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How Can You Isolate Bass Off A CD?

#21
Keep the BT2 - nah, it doesn't magically mute the rest of the band, but it does slow things down, change key, etc., and can function as a headphone practice 'amp' for late nights. I don't consider it cheating to use the Bass Tabs White Pages or any other professionally transcribed charts - just paying someone else for the time they spend going over & over the track transposing. (Though once you've figured something out it is funny to see what some professional transcriber thinks as well...)
 
#22
Well, no matter what may come out in the future to allow us to just hear the bass, it will be no substitute for doing it real time. In some gig situations you only get one pass and your ears have to work. All this to say I truly believe that if you listen to some music that isn't too technically difficult and try to pick out the bass line this will be more beneficial to you in the long run. As you do this your ears will develop and you will be learning whole songs in much less time that it used to take you.

One other thing, it may sound corny, but when you listen to a song if you're having a hard time hearing the bass part walk into another room and it will come zooming out at you. The whole study of acoustics is amazing, but this truly does work. You can hear very clearly what's going on in bass-land this way in most cases. You can also try to lower the volume and move around the room. Depending on how your furniture/acoustics are in the room you will better hear bass frequencies in some areas. Point is it may not always be the best place to listen if your head is between the speakers or stereo imaging. A lot also depends on the way the CD is mixed. I know this is long winded so to sum it all up again I will just say jump in and start picking songs up. YOu will get better and before you know it this will come second nature. Best wishes. :D
 
#23
Sithian said:
Here is a great tip -

There is a program called "AMAZING SLOW DOWNER" . The program allows you to slow down CD's or MP3's and retains pitch-

It is a fantastic tool for helping us hear and process those hard to hear bass parts - give it a try!
Click to expand...

Yes this program works well. Along with being able to change the pitch and slow things down the eq works well. You can take all the highs out boost the lows. works well for me.
 
#24
dhemstra said:
good tip: Load your mp3 into a recording program like audacity or cubase. Now transpose the song an octave. It helps!
Click to expand...

+1

EQ of original song is nice, but changing the pitch 100% by speeding up x2 really brings the bass out into the guitar frequencies and makes buried parts audible.
Might also be easier to use eq/low pass filter in order to remove those guitar parts after double speed changed their pitch into buzzing fly realm, and afterwards bring back to normal speed.
Audio software like Audacity is also capable of removing vocal tracks, based on the fact that they are mostly recorded in the middle of the sound stage, thus splitting stereo signal and then negating one of its mono components will somewhat eliminate vocals.
 
#26
Something else that can help is to listen to only one channel. Depending on the mix, you'll get rid of at least some of the instruments.

I'll also go to YouTube. Either live tracks or different mixes are often there.

The other thing that I'll do is go back to the song a few weeks after I learn it. Once I've internalized my part, any discrepancies become much easier to hear.

js
 
#27
rustinstrings said:
+1

EQ of original song is nice, but changing the pitch 100% by speeding up x2 really brings the bass out into the guitar frequencies and makes buried parts audible.
Might also be easier to use eq/low pass filter in order to remove those guitar parts after double speed changed their pitch into buzzing fly realm, and afterwards bring back to normal speed.
Audio software like Audacity is also capable of removing vocal tracks, based on the fact that they are mostly recorded in the middle of the sound stage, thus splitting stereo signal and then negating one of its mono components will somewhat eliminate vocals.
Click to expand...

I use a program called "Pitch Switch". Instead of changing the pitch an octave by doubling the speed, I just used the software to raise it 8 semitones at normal speed. I couldn't believe how well all the parts of the bass line popped out. Thanks for the tip.
 
#28
i use software like Amazing Slow Downer to:

1) Raise the pitch up an octave
2) Slow down the tune
3) Apply some EQ to boost the bass and cut the others out

These three steps make every bass line pop out clearly. The song will sound like a chipmunks rendition of the tune but it works!
 
#29
I'm not quite sure if this is what you're looking for. There is a program that Ed Friedland suggested to me. I haven't used it, but if you're looking to transcribe bass parts there is a program called the "Amazing Slow Downer" Supposedly it's suppose to be the bees knees in transcribing. It keeps the orginal pitch/timbre of the tune that way you can really here tricky sections of tunes. Though I have never used it, I don't really have a comment on it. But if this is what you're looking for I would try this, if no one has already suggested it.

Good luck,

-Adam
 
#31
As all have said above, listen and practice, nothing can substitute.
I can transcribe fairly well but that's from years of piano lessons, I'm still learning to play bass!

I use Audacity, a free program, to mess with songs. I import a song, then under 'Effects', I use the Bass Boost, Low Pass Filter, and then Change Tempo which changes the speed but not the pitch.I listen using headphones and compare the notes to either my bass or a virtual keyboard online like this one (Link Removed) Good luck!
 
#32
lazytech said:
I do the gutar pro method

I usually mute everything except the bass and drums and then once i get it alittle better i mute the bass and I play that part, seems to be working ok and theres alot of songs for gp5
Click to expand...

Yeah. When the bassline is pretty noticeable/ audible or when it follows the guitar part a lot, I just do it by ear all the way, but for the tricky ones I also use the guitar pro method to complement whatever I get by ear. Even if the tab is flawed, it still provides with some idea you can work over. Better that than just going with your gut or following the guitar part too closely (when you shouldn't).
 
#33
Art Araya said:
i use software like Amazing Slow Downer to:

1) Raise the pitch up an octave
2) Slow down the tune
3) Apply some EQ to boost the bass and cut the others out

These three steps make every bass line pop out clearly. The song will sound like a chipmunks rendition of the tune but it works!
Click to expand...

BestPractice is a good alternative as well, although it really doesn't allow you to mess with the EQ. But I find it pretty useful.
 
#34
I can't believe people here don't give you the straight up answer. The only way to isolate an instrument in a song is to have the master tapes. There are a few programs that I have seen which can isolate guitar tracks but it won't be isolated 100%. You will still get audio from other instruments. I have found a software called Jammit (www.jammit.com) in which obtains the rights to use the master tapes and isolates guitar, drums, bass, vocals, and Keyboard/piano. I just learned that Megadeth has just put their music on it to be used. The software is free to download but you have to pay per instrument you want isolated. For example, You want to isolate the bass on Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water. You would then purchase the bass track to that for like $3.99 or whatever it is and then load it into the jammit software and be able to isolate that from the rest of the band. Go check out www.jammit.com for more info. A lot of popular musicians like John 5 (Rob ZOmbie, Marilyn Manson) and Steve Lukather (Toto) love this. Also check out this youtube video of it . I think this will be your best bet.
 

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