Dance music (Pedal noob)

[stevemac]

OK, I typically play rock music and my main band is in line with that but... I have decided to branch out a bit and a mainstream dance music band is interested in picking me up for some side work. I am very impressed with their performances and crowd reactions, and my wife loves the music, so I am wanting to give this a serious shot.

However I dont have a clue about getting the right effects. Help me out? I need an effects pedal that can convincingly handle the likes of Lady gaga "Just dance" and rihanna "Disturbia", and preferably comes pre-set or otherwise easy to figure out. My previous experience with pedals is basically just a bass floor pod lol. I notice there is a digitech BP80 for sale for $80 I could pick up easy if that would work, but quality is more important than money (to a degree), its got to sound 100% pro.

Thanks!

[Jared Lash]

I hadn't heard that Rhianna track before and I've heard the Lady Gaga song but never really listened to it so I just checked them both out.

Have you thought about buying a keyboard synth? You can get in the ballpark of those tones with a bass and pedals, but it's much easier to switch back and forth from bass to keys when needed and its always good to branch out a bit.

In any event, if I had to try to get those tones with a bass and pedals I'd go this way:

Disturbia: Boss OC-2 run 100% wet (dry and 2 octave off and 1 octave cranked) and maybe a bit of overdrive to add some grit and help it fill the mix.

Lady Gaga: This one is more complicated both tonewise and in terms of copping that keyboard note envelope with the abrupt attack. I'd probably have to go with a Deep Impact (not a cheap solution) with a slight amount of detune (Boss PS-3, Whammy etc) to thicken it up. I don't know how you'd cop the sounds during the break toward the end of the song.

A lot of bassists that get into dance music cover bands are reluctant to buy a keyboard synth because of the cost and time spent learning but honestly putting together a "pro" sounding pedalboard and learning to use all of those pedals to get the tones you want will probably cost as much and take nearly as much time to really learn to use well.

The other option is to not try to nail the tones perfectly and just go for the vibe. Add the electronic flourishes as best you can but don't worry about sounding just like the original.

For example, Radiohead's All I Need has a very prominent synth bass line:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdrCalO5BDs
But when they play it live, Colin Greenwood just plays the line on his bass:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9IODJdi3GA

I'm sure at some point I'll play in another cover band and if they did dance tunes with synth lines I'd probably try to cop some tones with pedals and for the ones I couldn't I'd try them straight and then go to a keyboard synth (Moog little phatty in my case) if getting close to the recorded tone was really important.

Good luck.

[stevemac]

Thanks, but I'm not so committed that I want to give up my bass, its my joy and that would be going too far for me.

So I guess I'm not willing to compromise that much, the silver bullet for me would be one multi-effects pedal that I could use.

I should mention I am wanting to put something together within a few weeks, they want to jam as early as next week, though I could put these synth effect type tunes on the back burner. So I am looking for a quick plug and play type solution, looking at your suggestions I'll back up and say that I'd like it to sound great but its got to be simple too, even if it doesnt match exactly.

[EskimoBassist]

I don't think that Jared was suggesting that you give up playing Bass at all, just that for some parts in some of the songs - those which are particularly complicated and difficult to reproduce with an instrument like the Bass Guitar - that it may be more proficient to just use a Keyboard Synth.

If you look through the effects forum there are loads of dicussions on this very topic, which have led to many thousands being spent and much time being dedicated to the sound scaping ankin to which you desire. Although this is indeed an intriguing and brilliant process in itself, for someone who desires a multi-effect pedal to do it all, a quick "plug and play" fix by your own omission, perhaps this isn't the best solution.

You have two choices: attempt to create the parts as close as possible to the original with a Synth or using pedals, at great expense no doubt if you take the pedal route, or satisfice slightly; use your Bass as the base instrument and just add flavours to it which are convincing, original and sound similar, but are not identical to the original studio recordings.

My advice, which I have taken myself for creating similar sounds, is this: Buy a nice Octave pedal (like the OC-2 which Mr. Lash has suggested), run it with the settings which he has suggested i.e. maxed out Oct 1 signal, with zero dry or Oct-2, perhaps add some kind of low pass filter or envelope to get the bassy, dubby tone (and/or a nice fuzz pedal for the more aggressive synth sounds), and then LEARN HOW TO PLAY TO THE PEDALS. It sounds silly, but the OC-2 is an animal in itself, and it plays dividends to learn how to tame it.

To be honest it would probably work out cheaper and better to buy the three seperates than to go searching for an all-in-one Multi FX solution. But if your heart IS set on doing so, have a look at the LINE 6 M9, BOSS GT-6B/10B and even the much cheaper Korg 3000B - which I used for years to create similar sounds.

[kaputsport]

I used to play in a cover act that would do songs like this (a little older). Examples:

Gaga: Just Dance

I nailed that tone with the DI, both of them.

You might be able to pull it off with Korg G5 or a deep impact, Markbass or OS...

I have als noticed many older Analog Modelling synths allow for bass input, like the Korg MS2000BR and the Roland JP8080.

[stevemac]

Cool, cool. I looked at the other posts and I thought some factors are a little unique to me, so thought I'd try a fresh post. I'm sorry I didnt realise how complicated it can get quickly, close is good enough!

The OC-2 pedal is the kind of silver bullet I'm looking for.

Kaputsport, when you say DI you mean just the direct interface?

I'd like to say I appreciate the time you guys are taking to help me out, really. This is a new territory for me and though they arent literally pro they are good so I'd like to come in not seeming totally wet behind the ears.

[Gomeztool]

The Markbass synth can do both these tunes and more. It's a very versatile pedal but be ready to put some time to learning the software interface. Once you save it you're good. I play Lady Gaga's Money Money and Pokerface as well as the riff for Pink Floyd's Have a Cigar and the intro to Mr. Crowley with it. The vibe is more modern than 80ish unlike the Deep Impact though.

[kaputsport]

No, DI = Deep Impact.

Those song REQUIRE a synth pedal of some type. My board is quite complex compared to some, and very simple to others. I figured out how to describe it to anyone so you get a full understanding. Here goes:

Bass output to board.

Board: Boss LS-2 Line Selector (Chain A and Chain B)

Chain A: Boss OC-2 Octave, Human Gear Animato Distortion, HBE Hematoma, Crowther Prunes and Custard Harmonic generator distortion into LS-2 Return
Chain B: Line 6 FM4 Filter Modeler, Akai Deep Impact, EHX Russian Big Muff, Digitech Bass Synth Wah, Return to LS-2

Output of LS-2 into Peterson Strobostomp, out to my Rack.

Rack flow: Electrix Mo-FX, Electrix Filter Factory, Marshall DBS Stack.

This setup allows dirt, clean, synth, octave, flange, trem, dely, filter and many combinations of them. I can have an effect on in chain A, and leave Chain B clean or vice versa. I can stack effects like a distortion in Chain A with a synth in chain B. I can take that stacked effect, run it through some Flange and then into a controlled voltage filter. There are so many possibilities with the rig, it is crazy.

I would use an LS-2 with any setup to allow clean bass to come through on one side. For GAGA, I always used the Deep Impact on Chain B, and left chain A clean unless it was octave mixed in. You can get some crazy close keyboard parts with the right pedal and other supporting effects.

[kaputsport]

Originally Posted by Gomeztool

The Markbass synth can do both these tunes and more. It's a very versatile pedal. I play Lady Gaga's Money Money and Pokerface as well as the riff for Pink Floyd's Have a Cigar and the intro to Mr. Crowley with it. The vibe is more modern than 80ish unlike the Deep Impact though.

I wouldn't say the vibe is 80's ish... It can nail those tones, but can do much more if you play around with them long enough, and use the blend option.

[stevemac]

ok, ... I think I will put the Deep impact on my plan for long term if I stick with this style, sounds like its the thing to have.

Back to the OC-2, is there anything wrong with the OC-3? Guy has one for sale near me too I notice. Good price so probably cant go too wrong for something to mess with now. Markbass synth seems easy to get too.

[bigchiefbc]

My band covers a Lady Gaga tune (Poker Face), and I found that I got a pretty convincing synth tone using just two inexpensive pedals. It has always gotten good reviews from the audience.

Behringer BSY-600 in mode 5 (square wave + down octave) into a DOD Stereo Turbo Chorus (set for a high depth and slow speed to give you that detuned synth tone)

The Behringer really is a very good synth pedal for the money, and I like it better than the Boss that it is a copy of. The DOD is good, but really any chorus with depth and speed controls should do the job.

[kaputsport]

Yea, the OC-3 is fine, but the OC-2 is more synthy IMHO.

Cheap synth pedals are great too. The Ibanez, Digitech and Behringer are all great, and super cheap...

[stevemac]

The more I read about the markbass super synth the more I like it. Seeing as how the OC2 and deep impact are discontinued it sounds like the winner for a quick solution.

Thanks again.