Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5/5 Stars
The EZbass EBX expansion line does a pretty good job of covering the most obvious four‑, five‑ and six‑string electric bass options, but Toontrack do like to throw in the occasional curveball. The latest addition, 12‑String Bass EBX, is just that. Electric basses with 12 strings are, of course, a bit of a niche thing. Mirroring the concept of a 12‑string guitar, they tend to come in two physical formats: either a six‑string bass with six octave strings, or a four‑string bass with two pairs of octave strings. Toontrack have gone down the latter route here and used a Schecter model as the sound source for this library.
From a technical perspective, the EBX follows Toontrack’s conventional format. As such, you get the sample library (around 750MB in size) plus a collection of MIDI grooves spanning a range of musical styles, tempos and time signatures and played with the 12‑string instrument in mind. The supplied presets include a DI as well as a diverse set of options that provide mix‑ready sounds. These provide various flavours of sounds featuring amp and effects combinations and go from just a touch of grit through to full‑on, space‑filling stereo processing. As well as the usual compact set of controls under the EZbass Effects panel, each preset also include the option to blend in a layer of FM synthesis to add some additional weight to the overall sound.
From the first MIDI groove I passed through the DI preset, it was pretty clear that the sound is something rather special. While the low end is very solid indeed (and can be ably enhanced with the FM synth layer), the additional octave strings deliver both fundamentals and harmonics that place at least part of the sound within territory often occupied by conventional guitars. It’s a fascinating — and very appealing — sound that opens up all sorts of new and interesting options, but with the bass able to occupy a wider frequency range, how you voice any other instruments requires some adjustment. It’s a lot of fun to explore though, and can change the bass/guitar interaction in some very inspiring ways.
12‑String Bass EBX sounds truly epic and, whether clean or driven, it brings a whole new dimension to the role electric bass can play within a mix.
While the 12‑string bass has some pretty well‑known exponents (for example, Tom Peterson of Cheap Trick; Jeff Ament, who famously used a 12‑string bass on Pearl Jam’s ‘Jeremy’; and Dug Pinnick of King’s X, who has a signature Schecter 12‑string), as an instrument it’s still something of a rare beast. Albeit in a virtual format, I suspect Toontrack are about to put its distinct sound into the hands of more people than have ever played the real thing. 12‑String Bass EBX sounds truly epic and, whether clean or driven, it brings a whole new dimension to the role electric bass can play within a mix. Well worth auditioning for every EZbass owner.