The ideal effect for...

[etechstan]

What is the best effect for filling in the sound when the guitar hero goes off on his macho solo? The three peice units use extra guitar tracks for recording but if you want to be honest playing live, how do you fill that empty space with only a bass player?

[rratajski]

Volume pedal or boost.

Chorus could beef it up, too.

Fuzz is ALWAYS great.

[nad]

I try not to use effects or even fills during guitar solos.

In fact, it's about the only time I don't do something fancy/loud/stupid.

[Bassenstien]

Originally Posted by rratajski

Fuzz is ALWAYS great.

/thread

[B.C.]

Fuzz def.

[tomvelsor]

obviously it depends on the context.

octaves are a great idea, weather its up or down or both. synth pedals i use for this application a lot too (often because they have sub octave mixed in). i agree that fuzz is great. volume boost i dont think is a great idea, you want a thicker/ "bigger" sound, wich does NOT mean louder IMO.

chorus might fill out your sound a bit but i wouldent use it during a guitar solo..if anything modulaton id go with flange.

even the right envelope filter can do this job pretty good.

youve got a lot of options..good luck..

[Godbody]

I play in a punk/post-punk power trio myself. During the very few solos we do on guitar (more guitar breaks really) I usually just follow the song's progression with power chords and try to lock in as tight as possible with my drummer. That's probably not gonna work with different kinds of music though.

[EricF]

If the guitard is gettin' his wank on, keeping the structure of the song is very important and any effect that takes away from that is usually a bad idea (IMO, YMMV). If my usual line is fairly complex, I may even simplify it during the wank-fest. That said, an OD/dist/fuzz, octave, or light chorus may fill some sonic space, if you feel it needs to be filled.

[greenboy]

Sometimes in a three-piece I switch on an octave-up distorted guitar layered with the bass tone I've been using on my V-Bass and add some power chords.

[sonic assassin]

yea, i vote octave, a touch of drive, and/or playing chords.

[WyrdoBass]

octave, fuzz and chorus fo' sho'.

[bongomania]

Chords and/or staccato arpeggios.

[greenboy]

Of course I am rather fond of my "glass slide harmonics on a titanium cello, with feedback and sweeping filter" V-Bass patch...

; }

[D.Don]

Originally Posted by etechstan

What is the best effect for filling in the sound when the guitar hero goes off on his macho solo? The three peice units use extra guitar tracks for recording but if you want to be honest playing live, how do you fill that empty space with only a bass player?

Cotton.



D.Don

[Swift713]

People ask this sort of question all the time and it sort of perplexes me. What's with the fear of space? Anyway, generally a guitar takes up more space during a solo. I usually either respond to what the guitar is doing or just focus on holding it down for them.

[kevteop]

I think the drummer is more likely to be the one filling the gaps to be honest.

Listen to old tunes by The Jam, see how they did it. They never sounded empty, although Paul Weller was never much of a soloist.

Or - more recently (if a bit uncool) - listen to how Spin Doctors handled it, they had more guitar solos to deal with, and an amazingly talented drummer and bassist.

Effects aren't the answer.

[JohnDavisNYC]

stop playing, yawn, and go to the bar?

j/k... if the guitarist is good and has a big sound, you shouldn't really have to do anything different... and actually, if anything, sometimes it is most effective for the rhythm section to actually get tighter/smaller for a solo... that way you have somewhere to build with the soloist, and there is a greater potential for dynamic expression. also, if the solo sucks, you can create some excitement by developing the dynamic intensity of the rhythm section, thus creating the impression of a good solo! as a bassist, you have to make the soloist sound good, even if they aren't super great... always the challenge in that case... easy and fun with a great soloist.

john

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by JohnDavisNYC

stop playing, yawn, and go to the bar?

j/k... if the guitarist is good and has a big sound, you shouldn't really have to do anything different... and actually, if anything, sometimes it is most effective for the rhythm section to actually get tighter/smaller for a solo... that way you have somewhere to build with the soloist, and there is a greater potential for dynamic expression. also, if the solo sucks, you can create some excitement by developing the dynamic intensity of the rhythm section, thus creating the impression of a good solo! as a bassist, you have to make the soloist sound good, even if they aren't super great... always the challenge in that case... easy and fun with a great soloist.

john

Absolutely brilliant answer, 100% correct on all counts! Look at all the great power trios in history...generally, the bassist did the same thing during the solos as the rest of the song.

[Vic Winters]

Bass Big Muff set to Dry is what I use.

[JimmyM]

Or you could use a Bass Big Muff set to dry.