- Product: Pure SUB
- Developer: Arturia
- Version: 1.0.1
- Format: Standalone, VST, VST3, AAX, AU
- Requirements: Windows 10 or later, macOS 10.15 Catalina or later
- Source: arturia.com/products/software-instruments/pure-sub
Pure SUB is a bass synth built for a wide range of electronic styles, from deep subs and classic Reeses to aggressive, heavily processed modern bass.
Its main purpose is to easily create bass that hits hard, sounds loud, and cuts through the mix.
At the heart of the processing chain sits the Subprocessor, a dedicated processing module inspired by modern bass production techniques. This gives access to complex processing through simple controls, from subtle enhancement to total sonic destruction.
With Pure SUB, modern bass design has never been easier.
Bass design in Pure SUB begins in the Sub and Harmonics engine, where the sub and harmonic content are generated and shaped independently. Two sliders control their respective levels, and both can be modulated, so the balance between the fundamental and harmonics can move over time or just sit exactly where you want it.
The Sub engine focuses on generating the fundamental frequency, while the Harmonics part allows you to create additional harmonics from various waveforms. It lets you morph, detune, and spread them to create deep, evolving bass without destroying the fundamental frequencies.
Pressure mode includes its own waveform editor, where existing waveforms can be edited or built from scratch by drawing harmonic amplitude and phase directly across up to 16 partials.
Reese mode switches to a wavetable engine tuned to create an ultra-wide unison and morph between high-density harmonic timbres. It’s the natural starting point for a classic Reese sound, but it can achieve a lot more than that.
A dedicated key-tracked pitch envelope is also available, adding attack and punch to the bass. It’s particularly useful for shaping an 808-style bass.
For fast inspiration, the Dice button is a quick and fun way to generate new bass sounds from existing presets without the need to start from a blank patch. It can also be used to create a preset from scratch using the Dice symbols available in the Harmonics engine, Noise source, and Filter type. It can produce a wide range of results.
Whenever you come up with a sound you like and need a variation, just keep hitting the button until you find new inspiration.
To ensure that sound translates properly on a sound system, the phase and amplitude of the fundamental must remain clean.
However, heavy processing through filters, distortion, and effects can sometimes alter these essential qualities.
Sub Regen solves this by removing the processed fundamental and regenerating a clean version of it after the heavy processing has taken place.
Four routing options are available, and you can keep the processed sub as it is, restore it after the Filter, after the Subprocessor, or after the Effects Rack.
With the core in place, the Texture module introduces an additional layer of sonic detail: subtle noise, grit, and air that interacts with the processing stages still to come.
Two operational modes are available: Noise and Corrosion.
Both of these modes offer a set of controls.
Noise mode comes with a Texture Shaper that uses several shaping techniques and stereo width.
Ring Modulation modulates the sound with the fundamental frequency through ring modulation. Amplitude Modulation does the same using rectified amplitude modulation, producing a slower, more gradual effect.
And Distortion blends the noise with the sub signal through dedicated distortion techniques that were designed specifically for Pure SUB.
Because the fundamental is integrated into the texture through these shaping functions, the results respond musically across the keyboard rather than just sitting as a static layer.
Corrosion takes a different approach, blending white noise or audio-rate tones: Noise, Sine, Saw, or Square. It can be set to a fixed frequency or key-tracked to follow the notes played.
And when key-tracked, the resulting texture integrates into the sound in a musical way.
The Filter section is the first step in shaping the character of the bass, controlling which frequencies are emphasized or attenuated before the sound reaches later processing stages.
Over 40 modes are available, grouped into families such as Classic, Ripple, Reverb, Cluster, Phaser, Lo-Fi, Rage, Surgeon, and Analog. Each contributes to a distinct tonal identity that’s beyond the standard low-pass, high-pass, band-pass, and notch shapes.
A Drive control is available on the Filter input. This adds anything from subtle to more intense harmonic saturation.
The Sub, Harmonics, and Texture layers can be routed into the Filter individually, so any one of them can be reshaped without disturbing the others.
Cutoff and Resonance can later be animated with envelopes and modulation sources. This opens up the door for evolving spectral movement across the rest of the patch.
Modern bass design leans heavily on creative processing to turn simple waveforms into powerful, complex, and evolving sounds. The Subprocessor brings that color into Pure SUB. This module carries the same importance in the design process as the engines themselves.
The main Amount control sets how strongly the selected modes are applied, moving from subtle enhancement through to total sonic destruction, while six macros give you further control of the processing.
A dedicated Dice button randomizes the mode, and a second one randomizes the macro positions, making it easy to explore new ideas and create variations of a sound.
Processor controls can be modulated, which opens up evolving bass tones, wobbles, and other movement generated directly from the processing stage rather than added afterwards.
Once the bass has been built and processed, modulation is what brings it to life.
Six modulation slots sit alongside the envelopes, each assignable to a function, a random generator, an additional envelope, a step sequencer, or a voice modulator.
A cyclic function, for example, can be routed to the Subprocessor to introduce a subtle wobbling movement.
Under the Movement category, there are 58 dedicated function shapes designed to create bass movements, which are worth exploring.
Keyboard expressivity is covered through the classic set of assignments: velocity, key track, mod wheel, aftertouch, release velocity, and MPE slide. So the instrument responds to dynamic playing as well as programmed modulation.
A new addition to the modulation system, the Modulation Sidechain, allows any modulator to control the amount of another modulator. For instance, you can use a macro to scale how deeply a function affects its destination.
Four macro knobs sit at the top of the modulation system, each assignable to one or several parameters at once.
A single macro can tie together Filter Cutoff, Subprocessor Amount, and the Effects level, turning one knob into a complete transformation of the sound during performance.
The final stage brings the bass to its finished form.
The Effects Rack provides 12 effect slots in series, drawing from 19 effect types across spatial, dynamics, filter, EQ, distortion, and modulation categories.
Most of these effects come from the V Collection and Pigments ecosystem.
An effect that plays a crucial role in bass sound design is the multiband upward compressor that gives you that OTT effect.
But there are a few effects that were redesigned specifically for Pure SUB.
The Distortion now has new distortion algorithms and the following parameters: Bias, Low Gain, Peak Gain with frequency control, and Width control, plus a key-tracking toggle for the peak frequency.
And the Filter effect now includes all of the same types from the main Filter, which opens up a ton of sound design possibilities.
Slots can be freely rearranged, and complete chains can be saved and recalled as Effects Rack presets.
The Maximizer sits at the very end of the chain, controlling peaks and holding a strong, consistent output level. It can glue the sound, tame transients, and create an intense pumping effect when pushed hard.
Soft mode maximizes transparency, while Hard mode adds a touch of grit along with the extra loudness.
Every stage is designed to build on the one before it, from the independent Sub and Harmonics architecture in the primary engine, through Texture, Filter, and the Subprocessor, all the way to the modulation and final Effects chain and Maximizer.
The best way to get familiar with Pure SUB is to work through a patch from the ground up.