Bassless tracks to play along to

Strip the bass out of a record and take the part yourself, with everything else intact.

Drop your song here

or click to choose · mp3, wav, flac, m4a · up to 50 MB

What do you want?

VocalsTake the singing out, or keep only the singing.You get 2 files:VocalsSong without vocalsDrumsGet the drums alone, or play along without them.You get 2 files:DrumsSong without drumsBassGet the bassline alone, or play along without it.You get 2 files:BassSong without bassEverythingEvery part on its own, and the song minus each part.You get 8 files:VocalsDrumsBassOther (guitars, keys, synths)Song without vocalsSong without drumsSong without bassSong without the rest

Bass players get fewer play-along resources than drummers do, and the ones that exist are usually generic backing loops rather than actual songs. Removing the bass from the record you want to learn is a more direct route to the same thing.

It also removes the temptation to hide. With the original bassist still in the mix it is easy to think you are locked in when you are merely near enough; with the low end empty, your timing against the kick is fully exposed.

What you take away

Song without bass — the play-along, with drums, guitars, keys and vocals still there
Bass — the original line on its own, for learning the notes before you play them

Ways players use this

Learning a specific song. work the line out from the isolated stem, then play it against the bassless mix until it locks

Audition and depping preparation. rehearsing a set with the real arrangements rather than charts, so the fills and stops are where they will actually be

Writing your own line. a bassless mix of a song you like is a ready-made harmonic context to write a different part over

Notes from actually doing this

Expect the mix to feel light. A great deal of a record's weight sits in the bass, and its absence is more obvious on headphones with real extension than on a laptop speaker.
Because kick and bass overlap, a trace of the bassline occasionally survives inside the drum content. It is usually inaudible once you are playing over it.
Songs where the bass doubles a synth line or a guitar riff can lose a little of that doubled part along with the bass. Check the play-along before you rely on it for a gig.
For working on feel rather than notes, choose a song with a long unchanging groove; for technique, choose one that moves.

Questions

›Does it remove the sub as well as the played notes?

It removes what it identifies as the bass part, including sub content belonging to that part. Low-frequency energy that belongs to the kick drum stays where it is.

›Will an upright bass work?

Yes, though less cleanly than an electric. Upright has more bow and body noise in the upper mids, which is exactly the region where separation has to make its hardest decisions.

›Can I get the drums too, to practise with just the rhythm section?

Choose Everything instead and you get all eight files, including the drums on their own — from there you can combine whichever parts you want in any DAW.

Where it struggles

Heavily distorted or effects-laden bass parts do not come out cleanly, because distortion spreads the signal into the same range as guitars and keys, and the model has to guess where the bass ends. Dub and reggae, where the bass is enormous and central to the arrangement, also leave the most obvious hole when removed.