Why Is The Reece Bass So Popular?

Mason John

21st Junta
Joined
Apr 14, 2013
Location
Norfolk, Virginia, United States
I'm just curious is all. What's the history behind it, and why is it the most-requested bass sound people seem to want to recreate? I see it talked about all the time in these forums for example.

What makes the Reece bass so damn magical to people (I ask that genuinely, not sarcastically)?
 
Well, the reece bass is sort of a signature sound for dnb in general. And the spectrum of what a reece bass sounds like is very broad. Any slightly detuned bass is called a reece (this is what I classify as a reece at least), so it could be anything from the deep jungle sine wave wobbles to the more heavily filtered, crazy neurofunk saw basses.

So when people requests to know how to make a reece bass it's most likely a different sound they are after every time the question is asked.
 
As far as I know the birth of the reece in jungle / dnb came from this...

Anyone that has heard this on a proper system knows what it feels like when that bass breaks the proceeding silence...

The original reece sound relies on simplicity for effect, as mentioned above it's just a couple of waves detuned so that they phase around eachother, creating the ebb and flow of the sound.

It's a perfect example of efficiency from simplicity, which is why I think it's been so popular over the years, to the point where it's now a real staple bass sound in the music.

Ray Keith sampled it from this...

Although I could never work out how he sampled it so cleanly as I can't find an obvious part of the tune where the sound is appropriately soloed for sampling.

Either way, I'm glad he nicked it!

A couple of my favorite reece bass tunes...



 
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