5 Tragically 80s Synth Bass Lines

Synth bass lines: If there was ever a decade that epitomized the sound and feel of a synth bass line, it would have to be the 80s.

The decade that gave us MTV, shoulder pads and HUGE hair…

Thankfully, the 80s also gave us an absolute ton of great music, and saw the rise of the synth bass lines (even if they do sound a bit dated these days). Sure, synth bass was a thing before the 80s, but that decade was THE time for synth bass.

So right now, I wanted to go through 5 of the MOST tragically 80s synth bass lines that you’re ever likely to hear. Some of these songs I absolutely LOVE. Others? Meh…

But all the bass lines are worth checking out and you can do that here:

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You’ll notice that a lot of these synth lines can be pretty challenging to play on bass (especially bass line #4). That’s because it’s a lot more common for keyboard players to play busier and faster lines than a bass guitarist would.

That doesn’t mean it’s not possible – it just means you need to practice them a little. And to make things as easy as possible to practice, I’m giving away the tabs, notation and practice tracks – including the slowed down versions – so you can start playing these synth bass lines today.

Just fill out the form above and I’ll send them all straight to you.

By the way, you don’t need to have all the envelope filters, pedals and all the other bells and whistles to get a synthy sound for these bass lines. Sure, if you have them, by all means, use them, but if not, it’s totally fine.

I’ve played hundreds of gigs where some of the songs had a synth bass line (including some of the lines from this video) and I just used my regular old bass sound. Nobody has ever got mad that I didn’t have a huge pedalboard with 100% period-authentic synth sounds.

Of course this changes if you ever try to go for 100% replication – like if you were doing a Michael Jackson tribute show. If that were the case, then it makes sense to try and get the sound as close as possible to the recording. But if you just want to play these with your buddies or at a jam session, go for it! No pedals needed.

Good luck with these bass lines and happy playing! May these bass lines make your hair (and shoulder pads) bigger.

Cheers,