How to make a UK garage bass in Serum 2

The UK garage bass is a round sine bass with a little bite on top, gliding between notes over a swung 2-step beat. It is a simple sound: the groove and the glide do most of the work.

Oscillator

  1. Set oscillator A to a sine, one voice.
  2. For bite, set oscillator B to a sine an octave up at low level and use it as FM: on A choose the FM (from B) warp mode and keep the amount low.
  3. Switch the voicing to mono with legato and set portamento to around 40 to 80 ms.
VISIONS OF TOMORROW71 finished Serum 2 presets for house and techno: 26 basses, leads, pads, plucks, keys, stabs and FX. Royalty-free.Requires Serum 2.

Envelope and tone

  • Set ENV 1 to zero attack, a decay of 300 to 600 ms and medium sustain, so notes are round but not endless.
  • Drag ENV 2 onto the FM amount with a short decay, so each note starts with more bite.
  • Add gentle saturation or a soft clip after the oscillator to make the bass audible on small speakers.

The groove

UK garage sits around 130 to 135 BPM with a swung 2-step beat: the kick skips beats and the hats shuffle. Write the bass with short, syncopated notes that answer the kick, and let a few notes overlap so they glide. Our UKG Sine FM preset in VISIONS OF TOMORROW is built this way.

House and UK garage Serum presets →UKG Sine FM, a thick house 808 and more in VISIONS OF TOMORROW. $29.Five free Serum 2 presets →A house 808, a distorted 303, a French touch lead, a retro pad and a trance pluck. Open them and see how they are built.A UK garage beat to play it over →Hear the 2-step pattern and download it as MIDI.Where to save your Serum 2 preset →The Serum 2 presets folder on Windows and Mac, and how to make new presets show up.

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.

Your download now, then two short emails: how to use the sounds, and a 25% code for any of the full packs, valid for a week. Unsubscribe any time.

Questions

What bass is used in UK garage?

Mostly round sine basses with a little FM or saturation, gliding between notes.

What tempo is UK garage?

Usually 130 to 135 BPM, with a swung 2-step beat.

How do I make the bass glide?

Set the voicing to mono with legato and portamento around 40 to 80 ms, then let notes overlap.

More guides