The reese: origin and principle
The reese is a bass made of two (or more) slightly detuned sawtooth waves that produce beating and constantly shifting phase cancellations: the sound “roars” and sways. The name comes from Reese, an alias of Kevin Saunderson (Detroit techno), and from the track “Just Want Another Chance” (1988). In the '90s drum and bass (from jungle to neurofunk: Ed Rush & Optical, Noisia and many others) turned it into its signature bass, filtered, distorted and processed in parallel.
Basic recipe (reese)
- Two saws, detune ±10–25 cents (or 2–4 voice unison); free phase (not retrigger) for an ever-changing movement.
- 24 dB LP at 300–1200 Hz, low resonance; slow LFO on the cutoff (0.2–1 Hz) or automation.
- Separate sub: mono sine an octave below (or at the same octave if the bass is high), with an HP on the reese at 100–150 Hz. This is the step that distinguishes a professional reese: the sub stays stable while the reese moves.
- Distortion (soft clip, then hard clip) and light chorus/flanger; parallel OTT for the harmonics.
- Mono below 150 Hz; stereo and width only on the upper part.
The wobble: principle
The wobble is a bass whose filter (or wavetable position or formant) is modulated by a tempo-synced LFO: the sound “talks” in rhythm (“wub wub”). It is the signature of British dubstep (Skream, Benga, Caspa, Rusko, mid-2000s) and later of American brostep (Skrillex, “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites”, 2010), as well as riddim and drum and bass.
Basic recipe (wobble)
- Oscillators: saw + square or a rich wavetable; separate sine sub.
- 24 dB LP with resonance 20–40%; sine or triangle LFO on the cutoff, tempo-synced rate: 1/4, 1/8, 1/8 triplet, 1/16. Changing the rate every half bar creates the rhythmic “talking”.
- Retrigger LFO on every note: the wobble always starts at the same point.
- Alternatives to the filter: modulate a formant filter (vowels A-E-I-O-U), the wavetable position, or a wavefolder.
- Distortion after the filter, EQ, OTT; sidechain from the kick.
Programming the wobble rhythm
At 140 BPM (dubstep, snare on 3):
| Half bar | LFO rate | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| beats 1–2 | 1/4 | slow, heavy |
| beats 3–4 | 1/8 | more talkative |
| bar 2, beats 1–2 | 1/8T | rolling |
| bar 2, beats 3–4 | 1/16 | fast buzz before the fill |
In Serum/Vital you automate the rate or use several switched LFOs; in FL Studio with Fruity Envelope Controller or with a rate automation, or with an LFO drawn in Fruity Love Philter.
Example in A minor
Dubstep drop at 140 BPM: sine sub on A1 (55 Hz) for two bars, then F1, G1, E1. Wobble on A2 (an octave above) with the rate pattern from the table, resonant LP, distortion. Reese for the drum and bass section (174 BPM) in the same key: two saws ±18 cents, cutoff automated from 400 to 900 Hz over 8 bars, sub on A1 underneath.
Mix
- Sub: mono, −6/−10 dB below the kick's peak, checked in an analyzer (it must be stable).
- Reese/wobble: HP at 100–150 Hz, presence area at 500 Hz–2 kHz, control 3–5 kHz with a dynamic EQ.
- Sidechain or “ducking” from the kick (and from the snare in half-time genres) by 3–8 dB.
- Mono compatibility: check that the reese does not disappear.
Common mistakes
- Unison and detune on the sub too: basses that “pump” on their own and cancellations.
- Free-running (unsynced) LFO in the wobble: it loses the rhythm.
- Too much resonance: whistles and peaks beyond the limiter.
Exercise
- Build a reese with and without a separate sub and compare in a mix at 174 BPM.
- Program 4 bars of wobble with 4 different rates and write a dubstep drum part over it (kick on 1, snare on 3).
Related topics
“Designing 808s and basses”, “Filters”, “Unison, detune and supersaw”, “Distortion as sound design”, “Layering sounds: sub, body, top”.