BassRift

Name: BassRift
Price: 67.73 USD
Author: United Plugins

by United Plugins · Multi-FX · Bass processor and multi-effect

Not rated yet

BassRift from Instant Audio (sold by United Plugins) splits bass into low and high bands, keeps the low end tight and adds effects to the top.

It works on synth bass and bass guitar, with modulation, space and distortion stages, for $89.

Best for: Bass, Keys & Synths, Sound Design. Genres: Electronic & EDM, Hip-Hop & Trap, Rock & Indie, Metal.

Keywords: bass, synths, creative, 808s, clean, tight, auto-gain, chorus, enhancement, flanger, mixing, multi-band, perpetual licence, punchy, resizable UI, reverse, sound design, tube, wobble.

What it does

BassRift is an Instant Audio bass processor, sold by United Plugins, described by the developer as an "all-in-one bass sculpting tool designed for speed and power." It splits the signal so the low end stays tight while creative effects work on the upper band.

Split: an adjustable crossover with selectable steepness and separate gain for the low and high bands.
Safe Bass: a compressor and enhancer keep the low band solid, with an option to sum it to mono.
Flow: modulation on the high band: chorus, flange, wobble or phase, with Amount and Rate knobs.
Space: reverb, delay, comb filter or reverse, with Amount and Time knobs.
Heat: distortion types Crush, Trash, Tube and Fold, with Amount and Dirt knobs.
Reorderable FX: the three effect modules can be dragged into any order.
Merge: recombines the bands, with high-pass and low-pass filters and a maximizer, plus automatic gain compensation.

It has 64-bit processing up to 192 kHz and higher, a resizable interface, smart bypass and sleep on silence. Presets cover synth bass, 808s and bass guitar. It comes with free lifetime updates, and a free 15-day trial is unlimited.

Source: United Plugins product page

When to use it

BassRift is pre-built for one job: protect the low band automatically and put the effects on the upper band, the usual trick for modern bass sounds. Compared with Multipass and Infiltrator 2 it has a fixed two-band layout and only three effect slots, but it needs no setting up and works in a few moves. Unlike those general multiband tools it is of limited use away from bass. It also handles bass guitar, where Sound On Sound found it can push a bass towards synth territory.

Best for: growling, moving or distorted bass sounds and 808s with a clean, solid low end, and creative bass guitar tones.
Genres: EDM, bass music, hip-hop, pop, rock and metal.
Look elsewhere if: you want a natural bass guitar mix, or flexible multiband routing for any source; QuickBass or a channel strip suits the first, Multipass or Infiltrator 2 the second.
Tip: place the comb filter after the distortion for richer harmonics.

What producers say

The main review was clearly positive, with the only caveat that it is bass-focused.

Sound On Sound (Paul White, July 2024) said the two-band design keeps lows "clean and punchy" while the effects shape the harmonics, praised the drag-and-drop ordering and presets, and found "bass guitars can be made to sound like synthesizers."
Criticisms: little beyond its narrow focus; it is mainly useful on bass rather than midrange sources.

Sound On Sound review

Where to buy

Tutorials and reviews

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