Post your favorite bass line in this thread
Seven Nation Army. I don’t care that it’s played on guitar with an octaver. It’s a song where the bass line became a folk song in some parts of the world (meaning the people who sing it don’t associate it with an author because it’s spread by word of mouth). Not the main melody or even the whole song. Just the bass line.
A band I used to play in would jam on it for like 20 minutes. You could literally pull randos from the crowd to sing it and the jam sections could go through just about any genre you wanted. We played it as reggae. We played it as punk. We played it straight. We played it as funk. It’s a really versatile line.
Where do I start?
Well, let's put some metal in here because this thread needs more of that:
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Metallica - Orion - (Isolated Bass Track) - Favorite Part: 3:59
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Metallica - The Call of Ktulu - (Enhanced Bass Track) - For Enhanced Bass Track, The Call of Ktulu Starts @ 37:30, Bassline Starts @ 38:57
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Archspire - Human Murmuration - Favorite Part: 1:54
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Periphery - Hell Below - (Enhanced Bass Track) - Tuning of C♯₀ - Lowest Bass Tuning I've Heard in a Song!!!
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Mudvayne - Dig - (Isolated Bass Track) - Favorite Part: 0:35
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Scarified - Racer X - Favorite Part: 0:57
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Atheist - Mother Man - (Isolated Bass and Drum Track) - Favorite Part: 3:21
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Last thing is that I have to throw in Rush even though they're not necessarily considered as metal as these other ones, but Rush is Rush! I'll go with a more underrated one here. Rush - Circumstances - (Isolated Bass and Drum Track)
If we're doing Sabbath, I have to throw "Electric Funeral" into the ring. The way Geezer plays different variations on the guitar riff really adds to the song.
(Also, fuck yeah! Racer X!)
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Idk what's wrong with me but like... I don't really ever consciously hear the bassline. I took a quiz of famous basslines a while back, and I bombed like all of them even though I knew the songs.
I guess I get why Bass guys are the way they are now.
I can't think of an overall favorite, but here's a few where the bass line is so good I end up focusing on the bass line instead of the main melody, and I'll happily just jam out to the isolated bass stem:
Dean Town - Vulfpeck (ok, it's kind of cheating, but who doesn't wanna listen to Joe Dart play lead bass?)
Money - Pink Floyd (so simple, so good)
Platina - Maaya Sakamoto (Cardcaptor Sakura OP3) (incredibly lyrical yet groovy fretless bass)
Oh No, Oh Yes - Mariya Takeuchi (quintessential slow jam with the mood set by the synth bass; check out this bass cover for a breakdown (also just a great channel in general if you love bass--here's another great video))
Innocent Blue - DeviceHigh (admittedly a bit out of left field, but it's got a soft spot in my heart as the first song I ever transcribed and learned on bass)
For some reason my mind is going blank, but if I think of more I'll add them later.
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I love a good bass line, so I’m lookin forward to seeing some suggestions here
Most of the discography by Men I Trust has a dynamic bass line. For example, Lauren
Most songs by the The Smiths; for example, This Night Has Opened My Eyes
Parquet Courts - Before the Water Gets Too High
Tame Impala - The Less I Know the Better
Thee Sacred Souls - Will I See You Again?
Not the Seinfeld theme, because I just found out they don't use a bass, it's done on keyboard.
Keyboard bass is super valid. Some of the best bassists are keyboardists. Michael League talks about this quite a bit.
Surprised nobody has posted Thundercat yet. Them Changes is an all time classic baseline.
oh fuck yah! Oh Sheit it's X is good too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsJfFL9OuA0 Mixes synth bass and electric bass really well. Like Pfunks Flashlight
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I don't know that its my favorite, but the song that made me realize bass was a sick instrument as a kid was Maxwell Murder by Rancid.
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Superstition by Stevie Wonder has to be up there, was the first that came to mind.
Oh wow, that's a complicated question, there's so many right answers depending on personal taste. I like fluorocarbon line. It's more expensive than alternatives, but it's strong stuff, and invisible in water. Why pinch pennies? It can make all the difference between landing the catch and losing it.
Hysteria by Muse is always cool
Rush has a ton of good bass
A more niche one I love is Wagon on Fire from The Trail to Oregon by StarKid
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