Micro Pog as extra guitar?

Paulitics · #1 12-17-2007, 04:26 PM

Ok so I am getting a micro pog. I will be using it mainly for its clean sounds but I would also like to use it for another purpose. I was hoping that by running only the octave up into a distortion pedal and mixing that with my clean bass signal that I could simulate/approximate having a guitar playing exactly what the bass is playing to help fill out some songs/parts of songs in my three piece indie rock band.

I will accomplish the mixing with a Boss LS-2 or a Barge VB2.

Anyway my question is which overdrive pedal do you think will work best for this? This is a much different question than "Which is the best bass overdrive?" because retaining low end is not and issue in fact low end cut might make for a more guitar like sound thus be helpful. Also because the output of the pog is "digital" sounding a overdrive pedal that "retains the sound of the instrument" may actually be a bad thing.

Note: I am using overdrive/distortion/fuzz interchangeably so feel free to recommend a pedal which falls in any category.

incognito89x · #2 12-17-2007, 04:30 PM

ProCo Rat.

Lebowsky · #3 12-17-2007, 04:43 PM

yeh, rat, or maybe big muff

agreatheight · #4 12-17-2007, 04:54 PM

I like the Keeley modded Blues Driver for guitar / guitar-ish applications (it has more gain than the name implies).

Paulitics · #5 12-17-2007, 07:49 PM

My friend has a Rat so it should be easy enough to try it out when my micro pog comes. I always thought the Rat was kinda harsh when he was playing it with his bass but that might have had a lot to do with his settings.

Never tried a big muff might be a good idea. Will it sound like a guitar or just some fuzz over my clean bass?

Ron Now · #6 12-17-2007, 07:51 PM

Doesn't work as well as you hope, unless you are going for a synthy guitar sound. I did this for a while with a two piece math rock band but ditched the setup in favor of a really good bass distortion along with a clean signal and some creative chord/octave work.

My recommendations is try the micro POG from somewhere you can return it, or just go for a good distortion/od sound with a mixed clean bass signal, that'll fill up a lot of sound in itself.

Paulitics · #7 12-17-2007, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron Now

Doesn't work as well as you hope, unless you are going for a synthy guitar sound. I did this for a while with a two piece math rock band but ditched the setup in favor of a really good bass distortion along with a clean signal and some creative chord/octave work.

My recommendations is try the micro POG from somewhere you can return it, or just go for a good distortion/od sound with a mixed clean bass signal, that'll fill up a lot of sound in itself.

Thanks I was hoping someone who has tried this before would reply. I think I will like the pog for its synthy clean sounds so I will want to hang on to it for that reason, I was just hoping I could use if for this too. I know it won't be perfect but was thinking that with the right distortion pedal i could hide the synthiness of the pog. Maybe thats impossible.

incognito89x · #8 12-18-2007, 12:26 AM

I don't know what thread it was in, but do a search for the POG. Someone posted soundclips of Velvet Revolver's Slither played just on bass with the POG to simulate both the bass and guitar tracks so the only guitar player could do the solo work. Sounded pretty good IMO.

Max Roberts · #9 12-18-2007, 12:38 AM

I think an Electro Harmonix English Muff'n would be great, it can get quite nice distortion, it's got a 3 band eq and it's got tubes. This means that it may 'warm' up the digital signal making it seem more natural.

bigchiefbc · #10 12-18-2007, 05:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by incognito89x

I don't know what thread it was in, but do a search for the POG. Someone posted soundclips of Velvet Revolver's Slither played just on bass with the POG to simulate both the bass and guitar tracks so the only guitar player could do the solo work. Sounded pretty good IMO.

Yeah, that would be me. That was with the full POG though, not the Micro. The full POG sound a little more ... full, because I used both the 1 and the 2 octaves up, and the distortion is a Proco Turbo Rat. Here's that thread: Some POG clips

crapusername · #11 12-18-2007, 06:33 AM

it might be easier to get hold of an akai unibass - it does all of this very job.
octave up with variable distortion, a separate out to run the octaved sound to a guitar amp if required, and a mix to blend into the existing bass sound.
you can also add harmonies to the shifted signal!
i know this is a bit of sideways thinking, but this pedal will do all of the job perfectly!

Paulitics · #12 12-18-2007, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigchiefbc

Yeah, that would be me. That was with the full POG though, not the Micro. The full POG sound a little more ... full, because I used both the 1 and the 2 octaves up, and the distortion is a Proco Turbo Rat. Here's that thread: Some POG clips

Wow that sounded nice. The song is heavier then the stuff we play but I can tell that the rat does a nice job of covering up the "digitalness

" of the pog. It will be first on my list of things to try.

Quote:

Originally Posted by crapusername

it might be easier to get hold of an akai unibass - it does all of this very job.
octave up with variable distortion, a separate out to run the octaved sound to a guitar amp if required, and a mix to blend into the existing bass sound.
you can also add harmonies to the shifted signal!
i know this is a bit of sideways thinking, but this pedal will do all of the job perfectly!

I have heard good things about the unibass. Maybe if I cant get the pog to do the second distorted guitar thing I will just keep it for clean stuff and buy the unibass for the dirty stuff.

dancehallclasher · #13 12-18-2007, 09:53 AM

see my thread; i posted clips of the upper octave through a Little Big Muff.

Micro POG samples inside (yes, it's true)

Paulitics · #14 12-18-2007, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dancehallclasher

see my thread; i posted clips of the upper octave through a Little Big Muff.

Micro POG samples inside (yes, it's true)

Yeah it was your post that first made me think about doing this. How do you think the Little Big Muff fares running into a bass amp for this application. It certainly sounds good through the guitar amp.

dancehallclasher · #15 12-18-2007, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paulitics

Yeah it was your post that first made me think about doing this. How do you think the Little Big Muff fares running into a bass amp for this application. It certainly sounds good through the guitar amp.

I don't think it would sound substantially different.

Paulitics · #16 12-18-2007, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FunkyAssBassMan

I think an Electro Harmonix English Muff'n would be great, it can get quite nice distortion, it's got a 3 band eq and it's got tubes. This means that it may 'warm' up the digital signal making it seem more natural.

I have heard good things about the english muffin. Maybe I will end up trying a bunch of pedals and doing a write up about which worked best for this particular application. Hopefully the local guitar shop will let me do such a test after holiday shopping is over.

Ron Now · #17 12-18-2007, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paulitics

Thanks I was hoping someone who has tried this before would reply. I think I will like the pog for its synthy clean sounds so I will want to hang on to it for that reason, I was just hoping I could use if for this too. I know it won't be perfect but was thinking that with the right distortion pedal i could hide the synthiness of the pog. Maybe thats impossible.

I could never get it to not sound too digital to me, but I am pretty picky on that. I was able to get it for passable, and most people would never notice or care. But to me it was a big deal.