Effects to emulate a nice lead guitar tone

AlstottMVP2 · #1 01-25-2009, 06:04 PM

I would completely love to mirror my band's guitarist on one of the solos he plays. What effects would I need?

Right now I'm playing with compression and my OD pedal set to a semi-dirty. Any tricks to making it sounds that good? I'm upagainst a les paul/marshall.

**DosiYanarchy** · #2 01-25-2009, 06:14 PM

well something ive been messing about with is a Micropog with just octave up, no clean or octave down, with a fuzz pedal and/or a delay all together in an effects loop with a clean blend running underneath, sounds like bass and distorted guitar playing unison lines.

**Bryan R. Tyler** · #3 01-25-2009, 06:18 PM

In my YouTube video where do I just that, I call it a "convincing fake guitar sound"

**Bryan R. Tyler** · #4 01-25-2009, 06:29 PM

If you're playing against an actual guitar though, I'd suggest not using an octave up as it thins out the tone of a bass quite a bit, and against the combo you mentioned, you might get lost in the mix. A good, thick screaming distortion/fuzz pedal would help. It's difficult to name anything specific without hearing your guitarist's actual solo sound.

greenboy · #5 01-25-2009, 06:33 PM

I realize you probably won't run out and buy a Roland V-Bass. But I do this by choosing a bass model that shifts up nicely via COSM and run it through one of the several guitar amp models its pregain set appropriately. Sometimes I have a switchable OD/DIST/FUZZ pedal model in there too. And sometimes there might be a switchable wah wah pedal inserted.

Sometimes I layer the original bass signal with that. Sometimes there is trouble. Trouble with the guitarists I just flat out buried and left for DEAD ; }

Chronicle · #6 01-25-2009, 06:46 PM

Get a BOSS MT-2, turn the LOW all the way down, mids all the way up. You are a guitard now.

greenboy · #7 01-25-2009, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenboy

I realize you probably won't run out and buy a Roland V-Bass. But I do this by choosing a bass model that shifts up nicely via COSM and run it through one of the several guitar amp models its pregain set appropriately. Sometimes I have a switchable OD/DIST/FUZZ pedal model in there too. And sometimes there might be a switchable wah wah pedal inserted.

Also I have a couple patches at least where I can easily roll in some octave/octave-and-fifth "feedback" as desired during held notes. I LOVE doing this while facing the amp and making like Hendrix or Jeff Beck!

greenboy · #8 01-25-2009, 07:31 PM

Ah - I've probably killed Yet Another Effects Thread. That's some durn good shootin' - YAETH thir!

AlstottMVP2 · #9 01-25-2009, 07:55 PM

thanks. i've been using overdrive pedal plus the double octave riser on whammy pedal. okay, but tone jumps a bit.

**Bryan R. Tyler** · #10 01-25-2009, 08:19 PM

The two octaves up setting on the Whammy has a very glitchy thin tone to it- it sounds a bit too much like a chipmunk singing to get a good guitar sound out of.

cheapbasslovin · #11 01-25-2009, 09:05 PM

I posted this not long ago in a similar thread, I recorded this whole shindig on a SX fretless jazz 5er. The very first part you hear is a HOG +1 octave through a Holy Stain then through an English Muff'n. Some of the other 'guitar' parts are different harmonies through the same pedals.

kevteop · #12 01-25-2009, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenboy

I realize you probably won't run out and buy a Roland V-Bass. But I do this by choosing a bass model that shifts up nicely via COSM and run it through one of the several guitar amp models its pregain set appropriately. Sometimes I have a switchable OD/DIST/FUZZ pedal model in there too. And sometimes there might be a switchable wah wah pedal inserted.

Sometimes I layer the original bass signal with that. Sometimes there is trouble. Trouble with the guitarists I just flat out buried and left for DEAD ; }

I'm never going to buy a V-Bass but that whole scenario made me grin. Nice work, Agent Greenboy. Now go shag the arse off that foxy Russian bird you met at the start of the movie.

**Bryan R. Tyler** · #13 01-25-2009, 09:52 PM

Here's a sound sample of one of my favorite lead guitar sounds I get out of an effect- it starts at about 3:35 into the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYl0Gj3ieR8

I'm using a small rackmount unit to get it, but you can achieve almost the exact same tone with the Bass Big Muff.

fightthepower · #14 01-25-2009, 10:07 PM

I'll try and post a clip tonight of my best guitar impression- I've found the best results from playing through my HOG with the first 3 + sliders up (+5th, +octave, +octave+5th) and no original tone, with the filter set low around the 25% mark and resonance about the same; then through an English muff'n... maybe with a light flange from my polychorus (sounds completely different than my bf2, less swooshy).

Using the HOG's filter is necessary to dial out as much 'honk' as possible.

cheapbasslovin · #15 01-25-2009, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryan R. Tyler

Here's a sound sample of one of my favorite lead guitar sounds I get out of an effect- it starts at about 3:35 into the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYl0Gj3ieR8

I'm using a small rackmount unit to get it, but you can achieve almost the exact same tone with the Bass Big Muff.

Seriously, though, Brian; not all of us are rolling with a 26(?) fret 6 string basses with incredible access to the upper registers.

It was a dead on guitar tone, but it was dead in the guitar registers. I can't get there with my basses.

**Bryan R. Tyler** · #16 01-25-2009, 10:46 PM

Well, there's only 24 frets....

I see what you're saying. If you really want to get in that guitar range, you can pop a high C on your bass, or (less drastic a change) you can get almost all of them at the top of the G string if you have 24 frets. If your bass doesn't have good upper fret access though, I imagine it would be tough to play up there. I'm weird though- my thumb comes right off the neck when playing almost anything that high. A Bass Big Muff with the tone and sustain dimed will get almost the same sound.

Ric5 · #17 01-25-2009, 10:51 PM

To get a good guitar like sound boost the mids ... I would also split the signal and run 2 or 3 or 4 parallel signals ... have one be a midrange distorted signal and one be a more traditional cleaner fuller bass signal ... then blend the 2 back together.

lug · #18 01-26-2009, 07:50 AM

Akai Unibass.

fightthepower · #19 01-27-2009, 05:04 AM

I recorded a quick clip into my RC-50; a bass line with a 'guitar' riff over it at about the 30 second mark. For the guitar part, I used my HOG with the first three +octave sliders up and the lowpass and resonance at about 25%, then into an English Muffn and a tiny bit of compression from the Multicomp. I guess it's somewhere between a rhythm and lead tone because I set the sliders to make a power chord.. I've been playing bass for almost two years and I never played guitar.. so take it for what it's worth!

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=7280924