Handling a unique song in a three piece band...

[invader3k]

Sorry if this is the wrong forum for this question.

My band has decided to try playing "Hey Ya" by Outkast. (Yeah, we're about two years late on this current hit...). Anyway, besides myself on bass, we have a guitarist, drummer, and lead singer (who can also play acoustic rhythm guitar).

Anyway, we tried the song yesterday at practice, and it sounded OK, but not "OMG that rocks!" Basically, the sound was just really thin compared to the recording. I tried to get a fairly deep bass tone, and our guitarist used some distortion to beef up his sound, but the whole performance seemed empty.

I don't think vocals are the problem, as myself and the guitarist can sing back up and hit the "hey ya" lines.

Basically I'm looking for some ideas. Maybe have the vocalist play rhythm guitar on his acoustic? I'm just worried that will take him out of singing and playing to the crowd (which is what a song like this needs, live). We figured this would be a fun one to play live, but it's missing something right now. Any ideas would be appreciated.

[WillBuckingham]

Originally Posted by invader3k

. . . besides myself on bass, we have a guitarist, drummer, and lead singer (who can also play acoustic rhythm guitar).

This sounds like a four-piece band . . .

[guy n. cognito]

Originally Posted by invader3k

Sorry if this is the wrong forum for this question.

My band has decided to try playing "Hey Ya" by Outkast. (Yeah, we're about two years late on this current hit...). Anyway, besides myself on bass, we have a guitarist, drummer, and lead singer (who can also play acoustic rhythm guitar).

Anyway, we tried the song yesterday at practice, and it sounded OK, but not "OMG that rocks!" Basically, the sound was just really thin compared to the recording. I tried to get a fairly deep bass tone, and our guitarist used some distortion to beef up his sound, but the whole performance seemed empty.

I don't think vocals are the problem, as myself and the guitarist can sing back up and hit the "hey ya" lines.

Basically I'm looking for some ideas. Maybe have the vocalist play rhythm guitar on his acoustic? I'm just worried that will take him out of singing and playing to the crowd (which is what a song like this needs, live). We figured this would be a fun one to play live, but it's missing something right now. Any ideas would be appreciated.

What about a bass octaver or an Akai Unibass playing the upper 5th and distortion (a function of this particular pedal.) Either would fatten up the sound, but are expensive options for a single song.