The Reese Bass is one of the most popular and versatile bass sounds in modern production. This rumbling bass sound reverberates through the foundations of jungle, drum and bass, and garage. These days, it’s instantly recognizable in chart-topping hip-hop and pop tracks.
But where did it come from, and how did it evolve over the years? Let’s dive into the history and influence of this legendary bass sound.
The birth of the Reese Bass: Detroit
The Reese Bass owes its name and origin to one of the pioneers of Detroit techno: Kevin Saunderson of the Belleville Three.
In a Detroit studio in 1988, Kevin Saunderson created a track called “Just Want Another Chance” which featured a distorted, evolving bass sound unlike any bass sound that came before. This bass sound didn’t just fill out the lowend—it had an atmosphere and presence of its own.
Reese “Just Want Another Chance” (1988)
How exactly Saunderson created the original Reese bass sound has been a matter of heated debate among producers over the decades. Thanks to recent interviews, Saunderson revealed that he experimented with his Casio CZ-3000 to create the dark, warbling sound — you can even watch him recreate the sound here.
There was no real theory behind it, besides experimentation to make something happen differently to what was was already there. You get a lot of patches and stuff – anybody can use them and play the [synth] – but it’s a little different when you start doing stuff like that, mixing another sound in, and coming up with something unique. I can usually tell when I have it right just by how the impact of the sound feels when I play on the keyboard, whether it’s a deep Reese bass or any other type of bass.
Kevin Saunderson interviewed for Music Radar (2013)
Saunderson’s inspiration for “Just Want Another Chance” was to create a track that Larry Levan could play at the legendary New York club Paradise Garage.
The detuned sawtooth waveforms create a harmonically rich sound with a distinctive evolving character, a sharp departure from previous bass sounds — more on that later!
The early 90s: Jungle, Drum & Bass, Garage
A few years later, the Reese Bass took root in the UK’s emerging underground music scenes.
In 1994, Ray Keith used a sample of Saunderson’s Reese Bass in his classic jungle track “Terrorist.”
Renegade “Terrorist” (1994)
As pioneering UK producers shaped this iconic era of rave music, the Reese Bass quickly became a staple in jungle, drum and bass, and garage.
The unique qualities of the Reese Bass transformed the low-end into a driving element, thanks to its versatility in being layered, distorted, and modulated, complementing the characteristic rhythmic complexity of these tracks.
DJ SS “Black” (1995)
The Reese bass represents a sharp departure from earlier bass sounds in an era that pushed the boundaries of synthesized sound. In the early days of synthesizers, bass patches were simply a replacement for recording a bass guitar. Intended to sit neatly in the center of the mix, bass guitar recordings were traditionally captured in mono. By recording in mono, engineers could ensure that the bass provided a solid anchor without spatial distraction or phasing.
Early analog synthesizers, such as the Minimoog, ARP 2600, and Roland SH-101, were both monophonic (they could only play one note at a time) and only had mono output.
Even as polyphonic synthesizers with stereo-capable outputs emerged, like the Roland Juno-106 or the Prophet-5, bass patches were still designed to be mono. These bass sounds were typically built on sine or square waves, filling out the low end with a deep, consistent sub-sound and providing a rhythmic groove.
The Reese bass opens up a whole new realm for the quality and character of low-end. In the early 90s, drum and bass producers started out sampling the original Reese Bass in Saunderson’s track. As the sound caught on, producers began cooking up their own Reese Bass patches from scratch, allowing them to push the sound further.
T.Power “The Mutant Jazz Remix – Rollers Instinct (DJ Trace Remix)” (1995)
Detuned sawtooth waves create a rich harmonic structure, resulting in a thick, buzzing sound. Through filtering and LFO modulation, the Reese Bass has a dynamic quality that makes it pulse and evolve over time. With the addition of distortion, the Reese can take on more aggressive and textural qualities. Although a Reese bass can be mono or stereo, it was the beginning of exploring stereo width for bass. All of these elements offered tons of new and interesting ways for producers to craft signature bass sounds.
The continuum
As subgenres emerged from jungle, drum and bass, and garage, the Reese Bass continued evolving. Throughout the mid- and late 90s, the Reese Bass took on different characteristics within the electronic landscapes of dubstep, neurofunk, halftime, hardcore, future garage, speed garage, and bass house.
Bad Company “The Hornet” (2002)
A more aggressive sound centered genres like dubstep and neurofunk. Noisia are famous for their creative takes on the Reese Bass, using modulation and intricate automation to push the Reese to new technical levels in a futuristic soundscape.
Noisia “Vanishing Point” (2004)
In the early 2000s, dubstep made its own mark on the Reese Bass, introducing the signature wobble. You can hear an early iteration of this wobbly Reese in Skream‘s productions. This genre-defining wobble becomes more exaggerated and dramatic over time, especially as dubstep moves State-side.
Skream “Rutten” (2006)
Burial’s “Archangel” offers an interesting example of how the Reese Bass was adapted to create an immersive, moody ambiance.
Burial “Archangel” (2007)
2010s to Today
The Reese Bass’s ability to evolve over time and to fill out both the low-end and midrange frequencies makes it a powerful tool for producers across genres. In the 2010s, we start to see more examples of the Reese bass in hip-hop and pop alongside modern bass music subgenres.
This classic Kanye West track has a nice Reese bass: detuned, thick, textural, and evolving over time.
Kanye West “Runaway” (2010)
This track by Machinedrum is an example of his signature genre-melting approach along the amorphous continuum of UK bass music, underpinned by another glorious Reese bass.
Machinedrum “Gunshotta” (2013)
Yung Lean’s track “Motorola” features a rumbling Reese bass in his ethereal cloud rap aesthetic.
Yung Lean “Motorola” (2014)
“Wonderful” by Travis Scott featuring The Weeknd, has a nice Reese bass that features prominently throughout the track. This rumbly bass has become a trademark of Travis Scott’s sound through his longterm collaborations with Mike Dean.
Travis Scott “wonderful” (2016)
Drake’s track “Nonstop” was a standout from his Scorpion album, peaking at number 2 on the Billboard Top 100. Produced by Tay Keith, the track blends Memphis hip-hop and trap with a deep, rumbling Reese bass.
Drake “Nonstop” (2018)
Tinashe’s track “Nasty” features a nice modern Reese in the choruses, switching up to a bouncy 808 in the other sections.
Tinashe “Nasty” (2024)
Jordan Adetunji’s hit track “KEHLANI,” produced by Cash Cobain, is another example of a modern Reese-style Bass. Cash Cobain has created a super distinctive sound that often features a variation of this Reese bass.
PS: Check out how to recreate this kind of bass sound in SubLab XL here.
Jordan Adetunji “KEHLANI” (2024)
That’s it for our primer on the iconic Reese Bass.
Let us know what you’d like to read about next time in the comments 👇