It is difficult for me to differentiate between the sound of Lead Guitars & Bass Guitars when a Rock band is..

Question

playing, esp. if I am just listening to their music, though I have been listening to Western Rock for a long time. Can some expert/s tell me how can I tell the difference ??

Answer 1

Well... I guess your question answers itself; Yes, it CAN be difficult for some people to discern the sounds of a bass vs. lead guitar.

I'm a professional bassist in a rock band so... I don't find it very difficult at all. That having been said, there will be instances when it is more or less difficult. (For example, if both bass and lead are playing through "fuzz boxes" and playing in the same range I imagine it could get pretty hard to tell at times.)

I don't know how to teach you to hear the difference using the written word. I would suggest, however, that you may want to go to get your hands on some CDs/DVDs wherein you can hear the instruments on their own. As you become familiar to what each instrument sounds like when it's isolated you should have less difficulty picking it out from an ensemble situation. Make sense?

Maybe even go to a music store ---or approach a local band--- and get some in-your-face help at learning the sounds. Have fun!

Answer 2

Well it has a lot to do with bass frequency. Sometimes the way bands are mixed is done in a way that the bass is there to accentuate what the guitars are doing, playing the exact same riffs etc.. It is in effect a design to make you "feel" the bass rather than hear it so much. Bass frequencies are very strong and can be over powering so they have to be mixed very well. If a bass is too high in the mix it will cancel out other intruments that come within those frequencies such as the lower tones of guitars. However if the bass is too low in a mix the song will feel hollow and empty. Think of the bass as the muscles supporting your back bone. The drums are the spine which are supported by the muscle of the bass guitar. It's basic rythym section. A good example of the bass being to low in a mix is Metallica's "...And Justice for All". Jason Newstead's bass is so low in that mix that the bass freqeuncies are almost completely missing other than what is coming from the lower tones of the rythym guitars. A good band to listen to to really hear the bass clearly along with the guitars is early Iron Maiden. Steve Harris really whacks the hell out of the strings and it is very audible without squashing the guitars. Try "Powerslave" or " Seventh Son Of a Seventh Son".
You can train your ears to hear individual intruments in a mix. Get yourself some really good, full ear head phones and try to zone the other intruments out one at a time and really concentrate on each thing individually. From doing this you will also notice how the band has been mixed and learn about levels.
Hope I have helped you...enjoy!

Answer 3

You have to listen for the lowest notes being played. I understand what you mean, though. In rock music the bass is often as distorted as the lead guitar. If you can identify the bass in other types of music, you should be better able to pick it out in rock music. The other key thing to listen for are chords. Bass guitars usually don't play a chord, only single notes at a time.