Reese-style bass
A Reese-style bass is a long bass note made of two slightly detuned synth tones, so they rub against each other and the sound slowly churns and growls. It is the dark, moving bass of drum & bass and jungle.
Also called reese bass, detuned bass, dnb reese.
Play it
- Bar 1Am
- Bar 2F
- Bar 3C
- Bar 4G
Faded lanes are a guide: they are there so the pattern has something to sit against. The loop runs over four chords, Am, F, C, G, one bar each. Tap any box to change it.
Try this
Try this · change one box
Add a bass note on step 5, under the first snare. The long growl gets a second push in every bar.
Hear it without the grid
A short recording of the loop above at 174 BPM, made with Swung’s own sounds.
How it works
Two sawtooth waves a few cents apart drift in and out of phase. That drift is the movement; a slow filter on top makes it breathe.
Because the sound moves on its own, the notes can be simple: one long root per chord, restruck with the kick.
The pattern in words
- Bass: steps 1 and 11 of 16, notes held for 6 and 10 steps.
| Part | Steps, 1 to 16 | Plays on |
|---|---|---|
| Bass | x–––––––––x––––– | steps 1 and 11 of 16, notes held for 6 and 10 steps |
x a hit, o a quiet hit, 2 or 3 a quick roll inside one step, – a note held on, · nothing.
Variations
A clean sub instead
The same notes on a plain sine bass.
Held for the whole bar
One note per chord, never restruck.
Up an octave on the second hit
Root, then the octave with the second kick.
Where it’s used
Also common in Jungle, Neurofunk and Dubstep.
Learn this pattern step by step
The course builds up to it from Unit 1, which is free. Sign up with Google and start with the first lesson; it plays in your browser, like this page.
Pick up where you left off
Carry on with Unit 1, then Reese-style bass comes in Unit 8: Sound.