How to make a donk bass in Serum 2
The donk is a short, hollow, almost woody bass hit from hard house, Scouse house and bassline. It is a square or pulse wave through a resonant band-pass, with an envelope so short the note is barely more than a knock, played on the off-beats.
Oscillator
Set oscillator A to a square, or a narrow pulse for a more nasal donk. One voice, no unison. Pitch it an octave or two above where a normal bass would sit.
Band-pass and envelopes
- Route to a band-pass filter. Set the cutoff around 500 Hz to 1 kHz and the resonance fairly high, so the hit has a pitched, hollow ring.
- ENV 1: zero attack, decay 80 to 150 ms, no sustain, short release. The shorter it is, the more it knocks.
- Optionally drag ENV 2 onto the cutoff with a very short decay, for a small click at the start.
- A touch of pitch envelope (ENV 2 on coarse pitch, a few semitones, 20 to 40 ms) adds the bounce.
The pattern
Donks sit on the off-beats between kicks, often jumping between the root and the octave. At 130 to 145 BPM that bounce is the whole groove. Add a little distortion and a short reverb if it sounds too dry.
Five free Serum 2 presets
From our VISIONS OF TOMORROW pack: an 808 bass, a distorted 303 acid bass, a French house lead, a retro pad and a trance pluck. The same download has 16 house drums and three guitar loops. Royalty-free.
Questions
What is a donk bass?
A short, hollow bass hit from hard house and bassline, played on the off-beats.
What filter for a donk?
A resonant band-pass around 500 Hz to 1 kHz.
What tempo is donk music?
Usually 130 to 145 BPM.
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