Reese Bass TUTORiAL

FANTASTiC | 13 March 2025 | 270 MB

Here’s one of about 500 ways to make a solid reese sound, and you can apply this to lots of sounds, as it’s kind of the swiss army knife approach to sound design. Enjoy! If you’ve ever come across that dense, swirling bass sound that seems to be the backbone of so many drum and bass tracks and thought, “What the hell is that and how can I get it?”, you’ve come to the right place. That, my friend, is the legendary Reese Bass. It’s versatile, powerful, and absolutely essential in genres like drum and bass and dubstep. In this guide, we’ll explore a brief history of the Reese Bass, how it became such an iconic sound in electronic music, and how you can create one using tools you probably already have at your disposal.

Brief History of the Reese Bass

Let’s start by taking a quick trip back in time to the roots of the Reese Bass.

We can trace the sound back to 1988, when Kevin Saunderson, under his first side project called Reese, dropped a track called “Just Want Another Chance.” He had no idea he was about to make history with a thick, growling bass sound created with a Casio CZ-5000 phase distortion synthesizer. This sound would later earn its name: Reese Bass.

Strangely enough, it took years for Saunderson to receive the recognition he deserved for pioneering this sound, although the community eventually traced it back to him.

Not long after, British DJ and producer Ray Keith, a legend in his own right, sampled a Reese record for the jungle classic “Terrorist” by Renegade. This track not only used the iconic Reese Bass from the first Detroit techno producer, launching it into fame, but it also spearheaded the entire UK drum and bass movement.

From there, the Reese Bass got a VIP pass to every rave in the UK, leaving its mark on garage and other subgenres of electronic music. For example, Burial, an artist who brilliantly incorporated the Reese Bass into his sound on numerous occasions.

Of course, the journey didn’t stop at the UK’s shores. The Reese Bass sound would eventually make its way into the heart of modern genres like neuro and dubstep, proving that some sounds are just too good to be forgotten.

What is the Reese Bass?

Clearly, the Reese Bass has earned its legendary status, and if you’ve ever gotten your second wind in a DnB club at 3 a.m., you know exactly what I’m talking about.

But what exactly makes up this iconic sound? Let’s break it down.

At its core, the Reese Bass is characterized by its thick, rich texture and its detuned quality, which gives it a unique sense of depth and movement. This sound is typically created by layering two or more slightly detuned sawtooth waveforms. This detuning creates a phase cancellation effect, known as “beating,” which results in the signature wobble and richness that make the sound stand out.

What makes the Reese Bass unique is that, despite the countless ways it can be manipulated and the various effects that can be added to it, its essence remains remarkably constant. Whether it’s run through distortion to add grit, filtered for a sweeping effect, or modulated for dynamic movement, the fundamental character of the Reese Bass stays the same. This inherent versatility is what makes the Reese Bass a go-to sound for many electronic music producers.

How to Make a Reese Bass

Once you’re ready to dive in and create your own Reese Bass, you can start by grabbing your favorite synthesizer. Almost any will do, but those with good modulation capabilities are a plus.

Step 1: Choose Your Synth

Start by loading up your preferred synthesizer. Some of my favorites for this sound are Native Instruments’ Massive and Xfer’s Serum. If you have Ableton, you can also use Operator.

Step 2: Initiate the Oscillators

Next, set up two oscillators, both using sawtooth waves. The sawtooth wave is key to getting that rich harmonic content right from the start.

Step 3: Detune the Oscillators

Slightly detune the oscillators from each other. You can do this by tuning one oscillator slightly up a few cents and the other slightly down by the same amount to create the core phase effect.

Experiment with the amount of detuning to find the sweet spot. Too little might not give you the desired movement, while too much can sound dissonant.

Step 4: Low-Pass Filtering

Next, run the oscillators through a low-pass filter. Start with the cutoff frequency relatively high, then adjust it to taste. You want to retain some of the high-end brightness while emphasizing the warmth of the lows. I’d also recommend adding a bit of resonance to accentuate certain frequencies.

Step 5: Add Movement

If you want to make your Reese Bass more interesting, you can introduce some modulation to the low-pass filter’s cutoff frequency. LFOs (low-frequency oscillators) or envelope modulators are perfect for this. Set the LFO speed to a slow tempo for a pulsing effect or faster for more of a wobble.

Step 6: Thicken It Up

If your synth has a unison mode or a way to spread the sound in stereo, now is the time to use it. Adding unison voices can make your Reese Bass sound wider and thicker. But be careful not to overdo it, as too much stereo information in the low end can cause mix issues.

Step 7: Distortion & Saturation

To add some edge to your Reese Bass, it’s a good idea to apply distortion or saturation. Start with a subtle setting and increase until you find the right amount of grit without losing the fundamental bass tone. One of my favorite tools for this job is Soundtoys Decapitator.

Step 8: Final Adjustments

Once you have the basic sound, you can tweak the ADSR (attack, decay, sustain, release) settings of your oscillators and filter to fit the context of your track. A longer attack can create a swelling effect, while a quick attack and release can make it more percussive.

Final Thoughts – The Classic Reese Bass Sound

The early rave producers knew they had struck gold with the intense Reese Bass in the early dance music subgenres, and with the rising popularity of house music and glitch hop, Reese Basses are heard more frequently than ever. There are even some more aggressive variants of the almighty Reese in genres like dubstep and neuro.

Electronic music is all about constantly pushing the boundaries of what’s possible, and there are few musical areas where that sentiment rings more true. Start experimenting today, and who knows? Maybe one day the dance community will name a synth after you.

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The Glorious Versatile Multifaceted Reese Bass TUTORiAL-FANTASTiC
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