How to Make DnB Sub Bass in Serum

How to Make the Perfect Sub Bass for Drum and Bass

Sub bass is the foundation of every drum and bass track. It is the low-end weight that you feel in your chest on a big sound system, the rumble that makes a dancefloor shake, and the element that separates a professional DnB mix from an amateur one.

Despite its importance, sub bass is one of the hardest elements to get right. The frequencies involved (roughly 30 Hz to 80 Hz) are difficult to hear on small speakers, easy to overdo, and sensitive to phase issues and masking. This guide covers everything you need to know about creating, processing, and mixing the perfect dnb sub bass.

Understanding Sub Bass in Drum and Bass

What Sub Bass Actually Is

Sub bass refers to the lowest frequencies in a mix, typically sitting between 20 Hz and 80 Hz. In drum and bass, the sub bass usually occupies the 30-60 Hz range and provides the raw low-end weight of the track. It sits underneath the mid-range bass (the growls, reeses, and neuro sounds that give DnB its character) and works alongside the kick drum to create the low-end impact of the track.

In most drum and bass tracks, the sub bass is a separate sound from the mid-range bass. The mid bass handles the character and energy, while the sub provides the weight and foundation. They work together but serve different functions. This separation is crucial for a clean, powerful mix.

Why Sub Bass Matters in DnB

Drum and bass is played on large sound systems in clubs, at festivals, and on bass-heavy car audio setups. These systems reproduce sub frequencies that you cannot hear on laptop speakers or earbuds. If your sub bass is weak, muddy, or poorly tuned, the track will feel empty and lifeless on these systems even if it sounds fine on headphones.

Conversely, if your sub is too loud, too wide, or has unwanted harmonics, it will eat up all the headroom in your mix and cause everything else to sound small and compressed. The perfect dnb sub bass sits in the mix with authority but without dominating everything above it.

Creating Sub Bass in Serum

The Pure Sine Sub

The simplest and often most effective sub bass is a pure sine wave. Here is how to create one in Xfer Serum:

1. Initialise Serum (right-click the preset name and select Init Preset).
2. On OSC A, load the “Basic Shapes” wavetable and set the WT Pos fully left to select the sine wave.
3. Set the Octave to -2 or -1 depending on the octave range of your bassline. For most DnB sub basses, -1 works well when playing notes around C1 to D1.
4. Make sure Unison is set to 1 voice (no unison). Sub bass must be mono. Any stereo width or detuning in the sub range will cause phase cancellation on club systems.
5. Turn off OSC B, the Noise oscillator, and the Sub oscillator. You want a clean, pure signal.
6. Turn off all filters. A sine wave has no harmonics to filter, so filtering it just reduces volume.
7. Set ENV 1 (the amp envelope) with Attack at 0ms, Decay at 0ms, Sustain at 100%, and Release at about 50-100ms. The fast attack ensures the sub hits immediately with the kick. The short release prevents sub notes from bleeding into each other.
8. In the FX tab, remove all effects. The sub should be completely dry and clean.

This gives you a perfectly clean sine sub that you can layer underneath any mid-range bass. It is the approach used by the majority of professional drum and bass producers.

The Triangle Sub

If you want a sub bass with slightly more presence and audibility on smaller speakers, use a triangle wave instead of a sine. The triangle wave has odd harmonics (3rd, 5th, 7th) at decreasing amplitudes, which adds subtle midrange content that helps the sub translate on systems that cannot reproduce the lowest frequencies.

1. Follow the same steps as the sine sub above.
2. Instead of a sine wave, set the WT Pos on “Basic Shapes” to the triangle position.
3. Consider adding a gentle low-pass filter (MG Low 12 or 18) with the cutoff at about 40-50% to tame the upper harmonics if they are too present.

The triangle sub works particularly well in liquid drum and bass and deeper styles where the sub needs to be felt but also slightly heard.

The Saturated Sub

For heavier styles like neurofunk, jump-up, and tearout, a clean sine sub can feel too polite. Adding controlled saturation generates harmonics that give the sub more aggression and presence:

1. Start with the pure sine sub patch described above.
2. In the FX tab, add the Distortion effect. Set it to Tube mode with the Drive at about 15-25%. Do not overdo this. You want warmth and presence, not distortion you can obviously hear.
3. After the distortion, add an EQ. Cut everything above 120 Hz with a steep high-cut filter. This removes the upper harmonics generated by the saturation while keeping the warmth and weight it adds to the fundamental.
4. Optionally, add a very gentle Compressor after the EQ (threshold around -6 dB, ratio 2:1) to even out the sub level.

This approach keeps the sub clean in frequency terms but adds analogue-style warmth that you can feel on a big system. Many of the sub patches in our drum and bass preset packs use this saturated sine technique for maximum low-end impact.

Sub Bass Tuning and Note Selection

Choosing the Right Key

The key of your track directly affects how your sub bass will sound and feel. Different keys produce sub bass at different fundamental frequencies, and some keys work better than others on sound systems.

Common sub bass frequencies in drum and bass:

• C1 (32.7 Hz) – Very deep. Requires a proper sub system to hear. Works well but can be too low for smaller systems.
• D1 (36.7 Hz) – A popular key for DnB. Deep enough to feel massive but not so low that it disappears on medium systems.
• E1 (41.2 Hz) – Slightly higher. Translates well across a wide range of playback systems.
• F1 (43.7 Hz) – Another common DnB key. Good balance between depth and audibility.
• G1 (49.0 Hz) – Higher sub range. Punchy and present. Works well for more energetic, driving tracks.

There is no single correct key for drum and bass. However, keys between D1 and F1 tend to offer the best balance of depth, weight, and translation across different playback systems. If you are writing a track specifically for club play, D1 and E1 are safe choices.

Sub Bass Note Length

At 170-175 BPM, sub notes that are too long overlap and cause mud. Notes that are too short feel disconnected. For rolling patterns, set MIDI notes end-to-end with no gaps. For punchy staccato hits, keep notes to 1/8 or 1/4 length with a short release (30-80ms). For half-time sections, longer notes (1/2 or 1/1) with a 100-200ms release work well.

Portamento and Glide

A short glide time (10-30ms) on sub bass creates a subtle pitch slide between notes that feels organic. In Serum, enable Portamento in the voicing section and set it to “Legato” so glide only happens when notes overlap. Keep the time short. Anything over 50ms will sound like an obvious pitch bend and can cause the sub to feel out of tune.

Mixing Sub Bass in Drum and Bass

Sub Bass and Kick Drum Relationship

The most critical mixing relationship in any drum and bass track is between the kick drum and the sub bass. These two elements occupy the same frequency range and will fight each other if not managed properly.

There are several approaches to managing this relationship:

Sidechain Compression: Apply a compressor to the sub bass and sidechain it to the kick drum. When the kick hits, the sub bass ducks down momentarily, creating space for the kick’s impact. Settings: fast attack (0-5ms), medium release (50-100ms), ratio 3:1 to 6:1, threshold set so the sub ducks by about 3-6 dB on each kick hit.

LFO Tool / Sidechain Shaping: Use a plugin like Xfer LFO Tool, Nicky Romero Kickstart, or Shaperbox to apply a sidechain-style volume curve to the sub. This is the fastest method and gives you visual control over the ducking shape.

Frequency Splitting: EQ the kick to emphasise its punch (60-100 Hz) and cut its deep sub content (below 50 Hz). Then let the sub bass fill in the 30-50 Hz range. They occupy slightly different parts of the spectrum and need less aggressive sidechain treatment.

EQ for Sub Bass

Sub bass EQ should be simple and surgical:

• High-pass filter at 25-30 Hz – Remove inaudible rumble below the useful sub range. This frees up headroom without affecting the perceived weight of the sub.
• Low-pass filter at 80-120 Hz – Remove any harmonics or mid-range content from the sub channel. The sub should be invisible in the mid-range. Let your mid bass handle everything above 80-100 Hz.
• Narrow cut around 50-60 Hz if needed – If the sub is boomy or resonant at a specific frequency, use a narrow cut to tame it. Be subtle with this. A 2-3 dB cut is usually enough.

Mono Below 100 Hz

This is non-negotiable for drum and bass. Everything below about 100-120 Hz must be mono. Stereo content in the sub frequencies causes phase cancellation on mono club systems, which means your sub will literally disappear on the dancefloor.

In Serum, make sure your sub patch has no unison detuning, no stereo effects (chorus, phaser, hyper), and no panning. If you are using a separate sub channel in your DAW, insert a mid/side EQ or a stereo imaging plugin on the master bus and set everything below 100-120 Hz to mono.

Level Setting

Sub bass level needs checking on multiple playback systems. The sub should peak at roughly the same level as the kick drum, or 1-2 dB below. Use a spectrum analyser to check the low-end balance, and reference against professional drum and bass tracks. If in doubt, slightly too quiet is better than too loud. An overpowered sub eats headroom and makes everything else sound weak.

Sub Bass Patterns in Different DnB Styles

Liquid Drum and Bass

In liquid DnB, the sub bass is typically smooth, sustained, and musical. It follows the chord progression closely and often moves in smooth half-note or whole-note patterns. The sub in liquid tracks is more about warmth and musicality than raw weight.

Use a clean sine or triangle sub with a slightly longer release (100-150ms). Write simple, melodic sub patterns that outline the root notes of your chords. Avoid rapid movements or aggressive patterns. The sub should feel like a warm bed that everything else sits on top of.

Neurofunk

Neurofunk uses more aggressive, precisely timed sub bass patterns. The sub often plays tight 8th or 16th note patterns that interlock with the drum groove. The sub might be more present in the mix, with slight saturation for aggression.

Use the saturated sine approach described earlier. Write tight, rhythmic sub patterns with short note lengths and a fast amp envelope release (30-50ms). The sub should punch in and out cleanly, leaving space between hits for the kick and snare to breathe.

Jump-Up

Jump-up DnB uses thick, heavy sub bass that provides maximum dancefloor weight. The sub patterns are usually simple but incredibly impactful. Single sustained notes that hit hard and hold.

Use a sine sub with moderate saturation. Write simple patterns focused on root notes with occasional octave drops for impact. The sub should feel massive and unwavering. This is not the place for complexity. Power and weight are everything.

Minimal and Halftime DnB

In minimal and halftime styles, the sub bass plays longer, more spacious patterns with silence between hits. Use a clean sine sub with a medium release (80-120ms). The silence between sub notes is just as important as the notes themselves.

Layering Sub Bass with Mid Bass

The Two-Layer Approach

Most professional drum and bass producers use two separate layers: a sub layer (clean sine playing root notes in C1-D2) and a mid layer (reese, neuro, growl playing in C2-C4). The two are mixed and processed separately, giving you independent control over low-end weight and mid-range character.

To avoid frequency overlap and phase issues between the two layers:

• High-pass the mid bass at 80-120 Hz to remove its sub content entirely.
• Low-pass the sub bass at 80-120 Hz to remove its harmonics.
• Make sure both layers are playing the same root note (or octaves of it) to avoid dissonance.
• Check phase alignment between the two layers. If they are out of phase in the crossover region, the low end will cancel and sound thin.

If you want to hear how professional producers layer sub and mid bass in drum and bass, our DnB Serum presets include both sub and mid-range bass patches designed to work together.

Using One-Shot Samples for Sub

An alternative to synthesising your sub bass is to use one-shot sub samples. These are pre-rendered sub bass hits at specific notes that you can load into a sampler and trigger with MIDI.

The advantage of one-shot subs is consistency. A well-crafted sub sample will sound the same every time, with no risk of oscillator drift, filter movement, or parameter randomisation affecting your low end. Many professional producers use a simple sub sample rather than a synth for this reason.

Our bass one-shot sample packs include tuned sub bass hits in multiple keys that you can load directly into your sampler of choice. Combined with our full sample packs, you have everything you need for a complete drum and bass production.

Common Sub Bass Problems and Solutions

Sub Sounds Muddy

If your sub sounds muddy and undefined, check for these issues: multiple elements competing in the sub range (remove sub content from everything except the sub and kick), sub notes that are too long and overlapping, lack of sidechain compression between the sub and kick, and reverb or delay on the sub channel (never put time-based effects on a sub bass).

Sub Disappears on Small Speakers

This is normal. Sub frequencies below 60 Hz cannot be reproduced by laptops or phone speakers. Add subtle saturation to generate upper harmonics that smaller speakers can reproduce, or layer a quiet sine wave an octave above the sub.

Sub Sounds Different in Every Key

Different notes produce different fundamental frequencies, and rooms respond differently to each one. A sub at D1 might excite a room resonance that makes it boom, while the same sub at F1 sounds clean. Use a spectrum analyser to check for room modes and consider treating your listening environment with bass traps.

For producers who want to focus on the creative side of drum and bass without spending hours crafting sub patches from scratch, browse our full collection of Serum presets. Every bass preset includes properly tuned sub content, and our preset bundles give you a complete sonic toolkit for professional DnB production at a fraction of the price of buying packs individually.

Related Preset Packs

Looking for professional bass music presets? Check out these Serum preset packs:

• Dirty Drum & Bass Vol.1
• Dirty Drum & Bass Vol.2
• Dirty Bass Master Bundle Vol. 1 & 2