Ableton Live Tutorial: Making a Sub Bass Layer w/ Corpus Effect
Dubspot instructor Michael Hast shows how to turn Ableton Live’s underrated Corpus device into a low-end secret weapon. By routing Corpus to a return track and driving it with side-chained MIDI, you can graft a powerful, perfectly tuned sub layer onto any bass sound without stacking extra synths. Follow the steps below and give your tracks the chest-rattling weight they deserve.
Why Use Corpus for Sub Bass?
- Physical modeling produces deep, organic tones that blend naturally with synth basses.
- Side-chain MIDI keeps the resonator locked to the exact notes you play—no pitch-shifting hassles.
- Return-track workflow lets you dial in just the right amount of sub without muddying the mix.
At a Glance
- Create or import a bass patch (Operator works great).
- Load Corpus on a return track, set Wet/Dry to 100%.
- Switch the Model to Membrane.
- Side-chain Corpus to the bass MIDI track and enable Freq.
- Tweak Decay, Brightness, Harmonics, Transpose, Fine, and Filter to taste.
- Blend the return track back into the mix for a thick, tuned sub layer.
Step-by-Step Walkthrough
1. Craft or Choose Your Bass Source
Start with a bass sound that needs extra girth. Michael uses Ableton’s Operator plus a dash of saturation, but any synth or sample will work.
2. Set Up a Dedicated Return Track
Create a new return track (Cmd/Ctrl + Alt + T) and drop Corpus on it. Set the device’s Dry/Wet knob to 100 %—the send will now output only processed audio, leaving the original bass untouched on its channel fader.
3. Choose the Right Resonator Model
Flip the Model menu to Membrane. This model excels at low-frequency material, imitating drum heads and speaker cones that naturally resonate in the sub range.
4. Engage Side-Chain Control
- Open Corpus’s side-chain panel.
- Select your Bass channel as the input source.
- Activate the Freq switch so the resonator tracks incoming MIDI notes in real time.
This trick forces Corpus to “tune itself” to every note you play, eliminating pitch-drift that plagues typical resonators.
5. Dial in the Decay Tail
Turn Decay up for a longer, rumbling sustain. Short decay = tight, percussive sub; long decay = cinematic boom. Find a value that complements the groove without stepping on the kick drum.
6. Sculpt the Tone
- Brightness: Lower values darken the sound, focusing energy below 100 Hz.
- Harmonics: Adds upper partials; keep it low for pure sine-like subs, or raise slightly for speaker-friendly midrange.
- Transpose / Fine: Nudge the resonator up or down an octave or cent to lock in phase or avoid clashing with the original bass.
- Filter: Roll off highs to keep the sub clean; 120 Hz is a solid starting point.
- Bleed: Mixes a touch of Corpus’s dry input back in, helping the layer glue to the source.
7. Add Intelligent Off-Decay
Enable Off Decay in the side-chain panel to make the resonance fade smoothly when notes stop. This keeps gaps clean and avoids unwanted hum between phrases.
8. Blend to Taste
Return levels are your friend. Push the send knob on the bass channel until the low end feels solid, then pull it back a hair. Check on headphones and monitors—excessive sub that feels great in cans can swamp a club system.
9. Final Polish
- Add gentle compression or multiband limiting on the return if transients leap out.
- Use spectrum analysis to ensure the sub fundamental sits below the kick but above infrasonic mud (30–40 Hz sweet spot).
- Automate send amounts for drops or breakdowns to create dynamic low-end swells.
Pro Tips from Michael Hast
- Layer multiple returns with different Transpose settings for stacked harmonics.
- Automate Brightness to accentuate filter sweeps without touching the main bass patch.
- Side-chain the return track to the kick with a compressor if the mix gets crowded.
Wrap-Up
Using Corpus as a sub bass generator is fast, CPU-light, and musically responsive. Because the resonator follows your MIDI, every slide, bend, or chord change is perfectly in tune. Experiment with other models—Tube adds analog growl, while Plates can create metallic subs for EDM and bass music.
The next time your bass line feels thin, let Corpus do the heavy lifting. A few tweaks and a return fader are all you need to turn a decent groove into a dance-floor-shaking monster.
Happy producing, and keep those lows tight!
