I'm noticing in alot of new/mainstream bands, Bass guitar is being severely underused. 80% of the tiem you can't even hear the bass. I was just wondering if it's me or if this is really a reoccuring trend lalely.

it's hardly a new trend... it's pretty much been that way from the start or mainstream rock as we know it... the vast majority of the time the bass was relegated to playing the root notes of the guitar riff... there have obviously been a few exceptions over the years (rush / the police / primus / red hot chili peppers immediately come to mind)... but for the most part the bass is still typically seen (at least in rock music) as a supportive / secondary instrument to the guitar...

there's an old saying about bass guitar that a lot of people still hold true today...

'the only time you should notice the bass is when it's not there'

mm...well basically if the guitar is playing power cords or a great amount of distortion...the Bass is left out. It's kinda funny when I listened to a band with only a Bass and Drums. "The Inbreds", they only had 2 CD's...You can only beat a dying horse so long

yeah the inbreds were pretty good... but i don't think it was a matter of beating a dead horse for those guys (they actually had 4 discs)... once you hit 30-ish having a stable income / life / job starts seeming a lot more appealing... and you're not going to get that sort of stability with a niche rock band... odds are one of them had a child and that was the end of the band...

and if you dig the straight up drum / bass / voice combo you definately should check out 'nomeansno' they're a little more intense than the inbreds though... mostly 2 crazy old guys from victoria bc who've been at it for years now... 'why do they call me mr. happy?' is a good album to start with...

and the deal with the bass dissappearing with heavy distorted guitars... most of that is due to piss poor production... the bass is still there... just hidden in the mix sometimes REALLY hidden (such as the case with ...and justice for all)... then again if it's generic rock band where it's just copying the guitar there's not much point in bringing it up...

Have you ever heard anything by Modest Mouse? The Bass really shows up in their music. And The Inbreds had 4 CD's? My bad

hah, listen to psychobilly and you'll hear some bass there man

You normally dont hear the bass unless there is a solo (example is Pink Floyd's Money), or if your really listening for it. Also, you wont hear it unless the bassist screws up. However, if you listen to songs without the bass, they dont quite sound as good, so even though you dont hear the bass, it makes a HUGE difference

...and Ruins has about 18 full lengths and a good dozen EPs...I see no point here...

As with all things in music, it depends on the artist in question...

bass is the BASIS of all rock music. it provides that undertone that makes the music that much more full.

listen to a lot of jazz if you like bass.

mercantico deffintley has a very good point there, with out bass, music is just all high overtones and trebly high pitched noise and its not balanced out, very unnapealing. and i also noticed that it is a little bit of a trend, i dont no if the guitarist sumtimes take over a lil, or the new age bassist just get lazy(or suck and cant think of good bass lines like they used too) but bass lines have deffintley been getting me and my friend think and talk abouit before i read this post, sum bands just follow guitar play one note easy way out, youre very right, but maybe sumtimes i think you just gett used to hear bass cuz its always there, underneath everything, and its not goin realy anywhere exiting, thats all