It was 2 a.m. on a Tech House session when we loaded the first bass patch from Serum Bassline Mastermind and the low-end filled the room before we’d touched a single knob.
That’s the promise of a preset pack like this: skip the architecture, start with the sound, finish the track. Singomakers Sounds built this collection around 100 Serum presets (60 bass, 10 pads, 30 synths), 100 MIDI files, 100 WAV loops, and 21 bonus loops. It targets Bass House, Tech House, G-House, Trap, Dubstep, and Drum & Bass producers. The price is $24.
For that price, we wanted to know: is this a shortcut worth taking, or just 100 ways to sound like everyone else?
First Impressions: Loading the Pack
Download is a straightforward zip. Drop the presets into your Serum user folder, load the WAVs into your DAW. No iLok. No serial activation. That part is satisfying.
Opening the preset browser, we went straight for the bass category. Sixty patches is a real selection. The naming convention helps: “BAS Marten Horger Style,” “BAS Chris Lake Vibe,” “BAS Jauz Crunch.” Artist-referential names are a shortcut for the target buyer. You know immediately which sonic territory each patch occupies.
The WAV loops all land at 125 BPM in 24-bit. They imported into Ableton without tempo issues. Clean start.
Getting It Into a Real Workflow
We tested this across three sessions: one Tech House track, one Trap beat, and one attempt at something close to G-House.
The Tech House session worked best. We pulled up “BAS Curbi Style,” ran a MIDI bassline at 125 BPM, and it sat in the mix without fighting the kick. That’s not a given with Serum bass patches. Some packs have low-end energy so hyped that you’re cutting 6dB at 80Hz before you’ve even started. This one needed a small cut around 200Hz and a high-pass at 30Hz. Light work.
The 4 macro controls are where this pack earns extra credit. Every patch has them mapped and labelled. We assigned Macro 1 to a MIDI controller, automated the filter sweep through an 8-bar build, and it tracked without artefacting. That’s a workflow win. It means the patches are built for live use and arrangement, not just auditioning.
The Trap session was where friction showed up. We wanted a 808-style sub with a long tail. The relevant patches had shorter decay shapes that didn’t stretch naturally. We spent 20 minutes in the Serum envelope editor rebuilding the amp stage. Annoying. Not a dealbreaker, but the “no extra processing needed” line from the marketing didn’t hold there.
What It's Genuinely Good At
The bass presets in the Tech House and G-House range are the strongest part of this pack. We A/B’d three patches against sounds from Melodic Club Tech for Serum 2 and found the midrange presence on the Singomakers patches was more aggressive and better suited to louder club contexts.
The MIDI files are genuinely useful. Not every pack includes them, and not every pack includes 100 of them. We dropped several into the Trap session as rhythmic reference and found the patterns were musical, not just generic eighth-note runs. Someone actually wrote these.
The 30 synth patches include plucks, stabs, and lead sounds. Some are clever. The “SYNTH Valentino Khan Lead” has a growl in the upper harmonic range that sits well in a breakdown. The 21 bonus loops cover drums and tops. At 125 BPM they’re slightly limiting if your project is at 130 or 140, but time-stretching artefacts were minimal in Ableton’s Complex Pro mode.
For the price, the sheer quantity of usable material is hard to argue with. We’ve paid more for packs with less.
The Rough Edges
Ten pad presets is not enough. We get it: this is a bass pack. But pads fill out arrangements and the 10 here feel like they were added to round the number up. We used one. It was fine. We wished there were 30.
The Drum & Bass presets are the weakest section. They lack the neuro movement and reese complexity that DnB producers actually need. If DnB is your main genre, look at something more specialised, like Neuro Plasticity for Serum, before buying this.
The marketing lists Stonebank as an influence. We loaded every patch looking for that trance-inflected bass energy. We didn’t find it. The Dubstep patches are shallow. That’s not the end of the world if you’re buying for Bass House, but know what you’re getting.
Who This Is Really For
- ✅ Buy if you produce Bass House, Tech Ho use, or G-House and want 60 production-ready bass patches at a price that doesn't require a budget meeting.
- ✅ Buy if you're an intermediate Serum user who wants to study how professionals construct bass tones, then reverse-engineer them.
- ✅ Buy if live performance or MIDI controller automation is part of your set. The macro mapping saves real setup time.
- ❌ Skip if Drum & Bass or Dubstep is your primary genre. The patches in those sections aren't competitive.
- ❌ Skip if you need a full-spectrum sound design toolkit. Ten pads and limited atmospheric options mean you'll still need another source for textures.
- ❌ Skip if you want originality above speed. These patches wear their influences openly. You will sound like the reference artists, which is the point, but that's not always what you need.
Score Breakdown
| Category | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sound Quality | 3.5/5 | Bass patches are strong; pads and DnB presets drag the average down |
| Value for Money | 4.5/5 | 100 presets, 100 MIDIs, 100 loops, and 21 bonus loops at $24 is hard to beat. |
| Ease of Use | 4.0/5 | No activation, clear naming, 4 mapped macros per patch, low friction |
| Features | 3.5/5 | MIDI files and bonus loops are a bonus; pad selection is undercooked |
| CPU Efficiency | N/A | Preset pack, CPU load is determined by your Serum instance, not the presets |
| Overall | 3.8/5 | Solid Bass House tool at a fair price, limited outside its core genre lane |
Alternatives to Consider
If Bass House is your focus but you want more atmospheric depth alongside the bass patches, Melodic House Techno Serum Presets covers pads and melodic textures that Serum Bassline Mastermind skips. The two packs together cover nearly every sound in a modern Tech or Bass House track.
For a pack that shows you how to build sounds rather than just hand them to you, Techno Serum by 5Pin Media skews harder and more educational. The sound design methodology is more exposed in the architecture.
If Future Bass bleeds into your work, Ultimate Future Bass for Serum Vol. 1 covers the melodic and emotional register that this pack completely ignores.
The Verdict
We’d buy Serum Bassline Mastermind for Bass House and Tech House sessions. We wouldn’t buy it expecting coverage across all six listed genres and we’d never trust the “no extra processing needed” line.
With 100 MIDI files included, the value is genuinely hard to argue with. The macro mapping alone saves setup time that justifies the cost if you perform live.
But if Drum & Bass or Dubstep is where you live, don’t let the genre list talk you into it. The patches in those categories aren’t the reason to buy this. The bass is.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Serum Bassline Mastermind work with any version of Serum?
You need Xfer Serum version 1.309 or later. Older versions may not load all patches correctly or may display missing wavetable warnings. If you haven't updated Serum in a while, check your version before buying.
Are the WAV loops royalty-free?
Yes. Singomakers Sounds licenses their loops as royalty-free for commercial use once you've purchased the pack. You can use them in released music without additional fees. Always check the specific licence document included in your download for the exact terms.
Can I use these presets in a DAW other than Ableton?
Yes. These are Serum presets, not DAW-specific files. They'll load in any DAW that runs Serum as a VST, AU, or AAX plugin. The WAV loops and MIDI files are also DAW-agnostic. We tested in Ableton Live, but Logic Pro and FL Studio users will have the same experience.
Is Serum Bassline Mastermind good for beginners?
It depends. Dropping presets into a session is beginner-friendly. But the pack doesn't explain sound design, and the MIDI patterns assume you know how basslines work rhythmically in dance music. If you're new to Serum, this won't teach you anything. If you just need working sounds fast while you're still learning, it's fine at the price.
