Question about isolated bass tracks .. Is it possible?

[Bar Band Bassman]

Decades ago I recorded some tracks for a BL who performed with backing tracks. We recorded with a click track onto music editing software, I think it was called "Jasmine" or some other take-off on Lotus 123. "Your Love Is Liftin' Me Higher" by Jackie Wilson was one. Afterwards, he ran it back and intentionally massaged the tempos to make the songs "breathe" and sound more natural. And there's nothing better than playing with a drummer who has the same kind of feel as me! It's music, not a metronome, after all. JMO.

BBB

 

[THany]

I am so confused about this. Is this just a troll thread? A bass player from the 70's recorded a track that might not be in time and now we get to crap on their timing 50 years later because our technology allows us to hear the isolated track out of context?

Do you like the song? Did you have any problems with the bass part before? Just listen to the art and choose to enjoy it or don't.

I'm not a troll, I'm just clueless, don't be offensive,
Sorry I spoke my mind

 

[THany]

Decades ago I recorded some tracks for a BL who performed with backing tracks. We recorded with a click track onto music editing software, I think it was called "Jasmine" or some other take-off on Lotus 123. "Your Love Is Liftin' Me Higher" by Jackie Wilson was one. Afterwards, he ran it back and intentionally massaged the tempos to make the songs "breathe" and sound more natural. And there's nothing better than playing with a drummer who has the same kind of feel as me! It's music, not a metronome, after all. JMO.

BBB

yes, I totally agree!

 

[THany]

I do hear some problems, but IMHO it's not as bad as you make it out to be. Perhaps this is a legit isolated track from the project. That doesn't necessarily mean any or all of it was printed without any sort of studio magic applied. In fact, maybe none of this track was used.

Thank you for your kind reply.
I did write in another comment, that I tend to be dramatic without noticing, that is probably why you dont think it sounds bad as I make it to be)

 

[MrClassicMetal]

Ok, only because you asked!
Listen till the end:

Sounds perfectly fine to me. Where is the problem? And along with the drums and the rest of the instruments, it's a classic.



And regarding the sound of the bass, that tone you dialed in to your liking when you play on your own is not going to fit in right mixed with other instruments.

 

[Wasnex]

Sorry I spoke my mind

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Expectations and perceptions vary.

Years ago I bought a Tony Bennett box set after reading comments from several people fawning over his incredible back phrasing. I find it really hard to listen to the songs. To my ears it just sound like he has really bad time . Perhaps I have not had the right musical experiences to understand his phrasing. Music evolves over time and it can go places that might seem strange if you were not there to evolve along with it.

Consider making an isolated track of yourself playing along with the song to see how well you do.

 

[BeyondFiredUp]

Just chiming in here to bring some levity and fun-heartedness to the topic at hand.
When I discovered isolated bass tracks a few years ago on YouTube of course I checked out some of my all-time favorite inspirational players and guys that are actually phenoms and some not so much but still multiplatinum album sellers. In the isolated tracks I was fairly underwhelmed and not that impressed and thinking to myself, "Wow, this just kinda sounds like me playing through headphones in my bedroom", lol!
Things don't sound that great by themselves and we must remember they were playing the tracks along with a real live human drummer and maybe excited or even on something or coming off of something in the moment. We will never know... Its what the final product sounds like that matters. And classic hits and songs that are special are just that...they are hits and they are special and will be forever. Even the players we thought were like "gods" are merely human.
Cheers!

 

[lm183902]

That sounds pretty consistent with heavy attack rock bass playing on a recording to me. Bass in isolation just isn’t pretty most of the time. Tones that make a bass work in a track are often pretty rough sounding on their own and can really expose any imperfections. That track sounds great in the context of the mix and has never bothered me - nothing glaring about that performance

 

[bigtone23]

In the days before recording to digital and snapping everything to the grid with autotune...
Isolated parts fall somewhere in the groove. It's not perfect, it's not consistent. It has ebbs and flows. Same with pitch of the instruments and singers.
Hearing this (and playing it live) is a breath of organic humanity. Make the track breathe.

 

[DaveParker39]

Most of the greatest bassists have material that sounds "sloppy" isolated and perfect with the band. The music is being made in a band context so how it sounds alone is irrelevant.

 

[pfschim]

Most of the greatest bassists have material that sounds "sloppy" isolated and perfect with the band. The music is being made in a band context so how it sounds alone is irrelevant.

yeah, there are tons of examples of this ... for example, go and listen to the pretty amazingly awful sounding Paul McCartney iso bass tracks ... kind of farty and sloppy sounding (at least to my ears) and yet they work perfectly in the final mixes on all those famous Beatles songs.

At the same time, someone recently posted a JPJ iso bass track for In My Time Of Dying that really revealed how outstanding and precise a bass player he was on those Zep recordings.

 

[bigtone23]

I can't remember the exact song or documentary, but many, many years ago,a video I saw had some producer/engineer bringing up soloed tracks of a classic recording. Each soloed part sounded a little wiggly, However, when all the parts were brought up, it was deep, pocketed perfection!

 

[HotelX]

I listened all the way through and thought it was fine. Heard a couple of little mistakes but nothing major that I would notice in a mix.

 

[/\/\3phist0]

I can't remember the exact song or documentary, but many, many years ago,a video I saw had some producer/engineer bringing up soloed tracks of a classic recording. Each soloed part sounded a little wiggly, However, when all the parts were brought up, it was deep, pocketed perfection!

Classic albums series.

Classic Albums (TV Series 1997– ) ⭐ 8.4 | Documentary, Music

50m

m.imdb.com

There is a software process called stem separation. Works really well in some cases.

I tested 11 of the best stem separation tools – and you might already have the winner in your DAW

Stem separation can now be found in plugins, standalone apps, browser-based platforms and many of the major DAWs – but which option comes out on top?

www.musicradar.com

There are plugins for FLstudio and more.

Audacity has an addin too

 

[Klangfarbe]

Absolute troll thread. Mods please close. Thank you.

 

[THany]

Hi, dear members, I'm not "in business" for years, so it's my first time seeing isolated tracks of bassist on youtube.
I have listened to one, and was stunned: The bassist, wasn't keeping it together at all! he has a great sound, but boy, I was embarrassed to listen to his timing.
Now, I thought it might not be him, but I listened to the vocals of the same song, uploaded by the same youtuber, and they are 100 % legit.
I went and listened to the bass of another song of the same band, and this one was worse!
My question is:
Is it possible? that his timing is so bad, but the song sounds amazing? (electric guitars "cover up"? )
Is it possible the process of isolation did this? (hard to believe)
Please help me!
I'm just so.... mmmm shocked.
It's not that he missed a note or had a glitch, most of the 2nd song is eight notes bass line. He plays with a pick, so how can he be so "off"?
Just the other day I comment in another thread about how good he sounds, playing with a pick, and then I listened to the isolated track and got soooo confused.
Help me out, is it possible?
(I dont even want to put a link because it's so bad, I hope it is some mistake)

Ok, Im sorry I posted it, I wish I could delete it

Absolute troll thread. Mods please close. Thank you.

Im not a troll, I have b.p.d so I sometimes get dramatic or tend to over react without noticing.
I really wasnt aware this is so common, and it really sounded odd to me.
I did ask the mods to delete the thread, because of comments like yours, and because I was misunderstood.
I hope they do that soon.

 

[Pings Bass]

Eh, sounds like perfectly cromulent rock bass playing.

That is, crunchy straight eighths without melodic movement. The timing isn't perfect throughout, but it's close enough for arena rock.

If it had been played cleanly, robotically and/or melodically, it would not have fit the song methinks.

 

[turcmic]

Ok, Im sorry I posted it, I wish I could delete it

Im not a troll, I have b.p.d so I sometimes get dramatic or tend to over react without noticing.
I really wasnt aware this is so common, and it really sounded odd to me.
I did ask the mods to delete the thread, because of comments like yours, and because I was misunderstood.
I hope they do that soon.

Your post is totally legit. I too sometimes find isolated tracks weird but since the final product is good, it’s alright with me and learn from it. We always expect technical perfection, especially from the greats, but the reality is they are great because they totally fit into the song.

Don’t worry about people who disagree and think you’re a troll… we live in an era where intelligent discussions are difficult.

 

[THany]

Your post is totally legit. I too sometimes find isolated tracks weird but since the final product is good, it’s alright with me and learn from it. We always expect technical perfection, especially from the greats, but the reality is they are great because they totally fit into the song.

Don’t worry about people who disagree and think you’re a troll… we live in an era where intelligent discussions are difficult.

Thank you.
I asked the moderators to delete it, because I just feel bad now, that I understand how it looks.
I didnt mean it to sound the way people took it and I really feel bad about it.
Thanks for your kind words

 

[Chrisk-K]

A bass player from the 70's recorded a track that might not be in time and now we get to crap on their timing 50 years later because our technology allows us to hear the isolated track out of context?

Especially for a bass player who was right-handed but played left-handed because he idolized Sir Paul so much.