Looping basslines: Yay or nah?

[NextGenComposer]

Welcome to my first audio topic!
Hey guys, I´m new on NG, and I really enjoy being here! Everyone´s so nice each other!

I´m a guy who likes music a lot and I wanted to talk about something that is on my head at the moment.

My favourite composer ever is Waterflame, and some years ago he stated in a QnA that his bassline becomes "too repetititve, that´s his weakness". But whenever I hear his music, I´m just fine with that, I enjoy the bassline a lot ONLY if the main melody is changing. However, in other songs, I get bored so easily I just quit...
I mean, most of you guys use FL, soI understand you use the bassline as a loop.
What do you guys think? Is it good to have amonotonous basslineor a different/changing one? What are the advantages/disadvantages of each one?

Please, you´re welcomed to ask and apport ideas or questions! Stay awesome you all! Have a great day!
*Please notice that I´m Spanish, so if you don´t understand something, I can clear your doubts (even that never happens tho)

[Troisnyx]

Depends on what kind of piece it is.

A bass line can be monotonous, but if you substantiate it with buildup from the rest of the instruments, it makes it really nice to listen to. Alizée is a French pop singer I used to listen to, and much of her earlier tracks work like this. Repetitive bassline, a lot of orchestral and electronic development.

Alternatively, if you want repetitive chords, you could vary the bass line a smidge, by adding a small note or two to create a walking bass line, very similar to a lot of J-pop. Still keeps the repeating pattern of sorts, but does so in a way that is interesting.

Otherwise, vary chords, vary bassline. It all depends on the piece.

By the way, hello @Waterflame. We meet again. I feel strange giving this sort of input when it concerns you of all people. Hope to speak soon.

[Eagleon]

There's one of two directions I take with this - a broad stroke (shifting gradually over large amounts of the song) of something like a filter sweep, total eq change, or a sidechain of some sort on a fader (doesn't have to be using amplitude), or I vary it slightly each pattern to give the main melody more room to dance around. It depends on whether I'm making something more ambient or higher energy. If I intend to drop it out, I actually do the opposite and make it more repetitive, either bringing any effects faders to a rest wherever the transition starts, or simplifying it (sometimes needing to add in complexity earlier in the song) to draw the listener's attention away at varying speeds. Something as simple as reducing the variation in note velocities can accomplish this. There's a lot of room for play =3 Ear origami with attention/fatigue as the paper.

[NextGenComposer]

At 7/28/15 07:20 PM, Troisnyx wrote: Depends on what kind of piece it is.

A bass line can be monotonous, but if you substantiate it with buildup from the rest of the instruments, it makes it really nice to listen to. Alizée is a French pop singer I used to listen to, and much of her earlier tracks work like this. Repetitive bassline, a lot of orchestral and electronic development.

Alternatively, if you want repetitive chords, you could vary the bass line a smidge, by adding a small note or two to create a walking bass line, very similar to a lot of J-pop. Still keeps the repeating pattern of sorts, but does so in a way that is interesting.

Otherwise, vary chords, vary bassline. It all depends on the piece.

By the way, hello @Waterflame. We meet again. I feel strange giving this sort of input when it concerns you of all people. Hope to speak soon.

I personally agree. It depends on the kind of music you´re making. I think it´s best to have a bassline that´s not repetitive and varies, so the main melody also changes. However, if you do want a proper bassline, you should "complete" it with several samples to make it better. I don´t really bother if a song has a repetitive bassline, but the song itself´s better with a little bit of sub melodies. Thanks for giving your opinión!