Hard trance basslines

[Spatialsound]

I got hold of a copy of Vengeance Clubsounds 1 a while back, which I thought would help a little with getting the authentic sound I want (since it's a sample pack from the time), however I'm struggling to even mix any kick and bass samples together; every attempt sounds flat/uninspiring regardless of samples used/EQing/reverb/delay etc - even though I can pick out plenty of these samples from existing tracks I cannot replicate the feel at all. I've also had some attempts at the 'newer' hard trance sound and failed in the same way.

As per previous posts I've been struggling with basslines anyway, but the fact that the issue extends to using existing samples that I know can make good tracks makes it even more frustrating. I'm not sure where I'm going wrong, or if it really is down to not using analogue gear...

A couple of examples, though these are the better-sounding ones since I haven't saved most of the attempts
https://soundcloud.com/spatial-sound%2Floop-896-12345%2Fs-6EwsH1I0eA3 https://soundcloud.com/spatial-sound%2Floop-901-12345%2Fs-hIVUcVZShs3

 

[Hensmon]

That first sample @Spatialsound is not tooo bad. I guess the sounds could feel a little more defined/clean/pronounced, but wouldn't say your that far off. The second sample, although not that interesting has a little bit more oomf to it

You could always reach out to a mixing/mastering engineer on soundbetter.com for some advice, possibly paying small ammount to improve it and have them send back the stems so you can review the changes they made?

 

[Edms]

I listened both. Kick- needs always to be apart from bass, if you are using fl studio or OMS check out my article Spectrum Units | EDMSOUNDWARE.COM
If they walk together they should be at least 5 full tones apart. Go for my latest Tricent MkIII hard trance freepack here and see how it is done.

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Kick needs to have bit more starting click, you can get it using eq with boost around 4k, see span or some eq with diagram where is the audio data(which frequency). Bass can be more dull or more prominent. It depends if you will use someting more around 5 k in the same time. If not also boost 5k. When lead sound goes in, then swich to antoher eq with no boost and mute first one.

 

[Narel]

There’s all sorts of ‘golden rules’ and bullshit on this. My kick and bass choices are always made to be complimentary and I spend a while on this. I don’t usually use drum synths, though I do sometimes. One thing I’ve found, which is a bit ‘techno’ but applies to all - low freqs from a well chosen/made kick can really compliment those from the bass. They don’t need to be clinically separated IMO. My track Tensile is a good example - but make sure the kick has some snappy transients so it cuts through.
For hard trance I love the old skool SHOKK basslines. This was pre-sidechain basses so don’t be drawn into that. IMO it’s done with filter ADSR and maybe a bit of amp ADSR, saturation/distortion and some short decay reverb. Some are mono, some are clearly poly with heavy detuning. If you’ve got synths with sub oscillators use them for sure. If not just drop another version of it an octave down - but watch out for aliasing. Synths with sub Osc usually have some anti aliasing brains built in. Oh and select key tracking if you’re using any filter ADSR modulation.
Good luck : )