How to Make a Drum and Bass Bassline in Serum

Building a Complete DnB Bassline

A drum and bass bassline is more than a single sound. It is a combination of sub bass, mid-range texture, and rhythmic programming that drives a track at 170-180 BPM. The bassline needs to carry the energy of the track while leaving space for drums, vocals, and other elements.

Understanding how to build a complete DnB bassline in Serum means learning how different bass layers work together and how programming choices affect the feel of the track. Whether you are producing liquid, neurofunk, jump up, or minimal DnB, the fundamental approach is the same.

The Sub Bass Foundation

Every DnB bassline starts with a solid sub bass. This is the physical weight that you feel on a sound system. In Serum, create the sub bass with a pure sine wave on Oscillator A, pitched at C1 or C0.

Keep the sub bass completely clean. No unison, no effects, no distortion. The sub needs to be a pure, controlled low-frequency signal that translates consistently across all playback systems. Any processing on the sub introduces harmonics that can interfere with the kick drum and cause phase issues on club systems.

The amp envelope for the sub should have a fast attack, full sustain, and a medium release (100-200ms). The release prevents the sub from cutting off unnaturally between notes while keeping it tight enough to avoid overlapping with the next note.

Mid-Range Layer

The mid-range layer sits above the sub and provides the character and texture of the bassline. This is where the genre-specific sound comes from:

• Liquid DnB – A warm Reese bass with gentle filtering and subtle movement. Two detuned saw waves with a low-pass filter create the rolling quality
• Neurofunk – Aggressive mid-range with complex wavetables, heavy distortion, and modulated filters. The mid-range is the star of the show
• Jump up – Short, punchy stabs from saw or square waves with heavy distortion and fast envelopes
• Minimal DnB – Simple, clean mid-range with subtle filtering. Less processing, more focus on rhythm and space

High-pass the mid-range layer at 80-150Hz to prevent it from clashing with the sub. The exact crossover point depends on the track, but the goal is clean separation between the sub and mid layers.

Programming the Bassline

DnB bassline programming follows specific patterns depending on the subgenre. The standard approach:

• Note length – Varies by style. Liquid uses longer, flowing notes. Jump up uses short stabs. Neurofunk mixes both
• Rhythmic placement – The bass typically plays on the off-beats relative to the kick drum. This creates the call-and-response between kick and bass that defines DnB
• Pitch movement – Simple basslines stay on one or two notes. More complex patterns use chromatic movement, slides, and octave jumps
• Velocity variation – Varying the velocity of bass notes adds human feel and prevents the bassline from sounding mechanical

At 174 BPM, a bar lasts roughly 1.38 seconds. A 16th note is about 86ms. These timings affect envelope settings, filter modulation rates, and the overall feel of the bassline.

Layering Sub and Mid Together

Getting the sub and mid-range layers to work together is the most important part of building a DnB bassline:

• Same MIDI – Both layers should play the same notes at the same time. Any timing difference creates phase issues
• Frequency separation – High-pass the mid, low-pass the sub. The crossover point should be seamless with no gap or overlap
• Level balance – The sub should provide the weight, the mid provides the presence. On a meter, the sub will typically be louder, but the mid should be clearly audible
• Mono sub – Keep the sub completely mono. The mid can have some stereo width but keep it conservative to avoid phase problems

Processing the Complete Bassline

Once both layers are playing together, group them for final processing:

• Sidechain to the kick – A short, fast sidechain duck creates space for the kick drum without losing bass energy
• Bus compression – Light compression on the bass bus glues the sub and mid together into a cohesive sound
• Saturation – Gentle saturation on the bus adds harmonics that help the bass translate on smaller speakers
• Reference – Compare your bass balance against commercial DnB tracks to check your sub-to-mid ratio

DnB Bass Presets for Production

Building a complete DnB bassline from scratch teaches you how the layers interact, but starting from professionally designed presets saves significant time. Good DnB presets give you the oscillator setup, filtering, and processing already configured for each layer.

Preset packs for DnB basslines:

• Dirty Drum & Bass Vol.1 – Reese basses, neuro patches, and sub bass presets for DnB
• Dirty Drum & Bass Vol.2 – Updated DnB sounds with refined layering
• Master Bundle Vol.1 & 2 – Complete collection covering all DnB bass styles

For more on DnB bass design, see our Modern Drum and Bass Serum Presets guide. Browse the full collection or try the free taster pack.