Native Instruments - Scarbee Bass Scarbee Bass is a virtual instrument that is powered by Kontakt, a VST plugin. Kontakt 5 Player is free and luckily the Scarbee Bass plugins can be used by it, although you will have to purchase each individual bass guitar model you want for between $69 and $99. The bass VST plugin features a wide collection of bass sounds ranging from screaming leads to class fat basses that give it a warm resonance that is quite rare in modern bass plug-ins. Among its features is a classic ladder filter that models sounds at 12/24 dB for that low bass. Also added to the frame are LFOs that are relatively easy to route. VST 4 FREE - Free Audio Plug-ins and Archives. Free VST downloads: FabBass (Hofner violin bass by Samsara Cycle Audio) - Digital Nylon (Nylon guitar by TED) - Classic. Bass Engine costs $80 from the DopeVST website. Serving up three distinctive decades of bass sounds, this simple VST and Audio Units plugin should be high on the list for hip hop producers seeking instant results. Using a huge bank of sampled bass sounds, the plugin gives you access to everything from sampled vinyl bass to modern trap 808s. Bias FX 2 is probably the best guitar VST plugin in my opinion in terms of value. It offers hundreds of different amp sims and effects pedals that you can mix and match in one convenient package.

Even though a relatively simple instrument, the bass certainly has a major part to play in the feel and vibe of your mix.

That’s why many engineers and producers like a dedicated compressor that will translate the groove and punch of a bassline in a mix well…

… so in this guide, we’ll take a look at a few choises, and see which of them is the best compressor plugin for bass.

Quick answer: Softube Tube-Tech CL-1B Compressor is the top choice among engineers. The punch and clarity that it imparts is simply magic to the ears…

Otherwise, Waves Audio C4 offers great value for the money…

While Waves Audio Bass Rider is the cheapest bass dedicated compressor plugin to get.

Let’s take a closer look 🙂

Table of Contents

• Bass Compressor Plugin Buying Guide

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Bass Compressor Buying Guide

What is a Compressor?

A compressor is a hardware or software device that applies compresses to the dynamic range of an audio signal.

They do this by reducing the higher volume sections of the audio and increasing the low volume section. The process is typically done automatically via threshold, ratio, and makeup gain controls.

To understand more about how a compressor works, take a look at our post on audio compressors.

Features to Look for in a Bass Compressor

The most important features of a compressor are their controls.

Compressors typically come with threshold and ratio controls. With these you can set the level where the compression begins to take effect, and the rate at which the compressor ceases to affect the signal.

These controls are pretty much essential for most compression applications, particularly for bass, where control over the punchiness of the sound is crucial.

Control over the attack is also an important feature for bass compressors. In most cases, you will want a small portion of the initial transient to pass through unscathed, in order to provide definition to your bass part. Without an attack control, you pretty much have to make do with how much of the initial transient the compressor circuit allows through.

Ideally, you will also want control over the release parameter. This has a considerable effect over how the individual note fades out, which is crucial for tempo-sensitive musical applications. By being able to control the rate at which the note fades out, you will be better able to shape your bass track in a more rhythmically logical manner.

You can read more about how to properly use a compressor with bass.

Choosing a Compressor Plugin for Bass

Besides knowing what controls you need in a compressor, there’s another good thing to take into consideration when choosing a good bass compressor: sound.

Although transparency is often a desirable quality to have in a compressor, this isn’t necessarily the most essential characteristic in a bass compressor.

In rock or hip-hop music, bass and other tracks are often processed quite aggressively in order to give them sufficient ‘vibe’ and ‘attitude.’

For these purposes, you might be better served by a compressor that imparts a bit of coloration or harmonic distortion to the sound.

With that said let’s take at a few bass compressors for mixing.

Best Compressor Plugin for Bass – VST, AU, and AAX

Softube Tube-Tech CL-1B Compressor

Among compressor plug-ins, the Softube Tube-Tech CL-1B Compressor stands in a class all its own.

It’s modeled after the legendary hardware compressor of the same name, the software version does a great job of making bass tracks–or most any other program material for that matter–stand out in the mix. And it does at the fraction of the cost of the original opto hardware model.

It’s warm, punchy, and solid, the sound that the CL-1B imparts is made even better by the addition of features such as sidechain low-cut filters and parallel blend control.

Specs and useful features

• Upgraded version of popular CL-1B plug-in
• Improved sound via Softube’s latest signal processing technology
• New features such as sidechain low-cut filters and parallel blend control
• High-resolution graphics
• Bundled with legacy CL-1B for backward compatibility

User impressions

The CL-1B seems to appeal to users that appreciate warm, natural compression as opposed to ultra-squashed sonic treatment. Although it does offer plenty of squishiness when pushed to the extremes, most users favor the warm and transparent quality that it imparts on bass, drums, and vocal tracks. The CL-1B is especially effective at preserving the punch and clarity of bass tracks, even as it adds its own distinctive character.

Pretty much a compressor plug-in that can handle most any task, the CL-1B nevertheless garnered some criticism for its small GUI, the odd behavior of the controls when adjusted via the mouse wheel, and the absence of dry/wet and bypass controls.

Bottom-line

The Softube Tube-Tech CL-1B Compressor is one of those plug-ins that just seem to sound great no matter how you set them. Especially effective at bass, it can also easily handle pretty much any compression-related task in the studio.

Of course, versatility and great sound come at a premium, and the CL-1B has a price tag to match. Nevertheless, if you are intent on getting an almost-perfect replication of the hardware Tube-Tech CL-1B compressor, the CL-1B is the best way to get it.

Demonstration

Waves Audio C4

The Waves Audio C4 is a fully-featured multiband dynamics processor that, based on a lot of users, works amazingly well on bass tracks, and could easily handle 90% of other compression needs.

It has control over four parametric bands, along with the ability to expand up and expand down, limit, and compress each of them.

The plug-in also comes with both dynamic and standard EQs, so you’d have the ability to do some precision sculpting with your bass sound.

Specs and useful features

• Multiband compressor plug-in
• Control over four parametric bands
• Precise sculpting of frequency and dynamic response
• Control over different frequencies of the sound
• Dynamic mix shaping via frequency-based compression and expansion
• ARC auto release control

User impressions

Best Bass Guitar Vst Plugin

Waves Audio C4 is another compressor plug-in that can handle most any duty in a studio setting. Most users apply it quite liberally to bass and drum tracks, although many have used it to great effect on the master buss as well. For devoted users of the C4, its ability to retain punch and bottom end are among its biggest strengths. The plug-in is especially favored for its ability to make a bass track sit better in a master mix without affecting any other track.

Any complaints? Sure. A common one is about the noise that it can introduce in certain settings. However, this is often dealt with by careful adjustment of the four parametric bands.

Bottom-line

The Waves Audio C4 is quite a capable unit that can do more than compress bass tracks. While some plug-ins might be simpler to use for bass and low end instruments, there is no denying the benefits that it can impart to any production.

Demonstration

Waves Audio Bass Rider

Simplicity is key to the appeal of the Waves Bass Rider, which manages to preserve the original character of bass like no other compressor plug-in can.

With its ability to rides bass levels automatically, the Bass Rider is perfectly suited for those times when you just need your bass to poke out more, but you don’t want to kill its dynamics with a compressor.

Specs and useful features

• Automatic level riding
• Optimized for bass
• Retains the bass’ natural character
• Dedicated studio and live components

User impressions

The Bass Rider seems to appeal mainly to “set-and-forget” users, but even those with more fully-featured compressors can’t help but be swayed by its undeniable simplicity and great sound. The plug-in is especially favored by users that want to have their bass be more present in a mix without necessarily affecting its natural dynamic range.

Of course, some users do wish that they had more control over the character of the sound, but using the Bass Rider in conjunction with another compressor plug-in usually does the trick.

Bottom-line

The Bass Rider is a fairly limited plug-in that surprisingly works well for a varied array of applications. If you have a frequent need to have your bass more forward in the mix but you don’t necessarily want a compressor, the Bass Rider might be all the help you’re looking for.

Demonstration

Waves Audio CLA-3A

The Waves Audio CLA-3A has quite a formidable heritage, being based on the classic Teletronix LA-2A compressor from the 1970s. Like its predecessor, the CLA-3A promises to deliver the kind of character and subtle harmonic distortion that you’d expect from the vintage unit. Despite that, it can also be as transparent as you need it to be, which is good.

With its fast response and sidechain frequency filter, the CLA-3A could be just the perfect sonic sauce to spice up the bass tracks in your mix.

Specs and useful features

• Based on the classic Teletronix LA-2A solid-state hardware compressor
• Compressor and limiter modes
• Ideally suited to bass and electric guitar
• Sidechain frequency filter
• Zero latency

User impressions

A few words seem to sum up the user experiences of the Waves Audio CLA-3A: “simple”, “punchy”, and “in-your-face”. It seems to be an especially popular plug-in among bottom-end merchants, used to great effect in treating bass and even booming 808 kick drums. Many users in fact use it on drums as well as bass, citing its ability to beef up tracks without a lot of fuss and bother.

Best Bass Vst Plugin

One thing that many users make note of is the inability to fine tune attack and release times. Although this might be an issue for some, the CLA-3A just sounds so good that most users don’t seem to mind.

Bottom-line

Like the Teletronix LA-2A that inspired its design, the Waves Audio CLA-3A is a transparent-yet-punchy compressor that sounds good on most everything, especially bass and drums. If you want a reasonably-priced compressor that can make most any track push its way to the front of a mix, the CLA-3A could be just the thing.

Demonstration

Waves Audio CLA-76

The legendary UREI 1176 serves as the inspiration for the Waves Audio CLA-76, which offers the distinctive limiting characteristics of its noted predecessor in a convenient plug-in form.

The attack can be set as short as 50 microseconds, providing all the punch you need to make your bass tracks stand out.

The Waves Audio CLA-76 also comes with a unique “ALL” control that lets you replicate the explosive character of the UREI 1176 with all its ratio buttons pushed in.

Specs and useful features

• Based on the UREI 1176 Class-A line level limiting amplifier from the 1960s
• Extremely fast attack
• Exclusive ALL control
• Zero latency
• Pre-amp distortion modeling

User impressions

The CLA -76 seems to attract users that appreciate the warmth and punchiness that analog tape effortlessly imparts to recordings. More than a few have mentioned the startling similarity between tracks processed by the CLA -76 and tracks flown in from 2-inch tape, citing the smooth and dynamic frequency response.

Interestingly enough, some users also appreciate the aggressive quality that the CLA -76 can impart. A versatile plug-in that can get as aggressive as you need–and yet that can be quite transparent as well–the CLA -76 seems to appeal to a wide variety of users.

Bottom-line

Fast attack and a colorful character…these are what the Waves Audio CLA-76 provides in spades. If you are able to catch it on sale, don’t even think: just go and grab it! If you are into vintage character and aggressive rock-style push and presence in your bass, the CLA -76 is a must-have.

Final thoughts – Which to Get?

For mixing applications, the best compressor plugin for bass in this lineup would have to be Softube Tube-Tech CL-1B Compressor. The punch and clarity that it imparts is simply magic to the ears, and it can provide enough squish for any but the most determined audio mangler or dancefloor groove merchant. The price might be enough to give some people reason to consider other options, but if warmth and punchiness are your sonic goals, this one definitely delivers in buckets.

That being said, the Waves Audio CLA-76 and the Waves Audio CLA-3A pose seriously stiff competition to the CL 1B. Modeled after two legendary pieces of hardware, the CLA-3A and the CLA -76 both provide enough character and attitude for even the most discriminating users. For much less cash than the CL-1B alone, you could easily afford to pick up both plug-ins and have all your compression needs covered.

Apart from the Softube CL 1B, which really does belong in its own price range, every other plug-in here provides exceptional value. But special mention must be made of the Waves Audio C4 which does way more than your average compressor plug-in. A multiband processor that wouldn’t be out of place in your master buss, the C4 wins out over all the rest as far as value is concerned.

Top 10 Most Playable Guitar Plugins 2019

Every professional composer or producer has been in a situation where they need to add some cool guitar parts to their production. Even though guitars and guitar gear are at their peak at the moment with high-quality stuff that can be found for everyone’s pocket, let’s face it – sometimes owning a whole ton of pedals, amps and cabs is just not so convenient when you are on a deadline and crunching hours of work.

And honestly, most of us in the industry are always on some deadline. So setting up a rig, saving your setup, mic positions, etc. just doesn’t cut it and it’s too slow. That is where plugins and software solutions come in handy and that’s our topic for this post, so let’s dig in. This is our top 10 list of the most playable and usable guitar plugins of 2019 in no particular order.

1. IK Multimedia – AmpliTube 4

AmpliTube has been present for quite some time and it seems that the guys from IK Multimedia are investing more and more resources to upgrade it with each new iteration. The currently popular one is AmpliTube 4 and you can get yourself a lite version for free and then buy additional amps, cabs, speakers and pedals from their custom shop, which is like going to an actual guitar shop, only virtual.

You can truly create your own custom tone in a matter of seconds and you can place your cab in a room of your choice. There are tons of simulations ranging from licensed stuff by Fender, MESA Engineering, Orange, ENGL and Ampeg and some unlicensed stuff, but you can easily recognise there is also Marshall, Vox, Peavey and other stuff as well. Multiple mic positions to really capture the tone you want and all sorts of stuff.

One interesting thing here is the option to actually change the speaker models in your cab so you can have a Mesa Boogie Mark 4 head connected to an Orange 4×12 cab. But you can replace the speakers from Orange’s default to something like a Celestion Vintage 30 or Bluebacks or whatever you like. The options are truly limitless. There are also tons of pedal models ranging from overdrives, distortions, fuzz, boost, delay, reverb, chorus, you name it.

2. Positive Grid – BIAS lineup

Positive Grid is maybe the youngest player on the market of amp simulations, but they sure are very innovative and the fact that many top guitar players are endorsing them speaks very highly of their products. Their product range includes BIAS Amp 2, BIAS FX 2, and BIAS pedal. These lines of products are for more tech savvy players out there.

Bias Amp 2 features amps and cabs ranging from boutique clean combos over to insanely high gain heads. Compared to other guitar amp simulations out there, here you can really dig into amp electronics and change the types of preamp section tubes, power amp sections, transformers, gain staging and tone section so you can start with a classic amp model and end up with something fully customised to your needs. I am yet to see other developers doing this with their products.

The top selling point of Bias Amp 2 is amp matching. If you have an actual hardware amp in your studio and you really like the tone of it, you can capture the impulse response of your guitar amp into BIAS Amp 2 and use it in a digital domain, save it as a preset and you’re good to go.

BIAS Pedal is a product that enables you to create your own drive, modulation or delay pedal by tinkering with various components and then save it as your custom creation to use with BIAS Amp 2.

BIAS FX 2 is sort of a combination of the previous two products mentioned. Basically it is a comprehensive collection of guitar amps, cabs and pedals so you can create your own custom guitar rig for any purpose. You can also load your own creations from BIAS Amp 2 and BIAS Pedal and use them inside BIAS FX 2.

There is also the option of Tone Cloud where you can upload your presets and share them with the community and I have to say that there are some amazing products there.

One great option that the BIAS lineup offers is Guitar Match. What it does is that it enables you to completely re-shape the tone of your actual instrument before the amp. So for example you have a single coil Strat but you need some beef of a humbucker Les Paul. No problem, just follow the instructions on the screen and you’ll have it. Les Paul into a Telecaster? Sure thing! Telecaster into a metal shredding speed machine? They have you covered.

3. Emissary – Ignite Amps

This one’s a freebie but don’t think just because it’s free it’s mediocre. From personal experience I can tell you that this one is a true gem and we mentioned it in our top 10 free plugins post. Emissary is truly engineered for the mosh pit because this is a fully high-gain metal machine. The guys at Ignite amps really know their stuff because they actually build hardware amp heads and Emissary is their best-seller. So they wanted to create a software version that does justice to the real thing.

One drawback (sort of) of this amp is that it only simulates the head with its preamp and power amp sections. But this is where the guys from Ignite Amps have joined forces with STL Tones so you can have their NadIR plugin for cab impulse responses bundled with Emissary also FOR FREE! They’ve got you covered with that and NadIR comes with some really good IRs but you’re not limited to only those because you can load many others that are available online, either as freeware or you can buy some really excellent collections. Give it a shot, you can’t lose!

4. Fortin Nameless Suite – Neural DSP

Mike Fortin is the mastermind behind some of the most aggressive sounding amplifiers in recent history and his precisely engineered brutality has become a staple to some of the industry’s most legendary names. His uncompromisingly built tube amplifiers are coveted by some of the most notoriously aggressive players on the planet. If you’re looking for a mean hard-rock or metal machine then look no further.

Along with the amplifier and cab simulations you get Fortin Amplification’s Grind, Hexdrive and ZUUL pedals to enhance that high gain tone. Cab sim module of the suite can also load third party IRs next to the already featured ones with 6 mic positions.

5. Parallax – Neural DSP

What Fortin Nameless is to metal guitar players, Parallax is to bass players. Parallel bass processing has been used for decades. Dual rigs or multiple plugins are configured to distort treble for clarity and aggression and compress lows for a massive foundation. This is why Parallax provides everything you need to design the ultimate bass tone. It also features a cab sim section for creating that real low-end thump to your bass guitar. This one is brand-new so give it a go.

There are tons of starting presets from some of the most respected bass players and music producers to give you world-class bass tones in a matter of seconds. If you are a gigging musician and you don’t want to drag all of your expensive gear on the road, Parallax (just like Fortin Nameless) comes as a standalone software, not just a plugin, so you can plug into your laptop and you’re ready to rock.

6. PRS SuperModels – Waves

You are all familiar with Waves being one of the best mixing plugin developers out there and guitar players among you know who Paul Reed Smith is and how much of an impact he has as a guitar designer with his PRS models. But maybe you didn’t know that Paul Reed Smith also designs some really beautiful guitar amps and Waves engineers have joined forces with him in order to bring you a really amazing suite of guitar amp and cab simulations.

There are three models in the collection, Dallas, V9 and Archon. Dallas gives you that nice Americana clean boutique and light overdrive sound. V9 is more classical with sounds ranging from clean, to standard rock, whilst the Archon covers all of your needs for high-gain sounds. Each amp comes with a cab sim section but you can also load your own IRs for more customised tones. This is the only collection out there officially licensed by Paul Reed Smith and the only one out there that actually features PRS amps. If they’re good enough for Alex Skolnick and Devin Townsend, they’re good enough for the rest of us.

7. Guitar Rig 5 Pro – Native Instruments

Guitar Rig was my first entry into the world of guitar amp simulations back when I was starting out 10 years ago and I have fond memories of it. It basically gives you almost the same options as the other products on this list, with many amps, cabs and FX to choose from. There is also a free version which you can utilise for some clean and standard drive tones but real fun starts with the full version of course.

If you own Native Instruments Komplete bundle, chances are that you already have Guitar Rig 5 in your collection. Maybe this post reminds you that you can utilise it from time to time and that you can get some really great tones from it if you don’t want to hunt down other products from this list.

8. Helix Native – Line 6

Line 6 are well-known for their top-notch products for guitar players and bass players alike and many of their products are on pedalboards of a lot of A-listers out there.

Helix is their latest iteration in guitar amp modeling which builds and enhances on the legacy of the fan-favourite POD series. If you don’t own a Helix hardware unit, fear not because Helix Native is a 1 to 1 recreation of the actual unit because this is an actual DSP software that’s built into the hardware version. The only difference is that you’re using your computer CPU and you have it as a plugin.

It comes packed with tons of different amp and cab simulations, effects and a never-ending list of presets to get you started. It will give you tons of inspiration and make your guitar sessions a whole lot easier. It doesn’t look as fancy and inspiring as others on this list, but it does give you a great tone.

9. ReValver 4 – Peavey

ReValver is sort of the underdog on this list because I am yet to meet a composer or guitar player who actively uses it, but don’t let it discourage you from trying. ReValver is actually a rock-solid collection of amplifiers licensed by Peavey, ranging from Americana clean amps like Peavey Classic 30 over to high-gain 6505+ destruction. There are also some unique discontinued models like Peavey XXX and JSX endorsed by Joe Satriani. The focal point of this collection is the Peavey amps of course but you can buy additional models based on Marshall, Fender, Orange, Vox and others with tons of pedals and FX from their Amp Store.

ReValver was actually the first plugin to feature an actual instrument modelling with their ACT technology which enables you to totally change your instrument’s sound. There are models ranging from Peavey’s original creations such as Van Halen’s first Wolfgang, many classical guitar models like Strats, Teles and Les Pauls over to metal shredding guitars with active pickups, acoustic guitars, and bass guitars of course.

Best Bass Guitar Plugin Vst Tutorial

You can really create some amazing sounds with this collection and for the tech-savvy you can really dig into the schematic of the amplifiers to change tubes (or valves if you’re in the UK), transformers, gain staging, preamp and power-amp sections, you name it. You can also load your own cab IRs if you don’t want to use Peavey’s bundled cabs.

10. Brainworx – Lineup Of Guitar Amp Models

We all know Brainworx as one of the top-dogs when it comes to mixing plugin development but they have made some AMAZING guitar amp model plugins over the years, both for UAD platform and native users. Vst plugins 2017. Each amp is modelled to sound as realistic as their hardware counterparts and some of those amps include models supported and licensed by Friedman, Suhr, Diezel, Fuchs, Ampeg, ENGL, Chandler Limited and many other models not licensed but well recognisable like MESA Boogie and Marshall.

Best Bass Guitar Vst

If you are a UAD user and own an Apollo interface you will highly benefit from your Unison high impedance input because it models the actual input circuit of a real guitar amp which acts as if you are plugging your guitar into an actual thing. But for those of you who don’t use the UAD platform, fear not because Brainworx has started re-modelling their UAD amps for native users as well and more models are coming every month! By the way, their Rockrack guitar modelling software comes in a free version to get you started!

Now, what are you waiting for? START ROCKING!

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