Am I deaf or ....

[David Webb]

is there no bass on old big band swing recordings?
If there is, it seems to be swamped by the band. I have a few recordings where I can hear the bass, but not many.
Any ideas on how to pick up what they are playing?
Thanks
David

[Thunderthumbs73]

You're not deaf. Some of the bands did indeed overpower the bass. Secondly, some recording technology was incapable of properly picking up the bass signal relative to the other instruments. Thirdly, I'm guessing our ears hear differently, and we have different expectations these days on how present bass sound should be, and are coloured by a world of electric bass presence and great recording quality.

What you're experiencing is one of the reasons (as I understand it) for the creation of amplified upright basses, electric upright basses, bass amps, and indeed, the electric bass, itself.

There may be some sophisticated signal processing or gear to pickup the faintest of bass signals, but mostly I'd say just guess the bass lines, based on the harmonies played by those instruments which you can hear.

Good luck.

[nickbass]

Also there was the '4 in the floor' walking bass drum which tended to mask the bass note.
There's a story from the old days of a big band drummer whose bass drum pedal broke and was forced to play the whole gig without it. The band leader approached the bass player after the gig and said 'I'd never really heard you play before tonight. Do you always play that way?'
'Yes" said the bass player proudly.
The bandleader replied 'You're fired!'

[MingusAmongUs]

depending on the era and genre, it might be tuba...

[Paul Warburton]

Originally Posted by nickbass

Also there was the '4 in the floor' walking bass drum which tended to mask the bass note.
There's a story from the old days of a big band drummer whose bass drum pedal broke and was forced to play the whole gig without it. The band leader approached the bass player after the gig and said 'I'd never really heard you play before tonight. Do you always play that way?'
'Yes" said the bass player proudly.
The bandleader replied 'You're fired!'

Ha!

[lunarpollen]

It really depends on the technique and quality of the recording when it was made and the quality of the recording studio/gear, the style the bassist used, the process used to master the recording for whatever format you are listening to it in. There are plenty of Cab Calloway and Jimmie Lunceford recordings from the early '30's where the bass is definitely very audible, and then there are recordings from the late 1940's where everything sounds like one big loud mess of semi-distorted sound with almost no low end. I've noticed in my collection of thousands of old big band swing tunes that the clarity of the bass is a hit or miss affair if you choose any particular tunes at random...

[David Webb]

Originally Posted by nickbass

Also there was the '4 in the floor' walking bass drum which tended to mask the bass note.
There's a story from the old days of a big band drummer whose bass drum pedal broke and was forced to play the whole gig without it. The band leader approached the bass player after the gig and said 'I'd never really heard you play before tonight. Do you always play that way?'
'Yes" said the bass player proudly.
The bandleader replied 'You're fired!'

I have noticed that in some tunes, all I get is thump,thump - I wondered why the bass seemed to be on the same note.

Is there a good resource to pick up bass styles suitable for this?
David

[Mark Carlsen]

Try Duke Ellington... Count Basie...

[Paul Warburton]

Originally Posted by David Webb

I have noticed that in some tunes, all I get is thump,thump - I wondered why the bass seemed to be on the same note.

Is there a good resource to pick up bass styles suitable for this?
David

That's already been explained.....you're hearing four on the bass drum.