Mono, glide and legato for bass lines
Answer in brief
Mono mode plays one note at a time, which keeps a bass line clean. Legato stops the envelopes from starting over when notes overlap, and glide slides the pitch from one note to the next. Together they make a synth bass move like a line someone played.
Why basses are usually mono
In poly mode a released note keeps ringing under the next one, and two low notes at once soon turn to mud. Mono mode cuts the old note as the new one starts. Most bass presets are already mono, though a patch made for chords may not be. Diva has monophonic, duophonic and legato modes, and Repro-1 is a monophonic synth to begin with.
Legato ties overlapping notes together
With legato on, a note played while the last one is still held changes the pitch without restarting the envelopes. The filter does not snap open again and the attack does not repeat, so the line flows. Detached notes still start fresh. That gives you two kinds of note in one part: overlap to tie notes together and leave a gap to make a note hit again.
Glide slides from one pitch to the next
Glide, also called portamento, bends the pitch from the old note to the new one over a time you set. Many synths let you choose between gliding on every note and gliding only on overlapping ones. The second is usually better for bass, because the piano roll then decides which notes slide.
Starting points for glide time
- About 20 to 50 ms for a slight scoop that only smooths the line.
- About 80 to 150 ms for a slide you clearly hear in a funky synth bass line.
- About 200 ms or more for long, dramatic slides across an octave.
- A glide synced to the tempo, where the synth offers one, so slides keep their feel if the tempo changes.
Where glide goes wrong
Glide on every note makes a bass line sound seasick. Save slides for the ends of phrases and the moves into a new bar. When a slide drags behind the beat, shorten the glide or start the next note a touch earlier so the pitch arrives on time.
Sources for this page
- Studio 56: Studio 56’s official website, the publisher of this reference.
The practical advice here is our own. A maker's description of its product is not a test of how it performs.
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Best Bass VST. “Mono, glide and legato for bass lines.” Studio 56 Reference. Content reviewed November 8, 2026.
https://bestbassvst.com/mono-glide-legato/