Dan Dean Essential Bass by Tracktion bass guitar virtual instrument interface

Dan Dean Essential Bass: Sampled Bass Guitar Instrument Plugin Free Download

Rated 4.5/5 on Plugin Boutique (35 ratings)

Dan Dean Essential Bass is a sampled bass guitar virtual instrument by Tracktion, built from six basses in multi-instrumentalist Dan Dean's personal collection. It runs as VST3, VST2 and AU on Windows, macOS and Linux.

VST3VST2AUWindowsmacOSLinux64-bit

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Free trial available from the developer

01Overview

Dan Dean Essential Bass draws on Dan Dean's own bass guitars, which he sampled himself. The set includes Alembic, Fender, Lull and Washburn instruments, covering clean, growly, barky and punchy tones. Each bass has its own interface with core controls for pitch, decay, release, noise and glide, plus amp-style modeling and a built-in FX section. Dan Dean is a bassist, producer and composer who has worked with artists including B.B. King and Peggy Lee.

Best for

Bass guitar tracks
Jazz bass lines
Fretless bass parts
Electronic and pop bass
Preset-based sound design

Developer: Tracktion
Category: Virtual Instruments
Store: Plugin Boutique

02Key features

What you get

Six bass guitars sampled from Dan Dean's personal collection
Per-bass interface with pitch, decay, release and glide controls
Seven amp voicings: Vintage, Round, Wooden, Subtle, Classic, Acoustic, Modern
Dedicated FX page with high, mid and low EQ
Four independent FX slots with compressor, chorus, distortion, phaser, filter, delay and reverb
Per-note harmonics via mod wheel
Key-switch articulations including multiple slide ranges
Over 100 factory presets

03In depth

Six sampled basses and their tonal range

The instrument is built from six basses taken from Dan Dean's personal collection. The Alembic Spoiler provides clear, clean sounds, while the Alembic Fretless is resonant and growly. The Fender Precision is balanced and subtle, and the Fender Telecaster is deep and barky. The Lull Jazz delivers a classic jazz bass tone, and the Washburn Fretless is versatile and punchy.

Each bass has its own interface. Pitch, decay and release times, noise values and glide are reachable from the main performance controls, so you can shape a sound quickly.

Amp models, FX and playability

Seven amp voicings can be switched on to add character and weight: Vintage, Round, Wooden, Subtle, Classic, Acoustic and Modern. A separate FX page includes an EQ panel with high, mid and low shaping and four independent FX slots. Each slot takes a compressor, chorus, distortion, phaser, filter, delay or reverb module, and a master FX knob on the performance page sets the overall amount.

For realism, harmonics can be triggered per note with the mod wheel, and key switches trigger articulations including a range of slides. The instrument ships with over 100 factory presets, from subtle chorus to heavy distortion.

04Specs

Will it run?

Formats, systems and requirements as listed by Plugin Boutique. Missing details are left out, not guessed.

Developer	Tracktion
Type	Plugin
Category	Virtual Instruments
Formats	VST3, VST2, AU
Operating systems	Windows, macOS, Linux
Architecture	64-bit
Free trial	Yes

05FAQ

Questions, answered

What formats does Dan Dean Essential Bass support?

It is available as VST3, VST2 and AU plugins. The developer lists support for Windows, macOS and Linux.

What do I need to run Dan Dean Essential Bass?

On Mac, it requires macOS 10.11 or later in 64-bit AU, VST2 or VST3 format. On Windows, it requires Windows 10 or 11 64-bit in VST2 or VST3 format. On Linux, it has been tested on Ubuntu 18.04 64-bit in VST2 or VST3 format.

Which basses are included?

The instrument includes six basses from Dan Dean's collection: the Alembic Spoiler, Alembic Fretless, Fender Precision, Fender Telecaster, Lull Jazz and Washburn Fretless.