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Sustance is a veteran drum and bass producer and DJ signed to the renowned label Shogun Audio.
Known for his deep and atmospheric sound, Sustance has topped Beatport charts, toured the world, and collaborated with the likes of Flowdan, Strategy, and Catching Cairo, firmly cementing his position as a rising force in underground drum and bass.
In celebration of the release of his Underground D&B sample pack on Splice Sounds, Sustance sat down with us in the video above to walk through how he crafts drum and bass synths in Serum 2. Watch along to hear him break down his sound design process step-by-step, and read three key takeaways below.
Explore Serum 2 presets crafted by leading sound designers and producers on Splice.
Drum and bass sound design tips from Sustance
1. Process frequency bands individually
Distortion and stereo widening are two key effects for making drum and bass synths sound larger-than-life. However, when they’re applied in heavy amounts to the entire signal, they can end up making your synths feel boomy or out of focus.
Sustance resolves this by being selective with how he applies his effects. “A wicked thing in Serum 2 is the ability to split and affect different frequency bands independently,” he explains. “So, I can add more distortion and stereo widening, but just to the mids and up, for example.”
2. Don’t hesitate to add some reverb
It’s often said that adding reverb to bass sounds can muddy your mix. That said, a tasteful dose can go a long way in gluing your synths to the rest of the track and providing a contextual sense of space—in the tutorial above, Sustance showcases this idea by dialing in a simple hall reverb right within Serum.
3. Use oscillators to layer octaves for more impact
Last but not least, Sustance encourages the use of octaves across extra oscillators for additional definition and impact. “If you go up one octave, you get that really heavy, screechy sound,” he says. “If you go lower, you get a more controlled, restrained sound. Another cool thing you can do is add some noise for a bit more grit.”
In the tutorial, he also demonstrates how you can assign octaves to macros to achieve even more pronounced results.
Keep learning
And there you have it! Hopefully Sustance’s tutorial gave you some ideas for how you can craft your own drum and bass sounds in Serum or another synth of your choosing. “I’ve purposely left these sounds in my pack open, so you can modulate them yourself and put your own flavor on the presets,” he shares. “These are a good jumping-off point for you to put into your own tunes, while adding your own spin.”
For more producer-led insights, be sure to also check out our drum and bass tutorials with Erb n Dub, HLZ, and Redpill, and join the Splice Discord to let us know who you’d like to see featured on the Splice YouTube channel next.
Incorporate Sustance’s hard-hitting drum and bass samples and Serum presets into your own productions:
September 12, 2025
