How to make a reese bass in Serum 2

A reese is two or more saw waves tuned slightly apart, so they drift in and out of phase and the bass moves on its own. Everything else, the filter, the distortion and the compression, is there to make that movement heavier and keep the low end steady.

The oscillators: two saws, slightly apart

Start from the init preset. Set oscillator A to a saw wavetable.
Turn on oscillator B, also a saw, at the same octave and level.
Detune oscillator B by 10 to 20 cents with its fine tune. That small gap is the reese: you hear a slow beating as the two waves pass each other.
Give each oscillator 2 to 4 unison voices with a small detune. More voices make it wider; too many make it sound like a supersaw instead.

Play a long low note, around C1 to F1, and listen for the slow phasing. If it beats too fast, bring the detune down.

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Keep the low end mono

Detuned saws spread across the stereo field, and a wide sub sounds thin on club systems and in mono. Turn on the sub oscillator with a sine one octave down and keep it centered, or lower the unison width on the main oscillators so the bottom stays in the middle.

Filter and movement

Route both oscillators to the filter and choose a 24 dB low-pass.
Set the cutoff so the bass is dark but still has bite, often somewhere around 300 Hz to 1 kHz. Keep the resonance low.
Drag an LFO onto the cutoff with a slow rate, 1 or 2 bars, and a small amount. The bass should breathe, not wobble.
For more motion, put a second slow LFO on the wavetable position or the warp of one oscillator.

Distortion and OTT

Add distortion after the filter for grit, then a multiband compressor (the OTT style setting) to pull up the detail between notes. Finish with an EQ: cut below 30 Hz, and if the mids get harsh, dip around 2 to 4 kHz.

Distortion brings back high end the filter removed, so you may need to close the cutoff a little after adding it.

Playing it

Set the voicing to mono with legato and a short portamento, around 30 to 80 ms, so slides between notes stay smooth. Reese basses sit well in drum and bass at 170 to 175 BPM, in bass house and in darker techno.

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Questions

What makes a reese bass?

Two or more saw waves detuned slightly from each other, so they phase against each other and the sound moves by itself.

How much should I detune a reese?

Start around 10 to 20 cents between the oscillators. Less gives a slow drift, more gives a faster, more aggressive beating.

Should a reese bass be mono?

The sub should be. Keep a centered sine below the reese, or narrow the unison, so the low end holds up in mono.