How to Isolate Bass from a Song (and Make Bassless Tracks)
Bass is the hardest part to hear in a full mix. It hides under the kick drum, the guitars and the vocals. If you play bass, two things help most: hearing the bass on its own, and playing along with the bass taken out.
This guide shows how to do both for free on a Windows PC with underdaw, a free app that splits songs with AI right on your computer.
Step 1. Install underdaw
Download underdaw free from the Microsoft Store or get the installer from the home page. It runs on Windows 10 and 11, with no account, trial or watermark.
Step 2. Split the song
- Open Stem separation and pick your music file.
- Choose a model:
- 4-stem: vocals, drums, bass and other. Bass gets its own track.
- 6-stem: also splits guitar and piano out of "other".
- Start. A graphics card (GPU) makes it much faster.
Step 3. Isolate the bass
When it finishes, the song opens in the Library mixer.
- Press S (solo) on the Bass row to hear only the bass.
- Slow it down without changing pitch to catch fast fills and ghost notes.
- Loop a few bars until you can play them.
Listening to the isolated bass on headphones makes notes you never noticed in the full mix suddenly obvious.
Step 4. Make a bassless backing track
Turn solo off and press M (mute) on the Bass row. Now you hear the whole band without the bass, so you can play your part over the real recording.
- Turn on the metronome or a count-in before each run.
- Change the key in semitones if you play in a different tuning.
- Click Save to export the bassless track as WAV, FLAC or MP3 for practice anywhere.
Step 5. Get a draft bass TAB (beta)
underdaw can also write out the bass line for you:
- Under Bass TAB, choose your tuning (E A D G, drop D, 5-string and more).
- Click Transcribe, then View TAB.
It is a draft, so some notes may be wrong. Fix them while listening to the isolated bass, and you'll learn the part much faster than starting from a blank page.
Tips for cleaner bass
- Use the best source you have. Low-quality MP3s lose low-end detail.
- Kick drum and bass can blend. On songs where they lock tightly, a little kick can remain in the bass track.
- Use headphones or decent speakers. Laptop speakers barely play bass frequencies.
Record your bass cover
When you're ready, record your bass over the bassless track in the built-in studio, add effects or an amp model, and export a finished cover.
Use separated tracks for personal practice and study. Publishing or selling anything made from a copyrighted song needs the rights holder's permission.