AXIOM B-1 Bass Synth: User Manual

1. Quick start

1. Start the audioOpen the synth and tap or click anywhere on the page. Browsers keep sound off until you interact with a page, so the first tap is required.
2. Press PLAYPress the PLAY button, or the Space bar. A bass line starts. Every factory sound comes with its own set of 16 bass lines.
3. Choose the keyPress a key on your computer keyboard (the bottom letter row, Z to M, works like piano keys) or click the on-screen piano. The whole line moves to that note, called the root.
4. Try other soundsUse the SOUND menu or the ◀ ▶ buttons. With LINK on, each sound also loads its own 16 lines.
5. Change the lineClick steps in the step grid to switch them on or off, or click in the note grid below to place notes higher or lower.
6. Roll the dicePress the dice SOUND button for a random bass sound, or the dice PATTERN button for a random line.

2. Interface tour

The screen has these areas, from top to bottom in the PERFORM page:

• Top bar: tempo, position, root, transport buttons, mode and tool buttons, master volume, a small oscilloscope and a level meter.
• Selector row: choose the sound and the set of 16 lines, jump to a preset tempo, use the dice, save, export and MIDI learn.
• Sound editor: seven tabs of knobs that shape the sound.
• Pattern bank: 16 numbered pattern buttons, bar buttons and the pattern length.
• Step sequencer: 16 steps, a note grid, a velocity lane and the step inspector.
• Root bar: how the line follows the key you play, plus swing and glide.
• Keyboard: a three-octave piano. The key you press is the root.
• Loops strip: pads that launch loops made in the DJ / LOOP section.

Knobs respond to the mouse or touch: drag up or down to change a value, hold Shift while dragging for fine control, use the mouse wheel for small steps, and double-click to return a knob to its basic default.

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3. The top bar

The small scope shows the waveform you hear, and the two level bars show loudness. A built-in limiter keeps the output from clipping.

4. Sounds, lines and the dice

The synth ships with more than 40 factory sounds in many styles, from trap and house to dub, funk, acid and chip. Each sound has a matching set of 16 bass lines (patterns) with names such as MAIN, OFFBEAT, SLIDES, BREAK and FILL.

When you move a knob, the sound menu shows EDITED SOUND. Choosing another sound replaces your edits, so press SAVE first if you want to keep them.

On narrow screens the selector row is replaced by a tap list of names with SOUND, STYLE and LINK buttons.

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5. The sequencer

Patterns and bars

The pattern bank holds 16 patterns. Click a number to choose one. If the sequencer is stopped it changes at once. While it plays, the new pattern is queued (it blinks) and switches at the next bar line, so changes stay in time. You can also step through patterns with [ and ].

Each pattern is 1 to 8 bars of 16 steps. The LEN menu sets the length (1, 2, 3, 4, 6 or 8 bars). The bar buttons choose which bar you are looking at. FOLLOW (on by default) makes the view follow the playing bar; clicking a bar button turns it off.

Steps and the note grid

• Click a step to switch it on or off. Press and hold for about half a second, or right-click, to select a step without changing it. The selected step is shown in the inspector.
• An active step shows its note name. Small marks show a slide (~), a short gate or a long gate. The line under it shows R for the root, or the distance in semitones.
• The note grid has 14 rows from two octaves above the root down to an octave below, with the root in the middle. Click or drag to paint notes; click a painted note again to erase it. When the sequencer is stopped, painting plays the note.
• The velocity lane sets how hard each step is played. Tap or drag across it. Accented steps are always louder.

Step inspector

Swing and glide

SWING delays every second 16th note. It runs from 50 (straight) to 75 (heavy shuffle). GLIDE sets how long a slide or legato note takes to reach the next pitch, from 0 to 0.5 seconds (basic default 0.04).

Your edits to the lines are saved in your browser automatically.

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6. Root and keyboard

The synth is built around the idea of a root. The lines are written relative to the root, so you play the key and the line follows. The root bar controls how.

The on-screen piano and your computer keys

The piano shows three octaves. The root is marked in blue, the note sounding now in white, and dots mark the notes used by the current pattern. OCT - and OCT + move the piano range. Clicking nearer the bottom of a key plays it harder.

Your computer keyboard is a two-row piano. The bottom row Z X C V B N M , are the white keys, with S D G H J L as black keys. The top row Q W E R T Y U I O P starts an octave higher, with the number keys as black keys. If you hold several keys, the most recent one is the root.

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7. The sound editor

Seven tabs hold the sound. Defaults here are the basic starting values (what double-click restores); each factory sound sets its own. Dropdown choices are listed in the Range column.

OSC

Three oscillators make the raw tone. Waves: SINE, TRI, SAW, SQR, PLS 25, PLS 12, SOFT SAW, HOLLOW, ORGAN, BUZZ, VOWEL.

FM / NOISE

The FM matrix lets one oscillator bend the pitch of another for bells, growls and metal. Each knob is written modulator > carrier, so “2 > 1” means oscillator 2 modulates oscillator 1. The six knobs (2>1, 3>1, 3>2, 1>2, 1>3, 2>3) all run from 0 to 1 and default to 0.

Two noise generators add click, breath or grit.

FILTER / ENV

LFO

Two low-frequency oscillators (LFO 1 and LFO 2) move a setting automatically, for wobble, vibrato and pulsing.

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8. Effects

The last three tabs hold the effects. The signal passes through distortion, the selectable effect, delay and reverb, then the final stage.

DIST / FX

The EFFECT box next to it holds one extra effect with a TYPE menu and up to three knobs plus MIX. The knobs change names with the type:

DELAY / REVERB

FINAL

The last stage shapes the overall tone and loudness of the sound.

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9. DJ / LOOP mode

Press DJ / LOOP (or Alt+2) to switch to two loop decks. In this mode the bass module is off and only loops play. Loops always start on the next bar line of the shared clock, so they stay in time with each other. Starting a loop with nothing playing starts the clock for you.

Decks and slots

Each deck has 16 loop slots. A slot can hold one of these:

• A bass line: any of the 16 lines, drawn as audio using the sound and root that are loaded right now.
• A drum loop: 16 simple drum patterns are included (house, techno, boom bap, trap, DnB and more).
• A file from your computer (audio such as WAV or MP3). Tempo and length are guessed from the file name or its duration.

Deck controls

DJ FX pads

Sixteen sound-effect pads sit at the bottom: AIR HORN, SIREN, LASER, REWIND, SCRATCH, SPIN DOWN, HEY!, YEAH!, BASS DROP, RISER, BOOM, RADIO, NEWS, BRASS HIT, CROWD and BOING. Click them, or use the keys 1 2 3 4 / Q W E R / A S D F / Z X C V, or MIDI notes 36 to 51.

On the PERFORM page, the LOOPS strip (full layout) lets you launch the selected deck’s 16 loops while you keep playing, with DECK A / DECK B buttons and STOP LOOPS.

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10. MIDI

Click MIDI to open the MIDI window. Plug in a keyboard or controller first. Web MIDI works in Chrome and Edge on a computer; Safari and iOS do not support it.

What MIDI does

The CHANNEL menu listens to all channels (OMNI) or just one (1 to 16).

MIDI learn

1. Press LEARN on the selector row.
2. Click a knob. It is highlighted.
3. Move a knob or fader on your controller. They are now linked.
4. Press LEARN again to finish.

Learned links are remembered in your browser and listed in the MIDI window. CLEAR LEARNED removes them. Only knobs can be learned; dropdown menus cannot.

Pad controllers

For an AKAI APC KEY 25 or a Novation Launchpad, choose it under PROFILE. The pads then act as sequence pads (one pad per pattern, so the 16 bass lines become 16 launch pads, or the loop pads in DJ mode). You can also switch on STEP pads (to edit steps) and BAR pads (to choose the bar). Each block is two rows of eight, and you can move it with the arrows or LEARN by pressing the pad that should be its first. LED FEEDBACK lights the pads: green is playing, blinking green is queued, yellow has notes. TEST LEDS checks the lights. Only pads that are mapped act as pads; every other note is the keyboard.

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11. Network sync

SYNC locks AXIOM B-1 to other copies of itself and to the AXIOM 16-P drum synth: tempo, swing, start and stop, bar position and, if you wish, the key. The simplest case is two tabs in the same browser, for example the bass synth and the drum synth side by side. Both need to be set to the same room name.

Quick sync between two tabs

1. In the first tab press SYNC and then SYNC: OFF to turn it on. Leave the role on MASTER.
2. Press NEW WINDOW AS SLAVE. A second window opens already joined to the room.
3. Press PLAY in the master. The slave starts on the next 16th note and follows its tempo.

The window shows who else is in the room and the clock status. If a relay is set but not connected, it says LOCAL ONLY. If you press STOP on a slave while the master plays, it stays stopped until the master starts again or you press PLAY.

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12. View layouts

The VIEW button (or Alt+3) cycles through four layouts. Your choice is remembered.

In the two phone layouts the sound editor is tucked away. Press SOUND EDIT to show it and CLOSE to hide it again. The sound and style names appear as a tap list.

13. Keyboard shortcuts

Shortcuts pause while you type in a text or number box or have a menu open.

14. Saving and storage

Everything is stored in your own browser. Nothing is uploaded.

• Automatic: your last sound, line set, tempo, swing, root, root mode, layout, keyboard range, MIDI setup, sync settings and any edits to the factory lines come back next time.
• SAVE keeps a sound plus its 16 lines as one of your own, listed after the factory sounds. Knob changes that you do not save are not kept after you reload.
• FILE opens a small window: EXPORT ALL downloads a file with your saved sounds and your line edits; IMPORT loads such a file (it replaces your saved sounds); RESET EDITS OF THIS PATTERN SET restores the factory lines of the set you are on; DELETE MY SAVED SOUNDS asks first, then removes them.

After the first visit the page can also start without a connection in most browsers.

15. Tips

• Leave LATCH ROOT on while you write, so the line keeps playing after you let go of the key.
• For a tight sub, keep OSC 1 on SINE or TRI and use LOW KEEP in the distortion so the lows stay clean.
• Use SLIDE on a few steps for acid and 808 style glides, and raise GLIDE to make them longer.
• Accents plus a higher filter ENV AMT make a line talk.
• Switch patterns while the song plays: the change waits for the bar line, so you can press early.
• Use SWING around 55 to 62 for a relaxed groove.
• Try COLLAPSE when you want a simple pumping root note under a chord progression.
• Roll the dice often: choose a kind such as ACID or REESE, roll a few times, and save the ones you love.

16. Troubleshooting

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17. Glossary

Accent

A louder, brighter step that adds punch to a line.

Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release (ADSR)

The four stages of an envelope: how fast a sound starts, falls, how long it holds, and how fast it fades after the key is released.

BPM

Beats per minute: the tempo.

Cutoff

The frequency where a filter starts to remove sound.

Detune

A small pitch difference between oscillators that makes a sound thicker.

Envelope

A shape that changes a setting over the life of a note.

FM (frequency modulation)

One oscillator changing the pitch of another very fast, giving bright, bell-like or growling tones.

Gate

How long a note is held within its step.

Glide

A smooth slide in pitch from one note to the next.

Legato

Notes joined together without a new attack.

LFO

Low-frequency oscillator: a slow wave that moves another setting automatically.

Monophonic

Playing one note at a time, as a bass guitar does.

Pattern

One bass line of 1 to 8 bars. There are 16 in a set.

Resonance

A boost around the filter cutoff that gives a vowel-like or squelchy edge.

Root

The note the bass line is built around. Change it and the line follows.

Semitone

The smallest step between neighbouring piano keys. Twelve make an octave.

Slide

A step that glides in from the previous note.

Step

One sixteenth-note slot in a bar.

Swing

A shuffle that delays the off-beat steps.

Velocity

How hard a note is played. It changes loudness and often brightness.

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Ready to play?