Technique

7. Programming MIDI

Reeses are known to ‘snake’ and glide around in pitch, so it’s important that you program these pitch-bending effects in correctly for an authentic Reese sound.

Like most bass sounds, Reeses should be monophonic, which means only one note can play at a time. With this in mind, one of the first places you should head for is your synth’s portamento (aka glide) section, which is where you define exactly how each note will bend into the next when you play in MIDI via your keyboard (or program notes directly into the piano roll with your mouse). Adjust the glide time as you play to fit the sound and your track, and try activating legato, which defines how overlapping MIDI notes will bend into the next.

Also, use your MIDI keyboard’s pitchbend wheel or your DAW’s editor to draw in precise pitchbends. Start a note high, then immediately bend it downwards to the track’s root key; or draw in little upwards or downwards curves at the ends of notes for clever ‘winding up’ effects.