acid pluck

About this sample

This bass sample features a sawtooth oscillator generating a rich harmonic foundation typical of acid sounds. Each note in a syncopated 16th-note sequence sweeps the filter cutoff from 3500 Hz to 400 Hz using a fast-decaying exponential envelope, combined with a resonant bandpass peak between 1200 and 1800 Hz to emulate the classic squelchy character. A subtle 6 Hz vibrato adds movement while amplitude envelopes shape a percussive pluck with rapid attack and decay. The entire sequence is saturated with a tanh function for grit, high-passed at 30 Hz to clean low-end mud, and presented in stereo at 128 BPM over 3.75 seconds.

This acid pluck is suited for electronic genres like acid house, techno, or synthwave at mid-tempos around 128 BPM. It can be layered with sub-bass or distorted leads for texture but requires careful mixing to avoid frequency masking around the resonant bandpass area. Applying additional filtering or compression may help it cut through dense arrangements without becoming harsh.