Virtual Bassist MELLOW 2

Name: Virtual Bassist MELLOW 2
Price: 111.95 USD
Author: UJAM

by UJAM · Instrument · Upright bass instrument

Not rated yet

An acoustic double bass played fingerstyle, with 60 styles and 1,380 phrases for jazz, singer-songwriter, R&B and hip-hop.

Five sound characters, four mic mixes and 15 Finisher modes are included; it lists at $119 and was $9.52 on sale.

Best for: Bass. Genres: Jazz, Acoustic & Classical, R&B & Soul, Hip-Hop & Trap, Pop.

Keywords: bass instrument, strings, beginner-friendly, resizable UI, sample-based, simple, smooth.

What it does

MELLOW 2, "The Organic Acoustic", is UJAM's upright bassist: a recorded acoustic double bass played with the fingers, with "the odd noise here and there" left in for realism. It aims for smooth, elegant lines, from a quiet jazz trio part to a bigger hip-hop bass voice.

Player Mode: set the key and hold chords, and the player picks phrases and suitable articulations.
Instrument Mode: full keyboard access to a sampled fretboard, with dead notes, full stops and slides.
Styles and phrases: 60 styles and 1,380 phrases; version 2 added 20 styles and 30 presets.
Characters and mics: five sound characters that change dynamics and tone, and four microphone mix presets built from several direct signals.
Tone controls: amp choice, note vibrato, room reverb level, octave, dynamics and EQ.
Finisher: 15 multi-effect modes.
Integration: MIDI drag and drop, DAW quantization, PreSonus chord and key track support in Studio One 4.6.2 or later, and a resizable interface.

The product page lists version 2.1. A free trial is available, and the MIDI phrases and sounds are royalty-free.

Source: UJAM product page

When to use it

MELLOW 2 is the quick way to a warm upright bass part when you don't play bass or don't want to program a walking line note by note. Compared with Trilian, which has deeper acoustic bass sampling and more control for parts you play yourself, it trades detail for an auto-player and ready-made jazz and R&B phrases. MODO BASS 2 focuses on modelled electric basses, so MELLOW 2 is the better fit for a real double bass sound. Against its siblings DANDY and SLAP, it is the only acoustic option, and it was very cheap on sale when checked.

Best for: upright bass lines in jazz-flavoured pop, singer-songwriter, R&B and boom-bap hip-hop.
Genres: jazz, R&B, hip-hop, acoustic and pop.
Look elsewhere if: you need real jazz walking bass with full note-level control; Trilian's acoustic basses give more detail.
Tip: hold keys with the left hand to pick phrases and use the right hand to set the notes, following the chord and key (Bedroom Producers Blog).

What producers say

Reviewers like the sound and fast workflow, with the main complaints about limited tone control and, in older versions, missing MIDI output.

Bedroom Producers Blog rated the Virtual Bassist 2 range 92 out of 100, praising Mellow's "lovely, full-bodied tone" and its jazz phrases, including non-4/4 styles; it said "a little more control wouldn't have gone amiss."
KVR users have one review, 1 out of 5 (2020, version 1), which agreed it sounds good and is easy to use but marked UJAM down for not offering MIDI out; MIDI drag and drop has since been added.

Where to buy

Best Service: $111.95
UJAM: $119
PluginFox: $119
AudioDeluxe: $119

Tutorials and reviews

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