Need a lager sound?

[Joaquin]

I play in a 3 piece........bass, guitar and drums........and sometimes when the guitar player goes into the lead things sound empty...........what effect could I use to get the bass to sound like it is making chords or just more sound to fill in the dead spots?...........

[Higgie]

Try running your bass through some of these:


Sorry, couldn't resist

[Higgie]

On a serious note - I find Chorus, Fuzz/Distortion, Octaver (or a combination of the above if you're feeling adventurous!!) can really help fill out the sound.

Make sure it fits the song though

[Essexbass]

Originally Posted by Joaquin

I play in a 3 piece........bass, guitar and drums........and sometimes when the guitar player goes into the lead things sound empty...........what effect could I use to get the bass to sound like it is making chords or just more sound to fill in the dead spots?...........

A Harmoniser would be a useful tool as I believe it has the capability of adding 4ths & 5ths? (Some of the guys on here who use effects live & in the studio will be able to help out with this one).

Another one would be an Octave pedal - the Boss one is one of the best out there. Are your speaker cabs 15" or larger as Octave pedals don't seem to work that well with anything smaller?

Hope this helps?

Cheers,
Essexbass

[Jason Hollar]

If you don't mind the schlepp factor, consider bi-amping your rig.

Have your regular bass amp for the loud, clean tones (or whatever you use). Add a second amp with a different character (tube/dirt/FX, etc.) with a foot/volume pedal to kick in when the guitarist solos and stops playing "rhythm".

The bass player for Rage Against the Machine had a second Ampeg stack with a distortion pedal that he would kick in for those moments. Awesome.

[Higgie]

Don't forget he kicked it up another level to Tri-amping with Audioslave...One for clean, one for dirt, and one for all out "say goodbye to your face" distortion

[kosmicwizard]

Indeed, Timmy C's rig has an 8x10 powered by a 2 pro for clean, a 4x10 with another 2 pro for dirt, and another 4x10 with a 2 pro for full out distortion. Cheers.

[rratajski]

Sorry to beat down the Timmy C stroke session, but look into a Big Muff (anything but Black Russian, LBM, and NYC) and an octave up and/or octave down pedal. A Big Muff + Tycobrahe Octavia clone will let you shine through significantly, IMHO. A micro pog will give you octaves up and down w/ or w/out a dry signal.

[cheapbasslovin]

Originally Posted by Essexbass

Are your speaker cabs 15" or larger as Octave pedals don't seem to work that well with anything smaller?

My HOG and 4x10 Avatar would disagree with this.

It really depends on what you're playing. None of the suggestions here are bad. I use an Octave/ filter blended for a lot of the funky jazz stuff that I play, but that probably wouldn't be optimal to fill in for a hard rock lead. You'll need to feel most of this out on your own.

A distortion + interesting playing will cover most bases IMO, but if that doesn't cut it you may want to look into some sort of octaver and learn to play your parts a little higher on the register. Or you can get a POG /HOG and own all the high freqs. Some dirt can cover up a fair chunk of the digital squeakiness in those.

IMO and good luck.

[stflbn]

or, you could just actually play octaves or basic chords on your bass. That would be the easiest thing to do.

[Ric5]

Need a lager sound?

Then drink plenty of Lager beer and your bass will sound better ... until you sober up.

[Ric5]

Seriously ... put in a 4 band preamp and run through a Tech 21 VT bass pedal ...

[Godbody]

Originally Posted by stflbn

or, you could just actually play octaves or basic chords on your bass. That would be the easiest thing to do.

This.

[DuoSonicII]

I play in a three-piece too, and I use a FoxRox Octron in some spots to fill things out when my guitarist take a lead. Sounds way huger than just playing an octave or chord on your bass, and you can set it for a bit of boost, which helps too. My sound is pretty dirty, so a POG or Micro-POG might be more up your alley if you're going cleaner - but same concept. I'm careful to use it sparingly, though; the sound is absolutely massive, but you don't want to overdo it.

And as for lager:

[ulrich]

You need Funk Logic's Digilog Dynamicator (DD-301) Simply crank the comporator all the way to "biggen."

[katri]

I'm more of a cider man TBH


Also Higgie - 'say goodbye to your face distortion' is hilarious.

[RCCollins]

Originally Posted by katri

I'm more of a cider man TBH

cider man is a contradiction in terms mate

then again, so is lager man

[CinneaghBass]

Originally Posted by Godbody

This.

+1 (or is it +2?)

[sonic assassin]

i think stereo cabs and a stereo chorus would help.

[Godbody]

Originally Posted by CinneaghBass

+1 (or is it +2?)

I give the +2 a +1.