Like DopeSONIX's first release Beat Machine (a plug-in dedicated to hip-hop drums), the concept behind Bass Engine is simple - a collection of three decades of hip-hop bass.
The blurb that accompanies the sale of the Bass Engine drops it like this: "These bass sounds include everything from dusty jazzy upright bass, to floor-shaking 808's and everything in - between". And in truth that is exactly what they have done. Producers get authentic sounds, and for a plug-in so cheap it is refreshing to hear that the sounds on offer actually do have a certain quality, that makes one think that this plug-in is worth three times the money.
What DJ Mag really likes about this plug-in are the no-nonsense parameters. You can tell the guys behind DopeSONIX are real hip-hop heads because there is nothing on the UI that can take the user too far away from the original sound. There is volume, pan, reverb, glide and an ADSR section - that is it! But that is the point.
Just like the hip-hop guys sampling from records, it is all about the sound, and this is what Bass Engine delivers. It is available in VST and AU formats for both 32Bit and 64-Bit machines, and comes with 300+ instruments, covering everything from dusty double bass, Triton patches to 808 thumps, so saying this is only suitable for hip-hop isn't particularly true, as we've been auditioning the instruments with some garage house loops and are very happy with the results. They also supply 50 hip-hop MIDI basslines in a selection of styles and keys to help get those creative juices flowing.
Producers that want 300 oscillators, six million LFOs and a UI that has more knobs than parliament, this isn't your instrument. For those who don't have the hours to go crate-digging and are after some great bass for an affordable price, then Bass Engine and their other instrument Beat Machine are worth a look into.
Verdict
8/10
Original source: DJ Mag.
