I've made a few different riffs and completed a whole song that my drummer and I finished. Now we're working on another song and I've got an opening guitar riff down but when I get my bass I'm just focusing on bass. I have trouble coming with different riffs. Most of my playing is based off speed and thrash metal bands so does that matter at all when making riffs?
well kinda. depends on the riff you are making? but if you have the drum and guitar the bass shouldn't be hard. use the root notes and follow the guitar riff so to speak. just vary a bit till you find something you like that matches well.
Learn some scales. Keep the bass lively so it's not just blindly following the guitars and getting lost in the mix. As an example, check out End of Silence, by Rollins Band. Melvin Gibbs' work on that album is phenomenal. Lively, jumping bass that defies the heavy guitar and drums to overshadow it and gives each song a new dimension. There's a reason he's referred to by many as the best bass player on the planet. And if he isn't, he's at the very least right up there with the all-time greats.
I've been writing a tune for my band the verse is like motown and the chorus is sort of 70's punk.
The funny thing is I play it at home and I can overplay it, but playing in a band I find I don't have the time to overplay, as I have to listen to everyone else as well as myself.
what im getting at is dont be a perfectionist. yes obviously strive to be good. but sometimes its the Imperfection that makes a song great. playing everything 100% dead on all the time can end up sounding robotic and or overrehearsed.
I learn a riff correctly then my fingers go in random places to get te correct sound.