here are some free synth's good for nasty basslines and other oldskool sounds.
I use the egokiller very often for good basslines.
check 'em out:
http://www.novakill.com/killerz.htm
it is a vst instrument so if you load it into like fruityloops than you can render it to wave.
here some more tips and things for and about halion:
http://www.halion.co.uk/
this is indeed very difficult, I go with bigd on the filters or EQ at first.
maybe the analogx vocal remover will help:
http://www.analogx.com/contents/download/audio/vremover.htm
but I'm not sure.
I love vst's!!!
there are a lot of good free vst's out there that can hang with the profesional ones or if they can't there is always a usefull sound to make with it.
I love the FM7 from native instruments(not free though).
that is really my baby at the moment.
1)WHAT WAS THE FIRST HIP-HOP RECORD & WHATS THE NAME OF THE GROUP? (ITS NOT WHAT YOU THINK).
the last poets
2)WHAT WAS THE ORIGINAL COLOR OF THE DEF JAM LABEL?
I think it was Red.
3)WHO INVENTED THE SCRATCH? (THE DJ'S NAME).
grand wizzard Theodore
4)WHO WAS THE D.J. FOR THE FURIOUS...
here is a Hip-Hop Chronology:
http://www.ai.mit.edu/~isbell/HFh/hiphop/rap_history.html
album list on parlaiment funkadelic:
http://www.duke.edu/~eja/motherpage/discog-f.html
http://www.digitalfishphones.com/main.php?item=2&subItem=3
maybe this one helps.
it is just a basic compressor but it sounds great and it is free.
I use it on all my drums.