Remaking the bass synth from the 2019 song "What You Do To Me" by 53 Thieves can be an exciting challenge for any synthesizer enthusiast. Here’s how you can create the "What You Do To Me" 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
The bass synthesizer in 53 Thieves’ “What You Do To Me” provides a warm, acoustic-like foundation beneath the track’s dreamy chords, blending electronic textures with organic tonal qualities. This bassline anchors the song’s rhythm section, delivering a smooth, mid-range pulse that complements the vocal melodies and atmospheric pads.
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 "What You Do To Me" by 53 Thieves, 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
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.
Oscillator Setup:
- Oscillator A: Analog BD Sine, -2 octaves, Unison: 3 voices, slight detune for stereo width.
- Oscillator B: Custom Guitar Waveform (Sampled), -2 octaves, Unison: 3 voices, slight detune.
- Sub Oscillator: Enabled, -3 octaves, providing deep low-end presence.
- Noise Oscillator: SH-1 Noise, pitched down to 41, level modulated by Envelope 1 for subtle texture.
- FM Modulation: FM from Sub Oscillator, low amount to introduce extra crunch.
Filter Settings:
- Filter Type: MG Low 12.
- Cutoff: Around 50% (mid-position).
- Resonance: Slight bump for extra definition.
- Key Tracking: Off.
- Enabled for: Osc A, B, and Noise.
Envelope Settings:
-
Envelope 1 (Amp):
- Attack: 9.7ms
- Decay: 391ms
- Release: 87ms
- Sustain: -10.7dB (creates a slight downward curve).
-
Envelope 2 (Noise Modulation):
- Modulating noise oscillator level.
- Creates subtle background texture per note.
Effects Processing:
- Distortion: Tube Distortion (Drive: 37%, Mix: 18%) for added warmth and grit.
- Compressor:
- Threshold: -33.5dB
- Ratio: 8:1 (strong compression to glue everything together).
- Attack: 141.3ms (lets transients through).
- Release: 118.2ms (recovers before the next bass hit).
- EQ:
- Low boost at 212Hz for extra sub weight.
- High mid boost at 2779Hz to enhance FM harmonics.
Note: the patch settings may slightly differ in the Syntorial challenge.
Notes And Observations
- You also want to add external Sidechain Compression:
- Ratio: ∞:1 (max ducking).
- Attack/Release: Ultra-fast to clear space for the kick.
Explore More
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:
- Serum
