Vital · Deep FM bass · Recreation

How to Make a Deep Bass Like Skeptical’s “Desire” in Vital

To make a deep bass in the style of Skeptical’s “Desire” in Vital, build two layers that move together. The main layer is a sine frequency-modulated by a quiet saw, with a sine sub, chorus, soft-clip distortion and a slowly moving 24 dB filter, then Erosion, OTT and an EQ sub boost. The second layer is a sine with hand-drawn harmonics whose level is automated. Below is our own recreation, with the settings from the screen and audio of the patches we built.

By DNB Academy · Updated 26 October 2026 · 8 min read · Vital + Ableton Live, intermediate

This is a learning recreation inspired by the bass in “Desire”, not the original sound. Paulo from DNB Academy builds both patches from an init preset in the free synth Vital. For more on the style, see the deep and minimal section of our DnB subgenres guide.

The full walkthrough by Paulo from DNB Academy: a deep bass inspired by “Desire”, built in two Vital patches. The sound design starts at 5:54; each step below links to its moment in the video.

1.Start with the pitch movement

The bass in “Desire” slides. Before touching an oscillator, set up that movement: a very slow pitch automation going from up to down on a low note.

Load an init patch in Vital (watch at 5:54). In the video the note is a low G, and the movement is drawn with the pitch wheel, which you then automate in your DAW so it glides slowly downwards. Get this right first: everything you add later moves with it.

2.Frequency-modulate a sine with a silent saw

The body of the bass is a sine wave on oscillator 1, with harmonics added by FM from oscillator 2. Oscillator 2 is a saw you never hear directly: its level goes all the way down, and it only shapes oscillator 1.

Put a sine on oscillator 1 and a saw on oscillator 2, both from the Basic Shapes wavetable; scroll through the wavetable frames to find the shape you want (watch at 6:21).

Now bring oscillator 2’s level all the way down and set oscillator 1’s mode to FM OSC 2. Boost the FM amount until the sine gets its harmonics (watch at 6:36). Then play with oscillator 2’s pitch: shifting the modulator changes which harmonics appear. Later in the video it sits at 12 semitones up.

3.Add a sine sub and filter the FM oscillators

A deep bass needs a clean sub under the FM. Put another sine on oscillator 3 for the sub, then send oscillators 1 and 2 through a filter so you can control how bright the FM part is.

Turn on oscillator 3 with a sine (watch at 6:53). On screen it’s routed straight to the effects, while oscillators 1 and 2 go through Filter 1 (Analog, 12 dB). Bring the cutoff higher, then go back to the FM amount and experiment: the low harmonics you get from small FM changes are the interesting part.

Keeping the sub on its own oscillator means you can push the FM part without losing the low end. Our DnB sub bass guide goes deeper on that layer.

4.Add chorus, soft-clip distortion and a moving filter

Inside Vital’s effects tab, the chain is chorus, distortion and a 24 dB filter. The chorus is what gives the bass its width and, as you’ll see below, part of its movement.

Add a Chorus (on screen: 16 voices, frequency 4/1) and a Distortion on Soft Clip (watch at 7:25). This already gives a good sound. For a variation, map macro 4 and use it to filter the sound.

Then add Vital’s Filter effect with an Analog 24 dB curve and filter everything (watch at 7:49). Map an LFO to the cutoff and draw a slow movement, so the tone keeps shifting gently.

5.Process with Erosion, OTT and an EQ sub boost

After Vital, three plug-ins finish the layer: Erosion for a little noise, OTT for density, and an EQ to boost the sub.

In Ableton, add Erosion to add a bit of noise; on screen it’s on Wide Noise at 4.89 kHz, width 0.30 (watch at 8:19). Then add OTT, and finally EQ Eight with a boost on the sub; the screen shows a bell at 53.9 Hz with +7.31 dB of gain.

6.Why OTT on a sub works here

OTT will change the phase of the sub, and in this sound that’s the point. The movement in this bass comes from rhythmic phase cancellation between the chorus and OTT.

Listen to the sub together with its harmonics: it has a dynamic movement, a little like a reese (watch at 8:44). That effect isn’t made by detuned saws. It comes from the chorus and OTT working together on the phase. So OTT on basses is not a rule either way: it’s not something to always use or never use. Learn the fundamentals of sound design and you’ll know when it helps. For the classic version of that movement, see our reese bass guide.

7.Build the harmonics layer with hand-drawn partials

The second patch adds the upper tone. It’s a sine with two extra harmonics drawn in by hand, the 3rd and the 5th, with a macro on its level to recreate the movement of the track.

Open another init Vital and copy the same pitch movement (watch at 9:40). Switch the oscillator to the Basic Shapes wavetable and use the sine. Map a macro to the oscillator’s level and automate it, so the layer moves in and out like the bass in the track.

Now open the wavetable editor and add harmonics manually: the third and the fifth (watch at 10:10). Odd harmonics like these give the sine a hollow, slightly square-ish colour without making it buzzy.

Cut the top off with Vital’s EQ effect, using its low-pass band, and add some gain (watch at 10:25). Play it together with the first patch and you have the final bass.

We built a different take on a Skeptical-style bass in Serum in our basses like Alix Perez and Skeptical tutorial, if you want to compare approaches.

Common mistakes with deep FM basses in Vital

• Leaving the modulator audible. Oscillator 2 is only there to FM oscillator 1. Keep its level all the way down.
• Sending the sub through Filter 1. On screen, oscillator 3 goes straight to the effects, so Filter 1 only shapes the FM oscillators and the sub stays clean.
• Too much FM. Push the FM amount up, then come back down: the low harmonics are where this sound lives.
• A static patch. The pitch bend, the cutoff LFO and the level macro are what make it move. Without them the bass sits still.
• Ruling OTT out by habit. Here the phase change from chorus and OTT is part of the sound. Check the sub on its own and with the harmonics layer before you decide.
• Chasing an exact copy. This is a recreation to learn from. Change the FM pitch, the harmonics and the movement until it’s yours.

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Built your first FM bass in Vital? Keep going with ready-made patches you can open up and study. The Vital Starter Preset Pack gives you:

• A neuro DnB starter pack for Vital
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• Pluck and lead presets
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FAQ: making a deep bass like Skeptical’s “Desire” in Vital

Next steps

Start with the first patch: the pitch movement, the silent saw on FM, the sine sub, then chorus, soft clip and the moving filter. Add the harmonics layer once the sub sounds right. For more bass types and when to use them, read our drum and bass bass guide; for another Vital recreation, try a bass like Bou & Mark XTC’s Breathe in Vital.

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