Phasenpunkt releases Roadsoul Bass Lite, a FREE vintage bass instrument for HALion and HALion Sonic.
Roadsoul Bass Lite is a vintage bass instrument sampled from the Crumar Roady. The instrument aims to deliver classic keyboard bass tones heard throughout the 1980s.
Before the Crumar Spirit (designed by Bob Moog) came along, Crumar released multiple keyboard instruments that still hold a certain charm today.
Crumar instruments were typically big, bulky, and a bit quirky, right down to the names, like the Organizer (clonewheel organ) and Jazzman electric piano.
I believe Crumar released the Roady analogue electric piano in the late 1970s, although I’m unsure of the exact date. The Crumar Roady has several electric piano sounds, bass, and vibes.
Roadsoul Bass Lite provides an authentic Crumar Roady sound while adding the convenience of a modern virtual instrument. Roadsoul Bass Lite has a flexible four-stage effect chain range of built-in effects.
You can add modulation (Chorus, Phaser, Flanger), Distortion (Bit Reduction, Rate Reduction), Ring Modulation, Frequency Shift, Space and Atmosphere (Reverb, Delay), and Amplification.
Phasepunkt put together some nice demos to showcase the sound and versatility of Roadsoul Bass Lite. You can hear the classic funky key-bass tone, the more aggressive, almost lead-like bass, and more experimental and psychedelic sounds.
Phasepunkt isn’t the first developer to tackle the Crumar Roady; Loot Audio released an emulation for Kontakt.
But, I have to say, Phasepunkt has done a good job of capturing the charm of the original instrument without turning it into something more polished than it should be.
If you’re looking for another type of keyboard freebie, check out IK Multimedia’s Brandenburg Piano. Brandenburg Piano delivers the iconic sound of a pristine 1958 Bechstein grand piano, and it’s free until October 3 (usually $50).
Roadsoul Bass Lite functions in Steinberg’s HALion (version 7 and higher) and the free HALion Sonic.
I mentioned in a recent article that I wasn’t a Steinberg fan because I had more installation issues with Steinberg than any developer I can remember, despite some people telling me how fantastic HALion is.
Admittedly, I haven’t revisited HALion Sonic since Lofi Piano, so I hope the process is much smoother now.
Download: Roadsoul Bass Lite (FREE – HALion or HALion Sonic required)
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