Bell Biv Devoe - Poison

Gearhead17 · #1 11-09-2009, 09:23 PM

I have figured out some of this bass line. I know it starts on G but the pattern for the main line seems to mystify me. I know the bass fills in the middle are rooted on F# and E, but I was wondering if anyone had some sheet music for this or could give me some more info on this bass line? Learning by ear at this point.

JLP · #2 11-11-2009, 05:16 AM

My group covered that tune a few years ago and I can,t remember it exactly. I don,t know how to tab it but the main riff is f#,e,f#,g#,a. The chorus root notes, I think,are B and C#. I apologize beforehand if it,s wrong. I haven,t played it for a long time. I remember it wasn,t that difficult. Good Luck

Gearhead17 · #3 11-11-2009, 10:47 PM

I was making it more difficult than I thought! Thank you sir! You have saved me because I just had practice tonight! It worked well and my guitarist even agreed that it was the correct line. I have trouble deciphering low end with no mids or treble especially in the synth bass world. Thanks again.

philter25 · #4 03-26-2010, 08:46 AM

Hey guys. My band wants to cover this song also, and Im having trouble hearing the entire riff. Mind tabbing out what you guys are playing?

Gearhead17 · #5 03-28-2010, 03:54 AM

I honestly don't know the exact bass line, but my version seemed to hold it's own.

Basically for the first part of the riff: F# E F# E (add more E and F# according to the beat) then end with G# to A. The second part of the riff starts with a pause then does nearly the same thing, but ends with A G#. Just flipping the last two notes.

The short breakdowns start on C# and involve hammer-ons to the 7th and 9th frets on the A string. Then move to B and do more of the same (5th and 7th frets below) to the line you hear on the album. I usually played something different from the album here - I just went with whatever worked and sounded good. Try an octave here or a few flatted thirds in this part and it should sound alright.

This song has room for you to make it your own - no one truly knows the actual notes to the bass line, so something close is acceptable - IMHO.

philter25 · #6 03-29-2010, 06:25 AM

I got the first part down, thanks. I was having trouble hearing the chorus riff.... the line between the B and the C#.

Good suggestion, I was playing something similar to what you posted. Going from B to hammering on the 5th and 7th and ending on the C#, then hammering up to the 7th and 9th sounds good but when I listen to the recording over and over again there are 2-3 notes in there that I cant fingure out.

Overall though, you are right, since its a hip hop song and its only bass going on, you have the ability to make it your own.

I ended up playing:
G-----------------------------------------
D------------5-5h7-5---------------------
A--------5-7---------4-----7h9-7-9p7-5--
E 0/7------------------------------------7

Sounds pretty close, but I think there is a note or two or three off, but unless you know exactly how the riff sounds in your head, no one will notice.

Gearhead17 · #7 03-29-2010, 07:26 PM

The C# on the A string seems to be the odd note out in my mind. But that is pretty close to what I played. It's a weird bass line - seems to have some sort of synth effect on it and it has absolutely no high end. I can barely make out the notes.

renowave · #8 04-04-2010, 03:01 AM

To more easily hear a line, download the free "audacity", install it, open the song in it, use the "change pitch" effect to raise the song an octave, listen to them sound like chipmunks :-), use the "change tempo" effect to slow the song down by about 20 percent, pick it off, and transpose an octave lower.

BMJ · #9 03-22-2013, 09:22 AM

Hey everyone,

I'm sure I'm definitely a few years late on this, but I recently learned this song for a dance/cover band that I play in. I sat down and wrote out the sheet music/TAB after seeing some concerns with the transcriptions on this thread.

I'm fairly confident that this is as close to 100% right as I'm going to get. Hope this helps.