Remaking the bass synth from the 2023 song "Go The Distance" by Disclosure can be an exciting challenge for any synthesizer enthusiast. Here’s how you can create the "Go The Distance" bass patch and play this iconic sound on most hardware or software subtractive synthesizers (Serum, Vital, Pigments, Prophet, Korg, Moog, etc). We've included the preset download directly for your convenience, but we strongly recommend you use our programming tutorial to recreate it yourself.
Original Audio
Disclosure’s 2023 track “Go The Distance” from their album ‘Alchemy’ features a distinctive plucky bass synthesizer that drives the entire composition with its rhythmic pulse. The sound is created using a simple saw wave with a filter envelope decay, producing the characteristic pluck at the beginning of each note, while the mod wheel occasionally modulates the cutoff frequency for dynamic expression. You can hear this precise bass sound from the very beginning of the track, establishing the groove before vocals enter. Around the 1:52 mark, the cutoff frequency begins to change, adding variation to the plucky texture as the song progresses.
Our Remake of The Bass Synth
This audio clip is how close we've matched the original tone of the bass synth from the song "Go The Distance" by Disclosure, giving you a reference point as you design your own synthesizer preset. Play it as often as you need to familiarize yourself with the nuances of the sound.
Synth Patch Programming Recipe
Remake This Sound Yourself
Learn how to program this synth preset with Syntorial, all by ear. Download the demo and try unlimited famous sound challenges for free.
Getting Started
- Start by initializing your synthesizer to a plain saw with no filter, modulation or effects. For soft synths use the "init"/"default" preset or the the button to reset all parameters to their default factory values.
- No two synths are exactly alike, so treat the values below as approximate, and use your ear.
- Percentage values (e.g. 50%) represent the relative position of a knob or slider within its full range. The full range of each parameter may differ from synth to synth, so use your ear.
Voices
- Voice Mode: Mono
Amp Envelope
- Attack: 0 ms
- Sustain: 100%
- Release: 110 ms
Oscillators
- Oscillator 1
- Waveform: Saw
- Volume: 100%
Filter
- Type: Low Pass
- Cutoff: 25%
- Resonance: 40%
Filter Envelope
- Modulation Amount: 25%
- Attack: 0 ms
- Decay: 300 ms
- Sustain: 0%
- Release: 250 ms
Chorus
- Mix: 25% Wet
- Rate: Slow
Modulation Wheel
- Destination: Cutoff
- Modulation Amount: 100%
Note: the patch settings may slightly differ in the Syntorial challenge.
Explore More
- Disclosure Bass Sound Design Techniques: Velocity-Triggered Filter Modulation (Syntorial)
- Arturia Minifreak Tutorial for Disclosure-Style Plucky Bass Sounds (YouTube)
- Production Techniques for Disclosure-Inspired Filter Envelope Bass Synths (YouTube)
Preset Downloads
Don't want to learn synth programming now? Use our synth preset as your starting point and tweak it from there. Register an account with Audible Genius and download the presets for free for the following synths:
- Primer, our free synthesizer VST
