Steinberg Virtual Bassist Operation Manual

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From MIDI
When From MIDI is activated, Virtual Bassist will analyze its MIDI input 
and adapt the Micro Timing to the incoming MIDI information. Any off-
set will be shown in the Micro Timing section.
Click From MIDI again to stop analyzing the MIDI input when you are 
happy with the result.
When From MIDI is activated, Virtual Bassist will not respond to MIDI 
controller messages.
Reset
Clicking Reset will reset the Micro Timing settings and Virtual Bassist 
will play with its usual timing unaffected. 
						

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The Part Browser
The Part Browser displays all of the Parts, Fills and Remote Keys used 
in the Remote Range and their MIDI key assignments. A selected Part, 
Fill or Remote Key becomes highlighted in the Part Browser. You can 
trigger Parts by clicking the note description keys on the left.
What can you do in the Part Browser?
Assign keys
You can assign any Part, Fill or Remote key to any MIDI key inside the 
Remote Range.
To do this:
1.Play the relevant key (Key Follow switched on) or click the Part in the 
Browser to select it. The part will become highlighted. If a key is as-
signed to a Part or Fill its rhythmic structure will appear in the Macro 
Groove Display.
2.Right-click the Key in the Browser and select a Part, Fill or Remote 
Key from the context menu.
You can assign the same Part to several keys! This allows you to have 
variations of the same groove on multiple keys.  
						

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Copy and paste parts
Virtual Bassist allows you to edit Parts and Fills with Groove Match 
and to assign any Part or Fill to any Key in the Remote Range. It is also 
possible to edit a Part or Fill and copy it to another key.
To copy an edited Part to another key:
1.Edit a Part with Groove Match (e. g. Complex 4 on F2).
2.Right click the key in the Part Browser and select Copy from the con-
text menu.
3.Right-click the destination key (e. g. G2) and select Paste from the 
context menu.
Rename keys
For convenience, all keys in the Remote Range can be renamed in the 
Part Browser. To do this double-click a key in the Browser, type in its 
name and press [Enter] on your computer keyboard. 
						

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The Amp & FX page
The Amp & FX page is the icing on the Virtual Bassist cake. The amp 
has authentic Solid State or Tube modes and the stomp box collec-
tion includes everything a bassist needs on stage or in the studio. 
We’ve focussed on getting the best possible sound and feel. 
Since the amp sound and effects are an important part of an electric 
bass sound, the multi-effect board in Virtual Bassist is seamlessly in-
tegrated into the instrument. The same multi-effect board can also be 
used as an effect plug-in in your host application on any instrument or 
track you choose, see page 63.
To switch to the Amp & FX page, click the Amp & FX tab at the top of 
Virtual Bassist.  
						

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The Amp section
At the top of the Amp & FX page you will see the silver Virtual Bassist 
amplifier.
Solid State Or Tube amplifier?
Solid State
The transistors in a solid state amp deliver high volume with a fast 
transition from clean to distorted (turning up the Drive), adding odd 
harmonics to the bass signal. If you are looking for high power and a 
pure, bright sound, switching to Solid State will probably serve your 
needs perfectly. 
Tube
Tube amps are famous for their warm and refined amplification. Turn 
up the Drive and the amount of distortion rises gradually. If you want a 
warm and smooth crunched sound, switching to Tube is your choice.
Musicians have argued forever about which is the better amplifier – 
some people like coffee and others prefer tea.
Drive
The Drive knob controls the gain of the preamp. Turning it to the right 
means your signal will get louder but will also start to distort. As men-
tioned above the Drive knob’s behavior depends on which amp model 
you use - Tube or Solid State.    
						

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VU meter
The VU meter is used to give an accurate visual indication of the output 
of the amplifier. It closely corresponds to the level sensing mechanism 
of the human ear and therefore provides a useful indication of the sub-
jective loudness of a signal. The VU meter is a standard requirement in 
recording studios and professional amplifiers as it aids the recording 
engineer or the musician to control the headroom of the entire system 
and to avoid clipping. Virtual Bassist’s VU meter indicates the output of 
the preamp. The perfect recording level is slightly below 0 dB, occa-
sionally moving into the red. A meter reading of +3 dB indicates a dis-
tortion of 10 %.
EQ
This high quality three band equalizer gives you powerful frequency 
control and features a parametric mid band. It was specially designed 
for Virtual Bassist to give you exactly the tools you need to tweak your 
bass sound.
MID FREQ
Use this slider to adjust the frequency of the mid band.   
						

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Master
The Master Level knob controls the main output volume of Virtual 
Bassist. 
For convenience this knob is linked to the control with the same name 
on the Play page.
FX section…
The following section will give you an introduction to the effects fea-
tures of Virtual Bassist. Although we’ll try to explain them theoretically 
it’s always a good idea for you to just play around with them to get an 
impression of what they can do.
Switching effects on or off
Every effect device has its own on/off switch. All switches are classic 
metal switches with a indicator LED except the Octaver which has a 
black rubber switch on the bottom half of the pedal. 
Effects are active when the LED is lit.   
						

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Tempo-syncing effects
Wah, Chorus/Flanger and Tremolo can all be tempo synchronized to 
your project tempo so that they modulate at exactly the right speed for 
your project. To synchronize an effect unit to the project tempo simply 
click the yellow Tempo/Sync field on the pedal and choose a speed 
from the drop-down menu. T is for triplets, * for dotted.
To set the pedal back to an unsynced speed just move the rate or speed 
knob on the pedal.  
						

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The effects
Wah pedal
The Wah effect was named after its sound and is a special lowpass 
filter with a resonance control that amplifies the frequency band 
around the cutoff frequency. The pedal controls the cutoff frequency 
opening and closing the filter. Just like in real life the Virtual Bassist’s 
Wah pedal is inserted between the bass and the amp.
Resonance
The Resonance knob in the top right corner of the pedal controls the 
intensity of the Wah effect. Turning this knob up amplifies the fre-
quency band around the cutoff frequency. Higher Resonance values 
make the Wah effect more intense. From “wa” to “uuaah”.
Wah control
When the Wah speed is set to zero you can manually control the 
pedal with your mouse or the modulation wheel of your MIDI key-
board. Of course this movement can be recorded or written as auto-
mation information in your project.
The wah pedal can be controlled by any MIDI CC#, see page 64.  
						

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Speed (tempo synchronized wah)
Turning up the speed control in the top left corner activates the Auto 
Wah, a Wah that automatically modulates at the speed you set. The 
foot pedal now controls the center frequency of the Wah.
Setting the Auto Wah rate is a simple matter of moving the Speed 
knob, the Wah speed is displayed in the yellow field in Hertz or “Wahs 
per second”. The following table gives some examples of how long 
one filter movement or Wah will take at different speed settings:
Of course you can synchronize the speed of the Wah to your host’s 
tempo. Select a note resolution from the Speed/Sync drop-down menu 
next to the speed knob. T stands for triplets, * for dotted.
Auto
When you set the Speed knob to maximum, the Wah pedal will be 
controlled via envelope analysis (also called envelope follower). This 
means that the filter cutoff frequency will be controlled by the input 
(bass) signal. In this mode the Speed knob’s display will say “Auto”.
Speed (Hz) Seconds per “Wah”
0.1 10
0.5 2
10 0,1