Synth bass in popular house music in the ’80s and ’90s was dominated by the Yamaha DX range and digital FM (frequency modulation) bass. The DX100’s four-operator Solid Bass preset in particular was used on numerous big tunes of the day due to its solid woody tone with plenty of lows and cutting mid-range.

DX100 Solid Bass

One thing to note is that most people couldn’t get their heads round programming up Yamaha’s FM synths (due to the complex operating systems), so generally, producers just used the onboard presets on records, so it’s easy to get the same sounds.

Later in the ’90s producers were still rinsing out the DXs plus Korg’s sample-based M1 workstation - its Organ 2 preset became synonymous with House music bass

Hear it on: Alison Limerick - Where Love Lives; Robin S - Show Me Love