Steinberg Virtual Bassist Operation Manual

Virtual Bassist
51
ENGLISH
Fuzzbox
The Fuzz box got its name from the fuzzy sounds it generates. The gen-
uine sound comes from a distorted transistor amplification that cuts the 
waveform’s peaks and changes them towards a square wave. If you’re 
not after the natural drive of your solid state amp give this one a try. The 
fuzz box is standard issue for modern Heavy and Industrial music.
Setting up the Fuzzbox:
1.Use the Drive knob to adjust the amount of distortion, turning it to the 
right increases...

Virtual Bassist
 52
Compressor
A compressor is a tool to control the dynamic range of an audio signal. 
Technically speaking, it consists of an envelope detector controlling a 
voltage controlled amplifier. Practically it limits volume peaks and al-
lows you to boost the volume of the quieter parts of the signal. Use it 
to accentuate attacks or increase the sustain of your bass notes.
Setting up the Compressor:
1.Select which frequency band of the bass sound you want to compress:
2.Use the Amount knob...

Virtual Bassist
53
ENGLISH
Octaver
The Octaver adds a second pitched bass signal. This is a very com-
mon effect to make the bass sound fatter or growly. A whiff of a fifth, a 
third or an octave softly added to Virtual Bassist’s signal will make it 
sound much more dense. 
Try turning the Mix knob to maximum and the Tone to very low, add 
some chorus and you will end up with a quite synthetic bass sound.
Setting up the Octaver:
1.Turning the Mix knob to the right increases the level of the second...

Virtual Bassist
 54
Chorus/Flanger
This is a two in one stomp box. Click the button at the top of the effect 
to switch between Chorus and Flanger.
Flanger
A Flanger adds a whirling, glassy character to the sound. It is created by 
slightly delaying the effect signal, modulating the delay time and feeding 
a portion of the effect back into the input to sharpen the effect.
Setting the Flanger:
1.Click the button at the top of the effect to choose Flanger.
2.Use the Speed control to adjust the modulation...

Virtual Bassist
55
ENGLISH
Chorus
As the name suggests, a chorus seemingly multiplies the signal, liven-
ing up the sound, making it wider and thicker. The principle of the 
Chorus is similar to the Flanger except for the fact that the modulation 
is unsynced for the left and right channels and the pre-delay time is 
longer making the Chorus fatter and less glassy.
Setting the Chorus Effect:
1.Click the button at the top of the effect to choose Chorus.
2.By matching Speed and Depth to each other, you can...

Virtual Bassist
 56
Effect routing
Routing display
The effect routing is set up in the most efficient way. All effects are 
connected in series in the following order:
Activated effects are highlighted in the routing display. 
Routing switch
If you take a closer look at the FX Routing you will notice that EQ and 
Compressor are available at two positions in the chain. Depending on 
the sound you’re aiming for, you might want to have the EQ and the 
Compressor in front of the other effects or after them....

Virtual Bassist
57
ENGLISH
The output section
The output section of Virtual Bassist allows you to choose between 
several recording setups to polish the sound of your bass track. Our 
ultra realistic algorithms put you in the chair of the producer, creating 
recording conditions just like in a real studio situation.
DI/Microphone
Set the slider on the left to DI to record Virtual Bassist through a DI box. 
DIs are used in professional studios to connect the bass guitar directly 
to the mixing console....

Virtual Bassist
 58
Speaker cabinets
Virtual Bassist has six types of speaker cabinets available which cover 
most speaker configurations used by bass players and offers many 
possibilities to shape your bass sound.
1 x 15” A bass amp combo with a single 15 inch speaker.
1 x 18” A bass amp combo with a single 18 inch speaker.
2 x 15” Two 15 inch speakers in a cabinet.
4 x 10” Four 10 inch speakers in a quad box.
4 x 10” Alum Four 10 inch aluminium speakers in a quad box.
8 x 10” Two quad boxes, each with...

Virtual Bassist
59
ENGLISH
Microphone type
The Virtual Bassist speaker cabinet is recorded using either a dynamic 
or condenser microphone. The microphone can be placed on axis, 
meaning directly in front of the speaker cone, or off axis meaning that 
it points more towards the speaker’s edge than the cone.
Because the speaker combination selected also affects the sound of 
Virtual Bassist, the above microphone descriptions should be only 
treated as a general overview. The many combinations of...

Virtual Bassist
 60
Effect management
Effect programs
When you load a Style in Virtual Bassist all effects settings for the 
Style are automatically loaded. In addition Virtual Bassist can inde-
pendently save and load Effect Programs which include only the set-
tings for the Amp & FX page. 
Virtual Bassist comes with 32 factory effect programs plus an effect 
program for each Style (displayed in the Amp & FX page Browser on 
the right hand side of the Amp & FX page). In addition a virtually unlim-
ited...