I need your opinion about this bass line.

[Papersen]

The story goes like this:

The radio station where we get daily airplay, asked us to compose a song. It`s gonna be the opening song for their main program. They wanted a straightforward Rock song, with a catchy melody. We had a 10 days timeframe to finish the whole thing (compose, practice, arrange, record, mix and master), so it ended up being a challenge (mainly considering we all have little time left from our jobs and families).

I`d like to receive opinions about the bass line in terms of
phrasing, rhythm and interaction with drums / guitar / voices.

I mean, if the bass line fits the song.

Song
Thanks

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Hey Billy, congratulations on creating such a cool song in such a short timeframe! If the radio station wants a catchy song, I think they got it.

The bass line is really good to me. I really like how you change from simple root notes to "walking arpeggios" as on 1:33, for instance. You have a great growl in your tone as well.

But I have a complaint: Your singer sounds out of tune in many parts and, aside from being an obvious mistake, that creates a particular problem: Since the chorus melody is very "ambiguous" to the underlying chord progression, the vocal harmonies must be very accurate for the listener "not losing sight" of the idea. The not-so-accurately sung pitches combined with the note choices for harmonizing the melody make the chorus something very ambiguous and difficult to follow for me. I have a suggestion. The chorus goes like this:



The first measure sounds great to me since the perfect fourth in the downbeat with the B and the E works great as sort of an appoggiatura within the I chord, but that perfect fourth in the second measure (A# - D#) doesn't work that well. I suggest you to try this instead:



Theoretically, the tritone in the downbeat of the second measure (A# - E in the original version) works fine since both notes are within the V chord, but the G# is even better, not only creating a II chord ambient (perfect within a dominant harmony) but a more melodic line with the following F#, which puts the upper D# more in context (and sixths are always a safe bet).

Such deep considerations for a catchy rock tune (and they can become even deeper if we consider that the D# within the V chord works as the thirteenth and blah, blah, blah...), but I just wanted to explain my point. I'd like you to give a try to that minor change and let me know what you think.

[BuffaloBass]

A small note, whern you run "walk", it sound likes the high note should be a step or two higher. time: approx 1:35 or so. But it is a very small thing and the tune rocks.

SOLID BASS LINE!

[southshoreconor]

can't listen on this computer, but i'll check it out soon.

[Papersen]

Originally Posted by BuffaloBass

A small note, whern you run "walk", it sound likes the high note should be a step or two higher. time: approx 1:35 or so. But it is a very small thing and the tune rocks.

SOLID BASS LINE!

Thanks for your observation.

I`ve tried to play upbeats following the chord structure (BMaj in this case), inspired the way JPJ does it in songs like "Ramble on". However after mastering, some of them sound like "aspired" and really don`t know why.

[Papersen]

Wow, overwhelming advice considering my basic theory knowledge I really appreciate it my friend.

I`m gonna try it tonight (or tomorrow) at home if I have time.
I`ll check it out with my bass, but from what I`ve read, it should work fine.

It`s true what you say about the singer, but he`s better now than 2 years ago

OTOH, I`m pretty pleased with the bass tone. It`s my Peavey Cirrus directly plugged into the PC soundcard. I`ve only cut the highs a 30%, picked with my fingers close to the neck and added some compression during the mastering stage.

The strings are brand new Elixir Nanowebs that are less bright than the DR Hi Beams I use regularly.

Originally Posted by Alvaro Martín Gómez A.

Hey Billy, congratulations on creating such a cool song in such a short timeframe! If the radio station wants a catchy song, I think they got it.

The bass line is really good to me. I really like how you change from simple root notes to "walking arpeggios" as on 1:33, for instance. You have a great growl in your tone as well.

But I have a complaint: Your singer sounds out of tune in many parts and, aside from being an obvious mistake, that creates a particular problem: Since the chorus melody is very "ambiguous" to the underlying chord progression, the vocal harmonies must be very accurate for the listener "not losing sight" of the idea. The not-so-accurately sung pitches combined with the note choices for harmonizing the melody make the chorus something very ambiguous and difficult to follow for me. I have a suggestion. The chorus goes like this:



The first measure sounds great to me since the perfect fourth in the downbeat with the B and the E works great as sort of an appoggiatura within the I chord, but that perfect fourth in the second measure (A# - D#) doesn't work that well. I suggest you to try this instead:



Theoretically, the tritone in the downbeat of the second measure (A# - E in the original version) works fine since both notes are within the V chord, but the G# is even better, not only creating a II chord ambient (perfect within a dominant harmony) but a more melodic line with the following F#, which puts the upper D# more in context (and sixths are always a safe bet).

Such deep considerations for a catchy rock tune (and they can become even deeper if we consider that the D# within the V chord works as the thirteenth and blah, blah, blah...), but I just wanted to explain my point. I'd like you to give a try to that minor change and let me know what you think.

[CHILDISHGAMBINO]

Catchy. Nice sound and playing. Tasty.

[phxlbrmpf]

The bass line sounds a tad too busy to me, I'd have used fewer "filler" notes and to spice things up, I'd have added a few notes in the higher register now and then as the other instruments leave lots of room for some upper register action, just my opinion.

Your guitar player sounds like a blast to play with, though, I like how he does something other than chug power chords and adds all those neat licks.

[frstr8dmusician]

I dig it! And I think your tone is really sweet too.

[Papersen]

Originally Posted by phxlbrmpf

The bass line sounds a tad too busy to me, I'd have used fewer "filler" notes and to spice things up, I'd have added a few notes in the higher register now and then as the other instruments leave lots of room for some upper register action, just my opinion. .

Interesting suggestion. I also think that fewer would be better sometimes, but the other members suggested a busy bass line, it wasn`t my original intention.

I don`t "explore" higher registers very often when playing rock melodies, so that might be nice.

Your guitar player sounds like a blast to play with, though, I like how he does something other than chug power chords and adds all those neat licks.

Yes, he`s a great player. The funny part is that he doesn`t like to play solos, and he can do it superbly. He`ve been recently listening some albums with multi layered guitar parts and that became a big influence. Keep in mind that all those power chords are riffs are played by the singer, not the main guitar player.

[lambro]

one thing to make the song feel a little more polished would be the eq on the bass

right now the low end is just out of place, a bit muddy and too forceful

I would try dipping @ 250khz
and cutting below 70Hz for a start