Bowers & Wilkins Applied Research Engineer Stuart Nevill chooses his top 10 bass tracks to really push your speakers
“Hip Hop” by Dead Prez
One of our favourite test tracks and unlike most we don’t really get tired of it. Tuneful “phat” bass with some deep kicks thrown in for good measure that really tests smaller speakers. Could have filled this list with HipHop but this one stands out with sharp lyrics too.
“Prodrome” by Ken Ishii
Little known but has a tremendous sense of depth and space, techno for the audiophile.
“The Jerk” by Drums of Death
Hear this on a big modern rig and it rattles you with bumpy bass. Great production and a great track. Will make you dance.
“Smoke Rings” by Photek
No track does quite what this track can do when heard on a pair of 801s, there is a subsonic note in there that is fed to left and right out of phase and it actually wobbles your bottom on the sofa. Disconcerting first time round.
“Sunshowers” by MIA
Wikipaedia says the genre is “Jungle Dance” which sums it up quite nicely, mischievious MIA at her best.
“Flat Beat” by Mr Oizo
One of my all time faves, the bass doesn’t actually go that low, it just sounds like it does, so it sounds great on everything, very clever and very cool, especially with a yellow puppet on your hand.
“In For The Kill” by La Roux (Skream’s Lets Get ravey Mix)
Well, had to get a bit of Dubstep in the list and this track opened a few more ears to it, not many remixes gel this well.
“Enter Sandman” by Metallica
One of the finest rock intros I’ve heard, thunderous bass kicks help drive the build up to an expolosive opening and a great track. If I was a rock journo I’d describe it much better
“Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson .
What can I really say about this track? How about, I heard a great rendition by a beatboxer, evidentally reproduced by saying an explosive “Boots” following by a cutting “Cats” and repeating at 120bpm.
“Final Hymn” the finale to Stravinsky: Apollon Musagète; Scherzo Fantastique; The Firebird Suite – Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Chailly Int. Release 13 Oct. 1997
A lot of people have heard of Fantasia but not many will have heard this piece to the end. This is a beautifully recorded version that is notable for the epic Timpani, and is another one of those test tracks that we still enjoy.
Listen to Stuart’s tracks here:
So is it better to use the vinyl or digital tracks of these songs for testing subwoofers?
Posted: Wednesday, 22 February 2012Not often you get Michael Jackson and Ken Ishii in the same post – way to go Mr. Nevill.
Posted: Wednesday, 22 February 2012Agree with most of the selections here, nice one Stuart!
Posted: Wednesday, 22 February 2012Hi Dave,
I’d say vinyl sounds great but be careful testing subwoofers at high levels unless you have a warp filter or a known flat record.
Best,
Posted: Wednesday, 22 February 2012Stuart
Flight of the Cosmic Hippo by Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. Pretty much anything by The xx.
Posted: Wednesday, 22 February 2012My favorite tune to test subs has been (since it was released in 2008, anyway) Erykah Badu’s “The Healer” off of New Amerykah, Pt. 1…. Especially in cars!
- Siobahn
________________
visit me! http://www.siobahn.com
Posted: Wednesday, 22 February 2012Got the Asw 675 …. Superb bass .. Cheers
Posted: Wednesday, 22 February 2012Always a breathtaking subwoofer challenge although an older source: Roger Waters album “Amused To Death” out in 1992. Track 12: “Three Wishes” will attract you with Q-Sound effects and absolute deep bass coming from the Genie… Enjoy and be surprised. Cheers Ulf
Posted: Friday, 24 February 2012There’s some filthy bass on Mr Oizo’s Analog Worms Attack, guaranteed to get everything in the room shaking
Posted: Monday, 5 March 2012I have Keith Howard to thank for turning me on to Brian Bromberg’s “Wood” which contains an excellent track (track 1 “The Saga of Harrison Crabfeathers”) where not only the bass but the harmonic character of the instrument comes thru in the recording.
Posted: Friday, 9 March 2012Boards of Canada’s Olson or Sunshine Recorder are both great tracks for low end grunt. Although this style of ambient electronica isn’t for everybody’s taste, its a good spring board for investigating BOC.
Posted: Tuesday, 13 March 2012I agree with Ulf, “Amused To Death” out in 1992. Track 12: “Three Wishes” sounds great. I also like Peter Gabriel’s UVO, a couple of great tracks there. Tony Levin’s “Garden of Eden” 2000 is very pleasant to listen to too. You can hear every individual note.
Valery Gergiev’s Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture, available on HDTracks, the cannon get to sing… :)
A list like this though is pretty much useless unless it points to where you can get the tracks, preferably HiRes FLAC. I’ve done a quick search and all I find are torrents (rip-offs) and I don’t do that. I’m also not a fan of iTunes…
Maybe rather than just listing them, B&W SoS could source them, either as individual tracks on one album, or as one of the albums of the month (for the next 10 months)? Now this would be a download worth having!
Posted: Friday, 16 March 2012One of my favorites, though not played on a ‘real’ bass, is Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s “WELCOME TO THE PLEASUREDOME”. Incredible production from Trevor Horn and computer sequencing (long before it was the norm) and engineering by Steve Lipson.
Posted: Friday, 16 March 2012Jon Hopkins, Insides – several tracks have stunning bass synth sounds. Only audible on speakers with the bottom octave.
Posted: Friday, 16 March 2012hi there guys,you should try a album called The glitch mob!!fantastic tracks on my 803s!!and also SBTRKT!!
Posted: Friday, 16 March 2012Guys, Bjork’s “Hunter” is the ultimate test…
Posted: Friday, 16 March 2012Would there be a chance to make an album like for the Society of Sound? This and maybe a few other collections for other aspects like ambience, details, imaging
Posted: Saturday, 17 March 2012Hi Guys.
I have put together the tracks I could find both from B&W and some of you guys in this Spotify playlist.
http://open.spotify.com/user/torcar/playlist/38Yf8LF3wWVlVgbUhjFGDk
Enjoy if you’re interested
Posted: Monday, 19 March 2012There’s most of “Kiss of Electric Sand” by Speed Caravan (from Society of Sound no less). When choosing my current set-up, I used ‘Galvanize” to really push the air. It’s got really sharp attack and decay and a really low bass track supporting things.
And it’s fun to listen to.
Posted: Monday, 19 March 2012Try Nils Petter Molvaer’s Khmer Album Track 2 TION. 802Ds shakes the ground !
Posted: Monday, 19 March 2012Kraftwerk live – Die Mensch-Maschine – played on a Matrix 800 it ist quite earthshaking ;-)
Posted: Tuesday, 20 March 2012I reach for Air’s “We Are Electronic Performers” from 10000Hz Legend.
Posted: Tuesday, 20 March 2012Agree about “Kiss of Electric Sand”. Possibly my favourite Real World issue from SoS. I’d add “Going out of my Head” – Fatboy Slim. Not greatly intellectual music but some cracking bass.
Posted: Tuesday, 20 March 2012Toccata & Fugue in D minor, BWV 565: Toccata on the Bachbusters CD. If this doesn’t test what a voice coil can handle, nothing will. Agree absolutely with most of the other choices also.
Posted: Friday, 23 March 2012Raekwon – Incarcerated Scarfaces
Posted: Friday, 23 March 2012Three more woofer reality-checks:
1. the Dorati/Mercury Living Presence complete “Firebird” CD — particularly the bass drum, but also the articulation and detail of the double-bass.
2. the Fennell/Telarc Holst “Suite for Band”, specifically the “bass drum heard ’round the world,” ushering in the clean dynamics of digital recording. Best source is the Telarc hybrid SACD, which contains the best-sounding transfer of the old Soundstream digital tapes.
3. Quincy Jones, “Smackwater Jack,” title cut and others on the record. Quincy doubled up acoustic and electric bass and the engineer captured fantastic pick work on the electric, probably fed direct into the recording console. Deep, heavy and percussive.
Posted: Wednesday, 28 March 2012Gone, Still by Nine Inch Nails off of disc 2 of And All That Could Have Been. The bass gets more and more intense as the song goes.. It’s a reference I use when wanting to check out bass on a system.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6YWTjc8Sp8
Posted: Wednesday, 28 March 2012Paul Dukas Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Kenneth Jean: Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra (SACD or Blu Ray)
Posted: Wednesday, 28 March 2012Mussorgsky: A Night On Bald Mountain,Esa-Pekka Salonen: Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra (SACD)
Hector Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique – Songe D’Une Nuit Du Sabbat , Paavo Järvi: Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (SACD)
Songe D’Une Nuit Du Sabbat, Keeping Score-Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique [Blu-ray] (2009), San Francisco Symphony, Michael Tilson Thomas
Brand X – Nuclear Burn hear it once you’ll see what I mean.
Posted: Wednesday, 28 March 20121997 Supertramp “Some Things Never Change” HDCD has tight bass throughout.
Posted: Thursday, 29 March 2012Im enjoying Fat Freddy’s Drop. Namely The NOD for a nice beaty track, and to really test out the subs, try ‘Ernie’ by Fat Freddys. It rattles the windows when played on my 684s.
Posted: Thursday, 29 March 2012thank you Tor , now i need to buy some cd’s or flacs to make a test cd before i go shopping for a new sub system for my miata
Posted: Thursday, 29 March 2012outstanding blog and Best Bass is so subjective but the list is a great one. But have to agree with Egon especially for testing and comparing B&W loudspeakers, Brian Bromberg Blue Bossa, Carry on Wayward Son and Let Em In , contain dynamics produced by his fretboard that are worth listening to.
Posted: Thursday, 29 March 2012Have to say the Speed Caravan track very nearly made it to the list.I guess I didn’t want to be accused of brand bias though;-)
Posted: Thursday, 5 April 2012“Wrong” – Everything but the girl.
Posted: Tuesday, 17 April 2012Either the Todd Terry or Deep Dish remix.
Poem of Chinese Drums by Yim Hok-Man at 24/88.2 is my “go to” for getting air moving. While several of the above do the trick, this track from “Master of Chinese Percussion” somehow has the room coupled so that the air vibrates. The sub (crossed in at 26 Hz) pushes content well down to below 16Hz.
Posted: Saturday, 21 April 2012