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2022, now mainstream pop songs go well below open B string!

#21
AlexanderB said:
Both the EBS OctaBass and the Digitech BSW will do that, and do it well, with the right bass. The C4 does trigger a half step too low below C. Play an A, octave down plays Ab. :eek:
Click to expand...

I've had just about every octave pedal at one time or other. If you're playing the size of venue that's going to have a FOH that can do justice to those low, low notes I'd want more stability in the note.
 
#22
One thing I've also noticed in a lot of modern pop songs is that while the synth bass does the super low notes, the bass "guitar" line (whether created on a keyboard or with a bassist) does more of that funky slap pop thing that stands out in the mix. That cutting midrange slap/funk bass playing slots into that frequency above the suboctave boom-boom and below the diddly diddly highs of the melody keyboards or vocals.

So instead of being the low end, the bass guitar can be something else. Bass guitar is a more versatile instrument than people realize.

(And I shake my head at everyone being so dismissive of pop bassists. I dare anyone to cop that attitude to the face of a guy like Freddie Mollings. He played and toured with Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys, two of the biggest pop artists, during their heydays in the 2000s. Mollings was playing to crowds of 10,000 people every night while we were lucky to play to 10 action figures in our rooms. And he could easily play circles around all of us here because he PlaysBass while we all just TalkBass).
 
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#25
Dincrest said:
(And I shake my head at everyone being so dismissive of pop bassists. I dare anyone to cop that attitude to the face of a guy like Freddie Mollings. He played and toured with Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys, two of the biggest pop artists, during their heydays in the 2000s. Mollings was playing to crowds of 10,000 people every night while we were lucky to play to 10 action figures in our rooms. And he could easily play circles around all of us here because he PlaysBass while we all just TalkBass).
Click to expand...

Who is dismissive of pop bassists?
 
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#28
I'd go for synth pedal option, and failing that, an actual synth. @Dincrest nails it pretty much as far as I'm concerned. Let the synths have that ultralow space, and find room somewhere else. Technology makes it easier to create and playback music with bigger lows, so producers are making use of it, nothing wrong with that. Since I've gone over to 5s with a low B I'm definitely using those low notes more often...and loving it.
 
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#29
AlexanderB said:
I cannot be the only one to have noticed this phenomenon, but I have not seen a topic for it.
What am I talking about? It is the new mainstream inclusion of bass notes below B, Bb and even A. Sure, it has happened before, but is has REALLY picked up pace this year.
I hear it in mainstream pop like Dua Lipa, Newkid, Charli XCX, Ed Sheeran and so on.
Typically as a drone note or two in a sparse pre chorus, break or less intense part of the song. And it is no doubt that the synth player/computer plays a note below the B string, and there might be some decent fundamental energy as well.

I have had a five string tuned to A, but these 2021/2022 songs go as low as G or F#, and that is not unusual. Makes me want to pull out a synth/octave more and more. Or get a dedicated F#BEAD bass... My rig (1000w through detuned Ampeg SVT-410HLF, can do some justice also for these notes).

Have YOU done anything to approach these new mainstrem pop songs?
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#32
Hopefully, if you're in a band playing current pop, you have a synthetic player? It would be easiest to cover these types of lines on synth (like they are in the recordings). If you don't have a synth player, getting a small synth would do it. Something like this.

Novation Bass Station II Analog Synthesizer

Your bass rig wasn't designed for notes that low. You would need an HPF to protect your speakers.
 
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#33
AlexanderB said:
Haha, yeah, the responses have been sort of... avoiding the topic.... ;)
Click to expand...
My $0.02 would be to look at a multi scale bass or bass with at least a 35" scale. I hear StringJoy has some pretty heavy gauge strings, but I haven't played them yet. I personally prefer a bass that I can balance a little towards the bridge in terms of pickups. At low tunings it seems to capture the tone of the strings better IMO.
 
#36
two fingers said:
Hopefully, if you're in a band playing current pop, you have a synthetic player? It would be easiest to cover these types of lines on synth (like they are in the recordings). If you don't have a synth player, getting a small synth would do it. Something like this.

Novation Bass Station II Analog Synthesizer

Your bass rig wasn't designed for notes that low. You would need an HPF to protect your speakers.
Click to expand...

I am not you, or the average bass player. I have used my OctaBass since 1997 or so, never blown or creased a speaker, even through actively crossed over, biamp rigs of 2×700 W...

Regardless, what rig should I use for the synth???
 
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#37
Dincrest said:
One thing I've also noticed in a lot of modern pop songs is that while the synth bass does the super low notes, the bass "guitar" line (whether created on a keyboard or with a bassist) does more of that funky slap pop thing that stands out in the mix. That cutting midrange slap/funk bass playing slots into that frequency above the suboctave boom-boom and below the diddly diddly highs of the melody keyboards or vocals.

So instead of being the low end, the bass guitar can be something else. Bass guitar is a more versatile instrument than people realize.

(And I shake my head at everyone being so dismissive of pop bassists. I dare anyone to cop that attitude to the face of a guy like Freddie Mollings. He played and toured with Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys, two of the biggest pop artists, during their heydays in the 2000s. Mollings was playing to crowds of 10,000 people every night while we were lucky to play to 10 action figures in our rooms. And he could easily play circles around all of us here because he PlaysBass while we all just TalkBass).
Click to expand...

One of the best shows i have ever seen was Bootsy Collins, sometime in the early nineties i think. Bernie Worrell playing amazing low bass synth lines, and Bootsy freewheeling (greatly filtered and distorted) in that midrange 'funk' section.
 
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#39
When i skip through a few of these artists i hear a lot of retro 80ties, and yes it is a lot of fun to cop those synth lines. Mostly, I'd be thickening those with an octaver mixed in with the regular tone, some filter etc.

However this sub low bass i haven't encountered yet - could OP or someone post a few examples?
 

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