Scarbee Bass, Trilian Bass, AmpleSound Bass Review

A short and limited review and shootout of three amazing bass plugins. I am using Logic Pro X as my DAW. Please leave comments on what you would like to see on future videos and I’ll do my best to make them.
Track instruments are:
Toontrack Superior Drummer 2: Avatar Drums
Lounge Lizard EP-4
Want to learn how to program music using virtual instruments? Click here to check out Virtual Musician Academy: www.hifimidi.com/
AmpleSound AGP with Waves GTR3 Tool Rack
RealStrat 3

[@NINedStark]

ScarBee 2:35 Trilian 5:35 AmpleSound J 11:58 AmpleSound P 13:35

[@MarkRoskillyGuitar]

Nice one 😀

Thanks time line for basses

[@socialghost1378]

you forgot his wife at 6:53

[@fuckerno12]

lol

[@Lightmore]

)))))))))))))))

[@yozy4996]

Great Job..Finally people reviewing these software's that are real MUSICIANS.....

[@hifimidi]

Thank you. It's so fun to play.

[@tonality89]

Best explained no trashtalk

[@kaboozle]

Me: “Wow, this guy really knows how to play a virtual bass!” He: “Sorry, it sounds like I need a little bit more practice.” 😂

[@markhardy9149]

I wanted to tell him shut up when he said. He's so talented

[@joschelei262]

I have Trillian, and I'm catching my ass to get a fluent sound on my midi controller

[@RandyLott]

I've been playing bass guitar for 15 years. I would have a hard time telling the difference between a real player and ScarBee in a dense mix. Of course, it's obvious when played unaccompanied. ScarBee was the most realistic in terms of dynamics. The other three had moments where they lost the human element. Overall, the average listener would not notice.

[@michailluuko3909]

Randy Lott Yes, you are right.

[@mwasie]

Hey Randy, which bass VSTi would you recommend for that dynamic human element?

[@CatWAVE-qq1gs]

Both are pretty close.. it's a matter of tweaking a little bit.. mastering.. no big deal.. AmpleSound P has a more slap feel than others, though..

[@caseylockwood5512]

AmpleSound is insane, their guitar stuff sounds incredible too!

[@rameynoodles152]

Man, if I didn't know any better, you'd have a hell of time convincing me that this entire demo track (no matter what bass used) wasn't a real live band. Sounds amazing.

[@steveshadforth]

the guitar sounds shite, are you actually deaf?

[@skeller61]

I appreciate the demos. One thing I think would have been cool at the end is if you put the same MIDI track on all of them and switched between them.

[@birdsadventuresinwoodandmusic]

Nice touch my friend! I play many instruments, but I always thought of myself as a bass player since that was my favorite to play. I was fortunate enough to be asked by Frank Zappa to fill in for Tom Fowler when he broke his finger on their mid west tour in the fall of 74. Great experience. Played several dates with them and even recorded at Caribou with them. I also played left hand keyboard bass on a Seq Circuits Pro One simultaneously with right hand keys for many years. I waited years for someone to do a plug in of the Pro One, and U-he just did it. Great sounding bass on that synth. I'll be downloading it in the next couple of days. But I love your style. So smooth. Nice chords! Although I really like the Scarbee, the AmpleSound did indeed have a nice touch thing going on. I have the Scarbee, but might have to look into the AmpleSound now that I've heard it and it's nuance. But I still play real bass when I record. There's things that I can do with it that I just can't quite emulate from a keyboard.

[@MadalinNeacsu]

Trilian filled my speakers. (Dynaudio BM5) Such a bass!!! Scarbee has clean mids but it doesn't go that low. Amplesound....I am rying to find it in my speakers. It has some lows but there is no presence. My verdict: 1. Trillian 2. Scarbee 3. AmpleSound Bass

[@hifimidi]

I agree, the Trillian and Scarbee have a slight presence boost, but that is easily fixable. I didn't alter the sound in any way.

[@taukitahmidlisan3678]

EQ can fix this easily

[@kvart011]

Trilian have a lot of articulations, many more then others. Just learn the program first. Click magnifier glass in edit page/soundsource and you will have a bunch of options. Trilain is most powerfull and realistic bass engine in my opinion. Best regards!

[@cjsterifix]

This did not give Trilian a fair run.

[@marianmusic7221]

@Goran Pejcic Does trilian have grooves/midi files or audio loops in it, like Stylus has, to be able to press play and listen the bass loops against other instruments inside a track? Thanks!

[@lrmawiall2853]

105932677784u5gtfv7dhog0h 9 Hhyyrgyrh4gu3h

[@lrmawiall2853]

Byhffod9😋😀🎂🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🎗🎗

[@lrmawiall2853]

Musicsystem

[@chelazo54]

My favourite plugin was Ample Sound J, it just sound perfectly and funky because the dynamics and stuff, also it sounds very real and reached every sound just on point. In the mix sounds so fine, you can hear it just in the right place. I might say that plug in is the best for this type of music.

[@FlockofAngels]

I thought the Scarbee poked through the song the best... but it may have just been turned up louder, it had the right balance between tone and slap for my taste. :)

[@blownspiritofficialchannel]

one thing is sure you're better bass player than bass players....ones of the beautiful grooves i ever heard are in your review...great job...wished collaborate with you...as a (Keyboard) bass player..great tone great control great play and groovy beautiful music.

[@blownspiritofficialchannel]

by the way the MM bass by Scarbee seems to fit well your play...and think in general it's the best sounding and realistic one at least in your review..

[@WinstonGuitar]

This is what you call a good video review - where there's enough content from each contender, everyone can decide for themselves. The reviewer likes AmpleSound, but most of the viewers liked the other two :)

[@hifimidi]

I've been messing with the Scarbee line of basses. I love the sound, but the functionality has a high learning curve than Ample. Ample's stuff just fits my playing style better. But I love the other ones, too.

[@WinstonGuitar]

yes, I think many people evaluate these vst instruments just based on raw tone, but playability is what you're gonna have to deal with every day. that's probably more important in the long run.

[@ahmedazher5264]

Damn, All the score goes to that sweet groove you're playing man!

[@stephenr7297]

Thanks for being honest. Excellent and true. You are first to be frank in your critique. I was informed by the company because I actually don’t play live bass. (I did not mention the company by name on purpose) I re-sold the instrument. Truly disappointed in sound on sound review of the instrument.

[@whataniceday]

Excellent arrangements, brilliant bass playing. What a great music

[@VeronicaGorositoMusic]

It takes a lot of effort to have all the articulations you need in Live Mode, but they're there for you. The results are amazing. To not have an aggressive attack in every note with slaps, see in the Edit page (the 4 squares on the right) , adjust the Velocity Value to a slight negative curve, and the Attack knob, to have a softer attack and feel, then you must disable the Ampeg emulation and use Revalver or Amplitube sims. Trilian is not easy, as almost every Spectrasonics product, but they worth it! :)

[@caseylockwood5512]

You performed them live? Thats awesome, most people just use pre-prepped midi clips! Nice playing man

[@hifimidi]

Yes I did, but I practiced it a lot. Haha

[@cbergm7210]

Just FYI the Scarbee MM bass you demo'd is a direct bass sample library. For proper comparison it needs to be run through an amp VI such as Amplitube. Completely changes the tone (in a good way).

[@blacklightning7227]

im listening on Bose headphones... and I must say that the low on trillian is what is going to make trillian my purchase

[@itorapadas]

Hi hifimidi. Thanks for doing these reviews. Most especially useful for newbies like me. More power to you!

[@rasputin1917]

Your enormous reverse gate reverb on the snare covers most of your basses intricacies. It is also way out of character for funk which needs a really short snap tight dry snare. That's why only the trillian slap bass manages to cut-through albeit far less natural than the rest.

[@rpapis]

Interesting video, but a lot of what you reported about Trillian was incorrect. It is incredible articulate when you know how to trigger the key switching. Watch the Jordan Rudess videos on his use of Trillian, and the how to videos put out by Spectrasonic. The plugin has amazing depth, warmth, and articulation (round robin notes, multi-samples, keyboard expression...) once you learn the app. Don't get me wrong, the Ample Bass (and all their products) are amazing and easy to use as well, but Trillian has a vast array of types and styles all in one package, and with disk streaming, ram isn't really an issue. Otherwise, I truly enjoy your videos!

[@hifimidi]

Robert Papis Thanks! You're absolutely right. I didn't want to get into the keyswitching feature of Trilian because I just wanted to do a quick presentation of the plugins without going too in depth with their features. Trilian is amazing and I wish I had time to get used to loading articulations and setting them to certain keys.

[@JuicyLeek]

I'm not sure which is more awe-inspiring: these plugins or your performance. You HAVE to break this music down and explain the idea behind each track, for us aspiring composers and mid-level musicians out there.

[@e-moneyp5472]

this would sound great in grand turismo love the playing!

[@1003Alfred]

Good track for home screen and tuning menus

[@gbmuzic]

Great demo session. Depending on the project. I like Ample Sound and Scarbee. I'm currently using the Ample Sound bass because of the simplicity and its low RAM consumption. Also. The Scarbee bass tends to occasionally crash in Logic Pro X for no apparent reason (perhaps the Kontakt player needs to be updated). More than likely I'll be switching to the Ample Sound P bass based on performance.

[@DrDeese]

I was just about to buy Trillian when you reminded me about Ample Sound, thanks!

[@FertassiFarah]

Yeah the same here haha

[@purpleflamebeats4651]

To be honest I prefer trilian

[@BasilSimon]

Thanks. I think I might have to switch my go to bass from Scarbee to Ample! hehe! I particularly liked the palm mute. Very musical and punchy.

[@Dapper_the_slapper]

I haven't seen Scarbee with the Musicman Bass before. I've been using the Scarbee with the Fender Jazz, it has a really nice sound.

[@wcvalentine5996]

the use of the right kind of controller makes the difference for Trillian and keycapes for sure

[@Lotisaims]

Love when a reviewer has good music haha

[@MichaelCozineSounds]

Really loved hearing your playing! I actually really liked Scarbee as it fits really well in house music.

[@hifimidi]

+ewwwww916 I actually really like the eq on it, too. I have found in a lot of my favorite recordings that the bass pops out with a little mid boost. Scarbee already comes mixed like that, which makes it sit in that frequency pocket.

[@tiriaq2607]

I would LOVE to see a tutorial how to make this music but perhaps that is not what you meant people to ask for? Good job, fan of your vids and subbed. (about 2 minutes in) and some bands who have or still make this kind of music.

[@MartinJG100]

Excellent demos. Ample Sound P Bass for me. Captures that punchy sound quite well. Great for instant midi input as long as you stick within the range of the best sampled sweet spot. Higher up the register gets a little weird on all of them. But then nothing really compares with the touch and feel of a real bass :).

[@oh_love4117]

Amplesound would be a good bass for Reggae especially with the palm mute feature

[@krownofficial6246]

Thank you for the advice

[@andreagrant]

Your review's style is great, complete and useful, I really enjoyed it. Thank you

[@hifimidi]

Thanks a lot! I'm glad these are useful.

[@LouDeib]

Belle démonstration, bon groove , bravo et vive la musique !!!

[@yippy327]

You have a lot of talent , dude. Thanks for this.

[@mahyarsalehinia5062]

I came to hear the bass differences, I left wanting to listen to the full version of the song. amazing song mate

[@lamb4078]

Seriously, he put together something I wanted to groove to regardless of the plugin. Made the instrument really stand out in the thing I already wanted to listen to.

[@TheRebelWithin]

I use Scarbee bass on all my recordings but now I am tempted to check the others out. Thank you so much. subbed

[@annilittlebeast1750]

scarbee Bass is the best real bass and the best soul and funky feeling!!

[@mingyi7777]

I'm really impressed by your playing. so nice. thank you

[@AndreaMercurioMusic]

Scarbee is amazing !

[@CloveCoast]

Love your sound! Great demos.

[@maplefoxx6285]

I am so glad i found these older videos, no one knows about Scarbee Jay Bass, it is now top of my wishlist for next vst.

[@ecosounds9845]

bruh! you've got heck of a blessed pair of hands

[@ecosounds9845]

You have blessed fingers hand arms what ever you call it 🙌🙌 Hail Hifi midi

[@UltimateMoralizer]

Best thing to do is record the bass line and then add some articulations. That’s what I do with Reason Electric Bass!

[@dnch]

yeah you used the trillian absolutely wrong! you have to load it on the top, you loaded only one articulation

[@hifimidi]

Holy crap! It took me three years to figure out what "from the top" meant.

[@RekiFr]

what does it mean? i'm completely new to bass vst

[@hifimidi]

Trillan bass has three browser windows. The one on the very top of the plugin is the multi browser, which contains many presets that has all the articulations assigned to certain keys. When you go into live mode, you can trigger them using key switching. In this video, i complained that you had to manually load them-which you can-but having the multi browser saves time. I still have one gripe I can’t figure out even after going through the manual; trilian bass samples go on forever up and down the piano. This is not natural. So keyswitching will trigger sounds that are beyond the ability of the real instrument.

[@MrLolUltra]

Lucky Luke What do you expect from a plugin that size? If you can not run it either learn how to produce more efficiently (freezing tracks etc...), get a more powerful computer or learn how to play real bass :)

[@dnch]

@@hifimidi are you sure? for me the keyswitching notes dont trigger sounds, but you have to press the correct note (for me its shifted octave down compared what the gui shows, so its E0 to A#0 .. but for example C0 triggers sound because its not keyswitch)

[@tailtaptailtap]

Damn, I could listen to you play VST bass all day!

[@johnsilva5020]

Likewise... phenomenal 👍

[@dbellamy6694]

Wow! Both impressed with the amplesound basses and your skills. Great track. Is it your composition?

[@yashkummar]

Scarbee and Ample sounds great. Ample slap you played brilliantly.

[@BAwesomeDesign]

Digging your tune here. Very funky

[@AndrewMcMillenium]

Great review and very good playing!

[@Blackbeard_El_Torino]

Amplesound is supreme i got all their guitars.

[@rickyarte]

+El Torino hi dear, where can i download it?

[@MrJsfingers]

There’s a few different basses Trilian uses. I think you were using the Music Man. They also have a Fender Jazz. Trilian by far most authentic. Got to use the true staccato feature.

[@hifimidi]

J Fingers Music Trilian and Ample both have true staccato. What I don’t like about trilian is that they resample, so you don’t always have the authentic sound of individual frets. Also, as far as I can tell, you can’t choose individual strings. You can with ample sound and scarbee.

[@KennyCapo]

When you make a review but it’s a whole jam session

[@DuroSamples]

hahaha C'mon boss! Scarbee Hands down...! It has the most articulation and script so far. You really need to give it fare test by going over it... I use it all the time and people think its a real player... Not once they have said its fake... Trillian is just stupid loud and takes for ever to load... Ram Hog Useless.... THe last bass has the same approach as the Scarbee Bass Libraries...

[@nathanlee1159]

trillian is also expensive and requires a lot of computer space.

[@dukepersie]

very nice demonstration, I like the last song!

[@Rhythmattica]

Awesome comparison, awesome track and skills... Subscribed.

[@sergemo4607]

Ah! Come on, I think Scarbee Bass sounded the best.

[@hifimidi]

It did fit in the mix a lot better, but it has a mid boost.

[@djGreenALERT]

Very enjoyable video (Even though I disagree strongly with ample sound bass sounding the best.) Trillian cut through and made the mix gel more to my ears.

[@TASPlasma]

***** The Trilian by itself sounded really fake, it sounded ok with the song, I personally thought the Scarbee sounded more real than the Ample Sound, but to each his own.

[@djGreenALERT]

***** Scarbee to me did the opposite. It was great by itself, it just kind of got lost in the mix.

[@TASPlasma]

***** Actually, I think I agree, now that I listen again, Scarbee does sound great alone, but did get lost. I think what would improve Trilian even more would be more articulations/velocity layers. Listening now, Trilian sounds maybe the best in the song.

[@djGreenALERT]

***** I have just been conducting my own comparison list. 1) Trilian Clean Fender mute preset 2) Scarbee Rickenbacker 'On the road' preset 3) Hypersonic Pick Bass 1 The Scarbee Rickenbacker won hands down.

[@TASPlasma]

***** Is Scarbee Rickenbacker pick only? Does it have slap?

[@indigoman44]

great service, Ruben I like your playing. I play some fusion and blues and doing more jazz these days but I tend to use my Nord Electro and Lead 4. I have Komplete 9 and youve inspired me to use it. Ive been using ACID for a DAW but just bought Ableton so I think I can get some new stuff happening. The neatest thing i found for interesting loops is Launchpad IOS so youve inspired me to get something out of the Native Instruments BYW what is that fusion jazz song you use in the demo sounds like Bob James?

[@PianobyVN]

Trilian Best

[@user-rp6ol2hx5f]

Ohaaaaaaaaaaaa selamunaleyküm 4 yıl olmuş kimse yorum yazmamış

[@erozzx5208]

The size kill my storage

[@alik1dio]

Обратите внимание, что Scarbee звучит ясно и разборчиво через динамики компьютера. Note that Scarbee sounds clear and intelligible over computer speakers.

[@abolit]

what the the guitar VSTs are you using in your demo. I can hear one lead electric and the other something like funky strumming one. Thanks.

[@LaurenSchraderMusic]

dude I need to know what the untitled guitars are in this track. Came for the bass, stayed for the guitars lol

[@hifimidi]

Lauren Schrader it’s either Ample Guitar LP (Gibson Les Paul) or sample Guitar PF (PRS Peregrine Falcon) made by Ample Sound.

[@solojammer9500]

Drums sound really good and realistic. What plugin did you use?

[@hifimidi]

Superior drummer 2 from Toontrack. Thanks!

[@GTBannah]

You remembered the bass line EVERY TIME ! :O :D Very nice work, nice tune too! kind of a Bob James feel. This took time and effort! Thanx! What controller keyboard was that?

[@hifimidi]

Thank you! It's just a Yamaha CP33. I love the feel of its weighted keys, but I don't necessarily like it for MIDI stuff because it only has a pitch wheel and mod wheel. I need something like the Novation SLmkii.

[@ampent4204]

Dude, you are nice on the keys!

[@DraughMusic]

Hey! this was really informative! thank you so much :) I'll go fo that amplesound bass

[@fuckerno12]

i think you nailed it with the slap preset in trilian awesome

[@lighteenblind]

Hi hifimidi, great play !...I love the MM-basse, i do lot of song with this.

[@BryanEddy09]

your music is fantastic,as are your reviews.

[@kirksullivan8713]

Trillian, hands down!

[@cjsterifix]

I like the Trilian, it sits nice and full with the track.

[@EmielBlom]

For (fast) walking bass, ive yet to find anything better then Trillian, for fusion I do sometimes use Scarbee. I like them both, but Trillian is just better (imho) Personally, i dont care for more RAM usage, i have more then i could ever use up

[@SteveCalwell]

Awesome playing. Very authentic feel.

[@MrAcapela]

Just awesome ,i watched this video after 5 years,But awesome 👍

[@chrismorrison7407]

This tune is awesome. Trilian gets my vote!

[@freetown10]

Plugin rhodes please???

[@MikeDeanOfficials]

nice review, and nice playing, thanks.

[@ChokDK-bryllupsmusik-duo]

Trilian Studio Slap bass sounds impressively synthetic at stand-alone :) Sounds okay in most of the mix though, but as soon as it sticks out just a bit it hearable... Interesting.

[@hbrookes]

excellent playing, all can be tweaked to fit track easily.

[@losangulos]

What would be the best vst to sound like you recorded someone playing bass with all its imoerfections (and also the good sound) all this basses sound too clean and smooth. Thanks.

[@frattuncbas]

Ample sounds just awesome..Ample plugins are really deluxe.

[@IsaacYongMusic]

That’s some sick baselines there, while it’s a great review I enjoy listening to the music as well :)

[@synthoelectro]

If you want to sound like Marcus Miller and other signature artists, get Trillian, if you want to sound like jazz anything and maintain a style all your own, get the other plugins. It's that simple :)

[@bbetfriends3988]

Very good and interesting rewiew ! Thank Youuuu !

[@JuanchosMRL]

Great video! And what a sweet bass line mon...

[@ArtDekko]

Great vid! Now how did you get Ample Bass to play notes on the 5th fret rather than open? I am trying out the free version and I cant stop it from playing open D and open A. I want to play it to play those notes on the 5th fret when I am using a Midi keyboard live.

[@utubewillyman]

Great review. Really nice to hear them side-by-side. Can I ask what your rhythm guitar is?

[@VSTSSOUNDS]

ilya efimov bass is the best for me

[@hifimidi]

+MrRamzo1 I've never tried it. :)

[@VSTSSOUNDS]

try it : )

[@varmmanelangkovan3206]

MrRamzo1 Yes. Perfect library!

[@zqa1623]

hifimidi Do you have to use MIDI - USB converter connector on Yamaha Cp-33? Or only you have a simple connected USB connector? How you controller from CP-33? Which would you recommended? Thanks much for sharing us this video!

[@crtsjefferson6]

MrRamzo1 love it

[@Gorguruga]

Great shootout review and a very nice track you got there too, definitely feeling it. Did you use VSTs for the other guitar parts or are they real instruments?

[@hifimidi]

+Gorguruga Everything is VST. :) And thank you!

[@hifimidi]

+hifimidi Fun little fact: the piece I am playing is a demo piece from the Yamaha Motif. I've just always liked it.

[@martinnolin6439]

+hifimidi But what plugins did you use for that drums and guitars?

[@hifimidi]

Toontrack's Superior Drummer 2 Avatar, and Real Strat 3 from MusicLab. Cheers!

[@yuriyoleynikoff]

ScarBee and ScarBee only!👍

[@holygoat]

AmpleSound Scarbee Trillian The AmpleSound are both killer, and the Scarbee Music Man is fantastic. I was not impressed with either of the Trillian basses featured here. They sound like under-sampled instruments, which might be fine for a particular recording, but they don't sound as natural as the others.

[@zqa1623]

Hi my friend, I have the same yamaha cp33 like You have and so far I know this doesn't have aftertouch and as a beginner in this world of daws I would like to ask you: How do you feel or did feel with this cp33(without aftertouch) in your workflow producing music and working with vst, midi and more, What disadvantages did you find working like a producer with this cp33 without aftertouch? Thank You very much!

[@hifimidi]

Hi, thanks for watching. I regret selling my cp33. It was a good controller. I almost never use after touch in recordings. The only time I do use it is to trigger vibrato. But usually it gets in the way of things, so I turn it off. Hope this helps.

[@Bflatest]

THANKS FOR THE VID I am searching for a good bass plugin. ALSO the drum beat you start at 2:43 Man it is just the style of beat I am trying to learn how to make. I am starting to TRY to make smooth jazzy stuff. Can I have that midi file to learn from???

[@therealjackfisher]

I have ample bass and MODO bass, and they both sound great, but I think MODO is a step further when it comes to features.

[@hifimidi]

There are definitely tradeoffs. MODO bass has terrible slap. Many of the basses sound alike in character, and some low-string high notes sound horrifying. But it does have a lot of customizability and expression.