How to Create a Simple Reese Style Bass in NI Massive

We have featured other NI Massive tutorials here in the past that show how to design a Reese style synth bass, and this is one more that is worthy of making that list. Check it out and add another killer Reese to your arsenal!

The Reese has been a style of bass synth that has been able to adapt and change over the years to remain relevant and essential in several genres of music. With the gritty and dark elements blending with the smooth glide and razor sharp appeal it is no wonder that people are continually drawn to it in both as music production professionals and fans alike. This video moves quickly through the steps needed to make the synth and assumes you have a good knowledge of the layout and functionality of Massive, so makes sure you pause the video and copy the settings if you are trying to keep up!

To begin with, a Square-Saw I wavetable os loaded onto OSC1 and the pitch is dropped 2 octaves. Next, a Deep Throat wavetable is loaded onto OSC2 and it’s pitch is dropped 1 octave. And a Square-Saw II wavetable is loaded onto OSC3 and the pitch is dropped 2 octaves. Next, some phasing is added to OSC1 through the Modulation OSC panel. The Decay volume of the main Amp Envelope is increased to keep the volume level of the sound consistent throughout it’s delivery.

Now we move onto the Voicing tab. Here the number of total voices used is increased to a total of 4. It is switched to Monorotate mode and the Trigger is set to Legato Triller. This will also allow for gliding between notes. The Pitch Cutoff feature is turned on and the slider is offset to introduce more phasing, while the Pan Position is activated to widen the sound by spreading out the voices across the stereo field. A quick stop at the OSC tab to increase the Glide parameter is necessary before moving on.

Now some Feedback and a small amount of Noise are added to the mix. A Highpass/Lowpass filter is then add as an Insert. A Scream filter is loaded onto the Filter1 panel. And a Classic Tube Amp is added to the FX1 tab to provide more drive and grit to the sound. An envelope is set up to modulate the Pitch parameter of both OSC1 and OSC2, which gives the sound a slightly layered pitch feel. That pretty much wraps this sound up! You can also play around with the EQ to further shape the sound to your liking, as well as use a Sine Shaper to help bring out some of the distortion that the Tube Amp offers. You may also find a touch of Reverb can go a long way in making the bass bigger without spreading it out too much.

If you have a request for a specific sound to be deconstructed or would like us to focus on a certain feature of NI Massive in a future post, shoot us a message and let us know. Thanks for stopping by!

Cheers,
OhmLab