheel will be labeled Force and control the dynamic intensity of the bass. Turn it down for softer passages, turn it up to create accents.
The Modulation Wheel lets you gradually dampen the string, creating a shorter, more percussive sound.

Instrument Mode

Like all titles from our Virtual Musician range, Virtual Bassist SLAP is designed to deliver absolutely realistic performances as if played by a real musician on a real instrument. No compromise.

If you are a skilled player and know how to play the typical phrasings and riffs of a bass, we highly recommend INSTRUMENT Mode.

However, if you’re not a skilled keyboard player, chances are that you are way better off using PLAYER Mode.

Like the name says, Instrument Mode lets you play the bass instrument. Actually, Instrument Mode is active in PLAYER mode too – it is the bass model that gets played by the Player.

We wouldn’t be surprised if playing Virtual Bassist SLAP in INSTRUMENT mode felt like your keyboard was hooked up to a mechanism playing the physical bass.

This is because a Virtual Bassist is not just a multisample, but a real model that emulates all the behaviors of a physical bass guitar. Unwanted “unrealism” of a conventional sampled bass won’t be found in Virtual Bassist SLAP – such as machine-gun effect when repeating notes, unnatural note-offs or pitching/transposition artifacts.

Playing tip: Unlike many other instruments, realistic, grooving bass performances rely heavily not only on the correct onset of notes, but also on their end! A succession of long bass notes with no pause in between is easy to play on strings, but hard on a MIDI keyboard. In these cases, try recording your bass performance at half the original tempo – chances are this will still sound more realistic than note-length editing.

Key Switches in Instrument Mode

Key Switch Section

Playing a typical slap bass performance on a real bass guitar involves two different articulations: playing the 'slap' articulation by striking the low strings with your thumb, and playing the more percussive 'pop' articulation by pulling the high strings, letting the string snap back to the fretboard.

The left section of the Interactive Keyboard lets you switch articulations, legato behavior and also play a few essential noises for a more lively performance.

Key	Name	Description
G#-1	Slap Thumb	Triggers ‘slap’ samples. This key switch is effective in the range from D1 to D#3.
A-1	Finger	Triggers standard fingered samples. Full range.
Bb-1	Slap Pull	Triggers ‘pop‘ samples. This key switch is effective in the range from A1 to F4.
B-1	Slap	Plays ‘Slap Thumb‘ in the range from D1 to D#2 and ‘Slap Pull‘ from E2 to F4.
C0 to E0	Slides	Pre-select different slides that are perfect for “pre-intros”. Hold one of those keys and then play keys in the note range to trigger those slides.
C#0 and F#0	Legato Mode: Off and On	You can switch the legato slide behavior in the note range on and off in realtime.
G0	‘Silent‘ Dead Note	In addition to the regular Dead Notes, the G0 key doesn’t trigger a Dead Note but toggles the Main Keyboard to play Dead Notes with the played Key.
A0 and B0	Dead Notes	Dead Notes are “noteless attacks” that are used as a playing technique in-rhythm to make the bass phrase sound more percussive.
G#0 and Bb0	Full Stop	G#0 plays a left hand full stop and Bb0 plays a right hand full stop.

Realtime Controls in Instrument Mode

In Instrument Mode, the Pitchwheel will function as exactly that with a note range of 2 semitones, whereas the Modulation Wheel lets you gradually dampen the string, creating a shorter, more percussive sound.

Instrument Play Range

Instrument Play Range

The Play Range of the Interactive Keyboard is inspired by a regular four string bass guitar – it ranges from D1 to D#4 on the virtual keyboard. Here you play the bass like any MIDI instrument, up to four–note polyphonic and velocity–sensitive.

Instrument Toggle Switch

Use the ‘Finger/Slap/Combi’ toggle switch at the top and choose how you wanna play the bass in Instrument Mode. Here you set the main playing technique, so you don’t have to hold a key switch all the time, which allows you to use both hands when playing the keyboard.

Technique	Description	Related key switch
Finger	Triggers standard finger bass samples. Full range.	A-1
Slap	Plays ‘Slap Thumb‘ in the range from D1 to D#2 and ‘Slap Pull‘ from E2 to F4.	B-1

Note that any contrary key switch will overwrite this setting temporarily. For example, if the toggle switch is set to ‘Slap‘ and you use the key switch A-1, it will switch to ‘Finger‘ as long as you hold the key switch. This behavior is indicated by a white frame:

Instrument Combi Mode

This mode is perfect for live playing. When the toggle switch is set to ‘Combi‘, you can flawlessly switch between finger and slap articulations, depending on the velocity output of your MIDI controller. In this mode, the Character lets you control the different velocity ranges:

Character	Velocity range	Use…
Strong	Velocity < 20 = Fingered Velocity > 20 = Slap	…to play mainly slap and finger real soft.
Sharp	Velocity < 60 = Fingered Velocity > 60 = Slap	…to slap more and finger less.
Full	Velocity < 80 = Fingered Velocity > 80 = Slap	…to finger more and slap less.
Tame	Velocity <110 = Fingered Velocity >110 = Slap	…to mostly finger and hit hard to slap.

Insight: The “Bass Model”

In all Virtual Bassists, there is a mechanism at work under the hood that ensures realistic behavior of the bass instrument.

This is important as we don’t want to require our users to be intimate experts of the inner workings of a bass guitar, nor don’t we want to require you to know exactly what notes to play when, when to switch strings, or trigger slides or articulation noises manually.

In this paragraph, we’ll give you a little bit of insight into how this mechanism works.

If you’re in a hurry, skip it and read it later, because you don’t need this knowledge to make full use of Virtual Bassist (that’s the whole point). It’s hopefully interesting nonetheless.

String Logic

When you play a certain MIDI Note, Virtual Bassist will automatically pick a certain string. Here’s strings versus MIDI Notes in detail:

E: 28 – 34 (26 – 34 in Drop D Mode)
A: 35 – 39
D: 40 – 45
G: 46 – 63

Interval Handling

When you play an interval greater than 4 semitones, Virtual Bassist will change to a different string and play an extra note. Like a real bass, you can create up to 4 note polyphony.

Intervals between 1 and 4 semitones are regarded as a change of fret on the same string and played monophonically.

Position Change

There isn’t a fixed logic to position change. The Bass Model automatically calculates the position of a note from the previous note played. This means a preference of “realistic sound” over “realistic playing behavior”.

Legato Energy Level

The energy level of a legato note is not only dependent on the MIDI velocity, but also on the energy of the previously sounding note – taking its initial velocity and length into account.

Legato Articulations

A note is a note is a note, but some notes are different depending on their context – velocity, previous sounding note and so on. Here are a few examples – try them out in Instrument Mode to get a better feel for what happens:

Slides: Whenever a subsequent note is played louder than the previous one and its pitch is only one, two or three semitones apart, Virtual Bassist will not play a new note, but a slide (in reality, this is the finger of the player moving one or two frets on the fretboard, increasing the energy of the sounding string).
Hammer Ons/Pull-Offs: Likewise, if the subsequent note’s velocity is lower, Virtual Bassist will play a Hammer-On if the note is one, two or three semitones higher, and a Pull-Off if it’s lower. Hammer-On and Pull-Off are descriptive terms for what the finger on the fretboard does.
Neither a Slide, Hammer-On or Pull-Off is played if the notes cross the note range limit of a string – in this case a new note is played on the neighbor string.
Note-Offs are dynamically different depending on the remaining energy of the string and at which point of time into the sounding note it is stopped – there are staccato Note-Offs and legato Note Offs.

If you are unfamiliar with those terms and playing techniques but want to understand them, google them to find lots of explanations and videos on the web.

Bass Setup

Bass Setup Controls

This area is where you tweak the overall sound character and dynamic response of the bass guitar.

FUZZ

Virtual Bassist SLAP features a Fuzz distortion stage. It adds significant harmonic and character to the bass sound before it enters the pre-amp of the Amp setup. Use Fuzz subtly in combination with the amplifiers Drive control to add extra fatness and presence, or turn it up for a super-dirty fat bass sound. Whereas the Drive control of the AMP section is out of order when you use the Direct output, FUZZ always works independent of AMP selection!

CHARACTER

The Character control is a chicken head switch that selects one of four basic characteristics. These define the overall sound character as well as the dynamic response. Under the hood …

The sound character is achieved by a bass channel featuring various audio processors to control the low, mid and high end.
The dynamic response attenuation limits the “spectral” range of the bass guitar so that the same velocity levels sent to Virtual Bassist SLAP produce different sound characters without affecting the overall volume response too much.
When the toggle switch of the Instrument Mode is set to ‘Combi‘, then the Character knob controls the different velocity ranges.

Name	Sound	Dynamic range	Use case
Strong	Attenuated low end, emphasized high mids and highs	Full	Dominant bass sound that stands out in a mix.
Sharp	Emphasized high end	Low to medium-high	Very good for effects, licks, melodies and generally for the mid to upper note range. Emphasizes distortion.
Full	Nice round low end character	Low to medium-high	Full bass sound that stands out in a mix. Use this setting when using outboard plug-ins or gear.
Tame	Full low end with attenuated mids and highs	Soft to mid	Warm bass sound, for a subtle mix that embeds itself pretty well and ensures a soft sound.

Drop D

Drop D switch (in the “off” position)

This switch, when activated, tunes the E string down by a whole note, dropping the pitch to D (hence the name). This extends the note range to D, but also makes the note range played by the E string sound different.

AMP

Amp Selector

This switch sends the bass guitar signal through either one of three bass amp setups or selects a direct signal in case you want to use an external amp (plugin).

The Amp Models include top amp, cabinet and microphones and are perfected for a range of applications of Virtual Bassist SLAP.

Knob position	Character	Use ...
Reckless	Dirty live tube amp cranked up	…for a heavily distorted bass sound that sticks out and leaves no room for guitars.
Rough	Standard American tube amp rock setup	… for a prominent, mid-emphasized bass sound. but not dominating the whole room. Still sounds dirty.
Subtle	Another tube amp with a rather subtle saturation	… in case you want an amped, but rather clean and linear bass sound.
Direct	No effect of the AMP section	… if you intend to process the signal in an external bass amp (plugin), or if you want a distinctly clean, unprocessed bass sound.

DRIVE

Drive knob

This control adjusts the overdrive level of the bass amp to create a distorted sound. The effect is very different depending on the AMP setup you’ve chosen.

As graphically indicated, the DRIVE control has no effect when you’ve chosen the Direct setting of the AMP control.

Bass Channel Setup

Bass Channel

Virtual Bassist SLAP features a bass channel with a Finisher section and three audio processors dedicated for exactly this type of bass sound – a Compressor, an Equalizer and an Octaver.

As you will notice on first glance, we’ve designed them to be super-easy to work with – even without knowing how a compressor or equalizer are perfectly set up for a bass.

This is possible because – while a generic compressor or EQ has to offer a rather large set of parameters – here we already “know” the signal, so many parameters (such as ratio or attack time in the compressor, or frequency ranges and Q factors in the Equalizer) are optimally pre-conditioned under the hood. Thanks to this, you can control each processor very easily using one macro knob.

If you use external gear or plugins to shape your bass sound, make sure to set the bass channel components to neutral values.

Finisher

Finisher Section

The Finisher is a new section that adds even more bass–optimized effects to your Virtual Bassist. It was introduced with Virtual Guitarist Carbon in late 2019 and became so popular that we made it into its own product line and we will integrate it into all of our instruments over time!

Finisher is a super powerful custom effect array, with over 20 individual effect processors, macro–controlled by a single selector and control knob. You will find many effects from EQs to compressors, distortion, delay, chorus, and reverb to more experimental stuff.

It lends the bass sound all kinds of finish, from subtle character changes to standard effects such as delay, reverb or modulations to crazy grain clouds that render the original sound unrecognizable.

The Finisher section is the way to go for creative sound–design. It comes with 30 modes, specifically created for Virtual Bassist SLAP. Every preset sets up the individual processors in a new way and connects them to the Finisher knob. You’re very encouraged to use the Automation feature for the Finisher knob for very dynamic transitions or modulations.

Best of all: the Finisher is optimized to be played live. Using the Finisher knob you can create amazing morphing sounds. It couldn’t be simpler.

Finisher Drop–Down Menu

Drop–down Menu

To select a Finisher mode preset:

Click on the preset name to open the full list, or
Click the arrows next to the knob to step through the list

FX Mode Reference

#	Mode	Description	Use Case
1	Dirtbite	Adds aggressive, distorted overtones and resonances.	If your current Amp and Drive settings still feel too civilized, add this to taste.
2	Warm Drive	Mild, dark saturation.	Use for subtle seasoning.
3	Rounder	Opposite to many of the snappy settings, this mode will round and tame transients.	When things have become too snappy for your taste.
4	Rectify	A completely unfiltered, direct-to-desk fuzz.	Super nice to glue together with synth basses or as extra color in thick guitar walls.
5	Low End	The further you turn the knob, the more bass gain is added, and the lower the bass frequencies become.	Unfriendly neighbours.
6	Boxed	A small, slightly overwhelmed amp.	This adds nice midrange dirt that cuts well through any mix.
7	Pump & Crush	First it pumps, then it crushes.	Medium settings just enhance the low end. High settings completely destroy the signal.
8	Old Radio	A small kitchen radio speaker.	Popular move for intros, before you release the whole frequency range Kraken when the whole band sets in.
9	Gritify	A very 90s ish type of dirty distortion.	Have we ever mentioned that one can never have too many saturation colors?
10	Slam Compressor	The opposite of the "Rounder" mode - this will not remove but add snappy transients.	When things have become too unsnappy for your taste.
11	Foot Wah	A Wah pedal.	When slapping alone didnt strike you as funky enough.
12	LP12	A completely resonance free lowpass filter.	Darken your signal without sounding like a Minimoog.
13	Snap Filter	A hybrid of transient processing, filtering and distortion.	Darken your signal and sound a bit remix-ish in the process.
14	LP48	An absolutely not resonance free lowpass filter.	Darken your signal while indeed sounding a bit like a Minimoog.
15	LP + Dist	Same as above, but with an additional distortion pedal.	Darken your signal, while also making it brighter somehow. Sounds impossible, but is somehow true.
16	Jetplane	A multistage flanger array.	Low values for simple flanging. High values for airport atmospheres.
17	Chorus	A chorus that gets wider and wetter, the further you turn the knob.	If you wish Ujam had made this a Standard 80s Slapbass.
18	Phaser	A phaser that does the same thing.	Low values remain largely mono, while high values add inverse polarity stereo widening.
19	Disco Ring	A Ringmodulator that was talked into behaving more like a phaser or a wah.	It's funky. It's disco. It's groovy. Use if you want to be any of these things.
20	Vibrato	Because one needs to have a vibrato effect sometimes.	Automate this to apply it to select notes and accents. Or just turn it up and live in the 60s.
21	Tremolo	Because one needs to have a tremolo effect sometimes.	See above.
22	Autopan	Because one needs to have an autopan effect sometimes.	Most people keep basses in the center of the mix, but maybe you know something they don't.
23	Rotor Cab	Rotary speaker in a room, with settings that fit a bass more than an organ.	A nicely multifaceted alternative to more traditional modulation effects.
24	Low Octave	If you want an octave down instead of the octave up that the Octaver knob gives you.	As with all down-octavers: use only if you play in sufficiently high ranges, or else it becomes rather muddy.
25	Spring Reverb	A mono amp spring reverb that slowly turns into a stereo studio variant.	Try just 20% of this for some nice ambience and flair that doesnt cost you any space in your mix.
26	Row 2 Amp Room	A mid range amp in a very wide room.	Nice for intros and breakdowns, to then return to the dry and thick direct signal when the chorus kicks back in.
27	Delay	A stereo pingpong delay.	If you always thought that delay makes no sense on a bass, listen to "Wild Boys" from Duran Duran, then use this mode.
28	Variable Delay	A multimode delay thats spiced up with some cutting and slice reordering.	If a regular delay feels too mundane and you want to one-up Duran Duran.
29	Space Grinder	Hard to say what this is.	Turn a slap bass into an ambient cloud of sound. Because you can.
30	Drum Remix	Merciless Remix Extravaganza	Turn your bass first into a synth bass, and then into something completely different. Super fun when automated in reverse!

Compressor

As you turn up the Compressor control in Virtual Bassist SLAP, you will notice that the overall volume goes slightly up, that notes in the lower dynamic range sound louder, and – towards the maximum – the bass becomes more attack-y, i.e. the transients are shaped accordingly.

Using the compressor means you can lower the overall volume of Virtual Bassist SLAP without it losing presence in the mix, and the overall dynamic range is evened out, which you want in louder mixes, particularly with prominent drums and guitars.

Equalizer

The Equalizer complements the CHARACTER control really nicely in that combinating the two creates a large variety of bass sounds.

This Equalizer is four-band parametric. As you turn the knob from Vintage over Neutral to Modern, you move multiple parameters under the hood – gains, frequency bands and Q factors. In any setting, the Equalizer produces a useful curve. A rough guideline for what the Equalizer does is the following table:

Knob position	Low	Lo Mid	Hi Mid	Hi
Deep	+		-	--
10 o’clock	+	+	-	--
Neutral
2 o’clock	+	-	+	+
Present	+	-	-	++

Octaver

Octaver

The Octaver is less of a typical mixer channel component, but a bass-typical effect: It adds a duplicate of the bass signal one octave above the original. The knob controls the volume of the effect signal.

When used very subtly, the Octaver adds harmonic content in the high mids and highs, leading to a more pronounced bass sound, and adding throttle to any subsequent distortion or overdrive effects.

Higher knob positions change the overall sound of the bass towards a more melodic character and work particularly well for licks or fills in the higher note range.

Use the Octaver carefully – less when in doubt! Also note that the Octaver is calculated from the entire bass signal – not just the harmonic content – so may sound wobbly or rough. Use these artifacts to your benefit.

Master Volume

The Volume knob adjusts the master output volume of Virtual Bassist SLAP. It is a highly dynamic instrument, and there is a lot of functionality – from Force to Compressor to Amps – affecting the overall volume, so use this control to adjust the gain of Virtual Bassist SLAP before sending it into subsequent audio processors or effect devices.

MIDI Learn

Using MIDI Learn, you can assign any Virtual Bassist SLAP control to hardware controls of MIDI keyboards or other controllers.

To assign a control, you usually right-click or ctrl-click a control in Virtual Bassist SLAP to open the MIDI Learn context menu of your DAW.

MIDI Learn Menu

Automation

Most controls in Virtual Bassist SLAP can be automated. In combination with the phrase select keys this is actually a very powerful way of creating more dynamic performances. For example, automate POSITION and DRIVE with faders to create dynamic transitions, or switch-automate AMP or Doubling to drastically change the sound between song parts.

For instructions on how to activate Virtual Bassist SLAP parameters for automation, please refer to your DAW’s user guide.

Sustain Pedal

The sustain pedal replicates the Latch control, so you can use it as an additional way of varying phrases in real-time. Pressing the sustain pedal activates latching of chord notes. Releasing the sustain pedal releases any latched chord notes even if the Latch button is on.

Loading Indicator

This loading bar displays the loading status of the sample library when opening the instrument in the DAW. If you use an external drive for the content files, loading it might take a little while, depending on your hardware.

Resizable Interface

The user interface is resizable to fit different sizes of screens. To resize, either click the “window” icon next to the notification bell in the top right corner or simply drag the three stripes in the bottom right corner of the user interface.

FAQ

Where can I get help?

We keep a help desk with a knowledge base and known issues here: UJAM Helpdesk

I still have questions! Where can I send them?

Please submit a request to our support staff! Don’t hesitate, we’re eager to help you out and learn about your opinions and suggestions. Many improvements and products have been influenced by our user community.

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Welcome to Virtual BASSIST SLAP