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80s synth bass sound

Chad Bennett

Chad Bennett

Feb 1, 2015
259
239
48
Richmond VA
#1
I'm looking for that 80s synth pop bass sound, any ideas? Not that this is something I'll ever use in public, but I've always liked that sound for some reason. Think the non-slap parts of Level 42s There's something about you, or Madonna's Borderline (if thats even played on a bass??). I've tried the Boss OC-2 which gives it that flavor, but I don't think it gets it 10%
 
#9
I have obssesed with getting that sound for years. Yes the ZOOM B3 which I just got, is the closest I have heard. In fact, before getting the Zoom I tried them all the store: Aguilar octaver, Markbass synth, the Boss octaver, you name it, I tried it. Then I went with the Zoom.

The only thing that could top the Zoom would be a bass with a midi Roland pick up.

Adding chorus and compressions helps keep it stable and fat
 
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#10
EastCoastThump said:
The BMS does track well, but it's got more of a 70s funky vibe than an 80s pop sound.
Click to expand...

Yeah - I would agree with that. One thing I learned with the BMS - and this might have made me like the B3 better - you really need to play everything an octave higher so it will track the best. With the sub-octave in the synth you are getting the super low part of the sound anyway. Anything below about a C (3rd fret on A string) sounds like crap to me.
 
#11
Tombolino said:
I have obssesed with getting that sound for years. Yes the ZOOM B3 which I just got, is the closest I have heard. In fact, before getting the Zoom I tried them all the store: Aguilar octaver, Markbass synth, the Boss octaver, you name it, I tried it. Then I went with the Zoom.

The only thing that could top the Zoom would be a bass with a midi Roland pick up.

Adding chorus and compressions helps keep it stable and fat
Click to expand...


So what do you use off of the B3 to get the sound? I'm guessing the octave with a little bit of something else feathered in?
 
#13
I go thru so many phases where I buy pedals or a multi fx only to sell them a year later. The only pedal that has really stuck around is the oc-2. For those of you who use the oc-2, where have you found the sweet spot? I go 10 o clock on Oct 2 and 11 o clock on Oct 1. It's a fine line between getting the effect and going overboard with it....
 
#15
I think it depends a lot on the bass and technique. I get great tracking with very few weirdities with a Lakland 44-01' chrome flats and the B3. I use the MonoSyn and I think it's mono pitch for the synth sound, to go in a more 70's funk vein I add a filter. The tracking on this thing down low is way, way better than my old Godin A4 synth access and Roland GR-20. I had to resort to playing an octave up and transposing the patch an octave lower with that setup. Sounded good but wasn't where I wanted to go...

The GR-20 is killer with a Baritone guitar though...
 
#16
I have to say I'm having a blast with iFretless instruments.
iFretless Bass is a good start.
Fingers like what you know.
It's got a great built in sound, a couple of synth sounds.

And you can send the output to midi and control any IOS synth that understands MIDI

I use rtpMIDI to talk Core MIDI to a PC, where I have many digital and analog synth.

Watch the video's on sending bend range to other MIDI instruments if you want to do fretless type slides.

This just might be the bass synth game changer.
 
#17
The Akai Deep Impact has some great snyth features. However, it's not made anymore, and much like the Akai Unibass, they now go for a substantial amount of money on the used market.

I'd really love to find something that nails a believable Matt Lange-era Rick Savage tone.
 
#18
4Mal said:
I think it depends a lot on the bass and technique. I get great tracking with very few weirdities with a Lakland 44-01' chrome flats and the B3. I use the MonoSyn and I think it's mono pitch for the synth sound, to go in a more 70's funk vein I add a filter. The tracking on this thing down low is way, way better than my old Godin A4 synth access and Roland GR-20. I had to resort to playing an octave up and transposing the patch an octave lower with that setup. Sounded good but wasn't where I wanted to go...

The GR-20 is killer with a Baritone guitar though...
Click to expand...

I agree with you that Bass to MIDI su** a**
I tried it once on my VB99 and it's near 50ms of latency , absolutely un-playable.....

I was suggesting the VB99 for the COSM sounds , not the Pitch to MIDI.
VB99 has (or should I say Had) 2 COSM engines with Zero latency and perfect tracking.

Best bass processor in this known universe , and all of the other parallel universes too....
 

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