Notion Style UK Garage

Proper UKG sits between 130 and 140 BPM, and 138 is a really popular tempo for this style. A lot of people speed up old 80s and 90s R&B or pop vocals to fit, so look up the vocal's BPM, type it in and set the stretching mode to E3 Generic. That keeps the original pitch and tone of the vocal, even sped up.

I think this preset sounds really good out of the box, but a little bit empty and a little bit flat. Layer another bass on top with the same melody, pitched up an octave, and low cut it, because you want the sub from the original layer.

Run both through the same channel, so any processing there helps glue the layer into the main bass. Keep the main bass a little more mono, since the sub is tied to it, and the layer a little wider. To me that layer is the harmonic bass.

The UKG sound is dirty and melodic. On the main bass, bring down some of the highs and a little of the lows, and boost a lot of the mids. Cutting those harsher highs takes out the saw wave synthy sound you don't really want and brings out that reesey seventh bass character.

If you're not sure what to do in an EQ, play with the different bands and use your ears. On this bass so much of the sound comes from that 300-ish range, so that's what I boost.

Vocals are a huge part of this genre, and there's a lot of empty space between the phrases. Put one phrase on its own channel and process it heavier, because you want it to be a backing vocal, not as loud as the main vocals. I use an EQ that cuts a few more frequencies so it sounds filtered, then the DJMFilter, a big room reverb with the decay and wetness up, and a bit of delay. Bring the volume way down and put it in the same spot in every open area.

On the main preset the keys change very abruptly. Turn the portamento up and the notes glide when they overlap, but it's very touchy. Where you want harder changes, keep the notes from overlapping, so they don't get that glidey effect. It just sounds so much more natural. Copy the MIDI into the second bass an octave up and bring its portamento up too.