How to Make Reese Bass in Serum – Step by Step

What is a Reese Bass?

The Reese bass is one of the most iconic sounds in electronic music. Named after Kevin Saunderson’s track “Just Want Another Chance” (released under the alias Reese), this bass sound has been a cornerstone of jungle, drum and bass, and dubstep for decades. At its core, a Reese bass is created by layering two or more slightly detuned sawtooth waves together, producing a thick, swirling texture that moves and evolves constantly.

The beauty of the Reese lies in its simplicity. The phasing interaction between the detuned oscillators creates natural movement without needing complex modulation. As the waves drift in and out of phase, the harmonic content shifts continuously, giving the sound its characteristic “rolling” quality that DnB producers love.

Serum is one of the best tools for creating Reese basses because of its precise unison controls and wavetable flexibility. This step-by-step guide will walk you through building a classic Reese from scratch, plus some modern variations that push the sound further.

Step 1: Setting Up the Oscillators

Open a fresh instance of Serum and start with Oscillator A. Select the “Basic Shapes” wavetable and set the wavetable position to the sawtooth wave. This is your foundation. The raw sawtooth contains all the harmonics you need for a full, rich bass sound.

Now enable Oscillator B and set it to the same sawtooth position. At this point, both oscillators are playing identical waveforms, so you will hear no difference from having just one. The magic happens in the next step.

Set the Unison voice count on Oscillator A to 2 voices. Keep Oscillator B at 1 voice for now. Turn the Detune knob on Oscillator A up slowly. Around 0.10 to 0.20 is the sweet spot for a classic Reese. You should immediately hear that thick, phasing character emerge. Too much detune and it sounds like a supersaw. Too little and there is no movement.

Step 2: Shaping the Sound with Filters

Route both oscillators through Filter 1. Set the filter type to a low-pass filter, either the default MG Low 24 or the Dirty filter for more character. Set the cutoff to around 500-800Hz for a deep, moody Reese. Higher cutoff values will let more harmonics through, making the sound brighter and more aggressive.

Add a small amount of resonance, around 10-15%. This adds a slight peak at the cutoff frequency that gives the bass more presence in the mix. Be careful not to overdo it, as too much resonance can make the bass sound thin and nasally.

Now assign an LFO to the filter cutoff. Use a slow sine wave LFO with a subtle modulation amount. This creates a gentle opening and closing of the filter that adds additional movement to your Reese. The combination of the detuning phase movement and the filter modulation creates a complex, evolving texture.

Step 3: Adding Weight with Sub Bass

A Reese on its own often needs some extra weight in the sub frequencies. You have two options here. You can either layer a separate sub bass underneath or use Serum’s built-in sub oscillator.

For the simplest approach, enable the Sub oscillator in Serum and keep it on the default sine wave. This adds a clean, solid fundamental that anchors your Reese bass without interfering with the mid-range texture. Adjust the level to taste, but typically you want the sub to be felt rather than heard as a separate element.

If you want more control, create a second instance of Serum on a separate track with just a sine wave sub. This lets you process and EQ the sub independently from the Reese mid-range. Many DnB producers prefer this approach because it gives them complete control over the low-end balance.

Step 4: Processing and Effects

Distortion and Saturation

Adding subtle saturation to your Reese brings out harmonics and adds warmth. In Serum’s FX rack, add a Distortion module and set it to Tube or Warm mode. Keep the drive low, around 20-30%. You want to enhance the existing character, not overwhelm it. For heavier styles, try the Hard Clip mode with more aggressive settings.

Chorus and Dimension

A touch of chorus can widen your Reese and add extra richness. Use Serum’s built-in Hyper/Dimension effect or a separate chorus plugin. Keep the depth subtle. The detuning is already creating width, so you just want to enhance it slightly rather than turn your bass into a washy mess.

EQ and Compression

Use EQ to carve out the exact frequency range you want your Reese to occupy. Roll off the very low end below 30Hz to keep things clean. If you are using a separate sub layer, high-pass the Reese around 80-100Hz to prevent frequency clashing. Add gentle compression to even out the level and glue the sound together.

Modern Reese Variations

The classic Reese is just the starting point. Modern producers have pushed this sound in countless directions. Try using more complex wavetables instead of simple sawtooth waves for the oscillators. Add FM modulation between the oscillators for metallic, growling textures. Use multiband distortion to process different frequency ranges independently.

Automation is key to keeping a Reese bass interesting throughout a full track. Automate the filter cutoff, detune amount, and effects parameters to create bass lines that constantly evolve. The best Reese bass sounds never sit still.

For more inspiration and ready-to-use Reese bass presets, check out the Preset Drive shop. Our Serum preset packs include a range of Reese variations from subtle and smooth to aggressive and in-your-face.

Grab the Free Serum Taster Pack to try some professionally designed bass presets in your next production session.

Want more bass presets for your productions? The Preset Drive shop has everything from classic Reese basses to modern neurofunk monsters. Download instantly and start making heavier tracks today.

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For a complete overview of Reese bass sounds and preset recommendations, see our Reese Bass Serum Presets guide.