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I don’t have an A4, but do have an MnM, and have been (attempting) to make DnB for a long time. A Reese Bass is actually pretty simple in theory.

For a Reese Bass you need to use two to three oscillators. Square waves work the best, but making one of the oscillators a triangle or saw wave can work too.

The bass is comprised of two or three parts - a low bass, a mid bass, and a high bass tone. Pitch the second oscillator up one octave from the first oscillator, and the third oscillator up an octave from the second oscillator. You will need to use THREE TRACKS for layering these oscillators. Detune one or two of the oscillators (mid or high) just a little bit. This gives you a phasing effect that really brings the bass to life.

Use the FILTER on each oscillator to scoop out an individual tone range for each oscillator. The low bass can be pretty dull and subby, the mid needs to be a bit growly, and the high bass can be pretty crunchy (playing with the filter settings once you have your basic bass sound set up is where the magic really happens). You want each oscillator to live in its own frequency range so things don’t get muddy (very important).

Now you should have a really thick and rich sounding bass, but it’s probably just a giant wall of sound! This is where you need to adjust the volume level of each oscillator until you find the balance you like. Usually lots of low end, some mid bass, and plenty of high bass to give it that hollow growling sound.

Once you balance the volume levels to your liking, EQ out more frequencies (in the mid and upper mid range especially) and just experiment until you find a pleasing hollow bass sound.

Once you get your bass sound worked out (which can take a long time) try some tweaking of the FILTER and EG, and the volume balances. This will make your bass move and evolve. You can make your bass move subtly, or you can make it scream and growl dramatically. Target LFOs to parameters for continuous movement.

  • Try running the bass through another level of EQ for even further control, so the bass really sits nice in a mix.

  • Never use reverb on the low bass, but a little bit on the high bass can add a lot of width and presence.

  • Create a separate ‘Sub Bass’ that sits beneath the Reese. Best to keep them separate for maximum tonal control.

I hope that helps!

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