The best Synth basslines

Blazer · January 07, 2009, 08:08:48 PM

Love them or loathe them, Synthesizers are a big part in popular music and in the seventies and eighties they almost replaced Bassguitars as the main low end provider on popular records. But let's show off the ones where the Synth really got the bottoms moving.

Tom Browne - "Funkin' for Jamaica"

Ben Harper - "Bring the funk"

Herbie Hancock - "Chameleon"

slinkp · January 07, 2009, 10:34:17 PM

This one popped into my head about two seconds after reading your subject line...

n!k · January 08, 2009, 02:35:46 AM

My all time favorite:

Human League - Louise

Say what you will about the song but that bass line is awesome.

Other great lines:

Devo - Super Thing (that tone is so nasty!)

Although most Devo synth bass lines could qualify.

Blazer · January 08, 2009, 04:57:11 AM

Quote from: slinkp on January 07, 2009, 10:34:17 PM
This one popped into my head about two seconds after reading your subject line...

Exect that that one's bassline was played on a Fender p-bass...

Gary numan is about the only synth pionier who used bass guitars on his records.

Anyway, can't have a topic like this without this one...

gweimer · January 08, 2009, 06:26:42 AM

Thomas Dolby - Hyperactive

Barklessdog · January 08, 2009, 06:45:30 AM

First that came in my head was "Flashlight"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMcgDbubIjA&feature=related

Bass version with Dennis Chambers & Gary Grainger
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUXaIYXrZp4&feature=related

chromium · January 08, 2009, 07:53:58 AM

And there's the simple yet effective plodding one-note sequence

Genesis - Abacab

Missing Persons - Words. Played by a bass player no less. (and yay for inventive costume design!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6CunFiE0Cs&feature=related

and then... is it real bass? or is it synth bass? hmmmmm?!?!

gearHed289 · January 08, 2009, 12:33:28 PM

Lots of good stuff guys! I was way into synth bass back in the 80s. In fact, I still run into people from back then who thought I was a keyboardist rather than a bass player.

Surprised nobody mentioned Stevie Wonder yet. And there was a guy named Cameron Hawkins in Canadian prog band FM that did killer synth bass lines (he played bass guitar and Taurus pedals as well).

chromium · January 08, 2009, 03:20:23 PM

Quote from: gearHed289 on January 08, 2009, 12:33:28 PM
Surprised nobody mentioned Stevie Wonder yet.

I thought about Nathan Watts - that guy is a powerhouse! He played a Roland bass synth, but I couldn't find a clip of him using the synth part of it - only the bass:

TBird1958 · January 08, 2009, 09:01:22 PM

What?

No one posted this? The Metro! I love this song, dance to it almost every Thursday night. We play it as well, makes me feel like a robot!

hieronymous · January 08, 2009, 09:08:04 PM

One of my personal faves:

Def Leppard was my first concert - the Pyromania tour, 1983, live in Tokyo! I was 12. It was a long time ago, but I have a distinct memory of Rick Savage playing a synth during this song.

Blazer · January 09, 2009, 05:55:52 AM

Quote from: hieronymous on January 08, 2009, 09:08:04 PM
One of my personal faves:

Def Leppard was my first concert - the Pyromania tour, 1983, live in Tokyo! I was 12. It was a long time ago, but I have a distinct memory of Rick Savage playing a synth during this song.

Def Leppard doing the song "Women" which at least has a partial Synth bassline , you can see Rick Savage run towards the Keyboard and play and he has a simply NASTY sound from it.

And I love that Hamer Scarab bass he played in those days.

gearHed289 · January 09, 2009, 09:00:10 AM

Quote from: TBird1958 on January 08, 2009, 09:01:22 PM
What?

No one posted this? The Metro! I love this song, dance to it almost every Thursday night. We play it as well, makes me feel like a robot!

I saw Berlin about 10 years ago at HOB in Chicago. Terri Nunn was SO friggin hot in a red dress and long gloves. Freshly divorced too. Yum...

Pekka · February 17, 2013, 09:52:58 AM

Quote from: gearHed289 on January 08, 2009, 12:33:28 PM
Lots of good stuff guys! I was way into synth bass back in the 80s. In fact, I still run into people from back then who thought I was a keyboardist rather than a bass player.

Surprised nobody mentioned Stevie Wonder yet. And there was a guy named Cameron Hawkins in Canadian prog band FM that did killer synth bass lines (he played bass guitar and Taurus pedals as well).

Stevie's synth bass from "Innervisions" alone makes him the king of synth bass. Great lines and a fat sound. Beach Boys' "Holland" comes close and of course there's Jan Hammer who had a fantastic snappy Moog bass sound.

I like Cameron Hawkins synth bass and sequenced Moog stuff on early FM albums (their two eighties albums are quite awful). "Black Noise" is probably the best but "Surveillance" and "City Of Fear", while poppier, have their good moments. "Direct To Disc" is almost avant-garde at times.

Some of their stuff on that album (released 1979) sound like a precursor to Rush' "Signals" album.

Saga's Jim Chrichton plays a lot synth bass, one of my favs is "The Vendetta" from "Heads Or Tales" where the first part of the song is played on Multi-Moog and Simmons drums and for the last part Crichton and Steve Negus switch to "real" bass and drums.

Max Webster used synth bass (Arp Odyssey) on a few songs, my fav is the snaky line on "Beyond The Moon".

gweimer · February 17, 2013, 10:45:02 AM

If this isn't synth, it's got to be assisted. Great groove.

The best Synth basslines

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