Low End, Big Impact: the rise of bass guitar in pop recordings

A pretty exciting trend has been rumbling away in the world of music – real basses leading the charge in massive pop hits. While the music industry has seen an aggressive use of plugins, synth bass, and digital techniques to produce the vast majority of charting tracks, producers and artists have finally flipped the script.

We’re witnessing a huge trend of genuine low-frequency power driving the biggest releases globally. Not just synth sub-bass, but real bass-guitar tone and bass-driven arrangements give hits a physical, human groove. That change is both sonic and cultural: engineers are bringing bass forward in mixes and songwriters are composing around bass hooks specifically for mainstream pop.

Why are bassists being featured again in pop music?

Why now? We think there are three main reasons. First, technical. Modern recording tools, amp modeling and plug-ins make it easier to capture a warm, present bass tone without the old studio headaches, enabling producers to feature live bass guitar instead of relying only on synth patches.

Second, the age of retro is coming back in fashion. Everything is being rereleased, remastered, or remade – from film to video games – and music is no different. You only need to look at new tracks from artists such as Miley Cyrus, who wrote a 2025 version of Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams in the single Secrets with help from Lindsay Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood themselves, to see that old school cool is here in a big way.

Third, listener expectations. Low-frequency energy registers physically – it hits your chest in clubs, cars, and earbuds – and in an era of streaming where a track must make an immediate impact in a noisy feed and constant stream of content vying for your attention, a commanding low end helps a song stop the doomscroll.

How bass shows up in today’s pop

Producers use three main approaches to bring bass forward:

Live bass guitar

Players tracked with DI and amp re-amping, then processed to sit up in the mix with articulation and character. Live bass brings human micro-timing and tone variation that perfectly quantized samples can’t easily mimic.

Layered hybrid bass

A recorded bass guitar reinforced by synth low-end or sub oscillators. This keeps the feel of a real player while ensuring a high level of consistency across bass frequencies.

Synth bass as lead

Low synths or bass patches that act as melodic hooks (think of modern funk/disco revival tracks). Even when the instrument isn’t a guitar, the arrangement choices are bass-centric. Sweetwater has a great article on pop production techniques that touches upon these approaches brilliantly.

Pop songs that show the trend

We’ve picked some of the biggest tracks from the past five years that are pretty much defined by the bass. Even if pop isn’t your typical bag, give them a listen and play – they’re unsurprisingly really fun to jam along with.

Dua Lipa’s Don’t Start Now

While the signature bass on Don’t Start Now is partly MIDI/produced, it would feel right at home in a 70s disco track and nobody would know any better. The roots of the bassline comes directly from real bass compositions and techniques, it translates into live playing beautifully, and is central to the track’s dance-floor success.

Sabrina Carpenter’s Espresso

Everyone’s heard it way too many times. Sabrina Carpenter’s runaway hit has been played anywhere and everywhere since it dropped in 2024. But have you listened to the bass critically?

It’s another classic example of the funk and disco revival, and uses the bass as a device for energy in the track, rather than as an anchor for other instrumentation. Where the majority of the track pulses on the beat and fills space with soft melodic pads, the bass is pushed front-and-centre of the mix, providing the main movement within the track.

Harry Styles’ Watermelon Sugar

If this isn’t a sign of the times (I know, it was right there…) then little is. Harry Styles parachutes Pino Palladino himself in to lay down the bass line for his chart-busting megahit Watermelon Sugar. It’s embellished with synth-style bass backing, but the feel of a real bassist driving the track is clear as a bell.

What this means for players, songwriters, and producers

For bass players – it’s a golden moment. Pop sessions increasingly want skilled players who can lock with the pocket, provide tasteful fills, and adapt to hybrid production (recorded DI, then layered with synths or effects). Make hay while the going is good!

For songwriters – think about reaching back to the past as a source of inspiration. Compositional tropes of the past are in full effect across the charts, and they don’t do things without good reason for it. The audience wants to hear it, so make sure you play into that.

For producers – bass is a legitimate tool in your arsenal to craft your next track. Pick your tone, timing, and signal chain well and the bass can quickly become the song’s main hook.

Technology and mixing practices will keep evolving the role of bass. Expect more hybrid arrangements, advanced amp modeling, and a blurring of the synth/real-instrument divide – but also a continued appetite for the human nuance that a real bass player brings.

The bottom line

Seeing real bass back at the forefront of modern music production is brilliant to see. With the doom and gloom of the AI takeover, true artistry is fighting back on the biggest musical stage there is. It’s not just bass too, but all manner of instruments are making their way back into production and songwriting.

There’s never been a better time to kick up your favourite DAW and start writing your own bass-driven tracks. Be sure to find your inspiration with a used bass from us!