Toontrack EBX: Funk Fusion

Groove Approved

Bass, grooves and presets - tailored for the sound of funk and fusion!

Featuring custom MIDI and presets as well as a bass that can muster the entire range from vintage thud and thump to razor-sharp high fidelity, this EBX takes you right to the crossroads where the addictive groove of classic funk intersects with the intricacy of modern-day fusion.

If you’re looking to expand your EZbass with sounds that radiate with vintage charm but with every bit of modern edge intact, this is your new go-to EBX.

This EBX for EZbass was built around the idea of providing the ultimate instrument to bridge the gap between two genres in which the bass has been the rhythmic backbone since day one: funk and fusion.

The bass in question is a flawlessly luthier-built current-era instrument designed to offer the highest standard of sound, dynamics and tonal depth.

Needing the ability to handle the subtleties of jazz as much as the output of rock, this bass was handpicked from a selection of instruments as the bar-none choice ticking all those boxes.

It was sampled using the traditional finger and quintessential slap techniques as well as an articulation all-new to EZbass, called left-hand mute.

The latter will allow you to produce tight and distinct performances, very much resembling palm mute on an electric guitar and crucial to the sound of these
genres.

In addition to the bass itself, this EBX also includes a broad selection of presets as well as a basic collection of basslines tailored for funk and fusion.

The presets cover the full spectrum from the classic to the modern and include anything from the basic and muffled to the big, spacey and saturated.

Two presets even offer a layer of an FM synth, allowing you to seamlessly blend in a texture of classic synth bass on top of the regular instrument.

Moreover, the MIDI has all the ingredients you'll need to get going with any funk or fusion-inspired track.

Expect an EBX with an absolutely off-the-charts groove factor, providing all the slap, pop, slide, rhythmic, syncopated and cosmically groovy sounds and tidbits you'll need for your funk and fusion.

If you're looking to make songs where the bass does way more than just tag along, this is an expansion for you.

Features

• A custom and handcrafted top-tier five-string electric bass
  
• Ideal for anything from classic funk to modern fusion
• Sampled using finger, slap and left-hand mute articulations
• A total of 17 cymbals, 10 bass drums and 14 snares
• Offering a range from A0 to E4
• Mix-ready presets covering anything from classic, modern and saturated to semi-synthetic tones involving a bass synth layer
• Comes with a custom MIDI library tailored for funk and fusion

The Instrument

The original instrument sampled for this EBX is a one-of-a-kind Franz Bassguitars Sirius - a custom bass handmade in Bavaria, Germany, by luthier Xaver Tremel.

Featuring a singlecut design, a walnut body with a flamed maple tone block and top of spalted maple, it has a robust weight that produces a modern tone that still retains a good portion of earthy vintage flavor.

For pickups, it's equipped with a pair of Delano Times Square dual coil humbuckers matched with a Noll TCM2 active/passive two-band preamp.

This further cements the clarity in the low end and extreme overall definition.

All in all, this is a truly unique bass in every regard, especially when it comes to sound.

If you're looking for a dynamic, articulate and precise tone that has all the traits of a modern bass but still that familiar, warm and rustic feel of a vintage instrument - this is it!

The Sounds & Articulations

All the traits of funk and fusion.

This EBX was sampled using the traditional finger and slap styles as well as slap as well a left-hand mute technique.

Combined, you’ll have the full palette of quintessential articulations needed in order to produce stunning funk- and fusion-inspired bass work.

The Presets

The presets in this EBX were inspired by the entire facet of funk and fusion from the 1970s until today and designed to give you a basic go-to source of mix-ready sounds particularly engineered for these genres.

Involving vintage and modern amps, cabs and effects, expect tones for anything from the classic to the absolutely ambient and niched - all curated to sit right in your mix.

Of course, if you feel the need to tweak the sound, each preset offers its own custom set of controls allowing you to fine-tune every setting to suit whatever style track you've got going.

As always, should you want to run the instrument through an external signal chain to dial in your own tones from scratch, use the 'DI' (direct in) preset and then the 'Multi-Out' option to route the bass out to your DAW.

From there, the sound-shaping possibilities are endless!

The MIDI

The included MIDI library includes a collection of basslines and riffs inspired by the entire era of funk and fusion from the heydays in the 1970s until today's more intricate styles.

Expect big, melodic and syncopated rhythmic melodic magic with enough groove to leave no one wanting.

As always, you can infinitely customize and fine-tune any MIDI using the onboard tools in EZbass, making sure any part falls right into what you're working on.