do you always add a bassline to a beat???

  • Thread starter Thread starter fataltone
  • Start date Start date
fataltone

fataltone

Holy Lamb Media & Ent.
when I first started making bass I always thought since I make hip hop I need a slamming bassline...
now sometimes I find that just have some nice kicks is enough....
what's your thoughts on this...??
 
Depends on the song.

To me, the bass can be both part of the rythm section or a foundation of the harmony (or both). A kick has no note and so can't really help much with the harmony.

Roughly speaking, if the song is rythmic with little harmony then just a kick might do, whilst a song with a strong harmony might need the bass to underline this.

To me, it depends on what is best for the song.
 
Emmapeel9 said:
A kick has no note and so can't really help much with the harmony.
Click to expand...

Then again, with the prominent use of 808-like tonal kicks that often are almost pure sinewave, kicks like that do have a fundamental frequency - which in turn can mean that the kick is doing the duties of the bassline as well.
 
I've heard a lot of producers say this is one way to get really hard drums. Kinda depends on the song tho. Think Hard knock Life- kinda needs that bass to fill it out. Til I Collapse- Doesn't really need it
 
I don't sometimes when sampling because mixing the sample correctly (or how I do it lol) brings out the bassline nicely.
 
Depends on the song. Some tracks sound better with some deep, low kicks with some sort of pitch to them.
Others need a melody in the bassline to work with the rest of the song. Its all decisions.
 
Yes, I always have a bassline. On some tracks the bassline is used as a "percussive" type instrument yet on others it is play the notes of the chord(s) to to help with the groove.

ETA: And on some tracks I bury it very low so that you "feel" it but don't really hear it.
 
Last edited:
You don't always need a bass line.Just know if you don't have a bass line you have to make sure your drums slap.
 
Persnally I always use a bassline, however I know plenty of people that dont and just use a harder drum.
 
you can always just play the root note of every chord you have in your progression.. that way you dont need to think of a melody with your bass.. and it'll just enhance the chord progression and make it sound fuller. thats what i do when i dont want a fancy lil bassline going.
 
im my beats feeling a lil empty ill try to fill it out with a bass line
 
typhy said:
you can always just play the root note of every chord you have in your progression.. that way you dont need to think of a melody with your bass.. and it'll just enhance the chord progression and make it sound fuller. thats what i do when i dont want a fancy lil bassline going.
Click to expand...


^This
Whiles I don't think every beat needs a bassline,I feel like the bassline adds more energy to the track in most cases
 
lol I was about to say the same thing as Krushing, then I read his post. Kicks do/can have a "note" or fundamental frequency. Some are more prominent than others. You should always make sure that your kicks are in key with the rest of the mix; otherwise your kicks and bass might be fighting over more than just frequency range.
 
Emmapeel9 said:
A kick has no note
Click to expand...
Do you realize you basically just said that a sound has no frequency? Impossible. Drum tuning is very important, keyword being "tuning". You can tune a kick drum different and watch how it makes your song sound significantly better or worse.
 
Last edited:
Well not every sound has a note. White noise, for instance, doesn't have a "note". There might be higher levels of some frequencies than others, but in order to have a "note", there has to be PROMINENT frequency that stands out over the others. At what point a frequency becomes prominent is a little subjective, however.
 
A kick also has a presence in at least three frequency bands if properly tuned and using certain types of beater heads and target patches on the drum head.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top