Yes, this FREE one (although I have the previous license which is paid). Software. It sounds nice and warm and smooth. It's a bit like a fretless or flat wound stringed instrument . . . no attack punch of a picked round wound bass guitar, but a nice full sound. So, I guess I'm seeing if I can do a little better.

 

For me MODO 2 does it. Just run it straight through a good Amp sim ....

 

Which amp sim do you recommend for bass? I used to use Studio Devil, but I think they went to Hell and never came back.

 

If you’re looking for “real” bass without samples, you’re only looking at physical modeling. Modo Bass 2 is practically your only option but it’s pretty good, run through your own bass amp effects and avoid gigabytes. Otherwise you’d just get a more synthesized plugin, too many synth plugins to name since they’ll offer low end tones but at least there’s one definitive answer for your problem.

 

I had a $5 jam points in my new IK account, then when I went to pay it vanished. ;-0

 

Aaaand Modo Bass, yeah. Although you'd need something dedicatied plugins to "warm" it up, included amp just doesn't do it, at least for me.

 

What about the bass in Logic (or any other DAW) compared to Modo Bass 2?

 

I'm also in town for a VA / modelled bass...
= walm, deep, organic, with a little grit and saturaturation.

There's a feast of little hardware boxes/modules etc. but I want 'ITB'.

 

I preferred the sound from the Ample basses I’ve tried over Modo. But Modo seems like a much better deal if you are going legit.

 

Can you record solid bass lines without learning and utilizing a bunch of articulations, key commands, etc.?

 

Sorry, but it’s been a while since I’ve used it. I don’t remember learning any key commands. I believe they have a demo or lite version, so it wouldn’t hurt to try it out.

 

Not really, to get convincing results you need to sequence. If you're going to play it out of the box, I'd rather take Modo Bass. Ample is very good, though, but only if you want to put time into it. There's no low effort solution either way.

 

This is one of my dilemmas. I really don't think it's worth putting too much time into the performance of a virtual instrument. If so, It's more rewarding to learn how to play a "real" instrument. Sadly, I'm having physical issues, so I'm looking for a fast way to play bass . . . not a lazy way . . . I will create and play, but I don't want to learn fiddly key commands . . . just play and record.

 

Modo 2 is the "better" option because you specify you want "no samples". But EZbass probably fits your situation better, and is not the sample-based sort of thing like Ample or Kontakt libraries. It has "AI" writing tools, and simple to deal with; unlike how Kontakt can sometimes seem. The samples in EzBass are not even exposed to the user. You never even see them. It is just using audio files instead of actual physical modeling synthesis. Many people use both.

Quick AI comparison:

Spoiler

Here’s a quick and direct shootout between EZbass and MODO BASS 2, focused on realism, workflow, sound design, and compatibility:

1. Sound Quality & Realism

• EZbass:
  ✅ Hyper-realistic due to detailed multisamples
  ✅ Better for traditional fingerstyle/pick/slap realism
  ❌ Less customizable in tone generation
  
  
• MODO BASS 2:
  ✅ Physically modeled (no samples), infinite articulations
  ✅ Extremely dynamic and consistent across velocity ranges
  ❌ Can sound "too clean" or synthetic in exposed solos

️ 2. Sound Design & Flexibility

• EZbass:
  ⚠️ Limited to baked-in sample tone, though effects/amp options help
  ✅ Great for plug-and-play tones (like a bass version of EZdrummer)
  
  
• MODO BASS 2:
  ✅ Fully customizable: strings, pickups, body resonance, muting
  ✅ Great for tweaking funky, electronic, or experimental basses

3. MIDI Workflow & Performance

• EZbass:
  ✅ Drag-and-drop MIDI riffs, chord detection, fills, humanization
  ✅ Great for non-bassists and quick composition
  ❌ More “MIDI arranger” than “instrument”
  
  
• MODO BASS 2:
  ✅ Full key switch and articulation control
  ✅ Designed for MIDI performance nuance
  ❌ No built-in groove generator (but integrates fine with DAWs)

4. CPU & Disk Usage

• EZbass:
  ❌ Heavy on disk due to samples (up to 14+ GB)
  ❌ Can spike CPU with lots of articulations
  
  
• MODO BASS 2:
  ✅ Very light on both CPU and storage (<1 GB)
  ✅ Great for laptops or live setups

✅ Best For...
Use Case Winner
Pop/Rock/Metal Realism EZbass
Funk/Jazz/Hybrid genres MODO BASS 2
Producer speed & songwriting EZbass
Sound design, synth-like basses MODO BASS 2
Low resource systems MODO BASS 2
Summary

• EZbass = Superior realism and songwriting tools
  
  
• MODO BASS 2 = Superior control and sound sculpting

Let me know your genre or use case and I’ll give a winner tailored to you.

 

Last edited: Aug 1, 2025

Load VSTi, select bass, play...in my opinion it's easier to get quick results - with a good workflow!

Spectrasonics - Trilian VST3 --> https://www.spectrasonics.net/products/trilian/overview.php

 

The only convincing bass guitar sounds I've heard so far, with more or less automatic articulation features, are all from sampled bass libraries.
I like the idea of Modo but EQ/Amp sims never got me there except for very mellow tones.
I know, I don't like the fiddly key commands either but I tend to conclude that they'll give you the best results, since a software instrument cannot read your mind ;)

 

@tommyzai hey if you can't play bass because the weight you can try with a very lightweight guitar and drop that performance into EZbass for speed, to me works well, i will buy the modo bass 2. sadly, no one wants to share the macOS installer, it is supposedly licensable with medicine. my top 3 without order are Ez,modo and trillian, EZ for ultra fast thing i play guitar not bass but i have nice understanding about bass cause i love bass, MODO for design, if the line is easy enough then i use trillian because the samples sounds freaking good. nice mention is Ilya Efimov which i dropped because of kontakt but those slap are nice

 

The weight is only a small part of my issue. I had a Hofner and a Epiphone hollow body . . . both are very light. In my case, I cannot extend my right arm away from my body. I can still have them in the down position a la keyboard. ;-( I do appreciate your suggestion and the others, tho. It's helping to generate ideas . . .

 

For quick stuff, I use EZbass with it´s groove library, just insert chords and drag´n´drop, but this is approx. 14 Gb, with all libraries, though you can install only one pack as it usually comes with all the released midi groove files, these are available on sis site

 

I'm looking to play my own parts, but want to simply play the notes like I would if I were playing piano.