Where have all the synth bass lines gone?

[fluffy_little_something]

I was just listening to some older songs and wondering why I don't hear those driving groovy synth bass lines anymore these days. I mean, so many people make music on the computer, Diva, Monark etc. offer huge bass potential, but people don't seem to come up with cool bass lines anymore, like in these songs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OPMiZu-xKM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnCxKH7z4ak

Is that just my impression (I love bass, which is why I focus on it a lot whenever I hear a song, much more than on the singing, guitars, etc.)? Or has the importance of bass lines decreased over time?

[deastman]

I can't post a link from my phone at the moment, but one of my favorites is Cruel Summer by Bananarama.

[fluffy_little_something]

Let me do that for you:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ePIZugahFc


Yes, those kinds of bass lines I read somewhere that 2 of the 3 girls were bass players themselves

Maybe one reason is the exaggerated bass drum these days

[Sendy]

Yeah, there's probably not enough room, the bass space is being hogged by the monotonous "WHUMP WHUMP WHUMP" of long 808 kicks and similar. These kicks don't even die down before the next one triggers, so rather than a pulse, you end up with a wall of bass kick part. Also, synth basses tended to be funky, and I see a lack of funk in most modern music.

Massive generalization of course, but true to a degree.

[fluffy_little_something]

I remember a lot of the 80's Quincy Jones stuff, he used to use synth basses also for ballads, not just for funky dance stuff:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQX6TIsRbbc

[RunBeerRun]

I never had a problem with the old synths sound-wise, sometimes I flip on a radio station with current music, and almost always is the synth sound actually offensive.

[Aloysius]

Have to change my post. Synth Bass. OK. I'll be back in a moment.

[fluffy_little_something]

We are talking about SYNTH bass

[Aloysius]

OK. I'm back. I've loved this Track and the Synth Bass line since the day it was released.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oy10rRJ0Cuk

The Jets - Crush on You

[fluffy_little_something]

Yeah, there's probably not enough room, the bass space is being hogged by the monotonous "WHUMP WHUMP WHUMP" of long 808 kicks and similar. These kicks don't even die down before the next one triggers, so rather than a pulse, you end up with a wall of bass kick part. Also, synth basses tended to be funky, and I see a lack of funk in most modern music.

Massive generalization of course, but true to a degree.

Often the synth bass was actually not really low, but had quite some higher-frequency content, which was why it was so audible in the first place (subwoofers were rather rare in the 80's).

What I hear in RnB a lot are those sine basses, they are very low, but on average stereos or desktop speakers one can barely hear them, too low. Basically they are of the same annoying nature as those modern bass drums.

[larm]

There's a genre called electro funk that has a bit of theese synth bass lines sometimes. Chromeo did a few tunes a few years ago:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zm4JVkH0T-E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppNC0uAaCv0

Great interview here, really nerdy
http://www.mixcloud.com/brooklynradio/s ... w-chromeo/

[ouroboros]

Funny, I was thinking about this just this week.
first Jeffery Osborne, You should be mine, then Wham - Everything she wants.
Lots of syncopated bouncy basses in the 80's kept things moving.
from synthpop to New Jack Swing.
much simpler arrangements

[Aloysius]

There's a genre called electro funk that has a bit of theese synth bass lines sometimes. Chromeo did a few tunes a few years ago:

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Great interview here, really nerdy
http://www.mixcloud.com/brooklynradio/s ... w-chromeo/

Thanks. I checked out some of their Tunes. I find their sound a bit dry and lacking the spirit of classic eighties grooves. Will check out the podcast.

[deastman]

Another classic synth bass:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVkN0VhOuZ0


I've never been quite sure if this was a synth or a real bass, but it always comes to mind:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXQYyKzyDaE

[arkmabat]

I've been listening to lots of 80s music lately and I agree... We need more groovy bass!